So what are my options?

[MrBfJohn]

I currently have a gaming PC which is really quiet, so I'm guessing could easily be used as a very capable HTPC, but how do I get the most out of it? My current setup is a hdmi straight to the TV, and an optical out from the sound card to my amp, which seems to only pass through a stereo signal, even on files with a 5.1 soundtrack. It's pretty lame, and I'm hoping it can do more.
The system is as follows:-
Mobo: Asus P8 Z77 V LE (Has basic audio outs, 3.5mm 7.1 and optical spdif. Also on board HDMI)
CPU: i5-2500K @4.4ghz (Nothing interesting here)
GPU: EVGA GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0 (Presumably capable of 4K and some high def audio?)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG (Seems to be great for headphones, but can't seem to pass through 5.1 DD or DTS)
AV Receiver: Onkyo TS XR 605 (7.1, Will decode high def audio but won't pass through 3D to TV)
TV: LG 3D jobbie, probably next to be upgraded.

So ideally what I'd like is a Blu Ray Drive and either rip them to a NAS, or play them directly from the disc. If possible I'd like to use one HDMI directly into the TV, and 1 HDMI to the amp, which would remove the issue of my amp not passing through the 3D to it's HDMI output. Can my GPU even do this? If so, is there some movie software that will get the most out of the system? I don't mind paying if it works. Plus anything else you might think of?

Cheers in advance
John

 

[lucid]

Using the PC to play ripped files is easier than trying to play BD discs directly from it. That's not to say that playing BDs is impossible, but it's something of a faff. For simple BD playback you'd find a cheap standalone BD player a much simpler and more reliable option.

For Optical sound, you should have a look at the options in the sound card menu. You want Bitstream to be enabled, and you probably need set any speaker output settings back to stereo rather than 5.1, this is because Optical can't carry anything more than PCM stereo as individual channels. Bitstream gets around the limitation by having the amp/receiver decode the compressed raw data signal.

HDMI with multiple outputs can be trickier. There's a handshake process called HDCP that goes on between all the devices connected by HDMI. It can default to setting the lowest common denominator for picture and sound where the HDMI is split 2-ways or more. This means that sound would be limited to stereo out via HDMI because that's all the TV can accept, and picture wouldn't go the 3D because the receiver chip set isn't 3D compatible. The only way you can really be sure is to buy a splitter and try it.

 

[MrBfJohn]

Cheers for the reply. I actually have a HDMI splitter. I currently use a PS3 to play Blu Ray's, and with the amp not passing through the 3D I thought I could simply split the signal and take one to the TV, and one to the amp. All this did is exactly like you said. It picked up that the TV couldn't handle High Def audio and lowered the output to standard dolby digital. Looks like I'm either going to have to upgrade my amp, or buy a blu ray player which decodes the audio and gives me RCA outputs.

 

[TALON1973]

Personally I think the pc a a blu ray system has died a death. It's just way to much hassle . For basic blu ray the ps3 does a fine job , which is amazing considering its age.