How to get bit perfect PCM and DD/DTS Audio in MCE2005

[diddl14]

OK, I finally got it to work on my test PC using both WMP11 and Zoomplayer. What Transit drivers are you using? I had to install the oldest driver (v1022). But yes, I can play music and movies and get PCM and AC3 without changing settings on the Transit control panel. DTS wav file is properly decoded by my processor so I am getting bit perfect audio. I am going to try this on my MCE machine now.

The Transit is set to: 2in, 2out, 16-bit, 8000 Hz to 4800 Hz

AC3 filter: Check "Use SPDIF" on main tab and "Output SPDIF as PCM" under SPDIF options on the system tab.

I'll post a follow up once I test on MCE.
I tried to get it to work but so far no succes.
Not sure if the m-audio-driver downgrade to v1022 worked.
m-audio control panel shows:
ASIO 1.00.01.03
USB 5.10.00.3509

PCM works but when playing a DVD from MP10 via AC3Filter 1.09a I get pure silence.

Any idea what might be wrong?

---
Frans

[MikeSM]

I tried to get it to work but so far no succes.
Not sure if the m-audio-driver downgrade to v1022 worked.
m-audio control panel shows:
ASIO 1.00.01.03
USB 5.10.00.3509

PCM works but when playing a DVD from MP10 via AC3Filter 1.09a I get pure silence.

Any idea what might be wrong?

---
Frans

Are you using Purevideo?

Thanks,
Mike

[diddl14]

Are you using Purevideo?
No, does that influance AC3 passtrough?

Frans

[MikeSM]

No, does that influance AC3 passtrough?

Frans

The recent versions of Purevideo do not allow the bypass of the Purevideo audio decoder. So if you are using AC3filter etc..., you will need to do a registry hack to fix it. It's documented earlier in this thread.

Thanks,
mike

[saeba1]

Hi,

I've been reading the thread with great interest, especially the part on using AC3Filter to enable auto sense with M-Audio Transit.

I finally took the plunge and got myself the Transit and configured it per the recommended settings.

I was able to get bit-perfect on Music and also pass-through on my DVDs (Thank You 100X). My only remaining problem seems to be cracking sound every time the audio switch between PCM and AC3/DTS (and vice versa). This is only in MCE where I have the navigation sound effect enabled. If I disabled it, I don't have this problem.

Just wondering if anyone experience the same thing and if there is anyway to remedy the problem.

Thanks in advance...

[openwheelracing]

Does anyone have DFI's RDX200 board? It's a socket 939 board with Realtek ALC882M. I'd like to know if this chip is capable of bit-perfect like others have done with ALC880. Can anyone confirm this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136165

[MikeSM]

Does anyone have DFI's RDX200 board? It's a socket 939 board with Realtek ALC882M. I'd like to know if this chip is capable of bit-perfect like others have done with ALC880. Can anyone confirm this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136165

I believe it uses the same realtek driver as the alc880, so it should. I'll know for sure this weekend when I power up my AT832X which has the same chip in it.

Thanks,
mike

[krassyg]

The ALC882M is locked at 48Khz, it won't do bit-perfect. Only the ALC882 and ALC882D will.

Regards,
Chris

[openwheelracing]

Wow, really? ALC882M isn't capable of 44.1khz? That's a total bummer. Do you have a link for this information?

btw while we are on this topic. How about c-media's onboard solutions? AD1986, AD1988...etc. Any of them capable of bit perfect in MCE? (I should be more clear. I just want 44.1khz and 48khz material to be played accordingly w/o manual switching, in MCE)

[MikeSM]

The ALC882M is locked at 48Khz, it won't do bit-perfect. Only the ALC882 and ALC882D will.

Regards,
Chris

I believe the M is a superset of the D version in functionality. Where do you get this conclusion?

Also, I misspoke before, by Abit MB has the ALC882D, not the M, which boards like the Asus A8R32-MVP carry. But from the realtek spec sheets, the M is supposed to be a superset of D...

Thanks,
mike

[openwheelracing]

My head is spinning here. I can't google any confirmation about this.

[krassyg]

I am speaking from personal experience. I am currently using Abit A9W-MAX motherboard, which came with ALC882M on a riser card. Only 48Khz sampling rate was available. I ordered the same riser card from the previous model mobo, which was based on the ALC882D and all sampling rates became available. I am also using a DFI 975X mobo, which uses ALC882 and does bit-perfect. I think it has something to do with the Dolby Master Studio feature, which is not available on the ALC882 and the ALC882D. For that feature to work, the chipset is probably locked at 48Khz.

Regards,
Chris

[karson]

Remember to use a DTS CD or .wav test file to verify you're passing bit-perfect info when you get it installed. Bottom track (14MB) on this page makes a good start (If you hear DTS and not ugly noise, you're bit-perfect:

http://www.sr.se/multikanal/english/e_index.stm

-Adam

Adam, I have an ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe mobo with onboard Realtek ALC850 (AC97) sound connected to my Sunfire Ultimate Receiver using optical TOSLINK on an HTPC running MCE 2005. While I know the 850 outputs everything at a fixed 48kHz sample rate (like all AC97 I believe), I would have thought that it would send that DTS .WAV straight to the receiver, but instead I get the noise that you described. I assume then that you need to "tell" the Realtek somehow to pass the .WAV on to the Sunfire for decoding, and my concern is that if this is the case, the Realtek may not be passing unadulterated DD/DTS from DVDs in MCE!

Can anyone tell me if there's a way to "tell" the onboard Realtek ALC850 to ignore DD/DTS-encoded streams and pass them to the receiver? Thanks in advance!

[openwheelracing]

http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=24&PFid=28&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=43

According to the above info. The ALC882M should be able to do 44.1khz. This is very interesting cause the board I am eyeing features ALC882M and 44.1khz is the reason I am switching.

MikeSM, please come back and tell us about your new Abit board. Bit-perfect-wise.

[krassyg]

I am misled the same way, but the only option that I saw in the realtek drivers was 48khz for the ALC882M. As soon as I swapped it for the ALC882D, 96Khz and 44.1 showed up as well.

Regards,
Chris

[openwheelracing]

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/buyingguides/WindowsMCE2005part4.php

analogue though.

[MikeSM]

http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=24&PFid=28&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=43

According to the above info. The ALC882M should be able to do 44.1khz. This is very interesting cause the board I am eyeing features ALC882M and 44.1khz is the reason I am switching.

MikeSM, please come back and tell us about your new Abit board. Bit-perfect-wise.

I will. I have all the parts and have time devoted on Sat. to put it all together.

BTW, which board are you looking at it with the ALC882M?


Thanks,
Mike

[openwheelracing]

Thank to this thread, I have bit-perfect. I switched from Asus A8N SLI Premium (Nforce4 SLI) to Asus A8R32 MVP Deluxe (ATI RD580). Mainly because the nforce4 only supports AC97, and the ATI has HD-audio.

So my new board features Realtek ALC882 (not ALC882m as Newegg indicates). I installed the latest driver from Realtek (1.47). I don't have the "auto lock" feature like Chung-Chang has, but I am still able to do bit-perfect. Key is to set the wav volume to maximum.

[MikeSM]

http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=24&PFid=28&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=43

According to the above info. The ALC882M should be able to do 44.1khz. This is very interesting cause the board I am eyeing features ALC882M and 44.1khz is the reason I am switching.

MikeSM, please come back and tell us about your new Abit board. Bit-perfect-wise.

