my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » The Afterlife   » DVD 5.1 from computer to reciver

Author Topic: DVD 5.1 from computer to reciver Bill Mantz Film Handler Posts: 91 From: Plano, TX Registered: Feb 2001 posted 07-11-2003 02:31 AM                     Dose any one know of a devise that you can hook up to you computer that will decode the 5.1 channel to a home reciver via an optical of coax line to get the full sound from your DVD playing off you computer.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 07-11-2003 03:36 AM                        You can get an Apple G5 Mac computer to do this (it has the digital outs built in) or you can get a very special sound card for your PC with optical and/or coaxial digital out. Hook that up to your receiver and watch away. Of course, the software DVD player you are using must support sending the data out the digital out in raw AC3 or DTS form. Actually I am not sure if any software players support DTS at all.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 07-11-2003 03:55 AM                        Lots of soundcards for PCs can do that, like the AC97 codec found onboard in many complete PCs, various models of the Soundblaster series, and of other manufacturers. Check the Creative Website for info about the Soundblasters. They used to have a model explicitly called Soundblaster 5.1, but I guess that is outdated now. Basically I think it is more difficult these days to find a soundcard without 5.1 than with it. Some soundcards have RCA type outputs which can be configured as analog stereo or coaxial digital (especially on notebooks). Power DVD seems to support dts decoding, but you have to buy it as an upgrade. [ 07-11-2003, 06:55 AM: Message edited by: Michael Schaffer ]  |  IP: Logged Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 07-11-2003 12:04 PM                        A couple of years back M-Audio (MidiMan) got great reviews for their pro audio AP-2496 card. Here's their latest consumer level PCI-based sound card.  |  IP: Logged Bill Mantz Film Handler Posts: 91 From: Plano, TX Registered: Feb 2001 posted 07-11-2003 05:07 PM                     Thanks For the link Paul I found just what I was looking for and not have to switch out sound cards it is pretty much a plug and play unit. http://www.midiman.net/products/consumer/sonica-theater.php Thanks again [ 10-28-2003, 03:35 PM: Message edited by: Bill Mantz ]  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 07-12-2003 08:16 PM                        And how do you get your digital audio data from the PC to that unit?  |  IP: Logged Bill Mantz Film Handler Posts: 91 From: Plano, TX Registered: Feb 2001 posted 07-13-2003 02:24 AM                     If you look at the picture of the unit you will see a USB input and in the Tech Specs you will see that you need a USB port.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 07-13-2003 05:03 AM                        I see. But it looks a bit expensive to me. It has a lot of functions, but for your purpose you might get away with far less by getting a soundcard with digital out.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 07-24-2003 07:55 PM                     PowerDVD XP has DTS pass through support. However, your sound card drivers have got to not monkey around with the bitstream and leave it in raw form. The Augidgy2 card from SoundBlaster is the leading PC card for surround sound audio. Probably the best combination is using an Audigy2 and the new Creative Labs 6.1 speaker system that features on board DTS-ES and Dolby Digital-EX decoding. Reportedly the Audigy2 card can decode DVD-Audio MLP bitstreams. However, I think the coarse nature of computer speakers takes away any sonic advantages held by DVD-A.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 07-24-2003 10:09 PM                        Why would a sound card screw around with the outgoing digital bitstream? It would cost MORE for it to do so, since that would require some sort of task on the card's part.  |  IP: Logged Elena N. Solovyova Film Handler Posts: 44 From: Voronezh, Russia Registered: Feb 2003 posted 07-25-2003 12:56 AM                     At out theatre we use vintage Hollywood Plus DVD decoder card with SPDIF connector. Works perfectly.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.