SPDIF Coaxial out problems

Ino

Hello,

sorry for my englisch. I try you too explane my probleme i hope you can understand that.


My System:
Windows 7
Audigy 2 ZS with newest KX Driver

The Audigy has a SPDIF Out. I connect the SPDIF Out with my Receiver. But i habe only Stereo Sound. And movies with AC-3 and so i hear Stereo Sound.

My Receiver can DTS, Dolby Digital and more this is not the problem


Can you help me please

Russ

I am not sure if AC3 passthru is currently supported in Windows 7, but normally you would just set your DVD software to output to SPDIF, and enable AC3 passthru in kxmixer.

Ino

I can't enable AC-3 Passthruu in the kxmixer.

It is set on OFF i have no option to set it ON.

Then i play music its all ok.

But then i play a movie with VLC or Media Player Classic i hear nothing i play with the settings but i have no sound.

My windows 7 is a x64

cbreaker

The reason this happens is because Windows won't encode things to AC-3, and Coax/Optical doesn't have enough bandwidth for uncompressed multichannel audio, nor is it even in spec. So, like when you play games and such, when using digital outputs, you'll never get surround sound unless the game itself encodes to AC-3 (which I've never seen.)

But, you can usually get your media player type applications to work by forcing them to pass through the digital audio. They will basically just send the raw digital data out the SPDIF and leave it up to whatever you have plugged into it to decode the audio. This has traditionally worked well for me. I never really had to do anything special in the KX software to make this happen. If you are unable to enable AC-3 passthrough this may be a problem but for me I guess it was always enabled, or something.

I'm looking at one of Creative's new cards on the market that will do real-time encoding to AC-3 which would allow any receiver that can do Dolby Digital to have full surround sound in games and everything else because it will present itself as a multichannel output to the operating system. I've been waiting for something like this for a very long time. I wonder if it works well.

Russ

There is no specific 'ON' option to choose from (but any setting that is not 'OFF' would imply 'ON'), rather you choose which SPDIF output to use for AC3 passthru.

Ino

@cbreaker With original creative driver. You can use ac-3, dolby digital what ever its work fine over coxial.

@russ I will poste a screen from my setting maybe its just a little option i have to change.

cbreaker

I was under the impression that the SB Live! (10k1) doesn't have Vista drivers from Creative, and forget about Vista x64. At least, that's how it was a few years ago and it doesn't appear that Creative has remedied the situation.

Russ

It should be just a matter of choosing SPDIF 0 (or whichever SPDIF output is correct for your card and the cable you are using) from the "Toggle 'AC-3 Passthru' mode" combo box, and configuring your DVD playback software to output to SPDIF.

But again, I do not know whether or not it is currently supported in Windows 7.

Ino

Passthru is off.

I can't set it ON

Ino

Do you think i can't set it on because windows 7 ?

Russ

It is possible, but really I do not know. I have never used Windows 7 and you have not given us any new info.

Ino

Hmm so i install the Creative Beta Driver.

I set the Passthru Option. And musik works well.

Later i will testing the 5.1 Output.

I will tell you later if you want to know this

Russ

OK, I think I understand now (thanks to another post)... You are saying that the "Toggle 'AC-3 Passthru' mode" combo box lists only "OFF" and nothing else (usually it shows OFF, SPDIF0, SPDIF1, etc (but not "ON")? If that is the case, that would seem to be a bug related to Windows 7 (and possibly Vista).

Note: It is not like that for me on Windows XP.

Ino

Ok thre creative driver works well.

The sound is ok.

@russ yes you have right.

I have no other option. Just OFF

I post this problem in the bug thread.

maybe in the future an update will fix the problem