Chromecast audio-only to Onkyo Receiver

[FishNoGeek]

Hello, World! I've seen a few posts similar to this problem but haven't found a silver bullet yet. I have a Chromecast connected to a TV upstairs, and it works fine. But now I've bought a second Chromecast thinking I could easily use it to stream music from our PCs (via Chrome) and our Nexus devices to the HDMI-ready Onkyo TX-SR604 receiver that runs our stereo downstairs.

We don't have a TV connected to the Onkyo receiver - just speakers. It's not working, and I can't figure out why. It's killing me. Here's my flow so far:

• I've plugged my Chromecast into the HDMI 1 jack on the back of the Onkyo TX-SR604.
• I've powered up the Chromecast using the USB + Power Adapter.
• I've setup the Chromecast from my Nexus 4. I've named it, connected it to my wi-fi network, and it shows up fine as a target Chromecast on all my devices. The network is working, and so is the other Chromecast upstairs.
• Using the Setup menu on the Onkyo, I've enabled HDMI for V2.
• Using that same Setup menu on the Onkyo, I've assigned Video 2 (V2) to IN1.
• Using the Digital Input button on the Onkyo, I've assigned HDM1 1 to V2.

I've tried a few variations on that theme - swapping between HDMI1 and HDMI2, trying V1/V2/V3, togging that IN1 setting, etc. I'm mostly going off pages 44-45 in the official Onkyo TX-SR604 setup manual. No matter which permutation I try, I can't seem to get the thing to produce sound when I play content from any of my Nexus devices or Chrome on the laptops. I've tried Google Movies, Google Music, Netflix, and Pandora. No sound from any of those, even though they all find the new Chromecast (and the old one) without any problem.

I've toggled the HDMI audio pass-thru on the Onkyo. I understand that Chromecast needs to be streaming content from the cloud, not from the device itself - but I tried both, just for good measure. I'm able to use an old-school iPod dock, and it plays fine through the stereo. Same with the AirPlay streaming music from iTunes on the Mac. It's just this new Chromecast that isn't working.

What did I miss? I don't mind feeling like a fool for having missed something easy. We need some Christmas Carols, dammit. Thanks.

We actually just got the TV last year - haven't had one in 20 years, which means I'm a complete HDMI noob. Still, I don't usually encounter this much trouble with such things. Got any ideas? Thanks....

 

[Minkey1]

Refreshing this as I too would be interested in the amp options.

Can't speak to your connections and settings, but I have dragged and dropped local mp3's to our TV connected chromecast from a Chrome tab on our windows laptop and it works great. Casting local content within a browser is still beta, of course, but works for us, and much better than samsung's clunky DLNA style Allshare app.

Do you have your music uploaded to Google Play? If you do, casting online from the app on your Nexus to your amp connected chromecast might be worth a try.

 

[FishNoGeek]

Thanks, Mike. I have tried streaming from Google Play Music, and also from Google Play Movies, Pandora and Netflix. Sure, I can't see the movies without a TV attached, but I was thinking that the speakers don't know there isn't a TV - shouldn't the soundtrack be playing? Nothing, though.

I did take both Chromecasts and the Nexus 4 upstairs and tried them on the TV. I'm able to get everything working if the Chromecast is plugged directly into the TV: YouTube, GPlay Movies, GPlay Music, Pandora, Netflix, tabs from Chrome - it all works fine on both Chromecasts. They do seem to be slightly different, at least in the text on the background screens. I guess that shouldn't be a surprise - I bought the first one on the first day they hit the Google Store, and the new one is fresh production from the last couple weeks. Interesting, though.

Anyway, if all that stuff is working with the TV, then we've eliminated all the variables except for the HDMI-to-amp-to-speakers route inside the Onkyo receiver. I tried a couple more things - switching from PCM to DSP, other tweaks - no joy. I think I'll take this over to an Onkyo forum - will repost here if I get any answers. Thanks....

 

[Minkey1]

.....Anyway, if all that stuff is working with the TV, then we've eliminated all the variables except for the HDMI-to-amp-to-speakers route inside the Onkyo receiver.....think I'll take this over to an Onkyo forum - will repost here if I get any answers. Thanks....

That seems to be the only suspect remaining. Maybe somehow the gadget expects video -- or, at least a picture -- too. When I cast over a local jpeg or mp3/mp4, the TV is showing a picture of a browser, with the dropped in content in it. Anything's possible

I'd be interested to hear if your Onkyo friends have a solution. I'm pondering buying several more chromecasts and plonking one in the amp would be preferable for audio only content.

Good luck.

 

[MountainX]

Anyway, if all that stuff is working with the TV, then we've eliminated all the variables except for the HDMI-to-amp-to-speakers route inside the Onkyo receiver. I tried a couple more things - switching from PCM to DSP, other tweaks - no joy. I think I'll take this over to an Onkyo forum - will repost here if I get any answers. Thanks....

I have an Onkyo TX NR509 and I don't have a TV connected. I want to use the Chromecast for audio only. I believe this is the same goal you have. Have you found any more info about setting it up and getting it to work? Thanks

 

[MountainX]

Did you see this? http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-chromecast/299870-connecting-chromecast-v-receiver.html

He says, "I have a Pioneer VSX-1020 ... I'm not able to listen to Google Music while having the TV screen off. Once the TV is turned off the audio cuts out immediately even though the Chromecast is plugged directly into my receiver."

I guess that's the way Chromecast is designed, so maybe this has nothing to do with Onkyo.

Here's the whole post:

Just got done setting up my Chromecast and can answer some "connecting to a receiver" questions. I have a Pioneer VSX-1020 that's only a year old which I have the Chromecast hooked up to directly. Works fine when you switch to the proper HDMI. I have a Logitech Harmony so I just created an Activity to automatically switch to the proper HDMI with a button click. Volume controls still work from phone/tablet/PC which control the Chromecast output not the receiver volume. Most Netflix movies are encoded in 5.1 which the receiver sees as Dolby Digital Plus. Think of it like virtual 5.1 surround which is OK but no where near as good as a Blu-ray disc. Some movies are still encoded in stereo such as Avengers which I was surprised by. During movie playback you can press an icon from the Netflix app to select the audio format being pushed. YouTube and Google Music will decode as stereo only, if you want 5.1 you need to switch the receiver to Dolby Pro Logic or Circle Surround depending on your receiver or preference. Google Play Movies was the biggest disappointment. The two movies I tried (Transformers and Tron: Legacy) both played naitively in 2-channel stereo not 5.1. Had to force virtual 5.1 through receiver to get all my speakers going. Hopefully this is addressed very soon. I also had some experimentation with wi-fi bands. I run everything in my apartment on the 5 GHz spectrum so I had to drop my phone and tablet down to the 2.4 GHz to set up the Chromecast initially. I was bummed out by this at first but then realized that after your setup is complete you can go back onto your 5 GHz band and still control the Chromecast just fine. My 2.4 and 5 GHz channels have different SSID names which didn't seem to matter. (Chromecast is a 2.4 GHz only device, FYI)

Some other tidbits:
- I'm not able to listen to Google Music while having the TV screen off. Once the TV is turned off the audio cuts out immediately even though the Chromecast is plugged directly into my receiver.
- The rumors about HDMI 1.4 being able to power the Chromecast are false. As soon as I unplugged the USB cable from the Chromecast itself it powered off. My receiver has 1.4a ports.

Feel free to ask any questions or make any requests.