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1) Pass the AC3/DTS signal to a external decoder.
5 A$ d8 J4 a' c+ c, QThis is where your optical/coax connection is used. To go down this route, you must first have a set of speakers or a decoder that supports Dolby Digital. In your DVD software, select 'SPDIF' as the audio output method and 'SPDIF Pass-through' in your soundcard options. What this does is tells both the software and soundcard to leave the audio from the DVD in compressed form and send it straight through the digital outputs. Your digital speakers/receiver will do all the decoding to give you full surround sound. Please note that this is the only way to get 6 channels through an optical/coax cable.
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2) Decode the AC3/DTS with your Sound Blaster.
2 U# D. j$ K7 l2 NYou should choose this option if you don't have an external decoder. In the DVD software, select 'SPDIF' as the audio output method and make sure that 'SPDIF Pass-through' in the souncard options is off. The DVD software will now pass the compressed audio to your soundcard, which will then decode the data. The soundcard will output the 6 channels using the analogue connections (or digital DIN, more on this later). If you try to use a digital optical/coax connection to your speakers, you will only hear faint sounds from the front left/right speakers.
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3) Decode the AC3/DTS with software.
$ Q! [- o; [: }4 MIf you have a soundcard that doesn't support Dolby Digital (like the SB Live! 24-bit) and you don't have digital speakers, the only way for you to get surround sound in movies is to use software to decode the AC3/DTS. The free versions of DVD software you get with hardware often don't support this feature, you will most likely need a full version. First select 'Dolby Digital' or 'DTS' decoding in the DVD software audio options (you must select the right sound format for the movie you are watching). Then make sure that 'SPDIF Pass-through' in the soundcard options is off. As with method (2) you must connect your speakers with the 3 analogue cables, not optical/coax. |
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