Does onboard digital audio output now encode 5.1?

[Gimpymoo]

Back in the day, I remember that to game in 5.1 using optical output, you needed a seperate soundcard to encode a games realitime audio track. Dolby Digital and DTS connect are what were needed at the time and most onboard audio did not support it.

Is that still the case or do modern onboard solutions now do that?

if they do, any benefits of having a "premium" soundcard in the loop if using a decent amp to process it all?

Thanks.

 

[Marsman]

Actually, it's something that's been capable on a hardware level with the majority of Realtek codecs for a long time now. It was just that board manufacturers disabled it on a software level with all but their premium boards. Probably as an additional feature to tempt buyers into opting for their premium boards and probably so they didn't have to pay royalties on the lower cost boards.

Still the case now, as it was years ago, you only get access to them with the premium boards; however, someone posted a link to cracked drivers, which enabled DDL and DTSC.

Have a look at this thread. https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18626211

Can be hit and miss though, as to whether you can get it working hassle free. Windows and driver updates screwed around with this. Last time this was brought up, the current state of Windows had no cracked drivers that worked, from what I recall. Whoever did them might have updated them since then.

You could give it a try, but if you end up deciding to get a sound card to do it, then no point in getting a premium sound card, if all you require is DDL or DTSC.

The so called high end sound cards are only worth considering, if you need a better DAC and amp compared to the mid range cards; either for use with high quality headphones or stereo speakers.

 

[Uriel]

What content are you looking to play in 5.1?

If you're using Optical or Coaxial some form of encoding is required. With later versions of HDMI, 5.1 (or 7.1 for that matter) may be natively supported without encoding. Most newer graphics cards have a basic sound device onboard that will handle this.

DVDs and BluRays have pre-encoded soundtracks so you can just set optical to pass through the signal.

For games over optical, you need something that can encode on the fly. Dolby Digital Live, DTS Connect (mostly found on soundcards) or Dolby Home Theatre (now v4, mainly on motherboards) will do the job for you.

Assuming you're on Windows 10 and want to go for a soundcard a Soundblaster Z is a relatively painless option (some legacy cards are a pain to get working properly).

 

[Gimpymoo]

I already have a Xonar DX myself, I was just wondering how far the onboard tech had come.

I suppose the demand is not there for 5.1 PC gaming?

If it was, it would surely be native to onboard audio by now?