Games that have 5.1 Sound

Raggs · 2 Apr 2010 at 16:04

Hey guys i have orded a 5.1 surround sound set up for my pc are there any games that support true 5.1 sound... encoded with it like a dvd movie? would like to try some any reccomendations ? not bothered about genre i like all sorts of games.

Thanks,

Kall.

EDDS · 2 Apr 2010 at 16:11

correct me if im wrong but i thought like 99% of pc games in the past 5 or so years support surround sound.

uv · 2 Apr 2010 at 16:16

yup.. you'd be better off asking which games don't have 5.1

Gimpymoo · 2 Apr 2010 at 16:18

Not to sound negative, but I find surround sound in games to be over-rated.

Much prefer stereo over headphones.

LeJosh · 2 Apr 2010 at 16:21

Gimpymoo said:
Not to sound negative, but I find surround sound in games to be over-rated.

Much prefer stereo over headphones.

Probably depend on hardware and software configuration. Not sure what you had obviously.

Raggs · 2 Apr 2010 at 16:27

EDDS said:
correct me if im wrong but i thought like 99% of pc games in the past 5 or so years support surround sound.

Oh right didnt know that if you look at dvd film case though it normally says 5.1 dolby digital encoded they dont to put that on back of pc games cases i just wondered why they would not flag that on the back of the case with the rest of the system specs ??

EDDS · 2 Apr 2010 at 16:28

well i think thats because for dvd's they have to if they use either dolby or DTS, whereas pc games use their own encoding or what have you.

Ste · 2 Apr 2010 at 18:45

You either need an amp/processor/etc. that accepts 3 stereo analogue inputs (front, back, centre/sub) or a soundcard that will encode to dolby digital on the fly

Pyroblaze · 2 Apr 2010 at 19:25

EDDS said:
well i think thats because for dvd's they have to if they use either dolby or DTS, whereas pc games use their own encoding or what have you.

Didn't Age of Conan use some form of Dolby surround sound? I only have 2.1 speakers so i don't really pay too much attention but that stuck in my mind for some reason.

skullman · 3 Apr 2010 at 15:33

EDDS said:
whereas pc games use their own encoding or what have you

..which will probably be superior quality anyway than dolby digital 5.1 etc, especially todays games.

LabR@t · 3 Apr 2010 at 17:31

doom 3 has good 5.1 effects

FoxEye · 3 Apr 2010 at 17:40

EDDS said:
well i think thats because for dvd's they have to if they use either dolby or DTS, whereas pc games use their own encoding or what have you.

It's not encoded at all. It's generated as 5 channels, and sent out over 5 channels

If it were encoded it'd be generated as 5 channels, and merged into one stream, which would then be decoded somewhere else back into 5 channels.

"On the fly" encoding, such as Dolby LIVE and DTS Connect, is used when you have a Dolby/DTS decoder connected to your PC. Most people don't. Then you have 5.1 > 1 stream > 5.1 again, and it introduces sound lag as that's a lot of work to be doing in real time.

Tefal · 3 Apr 2010 at 17:44

Kallor said:
Hey guys i have orded a 5.1 surround sound set up for my pc are there any games that support true 5.1 sound... encoded with it like a dvd movie? would like to try some any reccomendations ? not bothered about genre i like all sorts of games.

Thanks,

Kall.

the audio in games is done o nthe fly so most can do single althe way to 7.1 +

FoxEye · 3 Apr 2010 at 17:53

If OP has bought a surround sound setup like you would attach to a DVD player, and it just has digital inputs (Optical or Coax), then it's pretty much useless for gaming.

If OP has bought a 5.1 setup with individual analogue inputs (3 mini jacks/ 6 phono), then all is well, and all he needs is a soundcard with 5.1 outputs (3 mini jacks).

Raggs · 3 Apr 2010 at 19:12

FoxEye said:
If OP has bought a surround sound setup like you would attach to a DVD player, and it just has digital inputs (Optical or Coax), then it's pretty much useless for gaming.

If OP has bought a 5.1 setup with individual analogue inputs (3 mini jacks/ 6 phono), then all is well, and all he needs is a soundcard with 5.1 outputs (3 mini jacks).

Aye i have bought a logitech x540 sytem and have a creative sound card with 4 mini jacks on the back but my amp for my Tv set up as you say has only digital coax and optical and phono inputs for cd tape deck ect....

so if i ever wanted too hook up a pc to a amp and play on a tv i would have to have one with four mini jacks on the back?? cant see me doing that but just wonderd if it's possible or could you get around it by buying somthing like.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-065-CL&groupid=701&catid=11&subcat=

and running a optical lead to your amp?

FoxEye · 3 Apr 2010 at 20:43

Yup. Looks like that card has Dolby LIVE, which they simply refer to as "real time encoding". As I said, it is likely to introduce some lag as encoding takes a little time.

Here's a link to Dolby's pages on LIVE.

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/understand/playback/dolby-digital-live.html

FoxEye · 3 Apr 2010 at 20:44

Although your TV probably just does stereo, no? You can send a stereo signal over coax or optical, you simply lose the other channels, but it requires no decoding.

Locke · 3 Apr 2010 at 20:47

Like above, most games are capable of outputting multiple channel sound output.

Bad Company 2 is awesome with a surround system