# Help with 5.1 to Receiver over S/PDIF w. ALC 888/1200



## Velvet Wafer (Dec 29, 2010)

Hi Folks!
I got me an optical S/PDIF cable, for connecting my rigs onboard Realtek ALC 888/1200 (suhould support dolby digital life and dts connect) my RX-V357 today,on Kiex´s suggestion (thanks for that, Dan )
The sound is much more defined and clear now, the midtone bass is also more swelling and powerful, and the general appearance of the sound is more rich.

I only have two severe problems now:

1. The 5.1, and also my yamaha sub doesnt thats active but kinda was delivered with the receiver and has its own channel which seems to be connected to the 5.1 doesnt work anymore for standard audio content like MP3´s, Youtube, non dolby content and games... only stereo works there, and is also shown in windows and on the connected receiver 

2. when i try to play dolby content, like a ripped DVD episode of Stargate for example, i get extremely chopped and distorted content. 

i know there are software based ways to solve this, or at least they are supposed to 
i appreciate any help on the topic, to solve this.... i would hate to go analog again, digital sounds simply so much better!


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## Swamp Monster (Dec 29, 2010)

Velvet Wafer said:


> I only have two severe problems now:
> 
> 1. The 5.1, and also my yamaha sub doesnt thats active but kinda was delivered with the receiver and has its own channel which seems to be connected to the 5.1 doesnt work anymore for standard audio content like MP3´s, Youtube, non dolby content and games... only stereo works there, and is also shown in windows and on the connected receiver



Maybe your onboard soundcard is capable only of 2 channels over SPDIF? When I bought Audigy 2 ZS, there was optical out too, but I found out the hard way that it was only stereo over SPDIF, so I ended up buying X-FI platinum. About your active sub - If stereo is in receiver's digital input, then you probably can't do anything, because when digital input is connected, it completely takes over receiver's mode of operation. (my kenwood behaves the same way)


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## streetfighter 2 (Dec 29, 2010)

Velvet Wafer said:


> 1. The 5.1, and also my yamaha sub doesnt thats active but kinda was delivered with the receiver and has its own channel which seems to be connected to the 5.1 doesnt work anymore for standard audio content like MP3´s, Youtube, non dolby content and games... only stereo works there, and is also shown in windows and on the connected receiver


Did you configure Windows to output 5.1?  You can do that and test/configure each speaker/channel and also adjust your output sample-rate.  If you don't tell Windows you're using 5.1 it'll probably default to stereo (as it does for me on my Home Theater setup).



Velvet Wafer said:


> 2. when i try to play dolby content, like a ripped DVD episode of Stargate for example, i get extremely chopped and distorted content.


Sounds like a decoder/output issue.  I don't know how to configure VLC but I know that using ffdshow (and MPC-HC) you can configure your output, in this case multi-channel SPDIF, in the decoder settings.  If ffdshow doesn't detect a compatible output it will insert an additional decoder which is a great way of revealing that something is wrong.


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## Velvet Wafer (Dec 30, 2010)

Swamp Monster said:


> Maybe your onboard soundcard is capable only of 2 channels over SPDIF? When I bought Audigy 2 ZS, there was optical out too, but I found out the hard way that it was only stereo over SPDIF, so I ended up buying X-FI platinum. About your active sub - If stereo is in receiver's digital input, then you probably can't do anything, because when digital input is connected, it completely takes over receiver's mode of operation. (my kenwood behaves the same way)



the alc 888h and alc 888dd should have Dolby Digital Live and DTS connect already integrated, but i dont know if its active all the time, and when not, how to activate it...



streetfighter 2 said:


> Did you configure Windows to output 5.1?  You can do that and test/configure each speaker/channel and also adjust your output sample-rate.  If you don't tell Windows you're using 5.1 it'll probably default to stereo (as it does for me on my Home Theater setup).
> 
> 
> Sounds like a decoder/output issue.  I don't know how to configure VLC but I know that using ffdshow (and MPC-HC) you can configure your output, in this case multi-channel SPDIF, in the decoder settings.  If ffdshow doesn't detect a compatible output it will insert an additional decoder which is a great way of revealing that something is wrong.



i cant even change from stereo when trying to configure the digital output... that only works on analogue somehow! thanks for the tip tho! 
i will also try out ffdshow to see what happens! will keep you posted on what happens!


