hardedge Posted January 27, 2001 Share Posted January 27, 2001 Forgive me if this has been covered before, but my owner's manual says, "Dolby® Digital ready (with appropriate computer hardware and software)." So I have an SB Live! MP3 card with digital audio output and I have my V.2 400's. So what else do I need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustinyo Posted January 27, 2001 Share Posted January 27, 2001 in order to get true dolby digital you need digital input and output. in order to get digital output on the soundblaster that is actually compatable with normal stereo equipment, you have to get a digital I/O module, available at www.soundblaster.com for $60-$70. then you will need an external decoder to act as the digital input for the pros (you can't use the onboard decoding on the soundblaster because the digital output is a 3.5mm jack, which only works for the I/O card. the digital I/O module converts it to coaxial and optical, which will only work on the decoder, the pros don't have digital input on their own) the midiland ads 2000 works good. on sale for $99 at www.midiland.com. use a coaxial or optical cable to go from the I/O module, to the decoder, then you can hook the pros up to the decoder the same way you would to the sound card. kind of crappy that the digital out they put on the sound card isn't compatible with anything EXCEPT the I/O module. as far as software goes, get powerdvd and set it to "spdif output" and choose "dolby surround" don't get mad though, a complete pc dolby digital setup with decoder will usually run between $300-$600. and you still have to get the digital I/O card to use it with a soundblaster. you'd be getting a much better system for pretty cheap, as far as dolby systems go. if anyone is to blame, it's creative for not putting standard stereo hookup on their cards. bastards. oh yeah, and make sure you get a coaxial or optical cable too. hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardedge Posted January 27, 2001 Author Share Posted January 27, 2001 Thanks. It's actually easier than I thought but maybe I shouldn't have tossed my SQ2500... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNARFYrDOG Posted January 27, 2001 Share Posted January 27, 2001 Gee, guys - I have a Sound Blaster Live MP3+5.1, and it seems to me I am already getting Dolby Digital out. I have to add a seperate stereo amp with one channel hooked to a center channel speaker, and the other hooked to a LFE sub in addition to the Promedias. I can play the sample AC3 files on the Sound Blaster install CD, and I do get all five(6!) channels. The only reason I can't hear 5.1 on my DVD is that I am using ATI's DVD player (came with my video card), which does not support more than 2 channel sound. I guess I will have to get a different DVD player. There is a SPDIF cable that runs from the DVD drive to the sound card, and the sound card does the decoding. The card costs about $90. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movie Freak Posted February 4, 2001 Share Posted February 4, 2001 Snarfy, check out PowerDVD. I believe it's full dolby digital compliant. You'll have to search for the home page, I can't remember the URL, sorry! ------------------ Movies take us to a place we would like to be and away from a place we would like to forget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz Posted February 4, 2001 Share Posted February 4, 2001 Check this thread out Snarfy http://www.klipsch.com/ubb/Forum10/HTML/003069.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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