Sound Blaster Live! Value (with digital output) ==> Digital Home Theater System??

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correction

hey i got a little confused. my last post was for bretty, not cliff.

i read in a previous post that what i am trying to do is impossible, so for now i'll just stick to the analog 5.1 for games/music. i tried the pro logic and is didn't sound quite right with the center speaker going when rear objects were making noise (in games).

tom
 
TTT

I am currently also trying to get surround sound out of my reciever and located this topic from way back and it has been a huge help to get me as far as i am now but now I am stuck and looking for input.

I have a SB Live 5.1 and do not have the box where you turn on or off AC-3 in the settings tab of the speaker config. So i went to creative site and found this:

Note: The SB Live! card itself doesn't produce a Dolby Digital (AC3) output. It requires an AC3 source and an AC3 decoder.

The following are the three requirements to obtain a Dolby Digital (AC3) output with the SB Live! range of cards:

The SB Live! card has a Digital Out:
The SB Live! has an S/PDIF output on the daughter card - which connects with a 75 Ohm coaxial cable to an AC3 decoder.
The SB Live! Platinum and SB Live! Player 1024 have a digital out (yellow 3.5mm mini jack connector ) - connect with a standard cable which converts the 3.5mm stereo to left/right RCA. Connect the left (white) connector which carries the AC3 stream to the AC3 decoder.The right (red) cable carries no signal.
There is an upgrade card with digital out available for the SB Live! Value from the Creative Online Store. This is the Optical Digital I/O Card 2.


A Dolby Digital (AC3) source:
e.g. a DVD video with an AC3 track encoded with the MPEG stream and playing this DVD using a software DVD player that has an 'enable S/PDIF output' option. An example of such a software DVD player is WinDVD supplied with certain Creative products.


A Dolby Digital (AC3) decoder:
e.g. Desktop Theatre 5.1, Desktop Theatre 2500 Digital

I set the SB to digital 5.1, the 3.5 is in the digital out, which splits into a red and white rca cable which then is convertered into single rca (via and mono to mono plug) which is plugged into the recievers digital coax in. The reciever display shows 5 speakers and has nothing but light fuzz out of all of the channels. I am also using Windvd 5.0 and have set that up accordingly using the sdif output.

I understand from this fourm that you have to turn off ac-3 in order to get this to work and my card doesnt have a place to turn it off or on so is my card incapable of doing this? If so what is the digital out for on the card anyway? Please help me :-(
 
LOL

Well i unplugged the handy little mono to mono adapter and just pluged the white audio rca plug into the coxial in and it worked!

Well hopefully the above post wasnt a total waste and maybe can help someone else.

Thanks all
 
FYI- AC3 is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround codec. They are the synonimus so you cant turn it off and get 5.1 surround unless you are playing a game and using EAX. If AC-3 is diabled you are most likely getting Dolby Digital.
 
old topic hope someone is still listening

just got my pioneer reciver pluged via a mono jack from soundblaster live 5.1 to reciver coaxiel connection, wirks on stereo or pro logic mode, i was wondering is pro logic similar to other systems like logitech has matrix function that realy only simulates seround sound or is pro logic realy is seround sound decoded from my pc?

i am getting dolby digital light turn up when i play dvd's, so i wondered if games with pro logic be accurate if some oen is steping behind me in some css and stuff?
 
sad truth

I've found this on the creative help page:
"""
Sound from front channels only when connecting from Digital-Out on Sound Blaster card to Digital-In on multichannel receiver

The Digital Input jacks found on common home theater receivers are either a Coaxial or Optical Digital Input connectors. These Digital Input connectors are capable of receiving a single data stream only, be it AC3 data stream, DVD, or a regular stereo audio. When the receiver receives a compressed audio data stream such as a AC3 or DVD from the sound card or a setup DVD player, it will decode the compressed audio, and then output to appropriate speakers. These connectors are not capable of sending multichannel audio signals that have been decoded already by the sound card to individual speakers. When the receiver receives such signals, it will output the front channels only, and disregard other channels.

