Win7 DRC only on HDMI, not optical. How to enable?

[Circlotron]

The title pretty much say it all. Just last night I discovered win7's built-in DRC but on my HTPC setup it is only available on the HDMI output to the TV. I want to use it on the toslink output to the D/A but there is no tab to select this, only stuff like a 10 band graphic, loudness, and something else.

How to I turn on this feature in toslink?

I think it is using the Realtek driven instead of the Microsoft one. If that is the case, how do I remove it and replace it with the Microsoft one that =may= have the feature I need?

[Johnny2Bad]

I think the short answer is you can't. Digital Room Correction (DRC) is hardware-dependant; if your hardware doesn't support it then it's not available. It is built-in with Win7 but that doesn't necessarily mean it works with every hardware configuration; in fact it doesn't.

Realtek use their own drivers that over-ride Windows 7's drivers, and if Realtek only support it via HDMI, then that's the way it is. If you remove the Realtek drivers, it won't work at all (with that audio hardware). Lots of people with other audio sound cards/chips report it's not available at all ... doesn't even show up under 'enhancements'.

You could dig a little deeper and confirm this, but that's the way I understand it to work. Also, anytime HDMI is involved, you have to consider the possibility that HDCP is involved as well. Windows 7 definitely supports HDCP.

So, you may need to have the HDMI go out to a HDCP-compliant device, whether that's an AV receiver or a TV. If HDCP is enabled on a given data stream and the connected device is not compliant, you get no output via HDMI at all. As of roughly right now, it's no longer legal to manufacture and sell non-HDCP compliant devices, although there is a grandfather clause allowing older models to continue to be sold for a year or so to clear out stock.