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5.1 Surround Sound with MKV files

post #1 of 23
4/14/09 at 3:37pm
Thread Starter 
How would someone be able to play a .mkv file on their computer in 5.1 surround sound? Is one 720p/1080p .mkv file different than another with regards to the audio? In other words, can one .mkv file play 5.1 while another can not?
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post #2 of 23
4/14/09 at 4:52pm
720p and 1080p have nothing to do with the audio. The person who ripped and encoded the file might not have ripped the 5.1 audio track. I would download MediaInfo and see what type audio it has.
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post #3 of 23
4/14/09 at 5:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wicked Klown View Post

720p and 1080p have nothing to do with the audio. The person who ripped and encoded the file might not have ripped the 5.1 audio track. I would download MediaInfo and see what type audio it has.

I can't 5.1 sound working at all after reformatting....
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post #4 of 23
4/14/09 at 5:54pm
Thread Starter 
i completely understand that vertical resolution has nothing to do with audio, however, i thought that hd video was coupled with hd audio (5.1, dts, etc.). Once the type of audio track has been found, and it is 5.1 audio, whats the best way of playing it out of a computer?
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post #5 of 23
4/14/09 at 6:04pm
There are too many variables and you don't give enough information. The type of audio track determines what filter to use to decode it. It also depends on your audio setup. Do you have just a regular set of computer speakers or is your system hooked up to an audio receiver through a digital connection (like HDMI or Optical)? What player are you using to play the file?
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post #6 of 23
4/14/09 at 6:33pm
Thread Starter 
The laptop being used is a Lenovo R60, and the speakers being used are Logitech Z-5500 speakers, the audio track being discussed is DTS, 536 kbps, 48.0 KHz, 6 channels. Is a Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi external surround sound card necessary in order to play the file in 5.1? The laptop has the CCCP and the Media Player Classic is used to play the files. Is getting this sound card the last step, or are there other steps?
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post #7 of 23
4/14/09 at 6:46pm
Use AC3Filter, it decodes DTS audio and you can specify how many speakers to downmix/upmix to which will depend on how many channels out your soundcard has.
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post #8 of 23
4/14/09 at 6:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by elvemr7 View Post

The laptop being used is a Lenovo R60, and the speakers being used are Logitech Z-5500 speakers, the audio track being discussed is DTS, 536 kbps, 48.0 KHz, 6 channels. Is a Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi external surround sound card necessary in order to play the file in 5.1? The laptop has the CCCP and the Media Player Classic is used to play the files. Is getting this sound card the last step, or are there other steps?

No, you do not need to get the audio card. If your laptop has optical out (SPDIF) connect that to your Z-5500 and let the DTS track pass through to your speakers. The Z-5500 speakers system has a built-in DTS decoder.
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post #9 of 23
4/14/09 at 8:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by elvemr7 View Post

however, i thought that hd video was coupled with hd audio (5.1, dts, etc.). ?

HD video can be "coupled" with anything. 1.0 sound, 2.0 sound, 5.1 sound, 7.1 sound, NO sound.....being HD doesn't mean 5.1 sound.

Having the right hardware and software setup is the key to getting 5.1 and higher sound out of your PC. Its as simple as that.
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post #10 of 23
4/14/09 at 8:07pm
If using toslink spdif, use ACFilter
If using HDMI, use FFDShow audio decoder
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post #11 of 23
4/14/09 at 9:25pm
I looked up his laptop and it only has 2ch headphone output. I would take a look at the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1, as it has multi-channel and Toslink out.
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post #12 of 23
6/5/09 at 12:21pm
has anyone else experienced this? I am using a EAH4450 graphics card, checked the realtec settings and can see 5.1, 7.1. I do all the sound tests and each speaker is configured correctly (meaning FL plays the sound in FL and so on and so forth). The weird part is when I am playing an .mkv file with ZOOM Player, the surround for 5.1 is coming from my rear back surrounds instead fo the regular surround speakers. I try playing a BluRay with PowerDVD, and the sound is correctly distributed. Any advice? What other info do I need to provide you with?

Using HTPC to Pioneer VSX 1018 AHK, EAH4550 via HDMI
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post #13 of 23
6/5/09 at 1:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fuhoser View Post

has anyone else experienced this? I am using a EAH4450 graphics card, checked the realtec settings and can see 5.1, 7.1. I do all the sound tests and each speaker is configured correctly (meaning FL plays the sound in FL and so on and so forth). The weird part is when I am playing an .mkv file with ZOOM Player, the surround for 5.1 is coming from my rear back surrounds instead fo the regular surround speakers. I try playing a BluRay with PowerDVD, and the sound is correctly distributed. Any advice? What other info do I need to provide you with?

Using HTPC to Pioneer VSX 1018 AHK, EAH4550 via HDMI

I think this is normal. Use WASAPI exclusive mode (via ReClock) for the correct channel mapping.
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post #14 of 23
6/5/09 at 1:28pm
Thanks! I'll give that a shot.
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post #15 of 23
6/5/09 at 5:47pm
Sorry, how the heck do I get to the exclusive mode for WASAPI? New to wasapi. Any help would be great.
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post #16 of 23
6/5/09 at 9:59pm
Download and install ReClock 1.8.4.5. Launch ReClock Configuration. The following ReClock configuration should be enough for WASAPI exclusive mode.

When you start ZP, you will be asked to launch ReClock; answer 'Yes'. Audio signals from ZP will bypass Windows Audio Engine and you will get correct speaker matching.
LL
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post #17 of 23
6/8/09 at 6:42am
I'll give this a shot, I'll let you know! Thanks for the ongoing help! Did this and I get an error stating "Floating Point Overflow". Any ideas?
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post #18 of 23
6/8/09 at 7:46pm
Slightly OT, but I've got a perfectly good SB Audigy 2 NX (external USB sound "card") that I'm probably never going to use again. I don't believe it can do SPDIF passthrough, but it will most certainly allow you to connect to the Z-5500 via 6-channel analog connections. If you (or anyone else for that matter) are interested, send me a PM.
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post #19 of 23
6/9/09 at 7:12am
I'm looking for a way yo get this to work with my current hardware. There has to be a way. The blu-ray's play corretly through the computer. By the way, using W7 RC as my OS.
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post #20 of 23
6/9/09 at 8:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fragster View Post

If using toslink spdif, use ACFilter
If using HDMI, use FFDShow audio decoder

LOL, why? AC3Filter works great with HDMI. I used it when I was using SPDIF and now I use it with HDMI. Much better than ffdshow, performance-wise.
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post #21 of 23
11/20/09 at 6:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by daMaster View Post

LOL, why? AC3Filter works great with HDMI. I used it when I was using SPDIF and now I use it with HDMI. Much better than ffdshow, performance-wise.

How do I configure AC3Filter to use HDMI for the output?
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post #22 of 23
11/23/09 at 7:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moondust View Post

How do I configure AC3Filter to use HDMI for the output?

You configure AC3Filter to use SPDIF/AS-IS, as you would with Toslink. It's your player that has to send it to the right audio renderer. AC3Filter is the audio decoder that when set to SPDIF leaves the digital stream as-is and passes it on to the renderer. Make sure you select your HDMI audio device as the audio renderer.
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post #23 of 23
11/26/09 at 5:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by daMaster View Post

You configure AC3Filter to use SPDIF/AS-IS, as you would with Toslink. It's your player that has to send it to the right audio renderer. AC3Filter is the audio decoder that when set to SPDIF leaves the digital stream as-is and passes it on to the renderer. Make sure you select your HDMI audio device as the audio renderer.

Ahhh, now I understand. Thanks for the crystalclear explanation!
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