How to get dolby digital from computer?

[fokker]

Hi everybody, I have a philips FR-970 5 channel home theatre receiver and I want to run it off my computer. So, I got a sound card (**** smith envy24) with optical digital out and hooked it up. The receiver, when a digital signal is input detects automatically if it is dolby digital or pro logic and puts itself in that mode, and whenever I try to play anything off the computer its supposedly in pro logic, and it sounds ****e with bugger all bass, a heavy emphasis on the centre channel, and nothing of relevance coming through the surround channels.

Anybody got any suggestions as to what I should try?

thanks

 

[dillweed]

Have you tuned your existing Philips receiver with spl? That may clear up the discrepencies in your various channels.

What sound card do you have?

Just curious what was curse word ( ****e )

 

[SilverMK3]

The problem is that every sound card out there (except for two specific cases) is only capable of either:
a) "passing through" Dolby Digital or DTS information from a DVD or file containing Dolby Digital or DTS data.
b) communicating in stereo LPCM (Linear Pulse Code Modulation) mode which gives you your front Left and Right channels only.

In order to convert all of the sounds from your PC into Dolby Digital so that your receiver can understand the original multichannel mix without having to "guess" at it using Pro-Logic, you need a sound card that has the Dolby Digital Live interactive encoder chip.

There are currently only two sound cards on the market that have this technology:
1) The HDA Digital X-Mystique 7.1 Gold
2) The Turtle Beach Montego DDL

 

[Taifun]

Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS Platinum

From what I can tell from the website, the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum is able to decode DTS and Dobly Digital for playback. The site states that the SPDIF output will send the 5.1 signal.

 

[SilverMK3]

From what I can tell from the website, the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum is able to decode DTS and Dobly Digital for playback. The site states that the SPDIF output will send the 5.1 signal.

Yes, the A2ZS can decode Dolby Digital and DTS, as well as "pass-through" existing DD and DTS content from DVDs and specially encoded video files but it cannot create its own Dolby Digital stream from mp3s, games, etc.

In order to do that, it needs a Dolby Digital encoder. Creative Labs has not announced any intentions of licensing "Dolby Digital Live" or "DTS Connect" in order to do this.

 

[markw]

The key word here is "decode"

From what I can tell from the website, the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum is able to decode DTS and Dobly Digital for playback. The site states that the SPDIF output will send the 5.1 signal.

That means that the source must be in DD/DTS to begin with. If it ain't in DD/DTS format to begin with there's nothing to decode. Kapisch?

How can you have another fluffernutter when you haven't had one?

 

[Taifun]

I fully understand the encoding part, but after re-reading fokker's post I don't see him asking to have non DD/DTS content converted. I also mis-read what SilverMK3 was stating in his reply, thanks for the clarification.

If the content material isn't encoded in these formats, perhaps the best method is to use separate channel input to the receiver (same idea as hooking up an SACD player) I know some games have surround type sound but these take advantage of the specific sound card and software.