DTS on the fly

Auraomega

Auraomega

Auraomega

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I've spent the past God knows how many hours searching this up but can't find any recent info so I'm gonna ask a dumb question: can I encode multi-channel audio on the fly to DTS or any form of compression that can be sent to an amp? I'm looking specifically for something to encode the audio coming from games so I can play them through an AVR and have more than just stereo, however I don't want to buy another soundcard when it's not really getting used.

Edit:
Thought I should add what I've found:
AC3Filter appears to do what I want for media players (although I've had no luck), apparently it didn't support games but there was a request which was subsequently accepted so it might have been added and I just can't find any info for it. Any help here would be great.
redocneXk, struggling to find any info on this but it appears to only work with devices supporting ASIO, using the UNi Xonar Drivers for the DG could I get this to work with the ASIO patch?
 
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I tried AC3Filter back before I bought a Dolby Digital Live capable Xonar. It half worked, but the sound was crappy and distorted. I couldn't get it to work properly for love nor money, so decided on getting a D1, which ended up being an Essence ST. :o

Not looked into if it was possible with DTS, but I suspect it can't be done. I don't think there is a AC3 equivalent for DTS. Could be wrong though.
 
I have been testing my Xonar D2 that I picked up in MM for £35 and the send any audio from my PC using the coaxial Digital out to my Onkyo 876 and choose between Dolby Digital and DTS on the fly.

My amp just switches over and display what it receiving. Was odd playing something from BBCi player and seeing the DTS display on my amp.
 
our d2x did it just fine, dont know about games, but normal media center and other htpc stuff, it just did it. DTS is better quality than dolby.

xonar wise it looks like ds, d2, and d2x can encode dts on the fly.

I think we are going to get a ds, if u loook about u can get it for under £40
 
As I said, I don't want to buy another soundcard if possible because it won't really get used, only to convert to DTS.

Also, I don't need DTS specifically it was just the first one that came to mind, like I said in the first post I only want to send multi-channel audio to my amp for games, films I can just use the passthrough like I currently do.
 
You need DTS Connect. No other way to do it from a PC. Believe me, if there was I would have jumped on it years ago.

The cheapest card that includes it is the Xonar DS. It's available on some motherboards too.

If you're willing to accept Dolby Digital, some cheaper cards will do it. Look for Dolby Digital Live.

Alternatively you could get an analogue to DTS converter but I think that would defeat half the point. See Creative DTS-610.

If you want both Dolby Headphone and Dolby Digital Live, minimim spec is Xonar D1 or DX. If you want both Dolby Headphone, Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect, Xonar D2 or D2X is minimum spec.
 
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So other than a using a bunch of audio cables for the various inputs I'd have to buy a soundcard? Absolutely no other way even without DTS? I guess either way I'll require a card analogue or digital, rather annoying really :(

How does HDMI work? My current amp doesn't support HDMI so I can't check myself, but would I be able to send multi-channel audio via my graphics card?

Uriel said:
If you want both Dolby Headphone and Dolby Digital Live, minimim spec is Xonar D1 or DX. If you want both Dolby Headphone, Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect, Xonar D2 or D2X is minimum spec.
Click to expand...

What's the difference between Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect?
 
Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect do a similar thing Dolby Digital Live can encode multiple audio streams into a Dolby Digital stream and DTS Connect does the same for DTS.

All you'll be able to send through HDMI audio is stereo or a multi channel audio source that's already been encoded to Dolby or DTS unfotunately because both are licenced formats theres no free software solution and it'll never happen on a commercial level either because the interest isn't there to even begin to cover the licence fees.... :(
 
Thejay said:
All you'll be able to send through HDMI audio is stereo or a multi channel audio source that's already been encoded to Dolby or DTS unfotunately because both are licenced formats theres no free software solution and it'll never happen on a commercial level either because the interest isn't there to even begin to cover the licence fees.... :(
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That isnt true. I use my 5850 to send 8 channel LPCM to my amp.
 
I think it depends on HDMI revision. Later versions support uncompressed multi-channel audio. Earlier versions rely on spdif equivalent, hence need Dolby Digital or DTS for multichannel.
 
all versions support LCPM. Many people believe earlier versions do not, but the truth it thats because of manufacturers choosing not to include it in their hdmi outputs as it wasn't compulsory. ie, the 3 series ati cards supported 2 channel pcm and DD/DTS output only. the 4 series cards supported both of those and also 8x channel LPCM and the 5&6 series card support all of the above plus DTS:MA and TrueHD passthrough.

{HDMI} Version 1.0 to 1.2

HDMI 1.0 was released December 9, 2002 and is a single-cable digital audio/video connector interface with a maximum TMDS bandwidth of 4.9 Gbit/s. It supports up to 3.96 Gbit/s of video bandwidth (1080p/60 Hz or UXGA) and 8 channel LPCM/192 kHz/24-bit audio.[2] HDMI 1.1 was released on May 20, 2004 and added support for DVD-Audio.[2] HDMI 1.2 was released August 8, 2005 and added support for One Bit Audio, used on Super Audio CDs, at up to 8 channels. It also added the availability of HDMI type A connectors for PC sources, the ability for PC sources to only support the sRGB color space while retaining the option to support the YCbCr color space, and required HDMI 1.2 and later displays to support low-voltage sources.[2][92] HDMI 1.2a was released on December 14, 2005 and fully specifies Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) features, command sets, and CEC compliance tests.[2]
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI
 
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it does, yes :) although it isnt a perfect solution if you like the effects processing of the xonars or the xfi's. the ati cards aren't brilliant for gaming but the audio quality itself is just fine :)
 
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Well right now I don't have the room to go full 5.1, it's been nice to play around with my AVR and all but until I get somewhere a little bigger my PC speakers will do 5.1 for me, hopefully it won't be too long until I can afford a decent HDMI AVR to replace my current one too. It's just good to know what options are available to me because I imagine a set of 'real' speakers will be absolutely stunning in game.
 
Also worth bearing in mind that you will need a sound pre-
2007 games that used DirectSound3D.

Microsoft changed the way that gaming sound is implemented between XP and Vista. To date, only Asus, creative, C-Media and Realtek have issued work-arounds. Of those Creative's alchemy is the most successful, followed by Asus but none are perfect. For sound solutions by any other company, you will be stuck with stereo for those order games.
 
I only own a few old games, and beyond Morrowind none of them are really 'immersion' games, more just pick up and play for 30 minutes then put away again so stereo on those games doesn't really bother me. It'd be nice to play Morrowind with a real 5.1 setup but I don't think I can justify paying an extra sum for it.
 
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