The Digital-Out jack on the Sound Blaster Live! 5.1, Sound Blaster Audigy, and Sound Blaster Audigy 2 cards is a 4-pole mini jack that enables the card to deliver multichannel audio via three discrete streams (Front SPDIF, Rear SPDIF, and Center/Subwoofer SPDIF) to compatible speakers such as the Creative Inspire 5700, DTT3500, or MegaWorks 510.

The Digital Out jack can also send out a compressed, single stream AC3 data to an external decoder such as a receiver.

When a multichannel receiver is connected to the Digital Out jack of a multichannel Sound Blaster card, such as the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS (7.1), the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 (6.1), Sound Blaster Audigy (5.1), Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 or Sound Blaster Extigy, it will only reproduce multichannel audio when playing DVD games, or DVD movies, or standalone AC3 files.

The commonplace multimedia files such as MP3, MID, AVI, WAC, or WMA etc, are of stereo format: right and left only. It is common to hear only front right and front left channels from a multichannel capable receiver when it is connected to the Digital Out jack on a Sound Blaster card. Though there are software applications, for example, the Creative CMSS, that can replicate stereo audio to a surround sound, this process requires the sound card be connected to speakers with a proprietary Digital Input, or its analog out.

If your receiver has discrete multichannel analog connections, it is recommended that they be connected to the Analog Front-Out, Rear-Out, and Center/Subwoofer Out on the audio card. In this case, the Sound Blaster card will decode the AC3 files or DVD files, and output to appropriate speakers.

"""
 
The Digital-Out jack on the Sound Blaster Live! 5.1, Sound Blaster Audigy, and Sound Blaster Audigy 2 cards is a 4-pole mini jack that enables the card to deliver multichannel audio via three discrete streams (Front SPDIF, Rear SPDIF, and Center/Subwoofer SPDIF) to compatible speakers such as the Creative Inspire 5700, DTT3500, or MegaWorks 510.

I have the yellow jack used for SPDIF, and using a regular mini jack to left/right RCS jacks, I can connect it to the digital in on my amp.
If I connect the right RCA jack, I get the rear speakers. If I connect the left, I get the front speakers. multichannel audio via three discrete streams (Front SPDIF, Rear SPDIF, and Center/Subwoofer SPDIF) Is there any way to turn that off so all channels go through one stream? I have nowhere to plug in the right channel, as there's only one digital input on the amp. (there's two, but the other is being used for DVD, and I couldn't use them together anyways).

I want to have everything go through the one cable, not the left is front and right is rear.

Thanks in advance
 
I was going through the same thing. I had all the settings exactly like they were laid out here but I was getting either nothing, stereo or an odd mix of surround channels coming from the FR & FL speakers. I was about to smash something but decided to go back into my DVD player (PowerDVD) and futz with the settings again. I changed it to stereo, hit "OK" and then changed it back to SP/DIF, hit "OK" and BAM! MY Sony 5.1 receiver registered all 5.1 speakers. This forum helped me more than any of the others I found around though. Thanks a lot!

And now to get rid of the damned buzz of interference...
 
yes you can hook up card to receiver sdif to coaxial on receiver it works great walt

Compuwiz said:
I am getting really frusterated with my sound situation. Right now, I have a 500watt sound system hooked up to a cdplayer, tv, vcr, and my computer. However, it is hooked up to the "Line out" section of the sound card. I have been researching some, trying to see if I can use the digital output and hook it up to my reciever.

I am stumped. The cables I am using are RCA cables converter thing (red & white RCA ==> computer jack thing).

My reciever has coaxial and optical digital inputs. I dont know what I need to get to have it so that my soundcard can give full 5.1 sound from my computer.

Also, as it is right now, i hear buzzing sound from my sound system when I have it selected to the computer. I hear no buzzing sound when I have it selected to my cd player, and sound only comes out of the right front speaker when in TV mode.

Any help would be greatly appretiated.
yes i did it .it works great dennon coaxial cable to sound card live you will need small adapter from radio shack for card connection then your amp does all the work. it works great i did it along time ago. my son thinks im crazy i proved him wrong walt wshebib@cogeco.ca
 
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