24/192 sound card with both coax and optical? (1 Viewer)

[Parker Clack]

Ken:

Go into Windows Media Player > Tools > Options > DVD and choose the output that you are using. If you are using the S/PDIF output to go to a reciever then enable that.

What software are you using on your PC to playback DVDs and CDs with?

Parker

 

[ChristopherDAC]

It sounds like the "Dolby Digital Live" feature is set up wrong, matrixing and transcoding everything instead of doing a passthrough on stereo and dts material. You will probably have to mess with the Setup options quite a bit -- these things tend to have all kinds of strange defaults.

 

[Ken Burkstrum]

Alright Parker, tell me if this is right if you dont mind. Output is 3/2+SW 5.1 Channel. Should I set it to PCM 24-bit (because the card is 24/96) or PCM 32-bit or PCM Float?

In the PCI 3D Audio Configuration, I have Dolby Digital Live 5.1 Encoding selected under S/PDIF Output. The only other option is PCM 2CH. Then for both of those I have a Digital Audio 96Khz/48Khz/44.1Khz and S/PDIF in loopback options. I have it on Digital Audio 96Khz. I had the Xear 3D DSP mode on before but I just took it off, not sure if it changed anything. When I put it on Xear 3D it gives me a 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter option which I never had selected. Looks like everythings good to go in the PCI 3D Audio Configuration window so the problem's gotta be elsewhere.

It's still turning files with DTS into Dolby Digital in windows media player. I use PowerDVD for DVDs Parker but I haven't used it yet. I have dozens and dozens oh high definition videos, most are Dolby Digital, some are DTS, but they are converted to Dolby Digital according to my reciever. The programs I use to play these vids is windows media player, vlc player and core media player.

 

[Ken Burkstrum]

By the way, I have AC3Filter, and it's settings window is the same thing going to DVD in WMP brings me to. Some setting that may be of interest:

SPDIF passthrow

AC3 (checked)
DTS (checked)
MPEG Audio (checked)

Use AC3Filter for..

PCM (checked)
AC3 (checked)
DTS (checked)
MPEG Audio (checked)
PES (DVD) (checked)

I was wondering why the bass sounded a bit muddy at times, like it was takin on things higher then it was supposed to when the crossover on the sub is set to 80hz. Found a Bass redir: option that was on 120, so I switched it to 80.

I've been to Sound and Audio Devices, been to the Xear 3D control panel, been to volume controls. Went through those and did my best to make sure settings were as they should be. Still, Dolby Digital LIVE sorta overriding everything. Not entirely sure if it's simulated dolby digital or true dolby digital with dolby digital files, it's hard to tell by listening if your not familiar with what your listening to.

EDIT: By the way, in the AC3Filter properties, Theres an Auto Matrix option, I tried with it both on and off, no difference as far as I could tell.

EDIT #2: In WMP I went ahead and selected "Use 24-bit audio for CDs", let me know if that is bad. Now I'm trying to figure out how I accidently made it in WMP so all the vocals are completely gone, didn't even know that was possible because everything else is still comming through the center speaker. Anywho, it wasn't from selecting Use 24-bit audio for CDs though hehe.

EDIT #3: Should I have "Use Direct Sound as default audio renderer" or "Use Wave Out as default Audio renderer" selected?

EDIT #4: Whew! Not sure why the vocals were taken out of my high definition DTS Harry Potter trailer but I ended up getting a blue screen saying something about a critical error. My heart skipped a beat cause that's the same message I got last year when my hard drive died on me. Vocals are back in action in the trailer though, still, I had no idea you could do that. Music and what not was still comming from the center speaker. Everything except people talking.

 

[Parker Clack]

I couldn't get the card to pass DTS until I set up WMP to in the Tools > Options > DVD to use the S/PDIF output. That way everything is streamed directly to my receiver bypassing the internal decoding of the card. All the decoding is handled by my receiver.

At first I didn't think anything was working as it should because my receiver didn't switch to say DTS, DD EX, etc. like it did but once I got the S/PDIF output set right within WMP (I use Windows Media Center to play back my DVDs) everything started to show up as it should on my receiver VFD.

I tried using WinDVD on my system and it was great too but once I dropped out of XP and into Media Center I lost DTS and DD EX and more. I had to uninstall WinDVD and use the NVidia default drivers with WMC and set up WMP to use only the S/PDIF output.

I never have tried using the internal decoders (which is what uses the Dolby Digital Live codec) with this card so I can't comment.

If you are plugging your PC into your receiver and are using the S/PDIF out then set your card either thru WMP or PowerDVD to use only the S/PDIF out and forget about the other settings. Let you receiver do the decoding.

Parker

 

[Chris]

Another card which uses this chipset is the Turtle Beach Montego DDL (TBS-3300-01), also a Dolby Digital Live! card, however, it has a slightly improved driverbase (IMHO). It also offers direct plugins for Windows Media Center 2005.

The cards use the exact same (exact same) Cmedia chipset, so you get almost identical performance. But the MCE2005 plugin with the Montego helps.

 

[Ken Burkstrum]

I don't get it. I clicked disable SPDIF to see what would happen and Harry Potter switches off Dolby Digital and into DTS. With it disabled everything reads as it should. Or atleast I think, like I said I have no way of telling whether it's Dolby Digital Live or Dolby Digital, I just assume it's leaving true 5.1 Dolby Digital alone.

EDIT: Little problem however. Some videos only work in VLC. Well I got VLC to read DTS but the audio lags horribly? I have a fast computer, I can play multiple super high bitrate 1080p videos with Dolby Digital at the sametime and my computer won't lag a bit, so I think it's another reason other then the system not being able to handle it. Any guess why thats going on?

 

[Parker Clack]

Ken:

I am not sure about your particular issues as I don't use the sound card for anything other than passing the digital out to my receiver.

There is a good thread on the Mystique here. They may be able to help you with your particular problems.

Parker