Can anybody help me?

[Stavros77]

Hello there folks. Im just about to get a new PC and im trying to find ways of connecting my current surround system to my soundcard, in order to get my PC in surround. I know it would be easier to go and buy a surround kit for my PC, but id prefer to use what ive already got, having spent lots on the PC itself. The only connection for the surround system is a 20 pin IDE cable, which usually connects to the system's DVD player. But what i want to do is find a way of connecting my soundcard to the system's amp instead of the DVD. So far, i cant seem to find any cables that can convert either Optical out or SPDIF (the two available surround outputs on my soundcard) out into a 20 pin IDE input (or any other pin IDE for that matter) but this is what i will need to hook them up together. If anybody knows ways of achieving this, then please let me know as i'm climbing the walls trying to think of ways round it. Also, i know its a long shot, but is there any way i could maybe get surround through the AUX input, even though it only has the one L and one R RCA input (probably a very stupid questions, i know).
So please, if anybody has had a similar dilemma or knows what i need, then let me know. Thanks

P.S - I am only hoping that i'll be able to get surround out of the Optical output on my soundcard, so i may well be wrong about that

[noddin0ff]

Can you explain or identify name/model of what your want to hook up, in the order you want to hook them up, and what connections are available? I'm confused.

In short, you should be able to get surround sound out of an optical or digital output of the sound card. The surround decoding has to happen downstream. To get surround sound with this output you need to connect it to something that can decode the surround sound. Like a receiver with digital inputs and DD decoding.

I don't understand your desire for IDE (same as ATA) connection. IDE is a connector for storage devices like hard drives, CD/DVD drives. I believe the data transfer format is so different from what optical or spdif carry that it is impossible to simply convert with a cable. You need some processing,thus, the intervention of a motherboard/soundcard between the two ends.

What "system's amp" are you referring to?

[Stavros77]

Cheers for replying, but luckily someone has offered to make a swap with me and give me their surround system which has an Optical input instead of a wierd IDE input, so my problem is solved. And, thanks for clearing up my confusion about surround mixes travelling through Optical output, as i now know that the swap will be worth it.
Yes, it is very strange about the audio going through an IDE, but the manual states that it definately is IDE and it is the only connection between the system's DVD player and the system's main section, where the speakers are connected to (thats what i meant by amp), so it must be putting the audio through, as the video comes directly from the DVD player's scart into the tv. It's only some cheap Goodman's home cinema system, so god knows why they've gone through such an unusual cable.
But all will be okay with my new surround system as i can hook up my (sound blaster audigy card) through the Optical cable.
Thanks a lot for the info, and for taking the time.
Have a nice day.