X-FI, 5.1 and DTS?

[Shakey_Jake33]

spdif means its runnign spdif passthru - its not using the soundcards decoder or software decoding, its just passing the dd/dts stream on to the speakers to let them decode it.

anything else on that properties page = software decoding.

In this case, it's more complex than that.

Basically, on Creative cards, you can select in the Audio Console whether to use the hardware decoder, or to pass it through the output to external decoder.
When you select SPDIF in a program, it will basically use whichever you have selected in the Audio Console.
It is quite misleading I know.

willhub the process I told you earlier in the topic is correct, although it is very easy to see why it may be confusing.

The X-Fi is IMO the best sound card around, unless you wish to use an external decoder, in which case go for the HDA Xplosion. All this talk about selling your X-Fi is irrational madness..

 

[james.miller]

In this case, it's more complex than that.

Basically, on Creative cards, you can select in the Audio Console whether to use the hardware decoder, or to pass it through the output to external decoder.
When you select SPDIF in a program, it will basically use whichever you have selected in the Audio Console.
It is quite misleading I know.

yeah i realised this after he described a few things

The other, rather ironic option, is that your hearing sound with no digital cable connect because maybe by setting the decoder software to spdif, and your x-fi software to hardware decoding, your sound card is then downmixing that signal and outputting it thru the analogue.

in otherwords, you are actually using your soundcars hardware decoder and its that decoder that's causing your 'lag'. That would be ironic.

Most cards dont mess with spdif passthru. creative, of course, have to be differnt

 

[willhub]

ah i see, so when i select Enable SPDIF Output in the Entertainment Center Settings, and then on the control center change it to use an external decoder, i am not hearing any sound becouse it aint been decoded? and if i linked coax to the X-FI from the Z5500, and then select Enable SPDIF output and click on external decoder it would decode in the Z5500?
So its using the hardware decoder all along.


Anyway got a slight problem when using the creative entertainment center (the thing that comes up when i press power on the remote) i put in any dvd, and a lot of the time its like the FPS is low, and if your in a large area on the movie, i kind of lags :s and does a lot of the time