i know this isn't exactly hardcore audio.. but i wanted to know if it's possible to have my soundcard (audigy2 zs) output everything in ac3 so that my existing home theatre setup would work for playing games and music and the like.. i'd like to think that there is some alternative to buying one of creative's setups.. or some other computer only speaker rig.. input appreciated : D
oh.. and just to elaborate a bit. currently i'm outputting the digital spdif siginal, but am getting only left and right channels. i think the receiver does this because it assumes a stereo input, rather than the ac3 it gets from dvds and stuff.
well if the game, music, etc doesnt have digital audio in it, then it wont work anyways. it will just play in 2 channel like it is already. _X_X_X_X_X_[small]V4 PS2, flip top, SMD, CDLoader Pioneer 105, Memorex 4X DVD-R DVD Shrink, DVD Decrypter, Nero[/small]
by default the digital output on the soundblaster is ready to be split up by the computer speakers i'm not about to spend 500 dollars on.. not ready to be read by the reciever adn sent out to the satelite speakers.. that's why i'm only getting stereo.. even when playing 7 channel or 5 channel content i'm still getting stereo sound.
I'm pretty sure there's no (easy) way of getting Audigy to encode Creative's proprietary multi-channel audio to proper AC3-stream. I'm assuming that you don't have problems playing back DVDs with AC3 sound, right?
actually.. this is kinda funny .. i don't have a dvdrom in my comp right now.. mine broke and i never got around to replacing it, didn't use it enough : D
i'm gonna see if i can steal one from another comp and replace it before anyone notices.. wish me luck : D
ugh.. that didn't work, any suggestions though? i don't care if it's easy.. just as long as it isn't too expensive
Bob, No need to post a new message for each update. =) You can use the "pen and paper" icon to edit your previous message. Anyway, I could use a bit more details on your setup to be able to assist. For instance the DVD player software you're using. If you have hooked the digital output of your PC (optical or coaxial SPDIF) to your home theatre amp, you will still have to enable the output on your sound card and DVD software. I don't have an Audigy myself, but using nForce2 integrated audio chip and Cyberlink PowerDVD the steps are as follows: 1) Connect your SPDIF output to the amp 2) Enable digital output through NVIDIA nForce control panel (Speaker Setup, check Digital Output, and adjust the settings to suit your needs. nForce is capable of doing Dolby Digital encoding to the output.) 3) Enable SPDIF from PowerDVD (Configuration, Audio, Audio Output: Use SPDIF) Hope that helps!
are you saying that you get 5.1 sound with a home theatre setup? well anyways my setup... it's an audigy 2 zs, and its connected through coax spdif to a RCA reciever through the coax digital input. i get sound fine.. and it's clear and digital and the like, but the reciever only uses 5.1 if it's getting an AC3 5.1 signal.. and it's not. i might go pick up a dvd rom later and make sure it's outputting AC3 while playing dvds, i did find an option for that a while back and enabled it... but yeah, do you think there is a way to output ALL audio in ac3? edit: just to clear up.. that other post about 'it not working' was about my attempt to steal.. lol not the dvd audio
Actually I haven't tried AC3 output, since I don't have SPDIF connected to anything right now. When I have the time, I'll give it a shot and see what outputs as AC3 and what not. Of course there's no point in "converting" stereo PCM audio into multichannel AC3.
yeah, honestly. (i know this is an audio forum...) but i want it for games : D eax4 is supposed to be sexy and all.. but i haven't had a chance to play around with it yet : (
interesting??? i'm running onboard sound (soundmax) that came with my ASUS P4s8x-x it has a spdif jack that says it supports 5.1. ok i installed the ac3 filter. bought a 200watt 5.1 digital decoder (for home systems but says its computor compatible) hooked it up threw the spdif jack and have 5.1 sound (better then my living room one) i have 5.1 in everything that supports it games movies music ect. it sounds like you definately have something not set right or your reciever is not compatable with computor input. make sure your ac3 if installed right and any programs that requier more (plugin wise) get them. and check all of your sound settings to make sure 1 of them isnt set for something else. in the begining i had 1 setting wrong and didnt get 5.1. look in your advanced controls and look for the spdif button click on it and see if the ac3spdif is checked not the pcmspdif.
hmm.. i'm pretty sure mine doesn't say anything about being compatible with computers : ( but i guess ill keep messin around with it edit: i wonder.. do you have REAL 5.1 sound? ie: when you test channels do all of them respond?
I have an Audigy2 card, and have found the manual and website tragically lacking in information on how to use the features it supports. bob2, if you promise to be nicer to people replying to your pathetic cries for help, then read on. If watching DVDs you will need to turn on SPDIF passthrough in the DVD software in order to tell the software to NOT decode the audio. If you have a DVD player with a digital out then connect it to the audigy card (i wish mine did). The audigy will also have to have the SPDIF passthrough turned on (decoding off). If either of these are on, then the digital out sends a decoded stream (or just a normal 2 channel stream if it can't decode - otherwise those without fancy sound would have no sound in movies) to the external reciever which, at any rate through coaxial cable, will only be two channels... that should be it but I am still learning. CD audio - turn on digital audio in the hardware config of windows for the drive. your player must support the features and likely need to have SPDIF passthrough. etc... most audio is not DD, but with features like CMSS you can upmix them to make pseudo surround sound through your soundcard or pro logic through your reciever. Games - get a life. just kidding. they are fun, and good sound is a big part. I don't know of any games that are DD or the like. The 5.1 for EAX games is due to the card, so if you want EAX games you will have to use the analog outs on the cards. Monster Cables makes a stereo minijack to audio RCA cable (get three - 75 bucks... plus tax) and plug them into the 5.1 inputs on the reciever. incidentally, this should work with the above two scenarios as well, just have the audigy do the decoding (but if you want the external decoding, a coax digital cable is cheap 4 buks). now i have all of this, and i should be up and running, but... when i turn on SPDIF pass in PowerDVD XP 4.0 and have the audigy decode I get horrendous audio clipping, no make that cutout. UGH. any ideas?
To play games and get EAX sound you have to use the analog outs (already decoded - speaker ready). The reciever should (hopefully) have 5.1 inputs (for external decoders like your audigy card). Basically, your reciever becomes an amplifier. It should have a setting for 5.1 source or something that will tell it to simply use the 5.1 inputs and amplify it. You can use this setup for music and DVDs too, making your reciever just an amp for your computer. If you are only getting 2 speaker sound after this then the source is not 5.1 or EAX and you will have to use CMSS or some other upmixing to make 2 channel sound into pseudo surround sound.
alas.. i dont think i have any 5.1 inputs... : ( guess ill buy a new reciever? is there anything else i could try?
