5.1 sound system acting like 2.1 sound system

H3llRazor

Posts: 12   +0
Ok so heres my problem,
my Samsung HT Z210T Home theater system is wired up and plugged into my digital-in, i also have some crappy $20 speakers plugged in i was using previously but without these speakers the sound card software doesn't recognize that anything is plugged in audio wise.

My soundcard is a creative SB X-Fi soundblaster
I'm running windows 7.

Please help i've downloaded recent drivers, and im completely stumped...
 
have you tried configuring the digital output of your x-fi? and also set it as default instead of the 'speakers'. also check the output format while you're at it. for 5.1 i think it should be dolby digital live (5.1 surround) instead of 2 channels 48000hz.
 
Its blanked out when i try to configure it, The default is the X-Fi, And the only output format its on would be Dolby Digital and at 2 channel-24 bit-96000 Hz, The highest option.
 
well there is a free way to unlock the DDL from any x-fi card (except XtremeAudio). i wouldn't explain it here since it's probably not-allowed.

or, if you don't get surround sound in movies you can use AC3Filter or ffdshow decoder (K-Lite Codec Pack i suggest) and tick the Dolby Digital / DTS option through SPDIF passthrough. if your samsung ht supports the format there should be surround sound instead of stereo.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital#Dolby_Digital_Live

I'm not exactly sure, but as far as I can tell Dolby Digital Live allow you to produce 5.1 channel through SPDIF, this way you can enjoy the 5.1 surround sound in movie and games.

If you select your SPDIF to "2 Channels" I guess the x-fi will only give 2 channels output stream. You cannot enjoy 5.1 surround sound, unless you have a program say AC3Filter which will actually slip the unique AC-3 (Dolby Digital Data) into the stream and thus your Dolby-Digital-friendly speakers will produce 5.1 sound. Although AC-3 does not always carry 5.1 channel sounds, it can be stereo as well.

Currently almost all the X-Fi cards supports Dolby Digital Live except the low end XtremeAudio which uses different processor. If you could unlock the thing, you may obtain the 6-channels sound you've been missing.

--

I am currently using Realtek-based notebook, and I think I'm quite lucky to have DDL option available by default. Too bad my speakers are coaxial while my realtek supports optical, otherwise I would've confirmed the use of DDL in my machine.

realtekddl.jpg
 
Ok so heres whats going on, i downloaded AC-3 and playing around with that.

"Since September 2008, all Creative X-Fi based sound cards support DDL"

Is what reads in wikipedia, i got this soundcard in a computer from dell, after i had got a new computer i took out that card and put that card into the computer im using now.
Anyways back to the point, is that i was sent this computer + card in 2007.

And im still playing around with AC-3 to try to work something out, but this is looking like its SOL.
 
The thing is that almost all X-Fi cards uses identical processor, which is the CA20K1, except for the cheapest X-Fi XtremeAudio. This chip is required, in order to DDL to function. If you have older cards, but not this particular low end one, you can unlock DDL buy buying the software from Creative, or using the 'alternative' way i mentioned earlier.

http://buy.soundblaster.com/_creati...ail&category=Software&pid=F2222DDN6Z2H2ADDEZD

nvm about it, did the AC3 work out?
 
This is what it displays when i open it everytime

"This utility is for OFFLINE filter configuration only!This means that you will not see any activity of currently playing applications and configuration settings will not affect them. You need to restart your player for changes take in effect!"

Therefore i cannot tell if its working at all.
 
http://www.xpmediacentre.com.au/com...de-make-ac3-5-1-through-spdif-work-vista.html

if i remember right, you must tick the "SPDIF passthrough checkbox" and set the correct format. otherwise it will be disabled even when viewing video with AC3 audio. if the AC3 filter is working the icon should appear in tray.

it's been few years since I uninstalled the AC3Filter, i would recommend you to use ffdshow instead. it is installed altogether with K-Lite codec pack, for example. don't forget to uninstall AC3filter before installing other codec pack / decoder software.

-edit: add
http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=223&mpage=1
 
Ok heres what i did,
As soon as i realized that AC-3 filter doesnt work for games i uninstalled that because that is exactly what i need 5.1 for
Anyways i bought the DDL on this site:

http://buy.soundblaster.com/_creati...lby+Digital+Live+Pack&pid=F2222DDN6Z2H2ADDEZD

One of my other problems is my drivers arent installing correctly, and its doing this:

http://img151.imageshack.us/f/16027575.png/

and this:

http://img214.imageshack.us/f/93987035.png/

The first one is trying to find a file thats already in the installer,
Second is failing the install and i keep restarting my computer and playing around with this and it seems F.U.B.A.R'd
 
i came across this article:

http://www.mycreativefansite.com/2008/08/solution-error-i-001-installation-is.html

and another which says:

A fix for the installer "layout.bin" crash:

1. Get WinRAR
2. Unpack the ALchemy .exe file to any folder
3. Do setup manually in that folder.

or simply re-downloading the setup file.

hope it helps.

I've tried the Unpacking ALchemy.exe route, and what i did was simply download the latest version of it and ran it, and it said there was a equivalent version of the program already installed, so i just continued with the install.
I have a feeling i didn't do this correctly.
 
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