Well, I am not quite done with MCE setup, but I have gotten a basic configuration up and running. I have the Abit AT832X motherbaord with the alc882d codec on board. using the realtek drivers as referenced in this thread, I do get bitperfect output from the motherboard sound via SP/DIF. Works great. seems to autoswitch too for DD 5.1.

After a bunch of hassles with AV-710's, m-audio transit, etc..., picking a MB with the right codec on it seems to be the best solution.

Thanks,
mike

[openwheelracing]

Mike: Do you get the "auto lock" feature like Chung-Chang does? I don't. However, I just set it to 44.1khz and wav volume to maximum. Then it plays the DTS 44.1khz file and auto switches to 48khz for DD and DTS. I was able to verify this in MCE.

If wav volume is not at max, then all I get is noise from the DTS 44.1khz file.

Last and most important: sound quality for 44.1khz material is much improved. I had been using Abit NF2-s rev. 2 (Soundstorm) for more than a year. I will never go back to again.

Here are the problems: In MCE, the mute button on my MCE remote actually mutes everything. Including OTA Dolby Digital. This never happened with Soundstorm. What could cause this?

[MikeSM]

Mike: Do you get the "auto lock" feature like Chung-Chang does? I don't. However, I just set it to 44.1khz and wav volume to maximum. Then it plays the DTS 44.1khz file and auto switches to 48khz for DD and DTS. I was able to verify this in MCE.

If wav volume is not at max, then all I get is noise from the DTS 44.1khz file.

Last and most important: sound quality for 44.1khz material is much improved. I had been using Abit NF2-s rev. 2 (Soundstorm) for more than a year. I will never go back to again.

Here are the problems: In MCE, the mute button on my MCE remote actually mutes everything. Including OTA Dolby Digital. This never happened with Soundstorm. What could cause this?

Yes, I get the auto-lock button, but found I didn't need it. It seemed to do the right thing without that. Volume does need to be at Max, even if SP/DIF is selected...

I use a Harmony remote where the mute is programmed to talk to the reciever only. If you are exclusively SP/DIF out as I am, then there is no point in MCE doing any muting. I am surpised at the behavior you describe, but in most cases people are using a universal remote anyway, and volume is being controlled by the reciever.

Thanks,
Mike

[MikeSM]

Ok, I can definitely report the ALC882D on my motherboard gives me bitperfect SPDIF passthrough with autoswitching. Bitperfect music, DTS sound and DD 5.1 all works fine though MCE.

I didn't need to hit the autolock at all, and I am running the latest 1.47 drivers from Realtek. MCE does need to know that it is talking SPDIF to 5.1 speakers hwoever, and DD and Kareoke has to be turned off the Realtek Control panel else bad things happen.

I haven't tried a 5.1 game yet, but will do that soon.

Thanks,
Mike

[x84HurstOlds]

[I][SIZE=2]
Q: How do I set up for bit-perfect audio with MCE 2005 using the MSI 6150 Motherboard with HD-Audio?

A: First, follow this excellent guide (http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=29&threadid=1803985&enterthread=y) to complete your basic setup. Note: as of this writing, the only Realtek drivers confirmed to work as desired are v5253. These v5253 drivers are being graciously hosted here (http://tbaudio.com/realtek/WDM_R137_v5253_bitperfect.zip) by bling24 if you can't find elsewhere. Once drivers are installed, find a DTS sound file (like this one (http://www.sr.se/laddahem/MultiKanal/Dts/SURROUNDTEST_011212.zip)) and play it with WMP. If you can't hear the sound correctly, go into the sound driver configuration, click Audio I/O tab, click the configuration button next to Digital, select 44.1KHz and click the Auto Lock (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=57724) button (all while the DTS sound is still playing). You should now hear the DTS sound perfectly and all other sounds will now be bit-perfect too under MCE. There is also no need to change those sound settings again even after reboots.[/INDENT]



I must be missing something...I can't get this to work at all. When I click "Auto Lock", nothing happens! No change in any fields in the dialog box, no change in the static coming out of my pre-amp, (and the pre-amp doesn't sense a change to 44.1 in the previous step). Volumes all the way up, have also tried DTS waves in Foobar, same result. Yet, in the same box, I have a Chaintech AV-710 that can do bit-perfect with the same sources into the same pre-amp, via ASIO4ALL!

Problem is, the Chaintech "Auto-sense" feature doesn't work - I wanted to get away from manual switching, and also free up a PCI slot! What could I be missing? :(

Ed

[x84HurstOlds]

Ok, I can definitely report the ALC882D on my motherboard gives me bitperfect SPDIF passthrough with autoswitching. Bitperfect music, DTS sound and DD 5.1 all works fine though MCE.

I didn't need to hit the autolock at all, and I am running the latest 1.47 drivers from Realtek. MCE does need to know that it is talking SPDIF to 5.1 speakers hwoever, and DD and Kareoke has to be turned off the Realtek Control panel else bad things happen.

I haven't tried a 5.1 game yet, but will do that soon.

Thanks,
Mike

Can you elaborate a little - how did you "let MCE know" that it's talking SPDIF to 5.1 speakers? And when you say, "through MCE", can you do this from the desktop, or only within the MediaCenter app?

This is driving me insane!!!

Ed

[openwheelracing]

Nvidia decoder has MCE extensions built-in. You can set spdif passthrough/no mixing. I can do it from the desktop (using WMP) as well as the MCE interface.

I also use the latest 1.47 driver. I don't have the "autolock" feature. I just set it at 44.1khz and it auto switches to 48khz for regular DD and DTS.

I have one problem though, I can't get the setting to stick. After restarts and wake from standby, I must re-adjust the wav volume to highest for bit-perfect to work.

[x84HurstOlds]

Nvidia decoder has MCE extensions built-in. You can set spdif passthrough/no mixing. I can do it from the desktop (using WMP) as well as the MCE interface.

I also use the latest 1.47 driver. I don't have the "autolock" feature. I just set it at 44.1khz and it auto switches to 48khz for regular DD and DTS.

I have one problem though, I can't get the setting to stick. After restarts and wake from standby, I must re-adjust the wav volume to highest for bit-perfect to work.

Okay, thanks, I'll have to look for that. I was searching through the options in WMP and didn't see it. In the Media Center app, I'm having other issues - when I do setup, it asks to choose the number of speakers. No matter what I choose, it then hangs. It also hangs when I try to set "large fonts" from within Media Center - seems like anything that changes a system setting, I don't know. Odd that you don't have the autolock.

I'm considering starting over with a fresh install, but I really don't want to do that if I don't have to...

Ed

[Red GTI VR6]

Has anyone been able to confirm or deny if 883 can do bit-perfect?

According to here: http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=28&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=44

# All DACs support 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz sample rate
# All ADCs support 44.1k/48k/96kHz sample rate
# 16/20/24-bit S/PDIF-OUT supports 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz sample rate
# 16/20/24-bit S/PDIF-IN supports 44.1k/48k/96kHz sample rate

So then am I to assume that it's capable?

[x84HurstOlds]

Well, I got it! I went back to an older driver version, I'm on the road right now but I'll post it later, it's what came with my K8nGM2-FID. I could be imagining it, and I'm probably *not* going to go back and check, but I think when I had the newer drivers installed, I didn't have the okay/cancel buttons on that page! But in any case, the setting sticks now, and it auto-senses as well.

I uninstalled the Chaintech drivers and card, and MediaCenter no longer gets confused when I try to set audio properties (it used to just hang). So things are a lot better. Still some issues with MediaCenter itself, but it's a temp. solution for me anyway.

I'm ecstatic to have bit-perfect *and* auto-switching. Doing it from an onboard solution, without resorting to ASIO or KS, is icing on the cake. And I have an extra AV-710 ( my main PC has an RME Digi 96/24, so that's not going anywhere!)