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## Swamp Monster (Dec 30, 2010)

Velvet Wafer said:


> i cant even change from stereo when trying to configure the digital output... that only works on analogue somehow!



That could mean what I said- that your soundcard has 5.1, Dolby Digital Live and DTS connect, but it works only when analog outputs are connected. When digital- it switches to stereo only. 
But I don't really know much about alc 888h, only it seems like problem similar to what I had.


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## Mike0409 (Dec 30, 2010)

It sound's like it's not decoding the DTS properly.  Choppy sound or static over DTS usually means that its trying to stream through PCM.  This needs to be adjusted to "bitstream" it should clear up that choppy noise. 

You might need a few audio codecs to get this to work properly. Also might have to convert your DTS to AC3...there are a few issues with how those ripped movies are encoded, and if they don't support DTS then you'll get some weird effects.

If the sound card supports DTS then your going to have to play around with some control setting options. 

Also check your windows options...that could be why your sub is not activating.  If those are OK, then check your receiver for some options.


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## cdawall (Dec 30, 2010)

mine does the same thing it doesn't upconvert stereo to 5.1 or 7.1 in my case


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## cadaveca (Dec 30, 2010)

cdawall said:


> mine does the same thing it doesn't upconvert stereo to 5.1 or 7.1 in my case



That's the problem. The soundcard does Dolby and DTS DECODING, but few cards offer ENCODING to send those signals over SPDIF.

That's why I use an ASUS Xonar.


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## Steevo (Dec 30, 2010)

By default windows Vista and 7 only export audio streams that match the source. So a 2 channel mp3 will only be exported in 2 channel, not using the sub or other surround speakers. XP requires software to upmix it to 5.1 but it will do it depending on hardware. 

Using third part software Vista and 7 will allow the upmix to occur, however it must also be hardware supported and I haven't found one that exports it well. The easiest way to force the upmix is to use the receiver to do it, some do not support this however.


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## TRIPTEX_CAN (Dec 30, 2010)

Best thing to do is to set your amp to Dolby PL II Music or Movie mode if the amp has these features. The will re-sample the 2 channel audio and simulate surround sound thus filling all speaker channels in your receiver.


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## cdawall (Dec 30, 2010)

TRIPTEX_CAN said:


> Best thing to do is to set your amp to Dolby PL II Music or Movie mode if the amp has these features. The will re-sample the 2 channel audio and simulate surround sound thus filling all speaker channels in your receiver.



Most recievers won't do that with digital sources...


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## TRIPTEX_CAN (Dec 30, 2010)

hmmm, all of the receivers I have will do that. As long as I output PCM my 2 receivers (one being 5 years old and the other brand new) are able to matrix the 2ch audio into D-PLX II or any other simulated surround method they support.


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## Steevo (Dec 30, 2010)

My Harman kardon does. 


The only other alternative is to purchase software or try and find drivers and hack them a bit to make it work, and even that is iffy.


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## monte84 (Dec 30, 2010)

What motherboard are you using? Windows will only output the default source. So a 2 channel mp3 will only output 2 channels even with DDL or DTS connect (which only work over a digital connection). In order to get sound to the other channels It has to be done via software before the audio signal is sent out. I use foobar2000 and foo_channel_mixer. Works great and is free. As for your DVD playback problem. What DVD decoder are you using?


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## Dent1 (Dec 30, 2010)

Velvet Wafer,

Are you using the onboard Realtek ALC 888 or ACL 1200?

The ACL 888 supports Dolby Digital Live and DTS connect. However the ACL 1200 does NOT.

