I have had this motherboard since 31 Oct 16, it is a great board BUT it has issues that I thought Asrock would have resolved by now.

4K 60Hz / 10 bit HDR / MVC 3D

There is a problem with the Display Port to HDMI chip that stops HD audio from being passed through, and if you try to watch a 3D MVC movie it does not play (black screen).

I thought I would wait until the first BIOS update, which i tried both yesterday.

11 Jan 17 ‘Intel Microcode Update’
10 Jan 17 ‘Modify vBIOS setting for HDMI display’ (BETA)

I put the 10 Jan 17 as it still has the same microcode version number after the update.

Sadly it has not made a difference.

I have send a support request to Asrock today and reference this blog and the Kodi Apollo Lake forum.  I will post the response.

Workaround

See Asrock J4205-ITX Kodi/NAS Build

Request sent to Asrock Support (12 Feb 17):

There is a problem with the HDMI on the J4205-ITX that if you try to passthrough HD audio you get silence, even though in the windows audio settings it indicates that passthough of DTS-MA and TRU HD is possible. Also if you try to play a 3D MVC file it does not work, or you get a corrupted image.

The workaround is to use a DVI to HDMI adaptor, HD sound and 3D MVC then works. I have documented this on my blog which is getting plenty of hits daily and there is also plenty of discussion on the Kodi Apollo Lake forum, see links below, which is why I am sending this as nothing seems to have been done to fix this issue with this board as this is an advertised feature.

It appears that this issue is to do with the DP to HDMI firmware, DVI to HDMI probably works because it bypasses the DP to HDMI chip and acts like a HDMI 1.4a. It is a shame that the BIOS does not allow the HDMI version to be selected ie HDMI 2.0/HDMI 1.4 until this issue is resolved.

I have tried the BIOS 1.20D but unless you include a changelog i dont know if it was attempting to fix the sound issue, which it doesn’t.

At the moment i cannot enjoy HDMI 2.0 10bit / 60 Hz because of this bug.

Links:
https://rewster.uk/2016/11/21/asrock-j4205-itx-kodinas-build/
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=270298&pid=2458236#pid2458236

Asrock (13 Feb 17):

Colleagues in Taiwan are trying to get an overview of configurations that are giving audio issues.
Can you please provide some more info?

1. Which display are you using exactly?
2. If you are using a receiver then can you please give the exact model of that as well?
3. Can you please give me links to free downloadable samples with which you can reproduce the issues?

Me (13 Feb 17):

I thought this was easy to replicate as everyone on the Kodi forum I sent a link to has this issue with HD sound with the J4205-ITX. Some members have reported that the Display Port to HDMI 2.0 chip is at fault and needs a firmware update. This seems to effect 3D MVC with cable plugged in to HDMI as it does not work either, 3D works with a DVI to HDMI convertor.

Answers to questions:

Display: LG OLED55E6V
Receiver: Marantz NR1606
Samples: http://kodi.wiki/view/Samples

Section 2
TRUEHD = 4
DTS-HD = 11, 14

There are 3D MVC demos here too.

Paul Rewston
Blog – https://rewster.uk

Me (2 Mar 17):

Is it possible to get an update or at least confirmation that this is an issue and you can replicate it.

ASRock (2 Mar 17):

09:29

Hello,

I have just sent my colleague in Taiwan a reminder, asking him for a status update….

12:43

Hello,

My colleague replied:

This issue has reported to RD team and they are checking with chip vendor.

Because we do not have the same configuration, we could only ask vendor if they have got the similar case from other customer.

I will apply some more pressure…

Me (2 Mar 2017):

Here is a filtered list with mentions of the DP to HDMI issue on Apollo Lake Kodi Blog:

http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=270298&pid=2538273&highlight=dp+to+hdmi+chip#pid2538273

It seems to be effecting any system using the Megachips DP to HDMI convertor, the issue is worse on the Intel NUCs as there is no DVI to use for a workaround.

“This issue has reported to RD team and they are checking with chip vendor.”

I am surprised it has taken two weeks to check with the chip manufacturer as they must be dealing with Intel on the issue as they are releasing firmware for the NUCs.

“Because we do not have the same configuration, we could only ask vendor if they have got the similar case from other customer.”

I think your guys in Taiwan need to make it a priority to get a board set up and tested, at the moment this board is not performing as expected and frustrating many of your customers.

Here is a link to a version of Kodi (http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=266316) that your techs can put on a Windows 10 machine and has all the options that need to be set to get passthrough audio and 3D-MVC (use the test videos in the previous response), your techs will quickly realise that the tests only work when the DP to HDMI 2.0 chip is bypassed when using a DVI to HDMI convertor.

Update Nov 12: The 1.72 DP to HDMI firmware direct from Intel does not work with this board, My AVR Receiver which is normally Marantz-AVR becomes BOBCAT2800 and there is no Audio Pass-through and 4K is not available, I tried the AY and BN firmware versions.  As 1.66 Firmware is no longer on Intel’s site, download HDMIFwUpgrader(v1.66) here.