Ed

[etrounce]

Hi all,

EDIT: I got it working! details below my original post (which I've italicized).

I'm pulling my hair out...

It probably doesn't help that I'm switching both my front-end and my HTPC platform at the same time, but I'm having a heck of a time getting bit-perfect output from my K8NGM2-FID I just received. I'd appreciate any help...

I've got a bare-bones setup, no PCI cards, just a 3500+ and the FID. I installed XP MCE 2005, installed video drivers, MB drivers, then the 5253 drivers that are supposed to work. Windows sounds are fine, so I tried to play a DTS wav using Windows Media Player 10. No good, so I opened up the control panel, selected 44.1kHz and hit the Lock button, no change other than a pause while the switch from 48kHz to 44.1kHz took effect. I checked that my wav volume was at maximum (I put all my volume sliders to max.), still no change.

So, I proceeded to install the AMD CPU drivers, all of the Windows updates, NET 1.1 and NET 2.0, and MCE roll-up 2. Re-tried playing the DTS wav, still no good. Then I tried newer drivers, R147 and the latest R149. Still no good.

Am I missing something obvious? Are there other things I need to configure/install to get this working? Someone mentioned the karaoke plug-in, I certainly didn't install this, would it be installed somewhere by default? If so, where should I look for this? I haven't even launched Media Center yet...

I appreciate any tips anyone can throw my way...

I gave up and continued setting up this machine, but first reverted to the 5253 drivers and tried again but still got garbage from my DTS wav file. So I installed Purevideo, FFDShow, My Movies, and a handful of other codecs/tools. I then ran Media Center for the 1st time and imported my music library. It was now late at night so I went to shut everything down, but thought I'd give the DTS wav one last chance. Amazingly, it worked! I have no idea which of the above items did the trick, but I don't really care right now.

Cheers.

[pato128]

Hi:
I had been following this thread for months now, but it is the first time I post.
I found this today: (can't post a link because I'm new so I will give the path in avs forum)

AV Forums > Audio Visual Sources > Entertainment Computers & Components > Hardware > Bit Perfect audio and auto-switching with the M-Audio

This post explains step by step how to install the Transit, so you don't have to manually switch using transit control panel.

Wondering if somebody tried this before. I was looking to buy a m-audio transit anyway. I didn't mind the idea of manually switching the card's set up, but this will make that choice way more convenient.

Thank you in advance for your replies

[Aurora1313]

That's the way to do it as you can read a couple of pages back. ;)

He probably got it from this thread as I was the first one who discovered this 'auto sensing'. :D

[drogulus]

I just bought a HP Pavilion with the Realtek HD audio. I get bit perfect with the output set to 44.1 khz (surroundtest works). A couple of observations about my situation:

1) The chip resamples everything to the chosen frequency except bitstream DD/DTS which is fixed at 48 khz. If I'm playing the surroundtest while my modem kicks in the sample rate goes to 48 khz and then back to 44.1 khz as soon as the modem sound quits. In other words, mixer is always 48 khz, the only sample rate that can play everything.

2) So far, all my music players are bit perfect. Winamp, iTunes/Quicktime, WMP. Most have volume disabled, but iTunes volume is active and surroundtest turns to noise when you turn it down and comes through perfectly when you turn it back up.

3) There's no Lock or auto switching on my Sound Manager. The motherboard is an Asus, and the driver version is 5.10.0.5268.

[darkandlong]

I'm hoping someone can answer this fairly simple/stupid question for me?

I've hooked up my HTPC to my Denon AVR-2307CI via the Realtek 882 HD audio SPDIF passthru (optical). I've set it to 44.1. Just to test out that the sound was working fine, I tried a variety of mp3s with WMP, nothing fancy. My receiver would detect the signal, except that it only regsters the front right and front left speakers (no sub channel). Now I'm assuming this is normal as stereo is only 2 channels, and bass is entirely up to the levels/settings for the sub I've set with my receiver, correct?

Oh and I've tried the 5253s and for my mainboard (Asus P5LD2-VM) and audio (Realtek 882) it does not have the "lock" feature available to me.

[MikeSM]

Has anyone been able to confirm or deny if 883 can do bit-perfect?

According to here: http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=28&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=44



So then am I to assume that it's capable?

The 883 is identical to the 882 except it's DAC's are lower quality. For driving SPDIF, it should exact exactly the same way as the 882, which is bitperfect with autoswitching.

Thanks,
mike

[drogulus]

Can you elaborate a little - how did you "let MCE know" that it's talking SPDIF to 5.1 speakers? And when you say, "through MCE", can you do this from the desktop, or only within the MediaCenter app?

This is driving me insane!!!

Ed

From my experience with the Realtek chip (mine is the ALC 888), once you have chosen S/PDIF in the MCE setup menu and specify 44.1 khz in the Sound Manager "Audio I/O" tab, you don't need to go through MediaCenter. You can use your regular music player. I use Winamp with the stock DirectSound output and it works perfectly, and so does WMP and even iTunes. That was a surprise.

The only auto switching I get is between the chosen sample rate and DD/DTS. You still have to manually change PCM sample rate to 48 or 96 khz.

[Donald24]

I've just bought a new mainboard, which should serve as my htpc. A Gigabyte 965-DQ6, which is equipped with a Realtek ALC888DD soundchip.

Just hooked up via optical cable to my receiver, you just get the standard 48khz option, so no bitperfect out is possible.

The difference from this DD-chip compared to the simple 888 one, is that it is capable of on-the-fly DTS and DolbyDig conversion. (which for me is quite useless)

I've got the info from a gigabyte engineer, that the DD-version disabled any digital sample-rate option, to avoid resampling, when it does DTS-live and DolbyDigital output (even when it's not even active)

I've spend two hours of modding the inf-files of the drivers, to make the control-panel think it has the non-DD version, to get the options visible, but I did not succeed.

In Windows Vista, you can get 44.1 output to work, but I really don't want to change to that OS just to have bitperfect output.

So, if anybody of you, has found a way for that soundchip to change digital sample-rates, please post here.

Maybe only the RTHDCPL.exe needs to be hacked, but that is beyond is my skills :P

Don

[fmzip]

I am going to try this on my system. My Mobo has an SPDIF header and after hours of searching the net, I found an SPDIF bracket and a few other goodies. Hopefully this can help someone else in the future.


SPDIF Bracket (http://www.vidabox.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=9)

Spdif Front panel (http://www.frontx.com/index.html)

[jb-net]

I'm very interessting in getting bit-perfect music from the windows media center and I'm a happy owner of a mainboard with a ALC883 chip.

Everyone said that he gets bitperfect dd/dts. Okay - I understand because the extern receiver is encoding it - but why are you all sure that you are also getting bitperfect PCM music?

[openwheelracing]

Some receivers can indicate the sample rates. Plus there are also our ears. ^_^

[jimwhite]

the standard test for "bit-perfectness" is to play a DTS encoded wave file.... if your receiver can decode it and give you music, your bit-perfect.... if you get digital "noise", you're not :D

:cool:

[openwheelracing]

true, that's how I verify my bit perfect in MCE cause my receiver has no such indication.

