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How can i get opitical output 5.1 out of my HTPC?? HELP!

post #1 of 18
2/28/08 at 10:16am
Thread Starter 
Hi guys i am stuck! I am trying to get optical 5.1 to work out of my pc and i can't seem to get it to work no matter what settings i use. I have the Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series Sound Card, it has a optical in and out. link http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102014 But i can't seem to get it to work with my samsung 5.1 surrond sound. Which has optical in, anyone else have an idea i can get optical to work? Thanks
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post #2 of 18
2/28/08 at 10:21am
Programs like Theatretek require you to pay extra for 5.1 capability.
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post #3 of 18
2/28/08 at 10:26am
Thread Starter 
? i can't even get games to work 5.1 nothing at all. it only reads the two front speakers.
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post #4 of 18
2/28/08 at 10:30am
You likely don't have the Dolby Surround Sound 5.1 codec that comes with programs such as Theatertek and Powerdvd 7.3. If you have anyone of those programs you should be able to play 5.1 content.
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post #5 of 18
2/28/08 at 10:34am
I have a Sound Blaster X-FI XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro Series card with the optional Digital I/O module, but I use the coax instead of the optical connection.

I did have trouble to get it to work at first.
What I did was to create a loopback connection (I connected the spdif output to the spdif input on the digital i/o module), and used soundrecorder to check to see if it was working or not.
I don't remember what exactly I did that got it to work, but I played around with the settings on the SPDIF tab in the creative audio console, and I also had to set the flexijack to digital, instead of microphone in, but that might all be different on your card.

EDIT: Oh, I see you get sound, but you just don't get 5.1.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ahlinspcs View Post

? i can't even get games to work 5.1 nothing at all. it only reads the two front speakers.

If you have that running through optical out to your Samsung, then that's not surprising.
I might be wrong, but I believe the spdif out will only produce 5.1 for Dolby digital / surround or DTS, and not for "normal" bitstreams like sound from games.
At least, that's how my setup behaves.
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post #6 of 18
2/28/08 at 10:42am
Thread Starter 
yeah i can get sound but just no 5.1. Even when i play games half life crysis etc no 5.1 .

All my games have 5.1 support so it couldn't be a codec problem right?
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post #7 of 18
2/28/08 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ahlinspcs View Post

All my games have 5.1 support so it couldn't be a codec problem right?

Not for the games, no, but like I said, I think it just wont do that, I think it'll only send stereo to the optical out for anything that isn't Dolby Digital / Surround or DTS. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on that).
For example, if I remember correctly, I have a 6 channel WAV file that only plays on the front two speakers (connected to an AVR in another room) over SPDIF for me, but it plays 5.1 on my speaker system directly connected to my PC (not using SPDIF).
However, 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS samples do play 5.1 on both my speaker system connected to my PC and over SPDIF connected to my AVR.

For movies however, it could still be a codec problem.
You'd need to have the Dolby Digital (AC3) codec installed, and you would need to have whatever player you use (PowerDVD, Media Player Classic, etc...) set to use SPDIF for it to work.

For example here is just one of the settings needed for Media Player Classic (which I use) to deal with SPDIF correctly:
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post #8 of 18
2/28/08 at 11:30am
Yes it could be a codec problem. Before I purchased Theatertek with the Dolby Surround Plug-In I could not get 5.1 sound using programs such as Vista Media Center.
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post #9 of 18
2/28/08 at 11:45am
Thread Starter 
SO if i get the movies to play 5.1 how would i go about getting games to play 5.1?
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post #10 of 18
2/28/08 at 11:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ahlinspcs View Post

yeah i can get sound but just no 5.1. Even when i play games half life crysis etc no 5.1 .

All my games have 5.1 support so it couldn't be a codec problem right?

Ok, you will not get 5.1 sound from games through a Creative sound card using an optical digital connection to your receiver. Only by using the analog outputs (three 1/8" mini jacks) will you get 5.1 sound in games.

