• 06-24-2008, 06:05 PM
    goodiegood
    NO SPDIF-tab in Realtek Sound Manager/AC'97. want DTS/DD sound. what's wrong?!
    i've now spent a whole day trying to figure out what can be wrong with my SPDIF-port on my PC since it won't show up in my Realtek AC'97 Sound Manager, but now i am completely stucked, so i need assistance...

    the deal/point is that i want DTS/DD5.1 sound from my SPDIF-connection on my pc to show up in my receiver (Yamaha RX-V663). i've connected an opitcal-cable from my PC SPDIF-port to my receiver.

    the problem is that i cannot see the SPDIF-tab in Realtek Sound Manager (soundman.exe) like it's supposed to do!

    here's what i've done so far:

    - i've uninstalled/deleted all old sound drivers and installed new sound drivers. ALC850_5-10-00-5865 is the latest Realtek Sound Manager that i've installed. no result there. still a Realtek Sound Manager WITHOUT a SPDIF-tab!
    - i've installed new Nvidia chipset drivers too without success. i've of course restarted my computer like a dozen of times...
    - i've tried switching between coax and optical cables/port without success.
    - i've tried enabling SPDIF in both VLC and GOM player without success.
    - i've put SPDIF in AC3 and DTS in FFDShow Audio Converter config and played DTS movie(s) without success. (it displays only "Neo 6: Cinema" on my receiver instead of DTS when i play a DTS movie)
    - i've tried playing DTS movie(s) with my DVD-player AND DVD-recorder that're connected with optical to my receiver which is done with great success, so it's not the receiver who's joking with me..
    - i've tried to play files with DTS sound with VLC, GOM and MPC, but it only plays "regular" sound (like with mini-jacks). no DTS is shown on my receiver, just the regular "Neo 6: Cinema".
    - i've checked whether it's possible that i can get DTS/DD5.1 at all, and it says that i can get...

    that's what i've done so far, but i can still not get DTS/DD5.1 sound with my SPDIF.

    my SPDIF-port is within my motherboard (Asus K8N).

    here's a small picture that states which motherboard i've got: http://www.elgen.net/motherboard.jpg

    i am a WinXP user.

    so yeah... can someone tell me HOW ON EARTH i can manage to make SPDIF-tab to appear in Realtek Sound Manager?! i've been trying and trying like ALL day long and now it's 3AM and i want to get some sleep... so, does anyone got a slightest clue what can be wrong here, huh?!

    thankies a lot for the help in advance!

    ps: pardon if this was posted in the wrong section! wasn't quite sure where to post this one...
  • 06-25-2008, 12:06 AM
    pixelthis
    Get a decent sound card, instead of that "built in".
    MOSTLY, YOU'RE DVD player probably needs the digital cable hooked to your card.
    Some dvd players require that you hook up a bitstream cable to your soundcard.
    that would be my guess.
    Get a decent sound card, a cheap one , like creatives usb soundblaster is like 40 bucks,
    hookls to your usb and has always worked for me, even tho I didnt install anything.
    You have to go into your bios, probably, and disable your on board card, tho.
    And uninstall its drivers:1:
  • 06-25-2008, 02:30 AM
    basite
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by pixelthis
    Get a decent sound card, instead of that "built in".
    MOSTLY, YOU'RE DVD player probably needs the digital cable hooked to your card.
    Some dvd players require that you hook up a bitstream cable to your soundcard.
    that would be my guess.


    I agree that looking for a decent soundcard is a better way to go.

    however, since he's running win XP, he won't need to connect the dvd player to the soundcard anymore. so that's not the problem.


    isn't there some option like 'use digital out only' or so?

    but look at a new soundcard, it'll be a nice upgrade too...

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.
  • 06-25-2008, 06:13 AM
    goodiegood
    alrighty...

    but i do not want to get a separate sound card. i want this to work.

    also, i tried looking in the BIOS, but i could not find anything on SPDIF... this surely annoys me.

    "isn't there some option like 'use digital out only' or so? " <-- i would've laughed if it'd be that easy... but unfortunately, it's not that easy... i cannot locate any place that lets me choose between that.

    so you ain't got any suggestions on this then, huh?
  • 06-25-2008, 06:34 AM
    Rich-n-Texas
    You have to be sure you've completely uninstalled the old drivers before you install new ones. I'd try "Drivercleaner Pro" or whatever is out there as freeware these days before installing your updated drivers. Also, download and install "Eusing Free Registry Cleaner" (Google it) and run that as well before installing the drivers.

    Have you contacted ASUS Customer Service?

    My experience with any onboard sound, especially Realtek AC'97 is not good. Like pix says, you should really consider a PCI slot soundcard. There are many, VERY reasonably priced cards out there that will easily outperform the integrated junk.