If you've got the ACL 1200, your only solution is to buy a DDL and DTS connect capable soundcard.


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## Velvet Wafer (Dec 31, 2010)

Swamp Monster said:


> That could mean what I said- that your soundcard has 5.1, Dolby Digital Live and DTS connect, but it works only when analog outputs are connected. When digital- it switches to stereo only.
> But I don't really know much about alc 888h, only it seems like problem similar to what I had.


these technologies are supposed to encode the audio, so you still have 5.1 via S/PDIF, but thanks for trying to help!  


Mike0409 said:


> It sound's like it's not decoding the DTS properly.  Choppy sound or static over DTS usually means that its trying to stream through PCM.  This needs to be adjusted to "bitstream" it should clear up that choppy noise.
> 
> You might need a few audio codecs to get this to work properly. Also might have to convert your DTS to AC3...there are a few issues with how those ripped movies are encoded, and if they don't support DTS then you'll get some weird effects.
> 
> ...


i got 5.1 to work with vlc, once i installed ffdshow... but the videos now play about 15%faster, the sound too, and its awfully silent, so i have to turn the volume up quite a bit to be able to hear the 5.1 sounds. after uninstall of ffdshow, and a reboot, the problem still is there... strange? im a little bit helpless right now i guess 




TRIPTEX_CAN said:


> Best thing to do is to set your amp to Dolby PL II Music or Movie mode if the amp has these features. The will re-sample the 2 channel audio and simulate surround sound thus filling all speaker channels in your receiver.


i can do that, in analogue mode, or when i use vlc with a52 thru spdif, but otherwise there is an unchangeable stereo on the digital channels 



monte84 said:


> What motherboard are you using? Windows will only output the default source. So a 2 channel mp3 will only output 2 channels even with DDL or DTS connect (which only work over a digital connection). In order to get sound to the other channels It has to be done via software before the audio signal is sent out. I use foobar2000 and foo_channel_mixer. Works great and is free. As for your DVD playback problem. What DVD decoder are you using?


I use a Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 790GX.
Before i was using digital, with analogue, i was able to hear the music on the surround speakers too, even with an MP3... of course it was only stereo, but the left and right surround speakers seem to be added to the left and right channel then.
Both the surround speakers, and the Sub wont run, that is on its seperate channel of course. tried your suggestion and it does WORK! but i still cant get no sound out of the sub!
As DVD decoder? i guess you mean VLC in that case,eh? 



Dent1 said:


> Velvet Wafer,
> 
> Are you using the onboard Realtek ALC 888 or ACL 1200?
> 
> ...


There are 2 codec id´s:

High Definition Audio	
Codec Name	Realtek ALC888/1200
Codec ID	10EC0888h / 105B0E1Dh
Codec Revision	00100001h
Codec Typ	Audio

do you think they may have put 2 different codecs on one board?


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## streetfighter 2 (Dec 31, 2010)

In ffdshow audio decoder configuration did you go to the Output tab (left column) then under "Pass Through (SPDIF, HDMI)" check off:
-Dolby Digital (AC3)
-DTS
-Dolby Digital Plus (if you're receiver supports it)
-Connect as PCM first (I'm not sure whether this should be checked or not.  Start with it checked then uncheck it if you have problems)

Under output formats select "16 bit integer", you can try switching it to "24 bit integer" later (assuming your receiver supports it).

Give that configuration a try but make absolutely sure that the media player you're using is actually using the ffdshow decoders for audio!

If all else fails uncheck "Connect as PCM first" and check "AC3 (S/PDIF encode mode)" then enable the "Resample" filter and "Resample always" with the "Resample to" set to 48kHz.

I don't know a lot about a lot, but I've been working with ffdshow for a while now. 