The only sound you will get in 5.1 over an optical connection with Creative cards are movies or audio files that are encoded with actual Dolby Digital or DTS. In this case the card simply passes the digital 5.1 sound signal to the receiver for processing.
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post #11 of 18
2/28/08 at 1:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ESPNSTI View Post

Not for the games, no, but like I said, I think it just wont do that, I think it'll only send stereo to the optical out for anything that isn't Dolby Digital / Surround or DTS. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on that).
For example, if I remember correctly, I have a 6 channel WAV file that only plays on the front two speakers (connected to an AVR in another room) over SPDIF for me, but it plays 5.1 on my speaker system directly connected to my PC (not using SPDIF).
However, 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS samples do play 5.1 on both my speaker system connected to my PC and over SPDIF connected to my AVR.

For movies however, it could still be a codec problem.
You'd need to have the Dolby Digital (AC3) codec installed, and you would need to have whatever player you use (PowerDVD, Media Player Classic, etc...) set to use SPDIF for it to work.

For example here is just one of the settings needed for Media Player Classic (which I use) to deal with SPDIF correctly:

By following these instructions i got all my movies to work 5.1 !! Thanks a bunch guys.. !!!.
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post #12 of 18
2/28/08 at 1:35pm
Thread Starter 
So how would i go about getting my 5.1 to work with my HTPC for games then? what would i need to buy etc?
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post #13 of 18
2/28/08 at 1:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ahlinspcs View Post

So how would i go about getting my 5.1 to work with my HTPC for games then? what would i need to buy etc?

Use the discrete 5.1 analog connections to your receiver or use a soundcard or motherboard with Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect support (which encode any audio into Dolby Digital or DTS, respectively, in real time).
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post #14 of 18
2/28/08 at 1:56pm
Thread Starter 
??? any links ? lol i am confused.
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post #15 of 18
2/28/08 at 2:58pm
Have you tried searching? I know I personally have participated in at least 5 discussions on this very topic. I would post some links but that would require searching on my part, and I'm not feeling very motivated since it's not my problem.

You need three 1/8" mini jack (headphone plug) to red/white RCA plug cables. These would plug in to the multichannel analog input on your receiver. Unless of course your receiver does not have multichannel analog inputs, which there is a good chance it probably doesn't since its a Samsung. In that case then you would need a different sound card that can encode any source into Dolby Digital or DTS signals on the fly, which is what sphere31459 is talking about.
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post #16 of 18
2/28/08 at 4:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justmtnb44 View Post

Have you tried searching? I know I personally have participated in at least 5 discussions on this very topic. I would post some links but that would require searching on my part, and I'm not feeling very motivated since it's not my problem.

You need three 1/8" mini jack (headphone plug) to red/white RCA plug cables. These would plug in to the multichannel analog input on your receiver. Unless of course your receiver does not have multichannel analog inputs, which there is a good chance it probably doesn't since its a Samsung. In that case then you would need a different sound card that can encode any source into Dolby Digital or DTS signals on the fly, which is what sphere31459 is talking about.


ok on the back on my samsung reciever i have 1 red and 1 white audio in plugs. So all i need is a the 3 1/8 mini jack to red/white rca plug and ill be able to get 5.1 analog?
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post #17 of 18
2/28/08 at 4:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ahlinspcs View Post

ok on the back on my samsung reciever i have 1 red and 1 white audio in plugs. So all i need is a the 3 1/8 mini jack to red/white rca plug and ill be able to get 5.1 analog?

That sounds like a stereo audio input. Check the user manual, you should have a 6-channel direct input. Which would consist of a bank of 6 RCA plugs for front left/right, surround left/right, center, and sub.

As for DDL and DTS Connect do a search, but there are multiple vendors offering sound cards that support one or both. These include ASUS, AuzenTech, Diamond, HT Omega, and a few others.

I would recomend this AuzenTech as it's one of the least expensive of the group with a proven reputation. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829156001
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post #18 of 18
3/21/08 at 12:47am
Over 1 year ago I tried building a HTPC using the Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum. I (and many others) back then were having the same issues discussed here. There were a few that were able to get things working.

I'm not sure how to search back that far.

I seem to remember having to switch something on the SB console to change between movies and games.

I bought the following items from Creative. The PC I was using died before I was able to hook them up and working.

http://us.creative.com/products/prod...&WT.mc_id=3862


http://us.creative.com/products/prod...&WT.mc_id=3862
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