[drogulus]

Here is the link to the DTS wav. file (http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/mall/index.asp?programid=2445) you use to test for bit perfect reproduction. If you can hear the Swedish announcer testing your surround system, you're getting 44.1 khz output. Make sure system and player volume controls are either disabled or all the way up, otherwise you just get noise. Use the receiver/proc to control volume, and turn it down a bit, the sound is nasty. :eek:

Actually, the link is to the page. Scroll to the bottom where it says (helpfully, in English) "Surroundtest". :)

[katalyst]

You guys might be able to help me with a problem I've been having (I really really hope :( )

I have an ALC882 in an Asus laptop. Under XP, using the 1.54 drivers, the Realtek manager application will only let me select 48kHz, so I cannot get bit-perfect playback. Under Vista, I can use any of the sampling rates that I should be able to, and have verified that my receiver is locking on to the signal at 44.1/48/96kHz, et cetera.

The hardware is plainly capable of SPDIF in all the sample rates that the specifications indicate that it should. I don't know why the XP drivers are disabling me from using the other sample rates that I should be able to use.

I tried hacking the driver INFs to add support for the specific device string mine uses (which was not previously in there; it was using the generic 882 string), but that did not solve the problem. Similarly, I tried replacing the strings in the INFs for some other ALC88x models with my string, in the hope that it would install the driver or write registry strings for one of the models where all the sampling rates are available in the manager application, but that didn't help either. I tried sending an e-mail to Realtek but no response was forthcoming.

I don't really want to have to use Vista, and in any case there are no exclusive mode plugins for foobar et al that would allow me to get bit-perfect output. Can anyone think of anything that might allow me to unlock the hardware capabilities under XP?

:( :(

Edit:

I've just bought a new mainboard, which should serve as my htpc. A Gigabyte 965-DQ6, which is equipped with a Realtek ALC888DD soundchip.

Just hooked up via optical cable to my receiver, you just get the standard 48khz option, so no bitperfect out is possible.

The difference from this DD-chip compared to the simple 888 one, is that it is capable of on-the-fly DTS and DolbyDig conversion. (which for me is quite useless)

I've got the info from a gigabyte engineer, that the DD-version disabled any digital sample-rate option, to avoid resampling, when it does DTS-live and DolbyDigital output (even when it's not even active)

I've spend two hours of modding the inf-files of the drivers, to make the control-panel think it has the non-DD version, to get the options visible, but I did not succeed.

In Windows Vista, you can get 44.1 output to work, but I really don't want to change to that OS just to have bitperfect output.

So, if anybody of you, has found a way for that soundchip to change digital sample-rates, please post here.

Maybe only the RTHDCPL.exe needs to be hacked, but that is beyond is my skills :P

Don

Looks like we have the exact same problem. That really ****ing sucks. :mad: :(

[jimwhite]

kinda like asking nVidia to write drivers for your XP machine which would allow it to run Vista's Aero interface.... ain't gonna happen.... hacking things to do what they weren't intended to do is an iffy prospect.... sometimes it works, most times it don't !!

;)

[Donald24]

JimWhite: Those options were "greyed out" in favor to make a more sophisticated function work called Dolby and DTS-live, which is real-time-encoding that sucks for any guy, who is a bit into music. They are simply disabled for people that shouldn't mix 44.1khz with live-encoding. The approach to change the inf-part of the drivers, is excellent, but I found out, that the Realtek-Sound-Manager requests the PNP-ID of the hardware through their drivers, just how its detecting whether to display the vendor-logo of the mainboard or notebook.

If bit-perfect playback would be more popular in the world of HTPC, Realtek would have already re-activated this option, together with a few lines of code to restrict that modes only to NON-Dolby/DTS-live playback.

But all the Realtek engineers are writing code for vista now, because it's more important to make the chipset-manufacturers happy, than the single customer. As for the vista-part these drivers are really awesome...

It still would be only a few bytes to be patched in an exe-file, to make things work as we wish.

Greets,

Don

[M.Dupont]

@Donald24:

I started the thread in the german gigabyte forum, where you posted your comments, too ...

So, I'm still interested in this topic. What exactly do you find out about the PNP-ID? Which exe or dll checks this?

greetings
c.

[Donald24]

Hehe, Mr Dupont: In spite of, we're getting offtopic here, we're left stuck in the hands of the coding people at realtek. if there were a millionship of users, it could be possible that realtek reacts. if you'd have a look in the driverheavens forums, they yearn for every home-made audigy-driver they can get.... and they have the staff to make things happen...

Vendor-customization-based-drivers are evil (drivers working on vista show us) and let us think different about our next mainboard. forced to buy extra hard/software for things we already have, makes us go nuts.

We will get no support here for our problem either, as long as a hacker has the same chipset and thinks bit-perfect is the way to go. at least one option called vista is possible. I think that's the only way to go and live with these chips.


Don

[hdmi4ever]

Is all of this effort or money (M-Audio USB, etc.) necessary for bit-perfect with Winamp? Or will it easily do bit-perfect with a plug-in?

Edited: I eventually found something an another site that says it isn't needed, I just have to get the kernel streaming plug-in.

[Ghanso]

Hey, I use the alc880 in my Asus a6va laptop. Is it possible to get bit perfect to work in just the regular windows xp, or do really you need MCE for that?
When I try the drivers suggested here and the latest drivers, I turn up all volumes, enable SPDIF in the drivers and set it to 44.1khz (no automatic options to be seen) and when I play the DTS file in any program I only get the noise.
What is my problem, did I overlook something? Or is it MCE only?

[jeff2631]

I just confirmed the HP A1542N computer will output bit perfect to the Panasonic SC-HT40.
Used the DTS and DD wav test files listed in post #292 of this thread.
The computer has MCE2005, uses the Realtek ALC883, and I installed Realtek drivers WDM_R157.
Works with both Windows Media Player 11 and foobar2000 v0.9.4.2 player.
Set the Realtek HD Audio Control Panel (in the windows control panel) to 44.1K Hz in the Digital S/PDIF section of the Audio I/O tab.
Set the Sound Scheme to No Sounds.
Set the Master Volume and the Wave Volume to maximum.
Muted the SW Synth, CD Player, and Line Volume.
Set the SC-HT40 input to coax.

[fmzip]

I have an emachine T6542 with the same Realtek ALC883 and it outputs bit perfect

[twisted_oak]

NF-M2 Realtek ALC882 achieved bit perfect quite easily here. 44 and 48 sources tested out just fine. Configuration time 15 minutes.

I compared sound with an AV-710 thinking the quality would be different. I can't tell a difference at all. I played Matrix lobby scene and Gladiator Germania battle over and over on both and could not tell a difference.

The main difference between these cards was the 7 hours it took to implement bit perfect on the AV-710. Even then I got reclock errors and could not listen to live TV through MCE without fooling with reclock settings.

Very happy I purchased this board.

[dkuster]

I have the same problem with my Asus P5W DH Deluxe motherboard (Realtek 882M audio chip).

When I go into the Realtek Control Panel -> Audio I/O -> SPDIF -> Properties there is only one output rate selectable, 48Khz, and there is no "autolock" button (or whatever it's called).

It seems like there's another dimension here. Yes, the Realtek chip itself may be capable of multiple sample rates along with other features, but if the motherboard manufacturer doesn't implement the required surrounding circuitry then you end up with a board that's only capable of a subset of features. :mad:



You guys might be able to help me with a problem I've been having (I really really hope :( )

I have an ALC882 in an Asus laptop. Under XP, using the 1.54 drivers, the Realtek manager application will only let me select 48kHz, so I cannot get bit-perfect playback. Under Vista, I can use any of the sampling rates that I should be able to, and have verified that my receiver is locking on to the signal at 44.1/48/96kHz, et cetera.

The hardware is plainly capable of SPDIF in all the sample rates that the specifications indicate that it should. I don't know why the XP drivers are disabling me from using the other sample rates that I should be able to use.

