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WHY WONT YOU PLAY THROUGH MY SPEAKERS!!! (surround sound and PC = issues)
Gleve
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey. I have a surround sound system that I have conneceted to my PC via an optical cable, but it won't play in 5.1. All I'm getting at the moment is 2.1
I have realtek AC'97 sound card, and my panasonic surround sound is state of the art. If you could suggest anything to fix the issue, or let me know how to find out if my system is capable of running it.
I wants to play modern warfare 2....
I have realtek AC'97 sound card, and my panasonic surround sound is state of the art. If you could suggest anything to fix the issue, or let me know how to find out if my system is capable of running it.
I wants to play modern warfare 2....
Gleve on
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If that's the case, any old discrete sound card from up to 5 years ago (probably more) that fits in any of your PCs slots (PCI or PCI-E) should support 5.1 through the optical-out.
actually, relatively few modern motherboards with onboard sound actually output 5.1 through the optical out.
only a few do, and you have to look at the features to make absolutely sure the onboard sound can process 5.1 out of the optical.
it's one of the ways MB makers market their boards, by claiming optical out as a feature but not including the more expensive parts for actual 5.1 optical out.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
On my motherboard at least, it does 5.1, but only if a 5.1 source is actually playing.
So like, when I did the little speaker test in windows it went around the room, but when I played mp3 files in wmp, it did not come out of every speaker.
Time for a new sound card if I want to play mod war 2 in surround I'm thinking.... Sigh.... thanks anyway!
The easiest thing to do is get 3 "3.5 to RCA" cables, this will give you 5.1.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=5598&seq=1&format=2
Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but it has been my understanding that a 3.5mm cable can come in a few varieties, either mono or stereo, the particular cable you linked to is stereo, and while his receiver might give him sound from all speakers in an "extended stereo" mode, I fail to see how stereo sound (left and right analog channels) is going to equate to five audio channels and a separate bass channel.
If his receiver doesn't support the audio format he's using, he should probably just change the audio format to one that his receiver can understand.
OP.
The exact model of receiver you have,and an example game you're having trouble with would be helpful here.
If your computer has an optical out it'll be capable of 5.1. There will be 3 3.5 outputs in the back of your computer. One for L/R front, one for L/R back, and one for center/sub. Your receiver will have a section for plugging in RCA cables for each speaker. This will give the surround you're looking for in games.
That first cable I linked may not fit 3 in a row on a computer, I'm looking for a slimmer version.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=665&seq=1&format=2
uh, no.
http://support.asus.com/faq/asus-faq.aspx?no=B2A2F2F2-F3C8-0494-43EE-4B1AF0C54951&SLanguage=en-us
the problem is in the hardware. the actual hardware necessary to properly decode a 5.1 channel signal for optical out is simply not included on some motherboard designs. like i said, motherboard manufacturers do this to be able to market their mobos as having onboard audio with optical out, but save money by not including the relatively expensive 5.1 decoding hardware for the optical.
if you're in the market for a motherboard with onboard audio and 5.1 optical out, make sure the onboard audio actually has the decoding hardware for Dolby Digital Live or DTS-Connect.
otherwise, your on board audio should have separate 1/8in jack connectors which will work fine for 5.1 surround sound, provided you have the speakers or receiver which can take 1/8in connections. this will usually be in the form of three connections, one for the two front speakers, one for the two back speakers, and one for the center and sub.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
He's wrong about the optical = surround bit, but he's not completely off base on the idea with the splitters.
If the receiver has an "external in" it would be able to accept the surround sound in that format. he would just need 3 of those splitters, one to split front left/right one to split surround left/right and one to split sub/center out of the black green and orange ports on the sound card.
If a person wants to run 5.1 through optical they want something with dolby encoding capabilities, not decoding.
With regards to the 3x cables, my surround sound won't allow me to send via this method. I can only connect it via optical for some reason....
My Motherboard is the A8N-SLI standard motherboard.
I just tried to use the HDMI connection from my graphics card to the system, but the HDMI connection on the surround sound is an out, not an in, and the only other connection available is the optical, which is plain not working.
With all that information, please help me! if not, tell me which sound card to buy!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829118109
People assume that because their games can be played in surround sound through their computer speakers, they can automatically be played in surround sound through their integrated optical port. I would say that is probably the biggest misunderstanding gamers who know hardware suffer from these days.
Unfortunately, for those who are wondering, I'm not sure if there's a way to encode the sound using that sound card (or any other card) and THEN send it over the HDMI on a video card, so I think for now we are stuck with two cables no matter what for HD video and surround sound coming out of a PC.
PSN: TheScrublet
Thanks!