[Tsantsa]

I am planning an HTPC build in the next couple of months. My current setup work just fine but is starting to show it's age (around 4 years) and doesn't work too well for the current crop of games.


My current HTPC will play surround from video via optical cable to my AVR just fine from the onboard RealTek audio. Unfortunately some (if not most) games don't work this way. For my next build, I want to make sure I can get surround sound from not just video but from games as well. What's the best way to do this? I see most vid cards have HDMI output, but does that include a way to pump the audio through that cable as well? I plan on putting a 3d Blu Ray drive in the new build so I'd want to be able to pump TrueHD and dtsHD signals to the AVR as well.


I haven't kept up with some of the new tech of late so I'm a bit lost on how to accomplish this. Any help, or links explaining a setup, would truly be appreciated.

 

[renethx]


Gaming sounds are multichannel LPCM and every modern graphics card supports it over HDMI.

 

[Tsantsa]



Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx  /t/1418320/planning-a-build-sound-question#post_22182654


Gaming sounds are multichannel LPCM and every modern graphics card supports it over HDMI.

So no need for a separate sound card or the like?

 

[renethx]


If you use a HDMI AVR, you don't need a separate sound card.

 

For a pre-HDMI AVR, you have to use a S/PDIF sound card with Dolby Digital Live or DTS Interactive (that encodes multichannel LPCM to DD or DTS on the fly). If your AVR has multichannel audio input connectors, you can also use a multichannel analog sound card.

 

[Tsantsa]



Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx  /t/1418320/planning-a-build-sound-question#post_22182743


If you use a HDMI AVR, you don't need a separate sound card.


For a pre-HDMI AVR, you have to use a S/PDIF sound card with Dolby Digital Live or DTS Interactive (that encodes multichannel LPCM to DD or DTS on the fly). If your AVR has multichannel audio input connectors, you can also use a multichannel analog sound card.

I have HDMI on my AVR, so it sounds good. Thanks for the help.