mathisjay Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 I am trying to build a home theater using my PC. I have an ATI AIW 8500 card for TV and such. It comes bundled with the ATI DVD software player which is OK but does not do any DD5.1 or DTS decoding. I currently have an old SB sound card that I am going to replace. I have the PM 5.1 for speakers. My question is what is the best setup in order to get DD 5.1 and DTS. I know the GTXP does DD5.1 decoding. So I guess I could use the ATI DVD player and pass the AC3 signal to the GTXP for DD 5.1 decoding. NO DTS though... Or, I could buy WinDVD 4.0 PLUS and use it instead of ATI DVD. I think this would give me software decoding for DD5.1 and DTS and Prologic II. Do I need a special sound card for this or will any do? Or, I could get the Klipsch DD5.1 and have it do DD and DTS decoding. I guess under this setup, I can keep the ATI DVD player and pass the signal directly from the video card to the DD5.1. Also, I have a Dish Satellite receiver with DD optical outputs so I an leaning towards getting the GTXP anyways to support the sound in TV viewing. Do I need anything else with this? Thoughts?? Advice?? Thanks in advance!! This message has been edited by mathisjay on 07-17-2002 at 11:50 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 The GTXP can not take in a digital signal, decode it, and replay it on the fly, the digital inputs are for recording. so you could not do that. if you did not care about the DSS, I would say, just get WinDVD 4.0 and be done with it, it will do everything for you, DD and DTS. Since you want DTS and the DSS (your satellite dish) played through the 5.1's, I say look at the Klipsch DD-51 ------------------ -justin SoundWise Support A technical help site created by me and my fellow Klipschers promediatech@Klipsch.com /1-888-554-5665 - RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5 s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathisjay Posted July 17, 2002 Author Share Posted July 17, 2002 quote: Originally posted by justin_tx_16: The GTXP can not take in a digital signal, decode it, and replay it on the fly, the digital inputs are for recording. so you could not do that. Wow, thats surprising. I didn't know that. Is there any sound card that can do this? I was kind of hoping to eliminate having to make a bunch of adjustments on external components if I switch from TV to DVD mode. My wife will be using this also, and it has to be simple... As I understand it, if I connect the DSS optical out directly to the DD5.1 and the GTXP to the DD5.1, then I would have to switch input modes on the DD5.1 depending on if I am watching TV or DVDs. If I start a DVD and the DSS is still on, then the speakers would be playing the audio from the DSS. Correct?? The TV app has a software option to automatically select the audio input to use while playing. But this will only work if if the audio is coming through the sound card, I believe. BTW, you ROCK!! Thanks for all your advice!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 NO on board sound card does this, to my knowlege. maybe some pro boards, but the price is quite higher on those. the Extigy does that, but I have read of problems with it. Worth a try possibly. The DD-51 will do this... You are watching DSS, then you turn on the DVD, when you start a movie, you will need to tell it to switch to the other input, just a button on the remote. It will automatically set the format it is decoding, DD or DTS. Really quite simple. ------------------ -justin SoundWise Support A technical help site created by me and my fellow Klipschers promediatech@Klipsch.com /1-888-554-5665 - RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5 s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathisjay Posted July 17, 2002 Author Share Posted July 17, 2002 I almost cringe at the thought of having to buy another Creative card, but it does look interesting. On their website, Creative says the Extigy does DD5.1 decoding. Does this mean I would need to connect the ATI AIW card to the Extigy in some way (SPDIF?) or does the DD signal go directly to the sound card? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 teh extigy does not do DTS decoding... so nix that idea. ------------------ -justin SoundWise Support A technical help site created by me and my fellow Klipschers promediatech@Klipsch.com /1-888-554-5665 - RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5 s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathisjay Posted July 17, 2002 Author Share Posted July 17, 2002 OK, how about this. I get the Extigy and WinDVD 4.0 XP. I use WinDVD to do DD/DTS decoding of DVDs. I connect the DSS to the Extigy and let the Extigy do DD decoding of the DSS signal. Would that work?? If this works, I think I could use either the TV player or DVD player without having to manually switch any input modes on