    BTW, that's an old motherboard so make sure you're using the right driver.
  • 06-25-2008, 09:15 AM
    basite
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rich-n-Texas
    My experience with any onboard sound, especially Realtek AC'97 is not good.


    mine neither, in fact, one of the reasons I bought a 'seperate' sound card was to get rid of all the problems the realtek brought...
  • 06-25-2008, 05:47 PM
    goodiegood
    oky... i tried to do what you said. however, the registry cleaner was a bit confusing since it found like NUMEROUS registry files that were doubtable/deletable... so i wasn't quite sure which one i should delete, so i skipped that since i didn't know what to do... the driver cleaner worked all goodie. but as expected from my crappy motherboard; i still cannot view any SPDIF-tab in my Realtek Sound Manager/AC'97...

    it sure looks like i've got to buy a dedicated sound card instead... crap. =/

    which sound card ya recommend then? $50 is a nice price, i'd say...

    i must mention that i am NOT connecting regular pc-surround speakers... i am trying to get DTS/DD sound through SPDIF to my AMP/receiver... so based on that, which sound card would you suggest me to check out then, huh? i am intending to jump on to vista in like a year or two, so a vista compatible sound card would've been awesome.
  • 06-25-2008, 10:51 PM
    pixelthis
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by goodiegood
    oky... i tried to do what you said. however, the registry cleaner was a bit confusing since it found like NUMEROUS registry files that were doubtable/deletable... so i wasn't quite sure which one i should delete, so i skipped that since i didn't know what to do... the driver cleaner worked all goodie. but as expected from my crappy motherboard; i still cannot view any SPDIF-tab in my Realtek Sound Manager/AC'97...

    it sure looks like i've got to buy a dedicated sound card instead... crap. =/

    which sound card ya recommend then? $50 is a nice price, i'd say...

    i must mention that i am NOT connecting regular pc-surround speakers... i am trying to get DTS/DD sound through SPDIF to my AMP/receiver... so based on that, which sound card would you suggest me to check out then, huh? i am intending to jump on to vista in like a year or two, so a vista compatible sound card would've been awesome.

    OKAY DUDE, heres the deal.
    I got a "deal" on an ASUS mobo ALSO, its what I am using now, made sure it DIDNT come with an onboard sound card because they tend to knock off the decent soundcard you replaced it with.
    Anyway, I understand what you want, its what I am doing right now, and have done for years.
    I will never understand why people insist on using cheap computer speakers, but run everything else through their sound system.
    I keep meaning to upgrade my soundcard , get something called a "usb dac";


    http://www.firestone-audio.com/

    but my current soundcard works really well, and it cost 40 bucks at walmart!
    Its a usb soundcard, which is great since its outside the computer, away from the electronic slush that always is in a computer.
    It has analog audio in an out, and a coax and toslink digital out.
    My monitor is my 37in lcd tv.
    The sound is great, pretty good for a soundcard that is several years old.
    the pic can be better than broadcast HDTV.
    these creative soundcards have been upgraded lately, but are still quite good (and cheap)
    Heres some more goodies...


    http://www.audio-magus.com/category_s/4.htm

    Notice the soundcard for, (gasp) a hundred bucks!
    Trust me, having a realtek (realdreck) almost anything is better.
    You dont get credit for listening to crappy sound, you just spend time listening to crap when yopu could have been in musical nirvana.
    Trust me, a real soundcard is worth it.
    Onboard soundcards are there for one reason, marketing.
    They are on one chip and sux.
    Get thee a soundcard:1:
  • 06-25-2008, 11:33 PM
    emesbee
    I can only echo what other people have said, getting a decent sound card is the only way to go.

    The quality of the onboard sound from the motherboard of my PC is just dreadful. The amount of noise it spits out has to be heard to be believed. So I bought an M-Audio 2496 PCI sound card, and it sounds terrific.
  • 06-26-2008, 04:06 AM
    basite
    I have a creative Soundblaster 'audigy 2 ZS', dunno if it's still available, but if it is, I gladly recommend it :)

    the current cheaper creative cards don't seem to support surround through the digital out...

    Keep them spinning,
    Bert.
  • 06-26-2008, 04:52 AM
    Rich-n-Texas
    I've got the exact same card Bert. Great for when I want to listen to DD digital playback IN MY COMPUTER ROOM, through my Z5500 speakers with an incredible SUB. Also a great card for us GAMERS.

    Goodygoody, if you want to shop around to see what's out there, try Newegg.com. They have pages of soundcards for every budget and application.
  • 06-26-2008, 08:30 PM
    goodiegood
    sorry, but newegg doesn't work for me since i live in europe...

    which sound card should i go for based on what i've got? i'd love to have a vista compatible card.. and of course a card with SPDIF-out. should i go for 24bits card, or? also, i am sure that i cannot go for a PCIe / PCI-Express card since my motherboard can't handle those cards..

    so... which sound card should i go for?
  • 06-27-2008, 09:54 AM
    basite
    where in europe are you?
  • 07-18-2008, 04:40 PM
    goodiegood
    problem's resolved now. apparently the SPDIF-port on the mboard is not the problem... the only thing you surely need to get, is NVIDIA PureVideo Decoder (newest version), install it and go through its settings when the movie/media is running and set the sound to go through the SPDIF-port. after that, the SPDIF worked properly. it wasn't enough to enable the SPDIF through AC3Filter, VLC and other media players, but once i enabled it through the PureVideo decoder, it worked properly. after i installed the purevideo decoder, i also did a complete reinstallation of CCCP, which is probably THE codec pack that you need to "survive".

    note: apparently there seems to be a problem to get the DTS and DD5.1 to work properly on MPC even with the PureVideo Decoder installed and everything configured properly. but most likely it's just me who'ved missed some obvious configurations, so that might be the case... heh. however, playing the same media on Zoom Player (remember to enable SPDIF there as well!) and DTS/DD5.1 will then work properly!

    but yeah, now the only problem i've got, is to get the DTS/DD5.1 to work properly on MPC as well... but how, i don't know... any of you know how i can get this fixed..? the problem is that the sound won't work properly. it hacks a lot, but if i play the same file/media in Zoom Player, it works w/o any probs... what can be wrong? anyone who knows?