Also when you installed ffdshow I'm assuming you installed one of these versions (newer the better usually):
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow-tryout/files/SVN builds by clsid/generic builds/


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## Dent1 (Dec 31, 2010)

Velvet Wafer said:


> I use a Foxconn A7DA-S 3.0 790GX.
> 
> High Definition Audio
> Codec Name	Realtek ALC888/1200
> ...




The Foxconn A7DA-S uses the ALC888*GR*. The ALC888GR does not support Dolby Digital Live or DTS connect according to their spec sheet, Foxconns website doesn't mention support either. 


If your soundcard supported these features it would be within the driver's software panel and there would be no need to fiddle with third party software. I've got the Auzentech X-fi Forte and DDL and DTS connect is a selectable option within Creative's panel itself.


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## streetfighter 2 (Dec 31, 2010)

I believe that Dent1 is correct.

The datasheet: http://realtek.info/pdf/ALC888_1-0.pdf

However I don't necessarily agree with his appraisal of the software side.  When browsing through the datasheet it is clear that there is a format override and an ability to directly manipulate the S/PDIF port from software so, in theory, it should be possible to send AC3 data through the S/PDIF port using the proper software.  Not having access to options for DTS and/or DD in the driver control panel only indicates that there is no driver level support for those formats, not that software would be incapable of doing the DSP.


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## Dent1 (Dec 31, 2010)

To clarify Velvet would only be able to get DD and DTS in DVD videos or in downloaded DVDrips that are specifically pre-encoded in either DD or DTS, this will be done using the "SPDIF" or "digital out" feature using third party software such as FFDShow Power DVD, Media Player Classic etc. 

However, for MP3s and stereo materials he will need a encoding soundcard, which we believe his onboard doesnt support.


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## streetfighter 2 (Dec 31, 2010)

Dent1 said:


> To clarify Velvet would only be able to get DD and DTS in DVD videos or in downloaded DVDrips that are specifically pre-encoded in either DD or DTS


Isn't that a bit like saying that if you're going to eat an apple you have to have an apple to eat?



Dent1 said:


> . . . this will be done using the "SPDIF" or "digital out" feature using third party software such as FFDShow Power DVD, Media Player Classic etc.


I concur.



Dent1 said:


> However, for MP3s and stereo materials he will need a encoding soundcard, which we believe his onboard doesnt support.


I'm not clear on this.  Since ffdshow is capable of encoding the stream in software there is no reason that hardware support is explicit for those formats.


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## Mussels (Dec 31, 2010)

there is a bit of misunderstanding here.


without DD/DTS encoding you can still get 5.1 audio - but only from a pre-encoded source (such as a DVD/bluray)

summary: its stereo, pre-encoded or a card with DD/DTS encoding. those are your only options.


there are various software solutions that claim to be able to add DD/DTS encoding via software, but they all suck or have extremely limited compatibility.

the realtek encoding settings look like this:






or like this:


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## Dent1 (Dec 31, 2010)

streetfighter 2 said:


> Isn't that a bit like saying that if you're going to eat an apple you have to have an apple to eat?.



Yes, that's exactly what it is. To run DD or DTS via SPDIF/Digital out passthrough, you need material that's already encoded in DD or DTs i.e. DVD movie, Bluray disc, or a DVDRip with AC3 intact.

The only way around this is to have a encoding card.



streetfighter 2 said:


> Since ffdshow is capable of encoding the stream in software there is no reason that hardware support is explicit for those formats.



FFDShow is only capable of encoding stereo into Dolby Digital if it's a video file, such as an .AVI file. The limitation of FFDShow is that it can not encode stereo into DTS. Another limitation is that FFDShow can not encode non-video files into Dolby Digital i.e. MP3 and Wav files etc, nor with games. 

Because of FFDShow's limitations, a soundcard with both hardware + software support is needed. i.e. Asus Xonar, Auzentech X-fi, Creative Titanium etc.