I tried hacking the driver INFs to add support for the specific device string mine uses (which was not previously in there; it was using the generic 882 string), but that did not solve the problem. Similarly, I tried replacing the strings in the INFs for some other ALC88x models with my string, in the hope that it would install the driver or write registry strings for one of the models where all the sampling rates are available in the manager application, but that didn't help either. I tried sending an e-mail to Realtek but no response was forthcoming.

I don't really want to have to use Vista, and in any case there are no exclusive mode plugins for foobar et al that would allow me to get bit-perfect output. Can anyone think of anything that might allow me to unlock the hardware capabilities under XP?

:( :(

Edit:



Looks like we have the exact same problem. That really ****ing sucks. :mad: :(

[dkuster]

Has anyone tried getting bit-perfect audio from the new "HT Omega Claro" sound card??

There's a review here http://www.cluboc.net/reviews/sound/HT_Omega/Claro/index.htm


It contains a very interesting paragraph:

"The Coaxial + Optic ports are used to connect your external digital devices. S/PDIF can be used to connect standard devices like a DVD player, video game console or a digital TV. High quality CO-AXIAL and TOSLINK Optical S/PDIF can receive and send a pure, unconverted, PCM digital audio signal at resolutions of 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 96 kHz and 192 kHz sampling rates. The output also allows pass through of Non-PCM Dolby Digital and DTS streams to your external DD/DTS decoder and A/V receiver. The result is the best possible sound is passed on to your home theater system or up to a 7.1 component system for your PC. Most other high end cards, including the much adored X-Fi must up convert or down convert resulting in significant sound quality loss. All of that technical jargon boils down to an astonishing sound clarity when using the included optical output with a high-end receiver/pre-amp"

It sounds like it does exactly what we want!

[rajdude]

This thread is awesome! :D

But I wish someone would summarize the findings of this thread in one post.
That post could be the first one or at the top of this thread and should be updated as new stuff is uncovered.

Then this thread could be a sticky class thread! :)

Lets attempt to do this.

Tell me in short what needs to be done to get this "bit perfect output"?

[IndieRockSteve]

So has anyone compiled a list of chipsets that are capable of bit-perfect playback?
It looks like many of the Realtek ALC chipsets are which is great since they're one of the more popular integrated chipsets.

[carefreepastor]

K8nGM2-FID set-up for bitperfect as described in this thread. Using spdif to Denon 4806ci. Can get test file with Swedish announcer to speak from all speaker. However, DVD-audio/dts only activates two front channels on receiver indicator. In realtek audio manager panel, cannot get test tone played through more than two speakers. help

[Joni_78]

I just bought Abit AT8 motherboard, connecting it into Yamaha RX-V659. I'll let you know if everything works as it should.

[intence]

What standalone non-USB soundcards will give me bitperfect SPDIF output in MCE 2005? Is this even possible? From this thread it seems like i'll either need a motherboard with the ALC88x chip, or otherwise a USB Soundcard?

[voranand]

NF-M2 Realtek ALC882 achieved bit perfect quite easily here. 44 and 48 sources tested out just fine. Configuration time 15 minutes.

I compared sound with an AV-710 thinking the quality would be different. I can't tell a difference at all. I played Matrix lobby scene and Gladiator Germania battle over and over on both and could not tell a difference.

The main difference between these cards was the 7 hours it took to implement bit perfect on the AV-710. Even then I got reclock errors and could not listen to live TV through MCE without fooling with reclock settings.

Very happy I purchased this board.

Hi, Are you talking about the Abit NF-M2 nView? Sorry, I can't post URL yet.

[chung_chang]

Haven't posted here for couple of years. Anyways, my original bit-perfect setup using MSI K8NGM2-FID with onboard ALC880 is gone. Motherboard died after 2+ years of running 24 x 7.

So, I just replaced it with Biostar TF7050-M2 with onboard ALC888 using latest Realtek audio driver. Bit-perfect works perfectly and still auto-switches between 44 and 48khz without any fuss.

However, I'm not sure if it's placebo effect or what but all audio seem to sound better than before, especially 2 channel 44.1khz PCM. I'm still using the same speakers, same receiver (Panny digital), same coaxial SPDIF cable between PC and receiver, same SPDIF PC bracket, same WinXP Media Center with latest patches, same audio sources. The only differences are the motherboard and the latest Realtek driver. The sound seems to have better clarity, dispersion and overall definition. Wife also says it sounds better than before so no complaints here.

Onboard video is not much better than before except there are a few more supported features under Purevideo.

[voranand]

Sound good.

And also have anybody got bit-perfect with Abit AN-M2HD yet?

[db298]

This post really does need a summary, as things have changed so much in the last 12-18 months in this field. It really seems like lots of people who are getting new motherboards (Intel S775 or AMD AM2) are getting bit perfect out of the newer onboard audio codecs.

I suppose one of the real issues here is also that once people find a successful solution, they aren't really motivated to come back and post about it on a forum - the forum is more for people who are experiencing problems :(

I will try to summarise this thread and other information from around the internet now, but what we really need is for the minority of people who truly care about bitperfect sound to return here and confirm their hardware and software setup once they have it working...

[db298]

Reports of bitperfect performance:

(Bear in mind that each report is based on the technical understanding of the user making the post - they could easily have other software affecting results which they do not mention (such as ReClock), or they could be simply mistaken about the results they are getting)

User: Viggster
Post Number: 20
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: Transit USB, 1.022 drivers
Comments: No autosensing

User: Ad-Rok
Post Number: 22
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: MSI K8NGM2-FID (RC880 chipset)
Comments: Summarising information in posts by chung_chang. Special v5253 drivers are linked in the post.

User: Ad-Rok
Post Number: 35, 47, 81
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: Chaintech 710 (Envy24_Family_V500a drivers)
Comments: Lots of fiddling around with reclock and playback issues.

User: dedwards
Post Number: 38
OS: unknown
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: "transit plus onboard sound"
Comments: Apparently works fine, but no info on mobo, drivers, and assume manual source switching is required.

User: Kaien
Post Number: 42
OS: unknown
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: "transit plus onboard sound"
Comments: Apparently works fine, but no info on mobo, drivers, and assume manual source switching is required. Reports loss of sound at beginning of tracks.

User: Mad Chemist
Post Number: 50
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: Audiophile USB
Comments: Will NOT output bitperfect

User: chung_chang
Post Number: 52
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: Onboard plus USB (PPA International)
Comments: Works fine but requires source switching. Queries whether an optical/coaxial splitter would work.

User: chung_chang
Post Number: 93, 96
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: MSI K8NGM2-FID (ALC880)
Comments: Both frequencies of DTS (44.1/48) work fine and swtch. Later confirms DD also work.

User: jmccloud
Post Number: 60, 70, 76, 89
OS: WMP (MCE2005?)
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: M-Audio Delta DIO + Xplosion 7.1
Comments: Hoontech DSP 24 Vlue drivers used for Delta to send 44.1 without Kmixer (drivers linked in post 76). WMP SPDIF set to Delta, Windows default set to Xplosion. Source switching still required. States the Delta would work by itself without switching (post 70) but later clarifies that it does not passthrough AC3 in WMP/MCE.

User: DCypher
Post Number: 78-80
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: M-Audio Delta DIO
Comments: Stereo and DTS works fine, but AC3/DVD not functioning.

User: jcomand
Post Number: 103
OS: unknown
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: ALC658 motherboard (A387 drivers)
Comments: No passthrough of DTS wav file.

