hvd_free

I am wondering whether anyone has tried using the S/PDIF out on the Philips AE card with the DD5.1 (Justin? ). I just got the card today to use it with the decoder. First of all, the set up works ok with PCM signals (i.e., when I set the card's S/PDIF out to front channels and play mp3, etc.) The sound pops from time to time, but that's not the biggest problem. The serious problem is with ac3/dts passthrough. I tried both windvd and powerdvd. Analog soundcard mode is fine, I get two channels out of the DD5.1. When I set the dvd software to S/PDIF and change the AE's S/PDIF out to ac3/dts passthrough, there is no sound and the dvd picture also freezes, as if the dvd software has trouble processing the data. If I change the AE's S/PDIF out to anything other than AC3 passthrough and keep the dvd software on using S/PDIF, the picture plays fine (of course there's no sound). Therefore, it looks like it's the AE card that's causing trouble. (I am using the latest 1.89 certified drivers in Win XP pro). There is no problem with the DD5.1, because it works flawlessly with my old Vortex 2 card in Win98 SE. Too bad the old card doesn't have a decent winXP driver. Any help will be appreciated.

I connect the DD5.1 to my sound card's S/PDIF out with a Radio Shack gold series digital cable. It's working ok but the cable is a lot longer than I need (24 feet). I am wondering if I can get better sounds by getting a shorter cable. I know for analog speaker cables length does matter. Not sure about this case though...

Expecting to receive the DD5.1 this week, I am wondering what cable adapters are necessary for connecting it to the PM4.1 speakers... are they included in the package? Also, my soundcard(Vortex 2)s digital-out has a RCA connector, so I suppose an RCA cable would be enough to connect it to the DD5.1's SPDIF-in?

I am not sure whether this is the right forum for my question but here it goes. I play DVDs with the latest WinDvD full version. Sound card is Aureal Vortex 2 (4 channel). I have got great surround sound effects more than half of the time. However, for a few movies I played, the sound effects would suddenly become 2-channell in the middle of the movie, either completely out of the front or the rear speakers. The other tow speaker would just have static sound or some faint sound. If I pause WinDVD, two things would happen: 1. It becomes 4 channel again. 2. The sound switch to the other two speakers. I tried pausing WinDVD when this happened and played MP3 with Media Player, all 4 speakers seemed to play equally. A3D tests, as well as WinDVD's 4-speaker test worked fine as well. Therefore I think the spearkers and soundcard are fine; there must be something about WinDVD or the combination of the three. I would appreciate if anyone can help.

Thanks Justin. I will take your advice about postponing the 2.1 purchase. Regarding the gtxp... if I stick with 4.1, will there be a noticeable improvement of sound quality if I get this to replace my Aureal Vortex 2?

I am thinking about getting a GTXP and upgrade from a 4.1 setup to 5.2 by adding a set of PM 2.1. How about using the PM 4.1's orginal front and rear as center and front in the new setup, and using the PM 2.1 as rear? The main reason I want to do this is to have one of the subs behind me(will this sound better at all?). Will there be any problems with this setup? Thanks