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## streetfighter 2 (Dec 31, 2010)

Dent1 said:


> FFDShow is only capable of encoding stereo into Dolby Digital if it's a video file, such as an .AVI file. The limitation of FFDShow is that it can not encode stereo into DTS. Another limitation is that FFDShow can not encode non-video files into Dolby Digital i.e. MP3 and Wav files etc, nor with games.
> 
> Because of FFDShow's limitations, a soundcard with both hardware + software support is needed. i.e. Asus Xonar, Auzentech X-fi, Creative Titanium etc.


You don't need to encode stereo in Dolby Digital to transmit it through SPDIF.  The base SPDIF specification is 2 channel PCM audio. (source)

Also I don't understand your reference to video vs. non-video files.  The splitter(s) in ffdshow (and most codecs) completely separate the streams so they can be sent to the respective filters/decoders.


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## Mussels (Dec 31, 2010)

streetfighter 2 said:


> You don't need to encode stereo in Dolby Digital to transmit it through SPDIF.  The base SPDIF specification is 2 channel PCM audio. (source)
> 
> Also I don't understand your reference to video vs. non-video files.  The splitter(s) in ffdshow (and most codecs) completely separate the streams so they can be sent to the respective filters/decoders.



his point is that without an encoding card, games are stuck at stereo.


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## Dent1 (Dec 31, 2010)

streetfighter 2 said:


> You don't need to encode stereo in Dolby Digital to transmit it through SPDIF.  The base SPDIF specification is 2 channel PCM audio. (source).



You misunderstood my post.  You need to "encode stereo in Dolby Digital (or DTS) to transmit it through SPDIF" if you want 5.1.  Regardless the OP wants 5.1 Dolby or DTS via SPDIF so talking about passing through stereo via SPDIF is pointless and irrelevant. I already know that stereo PCM can be transmitted through SPDIF but the OP isn't interested in stereo.

Velvet Wafer, you can transmit Dolby Digital (and DTS) through SPDIF, but the material needs to be in Dolby Digital (or DTS) to begin with. Look at the back of a box for a DVD movie or Blueray movie and you'll see the Dolby Digital Logo plastered everywhere, that's because in such movies they are pre-encoded ready for SPDIF.




streetfighter 2 said:


> Also I don't understand your reference to video vs. non-video files.  The splitter(s) in ffdshow (and most codecs) completely separate the streams so they can be sent to the respective filters/decoders.



Yes, but how are you going to get FFDShow to encode stereo into DD or DTs for playing 3D games, 3D games are considered non-video. This is where the encoder card is especially needed. If it wasn’t needed encoder cards wouldn't exist.


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## streetfighter 2 (Dec 31, 2010)

Dent1 said:


> Yes, but how are you going to get FFDShow to encode stereo into DD or DTs for playing 3D games, 3D games are considered non-video. This is where the encoder card is especially needed. If it wasn’t needed encoder cards wouldn't exist.


Honestly I've never heard of anyone converting stereo to DD or DTS.  I am familiar with using Dolby Pro Logic II to decode stereo to 5.1 (which I'm guessing can be encoded into AC3 to be sent out via SPDIF).  FFdshow does have the ability to apply Pro Logic II to stereo streams.

I really have no idea how Dolby Pro Logic II works because I think it sounds like shit.


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## Dent1 (Dec 31, 2010)

streetfighter 2 said:


> Honestly I've never heard of anyone converting stereo to DD or DTS



It can be done it's just not talked about often. DTS Connect, and Dolby Digital Live was invented for this specific reason and it's why only premium sound cards support it. 





streetfighter 2 said:


> I am familiar with using Dolby Pro Logic II to convert stereo to 5.1 (which I'm guessing can be encoded into AC3 to be sent out via SPDIF).  FFdshow does have the ability to apply Pro Logic II to stereo streams.



Prologic II will have a similar desired effect, but it's a different technology. Prologic can be done on the external amp or receiver and hence rendering FFDShow useless. If one did choose to use Prologic using FFDShow they'll still be gimped with the fact that FFDShow doesn't work with every file format and it doesn't work in games.