User: xAragornx
Post Number: 116, 139, 210
OS: MCE2005 (presumably)
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: Gigabyte ALC880 (GA-K8N51PVMT-9-RH)
Comments: Sound locked to PCM. Later discovers that MCE Karaoke plugin is an issue, and claims bit perfect output)

User: Sleep Doc
Post Number: 121
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: Transit
Comments: Cannot get DTS CD's to play in WMP10. User Curtis104 claims to have the same arrangement working fine (post 122).

User: GoatLocker
Post Number: 133
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: MSI K8NGM2-FID 6150
Comments: Getting static when trying DTS test.

User: MicoTX
Post Number: 161, 164
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: Not clear exactly which motherboard, but might be same MSI as Chung_chang.
Comments: Using V5253 drivers as linked in post.

User: Aurora1313
Post Number: 215
OS: unclear
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: Transit
Comments: Explains a way of achieving bitperfect and autosensing with AC3Filter. Confirmed by Mad Chemist at 224 although needs registry hack for AC3 filter.

User: baldbear
Post Number: 243, 246, 248
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: Foxconn 760GXK8MC-RS Socket 754
Comments: AD1988 soundchip. Again raises the karaoke issue. Claims bitperfect.

User: MikeSM
Post Number: 250, 269
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: ABit AT832X (alc882d)
Comments: Claims bit perfect and autoswitching

User: saeba1
Post Number: 255
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: Transit USB.
Comments: Cracking sound on switching

User: Openwheelracing
Post Number: 268, 270
OS: mce2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec: Asus A8R32 MVP Deluxe (ACL882)
Comments: Used 1.47 Realtek driver, and does not have auto-lock, but claims bitperfect. WAV volume must be at max. Claims better sound quality over Soundstorm NF2.

User:
Post Number:
OS: MCE2005
Motherboard/Soundcard/Codec:
Comments:

[voranand]

db298 you missed some recent ones like twisted_oak's post no. 302 and chung_chang's post no. 311.

[openwheelracing]

update:

I am on Vista Ultimate now. ALC882 (Asus A8R32 MVP Deluxe) still plays DTS 44.1khz....Using any version of the compatible drivers on www.realtek.com.tw

Auto switches to 48khz when playing regular DD and DTS.

CDs sound great to my ears (Onix X series speakers and Panasonic x-55 class-D receiver). As far as bit-perfect, I've read conflicting answers for the Vista platform.

[chung_chang]

Great post db298! See if you can PM Ad-Rok to have him include your post. The Mce 2005 Faq sticky (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=465419) has a direct link to Ad-Rok's post here (post #22) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7200938&&#post7200938).

[voranand]

So, I just replaced it with Biostar TF7050-M2 with onboard ALC888 using latest Realtek audio driver. Bit-perfect works perfectly and still auto-switches between 44 and 48khz without any fuss.


The distributor here told me Abit AN-M2HD used ALC888 so this is really good news.

[etrounce]

I had bit-perfect working OK under XP using the ALC880 on my K8NGM2-FID, but I'm giving Vista a try for various reasons. I had heard that bit perfect was supposed to be easier under Vista, but now I'm not so sure. I'd appreciate someone answering the following:
1. Are we in the same boat under Vista with regards to audio chipsets? Meaning you need an ALC88* (or others that gave bit perfect under XP)?
2. Do I need to install the Realtek drivers to get bit-perfect?

So far I haven't installed the Realtek drivers, however I'm getting PCM, DD and DTS working fine. I just can't play a DTS .wav which indicates no bit-perfect yet. Other than that, I'm finding that sometimes the automatic switching between DD/DTS and PCM doesn't happen immediately, sometimes it takes several seconds in the new mode to switch.

trounce

[voranand]

I had bit-perfect working OK under XP using the ALC880 on my K8NGM2-FID, but I'm giving Vista a try for various reasons. I had heard that bit perfect was supposed to be easier under Vista, but now I'm not so sure. I'd appreciate someone answering the following:
1. Are we in the same boat under Vista with regards to audio chipsets? Meaning you need an ALC88* (or others that gave bit perfect under XP)?
2. Do I need to install the Realtek drivers to get bit-perfect?

So far I haven't installed the Realtek drivers, however I'm getting PCM, DD and DTS working fine. I just can't play a DTS .wav which indicates no bit-perfect yet. Other than that, I'm finding that sometimes the automatic switching between DD/DTS and PCM doesn't happen immediately, sometimes it takes several seconds in the new mode to switch.

trounce

AFAIK, bit-perfect will not work with Vista.

[drogulus]

I can't get bit perfect to work in Vista, either. I had it working in MCE with the Realtek audio, but when I select 16/44.1 as default in the Audio Manager I can't get the surroundtest files to play, just the usual noise. If anyone has gotten this to work in Vista, please let us know.

[IndieRockSteve]

Vista = another reason I run linux...

that said, I just found out that the ALC chip in my Myth frontend is not 24bit capable. Good thing I was planning on buying a new motherboard, and luckily the one i chose does!

[openwheelracing]

I can't get bit perfect to work in Vista, either. I had it working in MCE with the Realtek audio, but when I select 16/44.1 as default in the Audio Manager I can't get the surroundtest files to play, just the usual noise. If anyone has gotten this to work in Vista, please let us know.

I can play the surroundtest file (DTS 44.1khz) in Vista just fine. Realtek ALC882 (Asus A8R32- MVP Deluxe).

[drogulus]

I can play the surroundtest file (DTS 44.1khz) in Vista just fine. Realtek ALC882 (Asus A8R32- MVP Deluxe).

This is very interesting. I have the ALC888, which should be able to do it, too. However, according to the Vista Audio Processing (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=713073&page=1&pp=30) thread, the upsampling that is done to everything makes this impossible without an application that uses Exclusive Mode, which doesn't include players like Winamp, iTunes, and others which used to work on XP. Perhaps this info is out of date?

Could you tell me how you got it working, settings in Audio Manager or elsewhere?

Edit: I've tried both the 167 and 170 drivers from Realtek.

[Donald24]

No problem with my ALC888D.

Try to select 24bit/44.1khz and use foobar2000 at 100% max volume (every volume slider dealing with has to be at 100%)
Then work your way up with different apps.

I only use Foobar2K, so I don't care bout M$ Mediaplayer or WinAmp :)

[lurpak]

Hi, someone out there knows if CMI9880 can output bitperfect @ 44.1KHz?
Trying with foobar with ks or asio but no way... it's locked @ 48KHz
Thank you!

Edit:
I have an Asus P5AD2-E Premium w/XP

[lymzy]

I can play the surroundtest file (DTS 44.1khz) in Vista just fine. Realtek ALC882 (Asus A8R32- MVP Deluxe).

Interesting, what player do you use? Thanks.

[openwheelracing]

Vista Media Center as well as Media Player 11

I received a Elton John DTS CD (Good Bye Yellow Brick Road 5.1) and it plays perfectly as well. The sound gets mixed if I toggle between menus though. As long as I don't toggle between menus or do anything else, it plays 44.1khz DTS files perfectly.

My setup is very simple. ALC882 digital out to receiver. Set 24bit 44.1khz and all volume max. Same setting I had with MCE2005.

[lymzy]

Vista Media Center as well as Media Player 11

I received a Elton John DTS CD (Good Bye Yellow Brick Road 5.1) and it plays perfectly as well. The sound gets mixed if I toggle between menus though. As long as I don't toggle between menus or do anything else, it plays 44.1khz DTS files perfectly.

My setup is very simple. ALC882 digital out to receiver. Set 24bit 44.1khz and all volume max. Same setting I had with MCE2005.