anything. I suppose I could save a few bucks and not buy WinDVD and lose DTS capability. Is DTS worth the extra bucks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 It is simply hitting a button, i would do that if it would save me money, and not make me get another creative product. but that would work. however, there may be a better solution. first off, the DD-51, but if you want something that is cheaper, does DD, no DTS, but has a radio tuner in it, has digital inputs from the DSS and the caomputer, Sherwood makes a receiver that will work. do you watch DSS only on your computer? no tv is connected? ------------------ -justin SoundWise Support A technical help site created by me and my fellow Klipschers promediatech@Klipsch.com /1-888-554-5665 - RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5 s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathisjay Posted July 17, 2002 Author Share Posted July 17, 2002 I have an old Gateway Destination monitor. It is 36 inch and progressive scanned since it is a computer monitor. It is the main reason I wanted to build the HT around the PC rather than buy a bunch on new seperate componants. Those DTVs are damn expensive. So, NO, there is no TV is connected. If I can get away from buying a SB card, I will. I am kind of doubtful of what kind of performance you can get out of a USB port anyways. I will probably try it, but I will return it if doesn't sound good. If that doesn't work, my wife will just have to learn how to work all the different remotes!! How much better is DTS than DD5.1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpg Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 DTS has a higher bitrate than DD, so it is much more clear. Now, when you are using optical out on a DVD player to a reciever, this extra bitrate doesn't matter much. But in the event you are using analog multimedia speakers, the difference is night and day. DTS has much better clarity. Highly noticeable. ------------------ Have a ProMedia sound problem? Visit SoundWise for help. Still have PM sound probs? Email Amy or call at 1-888-554-5665. s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 Why would he lose quality TPG? I would go for the DD-51. How does DSS look on the monitor? ------------------ -justin SoundWise Support A technical help site created by me and my fellow Klipschers promediatech@Klipsch.com /1-888-554-5665 - RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5 s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpg Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 I didn't say he would lose quality. I said the difference on multimedia speakers when running analog is night and day. I also said that the difference in DTS and DD bitrates didn't matter when using an optical connection to the preamp/reciever driving the speakers. The signal is clear anyway there. I, too, think DD-5.1 would do the trick for it. ------------------ Have a ProMedia sound problem? Visit SoundWise for help. Still have PM sound probs? Email Amy or call at 1-888-554-5665. s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 optically or coaxially, you should not hear a difference on whether an external decoder decodes and then sends to the amp. if anything, it should sound better using the DD-51 over the computer, since traditionally hardware decoders sound better than software decoders. at least, that has been my experience ------------------ -justin SoundWise Support A technical help site created by me and my fellow Klipschers promediatech@Klipsch.com /1-888-554-5665 - RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5 s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpg Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 That was what I was getting at.... and the optical thing was just an example. Digital anything is almost always better than analog.... ------------------ Have a ProMedia sound problem? Visit SoundWise for help. Still have PM sound probs? Email Amy or call at 1-888-554-5665. s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted July 17, 2002 Share Posted July 17, 2002 quote: Originally posted by trespasser_guy: That was what I was getting at.... and the optical thing was just an example. Digital anything is almost always better than analog.... Great! SO we ARE on the same page or should i say the same frequency, 23Hz at 128db sound like a good one to you? ------------------ -justin SoundWise Support A technical help site created by me and my fellow Klipschers promediatech@Klipsch.com /1-888-554-5665 - RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5 s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathisjay Posted July 17, 2002 Author Share Posted July 17, 2002 quote: Originally posted by justin_tx_16: How does DSS look on the monitor? Oh man!!! It looks awesome. Digital signal and progressive scan == crystal clear picture The DISH installer guy