> Dolby Digital Live (DDL) is a real-time encoding technology for interactive media such as video games. It converts any audio signals on a PC or game console into a 5.1-channel 16-bit/48 KHz Dolby Digital format at 640 kbit/s and transports it via a single S/PDIF cable.[12] A similar technology known as DTS Connect is available from competitor DTS. An important benefit of this technology is that it enables the use of digital multichannel sound with consumer sound cards, which are otherwise limited to digital PCM stereo or analog multichannel sound because S/PDIF over RCA, BNC, and TOSLINK can only support two-channel PCM, Dolby Digital multichannel audio, and DTS multichannel audio. HDMI was later introduced, and it can carry uncompressed multichannel PCM, losslessly compressed multichannel audio, and lossily compressed digital audio. However, Dolby Digital Live is still useful with HDMI to allow transport of multichannel audio over HDMI to devices that are unable to handle uncompressed multichannel PCM.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital


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## Mussels (Dec 31, 2010)

Dent1 said:


> It can be done it's just not talked about often. DTS Connect, and Dolby Digital Live was invented for this specific reason and it's why only premium sound cards support it.



he said converting _stereo_


actually, my last few mobos with realtek onboard also support real time encoding. go gigabyte!


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## Dent1 (Dec 31, 2010)

Mussels said:


> he said converting _stereo_



I know.



Mussels said:


> actually, my last few mobos with realtek onboard also support real time encoding. go gigabyte!




I'm actually confused as to whether the OP's motherboard supports encoding. My suspicions is that it doesn't, neither the technical specifications or Foxconn make mention of encoding. However taking a look at Wikipedia it says: "The two components of the system are DTS Interactive and DTS NeoC. It is found on various CMedia soundcards and onboard audio with Realtek ALC883DTS/ALC889A/ALC888DD-GR and SoundMAX AD1988 chips, as well as several cards based on the X-Fi chipset".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DTS_(sound_system)

I think this is where the confusion lies. The OP has the ALC888-GR and no the ALC888*DD*-GR. Similar naming schemes but different nether the less.

I think, its a matter of the OP to look more thoroughly through the Realtek driver panel failing that, buy a cheap Xonar.


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## cadaveca (Dec 31, 2010)

You guys still discussing this?

Please take a look at this link. There are very few encoding options out there.

Professional options(I use Sony Vegas plugins):

http://www.dolby.com/professional/technology/licensing/dolby-digital-pro-encoders.html



Now, the Xonar..it will output *anything* as DTS or Dolby signals. This does not mean that channel information will be added, unless it's pre-existing(such as games with surround, or movies, as explained).

Pro-Logic and Pro-Logic II, Dolby Headphone, and Dolby Virtual Speaker are the Dolby channel "upmixing" technologies. Nothing else from Dolby adds additional channel info.

DTS Connect and Dolby Live! DO NOT ADD CHANNEL INFO...as other mentioned, the source needs to have surround info.


Likewise, the Xonar cards do not add channel info either...unless you also use one of the aforementioned matrixing technologies.


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## Dent1 (Dec 31, 2010)

Cadaveca,

Although Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect does not "add" channels. In games which have upto 5 channels already i.e. Battlefield BFBC2, Assassins Creed etc you'd still need a encoding card to encode those existing 5 channels into DTS or DD otherwise you'd be stuck with stereo due to SPDIF's limitation. Likewise, the channels have to be there already, but in the sitation of recent games the channels are in abundance.

The bottom line is that the OP needs a new soundcard, whether the Xonar or similar encoding based cards to take advantage of games or video sources with multiple channels.

In addition, you find that a lot of DVDrip movies from the internet are being edited to keep 5 decrete channels intact, in situations like this where you have 5 channels already the Xonar is perfect to output those 5 channels into a digital format compatible with SPDIF i.e. DD or DTS. 

Whilst, agreeing that new channels will not be added, encoding cards still have many advantages which the OP could potentially benefit from.


