2014-01-02, 23:21
I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, it's very much a windows/hardware tech support question, but I'll try here first and if people tell me to post it Over there (even if it's another forum or resource) then I'll happily do that.
ALSO, if anyone suggests things to try, I'll definitely do them and post updates. I've tried all solutions I can find, but I'm clearly missing something. If you want me to try something and report on the output to get more information, I'll do it.
Problem description: HTPC is only outputting Stereo sound to receiver (except in specific circumstances). I would like it to output 5.1 sound in all circumstances, specifically XBMC. HTPC is running Windows 8 and has a dedicated soundcard (Creative Labs SB X-FI) outputting via SPDIF/Optical to a Sony 5.1 Receiver. I'm aware that SPDIF can only carry a 5.1 signal if it's Dolby or DTS encoded, but I can't even get that sorted out properly. There are so many different control panels or settings that could be the issue, I don't really know where to start. I've got the soundcard currently set to NO Dolby/DTS encoding, as per the following screenshot:
I would assume that any file with audio encoded in Dolby 5.1 would output correctly, but this is not the case. Playing ChannelCheck.mp4 (from the Dolby Website) in WMP, VLC or XBMC simply outputs stereo. (For future reference, my receiver has a great way of showing my what channels it's receiving and what speakers it's outputting to, so I know this is the signal it's getting). The receiver takes this signal and outputs to all 6 speakers, but that's not what I want.
Changing the encoding in the Soundcard properties fixes nothing. It means every piece of software has to output to "Speakers" instead of "SPDIF Out" but it still comes out stereo. This is probably obvious, since applications that were not outputting 5.1 sound wouldn't miraculously start again after enabling the re-encoding.
My endpoint is to have XBMC outputting proper 5.1 sound for files that have a 5.1 audio encode, and use XBMC's "Output stereo to all speakers" option for audio files that aren't. I feel I'm not even close to that and there are many config panel barriers in my way. Help! I'll provide full details of any settings as best I can to try to get this working.
Operating system: Windows 8 Pro (64-bit Operating System, x64-based processor)
System specs: Custom built machine, 8 Gb RAM, Intel i5-4670 CPU @ 3.4GHz,
Creative Labs SB X-FI) outputting via SPDIF/Optical to
Sony 5.1 Receiver.
ALSO, if anyone suggests things to try, I'll definitely do them and post updates. I've tried all solutions I can find, but I'm clearly missing something. If you want me to try something and report on the output to get more information, I'll do it.
Problem description: HTPC is only outputting Stereo sound to receiver (except in specific circumstances). I would like it to output 5.1 sound in all circumstances, specifically XBMC. HTPC is running Windows 8 and has a dedicated soundcard (Creative Labs SB X-FI) outputting via SPDIF/Optical to a Sony 5.1 Receiver. I'm aware that SPDIF can only carry a 5.1 signal if it's Dolby or DTS encoded, but I can't even get that sorted out properly. There are so many different control panels or settings that could be the issue, I don't really know where to start. I've got the soundcard currently set to NO Dolby/DTS encoding, as per the following screenshot:
I would assume that any file with audio encoded in Dolby 5.1 would output correctly, but this is not the case. Playing ChannelCheck.mp4 (from the Dolby Website) in WMP, VLC or XBMC simply outputs stereo. (For future reference, my receiver has a great way of showing my what channels it's receiving and what speakers it's outputting to, so I know this is the signal it's getting). The receiver takes this signal and outputs to all 6 speakers, but that's not what I want.
Changing the encoding in the Soundcard properties fixes nothing. It means every piece of software has to output to "Speakers" instead of "SPDIF Out" but it still comes out stereo. This is probably obvious, since applications that were not outputting 5.1 sound wouldn't miraculously start again after enabling the re-encoding.
My endpoint is to have XBMC outputting proper 5.1 sound for files that have a 5.1 audio encode, and use XBMC's "Output stereo to all speakers" option for audio files that aren't. I feel I'm not even close to that and there are many config panel barriers in my way. Help! I'll provide full details of any settings as best I can to try to get this working.
Operating system: Windows 8 Pro (64-bit Operating System, x64-based processor)
System specs: Custom built machine, 8 Gb RAM, Intel i5-4670 CPU @ 3.4GHz,
Creative Labs SB X-FI) outputting via SPDIF/Optical to
Sony 5.1 Receiver.
