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S/PDIF multichannel digital output
Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 4:35 am
by dr_vega
We plan to set up a pure digital system using 5.1 S/PDIF output from the computer going directly to a 5.1 digital amplifier through coax cable (no mixer). We plan to use the built-in digital output from an HP laptop.
Will SCS have any trouble with this system? Will we be able to send cues to all 6 channels?
-cc
Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 4:50 pm
by Mike Daniell
May be someone who has similar equipment could answer this. I would
think that SCS will be able to handle this, but what you will probably have to do is select something like 'Digital Out' as the physical device and then select the speaker output(s) you require under 'Speakers'. This is only a guess but is based on info on the HP web site
here.
Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 7:31 pm
by d_korman
Don't think you are going to have any luck here. The digital 5.1 output stream has to be encoded using Dolby Digital or DTS encoding. If you are playing a DTS or Dolby Digital encoded file (which SCS will see as a normal stereo file, I think), then it might work.
But there is no way for SCS to encode the mixed output from multiple cues into DD or DTS to output this to your amp. That would require real time DD or DTS encoding. All these encoders have to be licensed - and they are very expensive. I've never heard that real-time ones are available - and even if they were, SCS would have to support VST or Direct-X plugins, or they would have to be implemented using a special driver that appeared to be mulitple sound devices, in order for SCS to use them.
Edit: however, there are some sound cards that purport to be able to do real-time encoding - but you need a PCI slot in the PC to use them, so you could not use the SPDIF port on the laptop:
http://www.auzentech.com/data/AuzenTech ... MANUAL.pdf
However, reading the manual, it is not clear if the 6 channels are accessible to audio applications such as SCS, or if it just appears as a normal stereo sound device and synthesises the surround channels using one of several surround effects algorithms (most likely). In which case it will not do what you want anyway.
Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 10:17 pm
by dr_vega
Thanks Mike and d.
We had not considered the issue of encoding on the fly. At any rate, we have since learned the S/PDIF on HP laptops is stereo only, not 5.1.
I guess we'll look into AES and ADAT or wait to see how HDMI gets realized in computers. All of those formats can send 8 uncompressed PCM streams.