said it was the best picture he has seen outside of a full blown home theater system with HDTV progressive scan TVs. Thanks for all your help. I think I will try all the solutions and then return the ones I like least HEHE, power to the consumer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathisjay Posted July 18, 2002 Author Share Posted July 18, 2002 OK, so last night I trie the Extigy solution since I could get it at the local CompUSA. It didn't quite work like I was hoping. I wanted to use the Extigy to do DD decoding of the DSS as well as DD decoding of DVDs. So, I connected the optical digital out from the DSS to the optical digital in on the Extigy. First off, there does not seem to be a way to switch between inputs on the Extigy. If its plugged in, and the input source is on, then its coming through the speakers. I can mute the source in the Windows volume control but thats a pain. So this means that the DSS audio is playing all the time even if the TV application isn't running, unless I turn the DSS off every time I stop watching TV. Not an elegant soultion. For DVD, interestingly, there is no need to make any connections from the video card to the sound card. All you have to do is set the DVD program to pass through the audio (via SPDIF in software) and somehow the Extigy picks it up, even though I didn't actually connect the SPDIF in to anything. I am guessing it is using the USB connection as input, but I still can't figure out where the output signal is coming from since the digital out on the video card is not connected... In any case, the performance doesn't seem to be very good. I get a bunch of high pitched squealing at certain parts of the Fifth Element. I assume this is due to limitaitons in the USB bandwidth, but who knows. So now I am thinking about the Klipsch DD5.1 solution. I am a little confused as to how I would hook it up correctly. I know it has optical and RCA SPDIF input and well as 3 sets of stereo inputs. I could hook the DSS optcal digital out into the DD5.1 optical in and the video card RCA digital out into the DD5.1 RCA digital in. But what about the sound card? Do I just use one of the stereo input sets? If so, do I even need a 5.1 sound card like the GTXP at all? I only use this rig for TV / DVD and light internet surfing, so I guess it wouldn't be that big of deal not to have a 5.1 sound card in it... The other option is to get WinDVD and a good 5.1 sound card. This would elimate the ability to do DD decoding from the DSS, but oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted July 18, 2002 Share Posted July 18, 2002 after i think it was windows 98, you no longer needed a cable to pass through sounds from the source to the sound card, it could go through the mobo, so it went through it to the usb port. yeah, not a huge fan of the xtigy myself. the dd-51 will work with 5.1 if you have a card with a digital output. other wise, no one would get teh dd-51 becaues no dd or dts from their computer, klipsch would lose money but you have to change the mini mono of the sound card into an rca mono for teh DD-51, just buy the adapter from radio shack. ------------------ -justin SoundWise Support A technical help site created by me and my fellow Klipschers promediatech@Klipsch.com /1-888-554-5665 - RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5 s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rol1 Posted July 21, 2002 Share Posted July 21, 2002 Does the DD5.1 let you select which digital input to use? Are you sure it doesn't disable one if the other is connected? It only has stereo analog input so there isn't any multi-channel gaming. When trying to get the aiw radeon working with a via mb I read that Cinemaster, the maker of ATI's player, was coming out with a 5.1 compatable player. Their new software doesn't mention anything but s/pdif pass-through though. If you want full hardware support you'll need to use ATI's player. Which only supports stereo through computer's audio or s/pdif passthrough to a external decoder for ac3 or dts. The Panasonic SH-AC500 does all that you want, . They're hard to find now but a lot of receivers have external decoder support.(6 rca's in and 6 rca's out) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted July 21, 2002 Share Posted July 21, 2002 quote: Originally posted by rol1: a lot of receivers have external decoder support.(6 rca's in and 6 rca's out) Thta has not been my luck. It is HARD to find a receiver with RCA 5.1 line out. Very hard. And when you do, preamps mostly, they cost a very pretty penny. He does not game. He watches movies and DSS only with this system. You can select which digital input you want. ------------------ -justin SoundWise Support A technical help site created by me and my fellow Klipschers promediatech@Klipsch.com /1-888-554-5665 - RA# 800-554-7724 ext 5 s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.