Thanks. So bit perfect under Vista doesn't necessarily require exclusive mode? That would be fantastic if true. :)

[TommyV]

I've got the Abit AN-M2 HD which has the Realtek ALC888. I went into the SPDIF settings and changed the sample rate to 44.1. It auto switches to DD/DTS 48 and defaults on 44.1 now. Does this solution bypass the kmixer? When I put in an HDCD my receiver does not detect it so I am assuming there is still something going on with 2ch signals and is not a true bitstream output.

[Frisootje]

I've read through this thread out of curiosity, deciding whether to go with mainboard audio or not.

I'm curious as to why nobody mentions Creative Audigy cards on here. In my MCE HTPC I have a cheap Audigy 4 soundcard. When you use the latest driver from the Creative website, it will not install all the usual Creative bloatware but will only give you drivers and a simple control program called AudioConsole.

On AudioConsole, there is a tab called 'bit-accurate'. You can simply check the boxes to get bit accurate SPDIF recording and/or playback. On the 'decoder' tab you select 'use external dd and dts decoding' and you're all set. It works perfectly; you can even set the 'default' samplerate. I can see my receiver getting this default rate when nothing is playing, and then it switches to 44.1 kHz for CD PCM tracks, to 48 kHz for other sounds and to DTS and DD when it needs to. Playback of all the Swedish radio DTS demos works perfectly from MCE.

This is a very good and inexpensive solution IMHO. The card will of course also give you the usual Audigy stuff like EAX on the 7.1 analog outs (or 2-channel PCM) for gaming. I also bought the little 'Digital I/O' gizmo from the Creative webshop which provides both optical and coaxial inputs and outputs for the card.

One minor problem is that the 'bit-accurate' setting is not permanent. It survives S3 suspend, but not a reboot. I solved this with a simple AutoIt script, that runs when the machine boots and simply calls the AudioConsole, checks the boxes and exits. Foolproof.

[openwheelracing]

That's interesting indeed.....have you tested if you can hear a difference?

[Mad Chemist]

I've read through this thread out of curiosity, deciding whether to go with mainboard audio or not.

I'm curious as to why nobody mentions Creative Audigy cards on here. In my MCE HTPC I have a cheap Audigy 4 soundcard. When you use the latest driver from the Creative website, it will not install all the usual Creative bloatware but will only give you drivers and a simple control program called AudioConsole.

On AudioConsole, there is a tab called 'bit-accurate'. You can simply check the boxes to get bit accurate SPDIF recording and/or playback. On the 'decoder' tab you select 'use external dd and dts decoding' and you're all set. It works perfectly; you can even set the 'default' samplerate. I can see my receiver getting this default rate when nothing is playing, and then it switches to 44.1 kHz for CD PCM tracks, to 48 kHz for other sounds and to DTS and DD when it needs to. Playback of all the Swedish radio DTS demos works perfectly from MCE.

This is a very good and inexpensive solution IMHO. The card will of course also give you the usual Audigy stuff like EAX on the 7.1 analog outs (or 2-channel PCM) for gaming. I also bought the little 'Digital I/O' gizmo from the Creative webshop which provides both optical and coaxial inputs and outputs for the card.

One minor problem is that the 'bit-accurate' setting is not permanent. It survives S3 suspend, but not a reboot. I solved this with a simple AutoIt script, that runs when the machine boots and simply calls the AudioConsole, checks the boxes and exits. Foolproof.

Does the device auto switch? Do you have to change any settings when you play music in "bit-accurate" mode and then watch a DVD with Dolby digital?

[RG_Uwanna]

I have the MSI P35 Platnium with the Realtek HD888 and a Yamaha HTR5740 connected thru Toslink.
I am getting bit perfect while playing everything but DTS thu MCE and MP10. PowerDVD will play the DTS "soundtest" file bit perfect but not MP10.

I know I must be missing something but I can not find what it is.

Any ideas?

Thanks

[rajdude]

I have an Audigy 2 ZS card . Crappy unstable software I must say ! I hate creative.

That said....I also have that bit perfect checkbox. But in my Audio Console that is ONLY for recording. Are you sure yours mentions playback there too? Mine does NOT say playback.

I have tried checking it or unchecking it, nothing happens.
The output is NOT betperfect either.

My card may be defective but it does not output digital out via its spdif jack properly. I have an tntire thread about it here.

I've read through this thread out of curiosity, deciding whether to go with mainboard audio or not.

I'm curious as to why nobody mentions Creative Audigy cards on here. In my MCE HTPC I have a cheap Audigy 4 soundcard. When you use the latest driver from the Creative website, it will not install all the usual Creative bloatware but will only give you drivers and a simple control program called AudioConsole.

On AudioConsole, there is a tab called 'bit-accurate'. You can simply check the boxes to get bit accurate SPDIF recording and/or playback. On the 'decoder' tab you select 'use external dd and dts decoding' and you're all set. It works perfectly; you can even set the 'default' samplerate. I can see my receiver getting this default rate when nothing is playing, and then it switches to 44.1 kHz for CD PCM tracks, to 48 kHz for other sounds and to DTS and DD when it needs to. Playback of all the Swedish radio DTS demos works perfectly from MCE.

This is a very good and inexpensive solution IMHO. The card will of course also give you the usual Audigy stuff like EAX on the 7.1 analog outs (or 2-channel PCM) for gaming. I also bought the little 'Digital I/O' gizmo from the Creative webshop which provides both optical and coaxial inputs and outputs for the card.

One minor problem is that the 'bit-accurate' setting is not permanent. It survives S3 suspend, but not a reboot. I solved this with a simple AutoIt script, that runs when the machine boots and simply calls the AudioConsole, checks the boxes and exits. Foolproof.

[Frisootje]

To answer the questions you guys had (months too late, haven't checked the forums lately):

@MadChemist: yes, it auto switches. Bit-accurate has to be bit-accurate after all. The card simply uses no 'intelligence' whatsoever, it throws the digital input from the computer straight onto the S/PDIF port. I can see my Yamaha receiver switch formats and bitrates as necessary. No fiddling with the settings necessary.

@Rajdude: About the crappy software from Creative - I hear you man. And I totally agree. But you shouldn't install all that stuff. Use the latest driver set from the Creative support website. The same driver package I'm using with the Audigy 4 also runs on the 2ZS (I have both cards). All you get then is the drivers themselves and one program called AudioConsole. And that setup is rock solid. I've been running it for months and it can survive hundreds of standby/wake-up runs (more than XP).

@Rajdude: Yes I'm certain I have bit-accurate checkboxes for both recording and playback. The checkbox on top is for recording, then there's a box describing the input signal, and underneath that is a checkbox for bit-accurate playback. I would include a screenshot but I'm not at the MCE machine right now.

@Rajdude: My Audigy4 had stuttering when playing back AC3 files. This usually means that it's not getting data fast enough or the data doesn't get to the receiver properly.

In the first case, the soundcard buffers empty before it gets new data. Two things you can do to cure this: moving the card to a PCI slot where the interrupt isn't shared (or is shared by an onboard device that you can switch off) *or* changing the PCI latency setting in the BIOS. This is the maximum number of clock cycles during which a PCI card can 'lock' the bus for its own use. Many boards have that setting at 64 nowadays, but as soundcards use small buffers the audio could cut out because of that. In that case, switch it to 32 cycles. The latency setting did the trick for me.

The second problem could be electrical. The digital output jack of the Audigy cards tends to overload the digital coaxial circuits in some amplifiers. Best bet is to buy the digital input/output thingy from Creative, it gives you both coaxial and optical I/O. I bought it and switched to optical so my computer would not be connected electrically to the receiver. However, that gizmo is not available for the 2ZS I believe. There were companies out there that made little I/O cards for that series though, see whether they come up on Ebay maybe - or there may be stock left somewhere.