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## cadaveca (Dec 31, 2010)

Dent1 said:


> Cadaveca,
> 
> Although Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect does not "add" channels. In games which have upto 5 channels already i.e. Battlefield BFBC2, Assassins Creed etc you'd still need a encoding card to encode those existing 5 channels into DTS or DD otherwise you'd be stuck with stereo due to SPDIF's limitation. Likewise, the channels have to be there already, but in the sitation of recent games the channels are in abundance.
> 
> ...



True enough.


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## Velvet Wafer (Jan 1, 2011)

i somehow got my receiver to change from stereo, fiddled with it a little and now i have both the back channels and the front channels.... but my deeptone sub still is silent. 
how can that be?
if i got this far, is there a possibility, i can also activate the sub?


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## Dent1 (Jan 1, 2011)

Velvet Wafer said:


> i somehow got my receiver to change from stereo, fiddled with it a little and now i have both the back channels and the front channels.... but my deeptone sub still is silent.
> how can that be?
> if i got this far, is there a possibility, i can also activate the sub?



Its hard for me to answer, I don't know what receiver you have nor what settings and calibrations it has.

Try increasing the crossover frequency (Hz) for the subwoofer.


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## TRIPTEX_CAN (Jan 1, 2011)

I just looked at the receiver model you mention in the OP and I lol'd. You have the RX-v357... the receiver I was using for the last 4 years is actually the RX-v350 which I only replaced because I needed HDMI switching. Everything you're trying to do should work on that amp.

First- If you're sub is working with 5.1 channel content then it should work when you matrix Dolby PLx II. 

I believe the two amps should have the same remote so I will use the controls on mine to explain what I did to make it work. Basically for any 2 channel content I wanted to matrix into 5.1 I would just press "AMP" then press "DD/DTS" from the block of yellow buttons. After that I would use the left and right arrows at the bottom to choose the Dolby PLx setting I wanted (ie; music or movie mode). To return to Stereo just press Stereo and you have discrete 2 channel audio. 

You should be able to do this with ANY content you send the receiver which isnt already encoded to DD5.1 or DTS.

For the sub you should make sure you have set up the sound settings such as speaker size and speaker level to make sure you amp is aware of your setup and lastly the LFE crossover setting should help the sub's performance. If you dont have a manual and are unaware of the settings available you should be able to download the manual on line. 

To get started press "AMP" then press "Set Menu" using the arrows will allow you to navigate. Setting the amp up makes a huge difference in the quality of sound you'll experience.


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## Velvet Wafer (Jan 1, 2011)

Dent1 said:


> Its hard for me to answer, I don't know what receiver you have nor what settings and calibrations it has.
> 
> Try increasing the crossover frequency (Hz) for the subwoofer.


Model name was mentioned in the first post 



TRIPTEX_CAN said:


> I just looked at the receiver model you mention in the OP and I lol'd. You have the RX-v357... the receiver I was using for the last 4 years is actually the RX-v350 which I only replaced because I needed HDMI switching. Everything you're trying to do should work on that amp.
> 
> First- If you're sub is working with 5.1 channel content then it should work when you matrix Dolby PLx II.
> 
> ...



I hoped that someone with experience in Yamaha Receivers would show here! 
sadly my remote is different, and sports no AMP button.
i can change to PL I or II, but the sounds are flat... the Yamaha SW-P130 Sub i have does not turn on anymore, even tho all other 4 channels work flawlessly
the problem is not that its too silent... its just wont output a single noise, even tho its capable of making the rest of my speaker unhearable at 50%,and waking neighbors, because of the piercing bass... its an active sub, so i can turn it louder via a knob, but turning the knob while sound is beeing played, it has no effect at all 

true words indeed, before i set it up it sounded like true shit, had to adjust the hundreds of settings before it was nice. i did that a time ago tho, but then always ran analog, but digital makes everything a little more.... complicated 

BTW, my remote looks different, here is a pic with my amp, showing it:


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