Hey all. I have a PC that I'm attempting to connect to a surround system. This seems to be a knowledgeable group, so I'll start with relevant specs:
PC: Win10 Home, x64
Sound Card: Asus Xonar AE
(Link to Specs)
Sound Card Chipset: C-Media 6632AE
(Link to Specs)
Receiver: Panasonic SC-BT300
(Link to Specs)
Receiver has either Red / White Analog in, or S/PDIF in.
The long and short of it is, I want to use 7.1 (at least 5.1 - I understand there may be limitations at play), but the card seems to only output 2 channel audio from the S/PDIF.
I can go into Window Control Panel > Sound > SPDIF Out > Properties > Supported Formats Tab > Dolby Digital > Test = and hear clear positional audio from 5 of the 7 speakers. This is not "virtual surround". The receiver flashes "Dolby Digital" when testing in this method, but seems to revert back to 2 channel when the test is complete.
Games and other apps are only presenting in a 2-channel format. When I had my crappy Logitech 5.1 system (with analog connectors), I was getting full positional audio.
I'd like to use my 7.1 (or 5.1, if that's as good as it gets) on my much more powerful entertainment system. Does anyone know of a workaround?
I found a post from a few years ago on a different site where someone resolved this, but they didn't say how... Something about finding the right drivers to make the sound card encode in Dolby Digital.
My entertainment system can decode:
Dolby Digital DecoderYes (Dolby® TrueHD, Dolby® Digital Plus, Dolby® Digital)(DTSTM-HD Master Audio, DTSTM-HD High Resolution Audio, DTSTM)
Any ideas?
PC: Win10 Home, x64
Sound Card: Asus Xonar AE
(Link to Specs)
Sound Card Chipset: C-Media 6632AE
(Link to Specs)
Receiver: Panasonic SC-BT300
(Link to Specs)
Receiver has either Red / White Analog in, or S/PDIF in.
The long and short of it is, I want to use 7.1 (at least 5.1 - I understand there may be limitations at play), but the card seems to only output 2 channel audio from the S/PDIF.
I can go into Window Control Panel > Sound > SPDIF Out > Properties > Supported Formats Tab > Dolby Digital > Test = and hear clear positional audio from 5 of the 7 speakers. This is not "virtual surround". The receiver flashes "Dolby Digital" when testing in this method, but seems to revert back to 2 channel when the test is complete.
Games and other apps are only presenting in a 2-channel format. When I had my crappy Logitech 5.1 system (with analog connectors), I was getting full positional audio.
I'd like to use my 7.1 (or 5.1, if that's as good as it gets) on my much more powerful entertainment system. Does anyone know of a workaround?
I found a post from a few years ago on a different site where someone resolved this, but they didn't say how... Something about finding the right drivers to make the sound card encode in Dolby Digital.
My entertainment system can decode:
Dolby Digital DecoderYes (Dolby® TrueHD, Dolby® Digital Plus, Dolby® Digital)(DTSTM-HD Master Audio, DTSTM-HD High Resolution Audio, DTSTM)
Any ideas?
I looked around for a bit, and it doesn't seem like the Xonar AE is supposed to support Dolby Digital Live. So it'll probably do AC-3 passthrough only. You might have have had that with your onboard audio, too. Bit of a waste of money, then.
As silly as it sounds, your best best may be going to the TV via HDMI first, and then to the Panathingy via HDMI ARC, which it appears to support. (Some messing about with black/white levels may ensue. Some test images e.g. from here may help dialing that in.) I hope your HDMI cables aren't too antiquated. If you don't even have a TV there, well, that's a problem then.
BTW, since the system has a measurement mic and all that, you could at least try to upgrade the speakers to something a little nicer, with better level handling and more even dispersion. I imagine there are worse applications for some Pioneer SP-BS22LRs, for example.
Not sure what to do about the sub, which appears to be a passive 6.5" with 10" passive membrane stock. DIY may be the more attractive option there. Since having multiple subs is good, maybe a pair with 10" drivers that could be distributed across the room a bit. 4 ohm drivers each, wired up in series so the amp doesn't break too much of a sweat? (Alternatively, if the sub amp doesn't mind 4 ohm loads, 8 ohms each and in parallel.)
As silly as it sounds, your best best may be going to the TV via HDMI first, and then to the Panathingy via HDMI ARC, which it appears to support. (Some messing about with black/white levels may ensue. Some test images e.g. from here may help dialing that in.) I hope your HDMI cables aren't too antiquated. If you don't even have a TV there, well, that's a problem then.
BTW, since the system has a measurement mic and all that, you could at least try to upgrade the speakers to something a little nicer, with better level handling and more even dispersion. I imagine there are worse applications for some Pioneer SP-BS22LRs, for example.
Not sure what to do about the sub, which appears to be a passive 6.5" with 10" passive membrane stock. DIY may be the more attractive option there. Since having multiple subs is good, maybe a pair with 10" drivers that could be distributed across the room a bit. 4 ohm drivers each, wired up in series so the amp doesn't break too much of a sweat? (Alternatively, if the sub amp doesn't mind 4 ohm loads, 8 ohms each and in parallel.)
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I think I understand. So, if I have a monitor that is HDMI ARC compatible, then I can plug my PC to my monitor via Displayport, and plug in an HDMI from my monitor to the Panathingy?
I looked at the specs on the Panasonic, and I didn't see anything about HDMI ARC. Where did you see that?
Correct.
AV OUT pretty clearly says "HDMI (ARC)". I'd be inclined to take them by their word.
On a picture of the back here.
AV OUT pretty clearly says "HDMI (ARC)". I'd be inclined to take them by their word.
Good find, and I wish I had that model. Mine is a BT300, not 330, and unfortunately does not have "ARC" listed anywhere on it.
SPDIF can transfer only 2-channel PCM (uncompressed), 5.1 AC3 (Dolby Digital), 2ch or 5.1 DTS. The two digital options use lossy compression, that is why the bitrate fits the SPDIF capacity.
Since you have 5.1 PCM being output from your game, you cannot use SPDIF right away. In linux you could configure on-the-fly conversion to DTS, but maybe the incurred latency (= sound delay) would ruin the gaming experience anyway. I do not know of such solution for windows.
Since you have 5.1 PCM being output from your game, you cannot use SPDIF right away. In linux you could configure on-the-fly conversion to DTS, but maybe the incurred latency (= sound delay) would ruin the gaming experience anyway. I do not know of such solution for windows.
Argh, I must have must that. Can't trust an image search these days...
Your model probably just predates ARC then.
My opinion DIY is the only valuable option here. Otherwise you'll have a lot of problems you can avoid.
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