It may sound like a hassle but in my case I was fine with it. Having bit-perfect audio in MCE2005 is worth it IMO.

[rajdude]

Hey, thanks for reponding! I will look into installing drivers for Audigy 2ZS and report back.

Recently I have moved on to Vista. Are you running Vista?

To answer the questions you guys had (months too late, haven't checked the forums lately):

@MadChemist: yes, it auto switches. Bit-accurate has to be bit-accurate after all. The card simply uses no 'intelligence' whatsoever, it throws the digital input from the computer straight onto the S/PDIF port. I can see my Yamaha receiver switch formats and bitrates as necessary. No fiddling with the settings necessary.

@Rajdude: About the crappy software from Creative - I hear you man. And I totally agree. But you shouldn't install all that stuff. Use the latest driver set from the Creative support website. The same driver package I'm using with the Audigy 4 also runs on the 2ZS (I have both cards). All you get then is the drivers themselves and one program called AudioConsole. And that setup is rock solid. I've been running it for months and it can survive hundreds of standby/wake-up runs (more than XP).

@Rajdude: Yes I'm certain I have bit-accurate checkboxes for both recording and playback. The checkbox on top is for recording, then there's a box describing the input signal, and underneath that is a checkbox for bit-accurate playback. I would include a screenshot but I'm not at the MCE machine right now.

@Rajdude: My Audigy4 had stuttering when playing back AC3 files. This usually means that it's not getting data fast enough or the data doesn't get to the receiver properly.

In the first case, the soundcard buffers empty before it gets new data. Two things you can do to cure this: moving the card to a PCI slot where the interrupt isn't shared (or is shared by an onboard device that you can switch off) *or* changing the PCI latency setting in the BIOS. This is the maximum number of clock cycles during which a PCI card can 'lock' the bus for its own use. Many boards have that setting at 64 nowadays, but as soundcards use small buffers the audio could cut out because of that. In that case, switch it to 32 cycles. The latency setting did the trick for me.

The second problem could be electrical. The digital output jack of the Audigy cards tends to overload the digital coaxial circuits in some amplifiers. Best bet is to buy the digital input/output thingy from Creative, it gives you both coaxial and optical I/O. I bought it and switched to optical so my computer would not be connected electrically to the receiver. However, that gizmo is not available for the 2ZS I believe. There were companies out there that made little I/O cards for that series though, see whether they come up on Ebay maybe - or there may be stock left somewhere.

It may sound like a hassle but in my case I was fine with it. Having bit-perfect audio in MCE2005 is worth it IMO.

[Ad-Rok]

To answer the questions you guys had (months too late, haven't checked the forums lately):

@MadChemist: yes, it auto switches. Bit-accurate has to be bit-accurate after all. The card simply uses no 'intelligence' whatsoever, it throws the digital input from the computer straight onto the S/PDIF port. I can see my Yamaha receiver switch formats and bitrates as necessary. No fiddling with the settings necessary.

@Rajdude: About the crappy software from Creative - I hear you man. And I totally agree. But you shouldn't install all that stuff. Use the latest driver set from the Creative support website. The same driver package I'm using with the Audigy 4 also runs on the 2ZS (I have both cards). All you get then is the drivers themselves and one program called AudioConsole. And that setup is rock solid. I've been running it for months and it can survive hundreds of standby/wake-up runs (more than XP).

@Rajdude: Yes I'm certain I have bit-accurate checkboxes for both recording and playback. The checkbox on top is for recording, then there's a box describing the input signal, and underneath that is a checkbox for bit-accurate playback. I would include a screenshot but I'm not at the MCE machine right now.

@Rajdude: My Audigy4 had stuttering when playing back AC3 files. This usually means that it's not getting data fast enough or the data doesn't get to the receiver properly.

In the first case, the soundcard buffers empty before it gets new data. Two things you can do to cure this: moving the card to a PCI slot where the interrupt isn't shared (or is shared by an onboard device that you can switch off) *or* changing the PCI latency setting in the BIOS. This is the maximum number of clock cycles during which a PCI card can 'lock' the bus for its own use. Many boards have that setting at 64 nowadays, but as soundcards use small buffers the audio could cut out because of that. In that case, switch it to 32 cycles. The latency setting did the trick for me.

The second problem could be electrical. The digital output jack of the Audigy cards tends to overload the digital coaxial circuits in some amplifiers. Best bet is to buy the digital input/output thingy from Creative, it gives you both coaxial and optical I/O. I bought it and switched to optical so my computer would not be connected electrically to the receiver. However, that gizmo is not available for the 2ZS I believe. There were companies out there that made little I/O cards for that series though, see whether they come up on Ebay maybe - or there may be stock left somewhere.

It may sound like a hassle but in my case I was fine with it. Having bit-perfect audio in MCE2005 is worth it IMO.

Another bit-perfect MCE2005 solution! Awesome!

I have edited my post here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7200938#post7200938) (linked from the MCE 2005 FAQ) to reflect your findings.

Thanks :-)

Best,
Adam

[alk3997]

Another bit-perfect MCE2005 solution! Awesome!

I have edited my post here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7200938#post7200938) (linked from the MCE 2005 FAQ) to reflect your findings.

Thanks :-)

Best,
Adam


Just wanted to pass along a thanks to everyone who has provided information in this thread. I have an MCE2005 home-grown system and wanted to use it for DTS-CD playback (as well as regular CDs).

I tried the following (which were available at the local Fry's):
SoundBlaster X-Fi
Diamond Xtremesound 7.1
Turtle Beach Montego DDL

None of these provided bit perfect output with MCE. The Turtle Beach was really annoying since their website provides two different answers as to whether it will work. I only read the "affirmative" answer before buying the card. Luckily Fry's has a good return policy.

After reading and re-reading this thread, I ordered a refurbished (only thing available) SoundBlaster Audigy 4 from Creative's web site. I also ordered a new SoundBlaster Digital I/O Module, which is needed for standard S/PDIF output. I installed the card yesterday and selected "bit perfect playback". The DTS-CD I had transferred to the hard drive played perfectly. Really pleased!

So again my thanks to everyone who has appended and particularly the summary on page 3. I still have one issue where the bit-perfect setting is being reset (after a reboot) but I'm sure the answer is somewhere here.

[alk3997]

I've read through this thread out of curiosity, deciding whether to go with mainboard audio or not.

...

One minor problem is that the 'bit-accurate' setting is not permanent. It survives S3 suspend, but not a reboot. I solved this with a simple AutoIt script, that runs when the machine boots and simply calls the AudioConsole, checks the boxes and exits. Foolproof.


I'm hoping someone is still reading this thread. I have setup AutoIt to startup and check the 'bit accurate' box during boot-up. I've compiled the script and the .exe is run at startup. Unfortunately, Windows start-ups are asynchronous, so every so often the script doesn't complete before another start-up program steals the "focus" from the AudioConsole. This causes AutoIt to not complete checking the check box before the MCE console starts (and in this situation the script never checks the checkbox because the action goes to the MCE console).

It happens maybe one time out of 10 boots but it is annoying when it does. I'm using tabs, arrow keys and space bar movements (to check the box) with the AutoIt script. Is there a better way to do the checkbox or is there a registry location I should be using for the start-up routine?

BTW, I have contacted Creative and they were clueless the first two times. The third time I was finally frustrated enough that they actually took the complaint seriously. They have been able to reproduce the problem and have forwarded it to engineering. I have my doubts I'll hear anything but you never know.