just a few quick questions about my DVD ROM in my computer, please help (1 Viewer)

[Zane Johnson]

ok i have an 8X DVD ROM, an ATI Radeon 32mb DDR video card, a 21" moniter, and a JVC RX8000VBK reciever. up intil last week i used to watch all of my DVD's and any other video sources through my moniter because i had a TV tuner card in my PC, but now with my new vid card that's not possible anymore. So my question is, how can i hook all of this back up? i mean i know what i need to do just have a few questions.

First off, with the DVD rom and the ATI Radeon, the DVD picture quality is much better than it was with my playstation 2 and the moniter, only problem is i can't output the digital bitstream to my reciever because i have an analog sound card in my pc. ok, here's the dilemma, the DVD rom has two outputs on the back of it (analog audio) which is a four pin connector THAT IS CURRENTLY IN USE and works great, for analog audio out of my 2 stereo speaker and subwoofer speaker system on my computer. And there's a (digital audio) output that is not in use right now, it is a 2 pin connector. So, how do i get the digital signal to the reciever? do i need to buy a digital sound card such as the Sound Blaster LIVE or Audigy to pass the signal through it's coaxial output to my reciever? and if this is the case will i need to buy some sort of a 2 pin cable to go from the "digital audio" output on the DVD rom to an input on the sound card the way the "analog audio" cable is now??? OR, can i buy some sort of cable to go directly from the 2 pin "digital audio" output on my DVD ROM to the coaxial input of my reciever????

i'm hoping the second way is possible, anyways thanks in advance

Zane

 

[Ken Shiring]

Zane, I need to forewarn you that I don't work with PC based HT gear, but I think I might be able to help you with your problem.

Based on your description, I understand that your problem is with the audio portion, not video. Video should work 'out of the box' if you use a software based DVD player (like WinDVD or something). I am assuming that is cool.

Getting 5.1 audio out is a bit tricky. The first thing I reccomend you try, to save money, is to connect the digital audio out of your DVD ROM to your receiver input. This will take some hackery, because you will have to run a cable from the connector on your drive through a gap in your case, to an external cable with a coax connector on it. Just plug that thing into the receiver's coax digital in, and see what you get. The probability of something breaking is nearly nil, and the worst that can happen is that it won't work.

There are only a select few audio cards I know of that "support" 5.1, and even then there is a lot of misinformation. The SB Audigy, I think, does not have a 5.1 decoder in it, but it will pass the 5.1 information through to an external decoder (your JVC receiver). So basically, if you need to upgrade your sound cards, you can just concentrate on the ones that are pass-thrus, and not decoders (because you already own one).

Anyway, try my hack and see what happens.

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

Your DVD rom must transfer the digital signal to your sound card. To do that, it'll need a digital sound card which will come with a digital interconnect (between DVD rom and Sound Card).
There is no cable from your DVD rom to receiver, besides the sound cards listed below should have a decent digital passthrough.
Your receiver will use a single Digital coaxial cable from the sound card's (SPDIF coaxial out), to the (SPDIF coaxial in) on your receiver.
All you need to buy is a sound card that has 5.1 Digital Coaxial out.
Sound Blaster Audigy $65 oem
Turtle Beach Santa cruz $65 OEM
Hercules GTXP $90 OEM
Maudio Audiophile 2496 $180
Soundblaster live $35
http://www.softwareandstuff.com/h_multi_hrdsound.html for $14.95. Website for sound card: http://www.jetway.com.tw/evisn/index.html
oh, an alternative is to use 2 video cards for duel monitor out. One video card goes to the television, and the other goes to a monitor. (Unless both cards are AGP)

 

[Zane Johnson]

yeah the video portion works just fine, it's the 5.1 signal that i'm having problems with.
so will the rigged cable work, it's not a problem i have no problem doing it, and running a cable out of my case is no prob either it doesnt even have sides on it...the case that is, i built it myself and its overclocked a few 100 mhz so it needs the extra air from having no case to keep cool, i plan on trying to rig me a cable in the near future, i just thought maybe someone here would have a quick answer or solution...
thanks for the replies guys, anyone else is welcome if they got another possible solution...