Asus G73JH HDMI Outputs in 2 channel when set to 5.1

I am trying to get 5.1 channel HDMI output from my Asus G73JH laptop to my Yamaha RX-V473 AV receiver but am only getting 2 channels. When I 'configure' the Realtek HDMI Output, I select 5.1 and can hear from each speaker during the Test. When I do any activity on the laptop (tested with Spotify, Pandora, a .mp4 movie with Windows Media Player Classic, and Crysis 2), I only get 2 channels (L/R speaker). I've updated to latest Realtek drivers from the Realtek website. Can anyone provide me with a solution to output 5.1 sound? Thanks!

 

It's because the audio source is stereo. You'll need a player that can upmix 2.0 into 5.1, like KMplayer's 3/2+SW mode or Foobar2000 with Matrix Mixer plugin (Supports up to 18 channels) but you'll need to set the values yourself.

 

Thanks for the response. I found a solution after reading through the manual for my receiver, sifting through the controls, and finally trying all the options on my remote. Yamaha wins for having a really well thought out Q&A section. Basically, my AV receiver can convert stereo into 5.1, and it differentiates the signal depending on whether the input is music or a movie. I tested it and found that it did direct the sound into each speaker. I'm so glad I bought a good AV receiver

 

Good that you got it working. Usually I don't really use the receiver to convert stereo into 5.1, reason being some of them can't detect whether the audio signal is 2.0 or 5.1 and upmixes the front left/front right of the 5.1 audio source into other channels, results in a distorted 5.1 experience. To counter that situation I usually disabled the 2.0 to 5.1 master upmix and play stereo audio content with a player that can convert stereo into 5.1, for 5.1 content I play it with another player that doesn't mess with the audio channel.