please help - i need advice

[michalsw]

Hi
Few weeks ago i bought Yamaha RX-V396RDS with DTS and Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic Decoder, i got set of surround speakers - they all work fine on Yamaha`s internal test, but when it comes to playing some music from my PC ( i`m using TOSlink optical wire to connect PC -> Amp ). But as you can probably guess now - i cant force my sound card ( on board Realtek ALC883 7.1 ) to produce 5.1 sound even in DVD movie's where it says there is 5.1 Audio stream.
Usually Yamaha pick ups only stereo from PC - i tried changing DSP programs to DD or DPL - but only forces stereo to be played on 2 rears speakers.
I tried to play DTS audio files in foobar / VLC player , tried playing movies in PowerDVD / WMP still just stereo, weird thing is that during movie playback on Yamaha`s display DD Sign appear - but still just stereo is played.
Can anyone give me some advice how to get 5.1 from my PC ?
Thanks for looking , and for any help given.

 

[markw]

I don't know soundcarda but if this were a DVD player I'd suggest checking your output settings. It sounds like it's outputting PCM, which will yeild stereo sound, but multi-channel DD/DTS require bitstream.

 

[Seth=L]

The program that you use to play DVDs is probably dictating the sound output. Make sure the Dolby Digital/bit-stream output is set to "On" and also check to make sure the card is set for 5.1 and not 2 desktop speakers.

 

[Adam]

I've got the same advice as these fellas - check the software and make sure that you have it set to output the bitstream. I had the same frustration with mine. You might need to set that in both the soundcard and the DVD player.

 

[michalsw]

Thanks for answering
Well i set output in Power Dvd as SPDIF, and it works for the movies - as i said i can see on Yamaha`s screen Dolby Digital indicator is on, but still no joy.
in sound card settings i have selected a 6ch output and enabled spdif ( disabled as default )
My thought was that maybe sound card is not sending proper stream to amplifier - similar problem on Windows Media player.
Thanks again for any advice.
Regards
Mike

 

[MDS]

If the Dolby Digital light on the receiver is on then you are getting DD but it must be 2.0. So if the sound card and media player are sending the full bitstream without processing it, then the problem is either in the receiver settings or you are choosing the 2.0 track from the DVD.

With the disc inserted, make sure you select the DD 5.1 track of the DVD. It is usually the default, but not always.

Make sure the receiver is not set to Stereo and that the digital input format is set to Auto so it can detect the format automatically.