[SOLVED] Question getting 5.1 audio

Ray_

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Trying to connect my pc to my LG DH6530T Home theater
Full spec:
https://www.lg.com/ae/home-theatre-systems/lg-DH6530T

but one of my friends faced a lot of problems doing that,
so I need to make sure before I purchase a sound card,

quoting"
It's a bit questionable if your receiver actually supports surround sound through the optical input since I've had a similar issue with a friend's system where his Home theater could play back DVD's and Blu-ray in surround sound but lacked multichannel input, as is the case with you having only stereo input."

I need a conformation that my LG DH6530T can support 5.1 input through optic cable, if it was connected from pc sound card spdif output to the optic input in the back of my DVD via an optic cable
would I get 5.1? Or is it going to be limited to 2.0 stereo?

Talked to LG they can't confirm.


Searching the manual, I found this:

44444.jpg


When they mention 5.1 they say 5.1(2.1,2.0) so no true 5.1 then?

Regarding sound card, I was told I should be getting a sound card that can encode DTS - Dolby digital live DDL,
something like this

https://www.newegg.com/p/23H-001X-00067

or any card that can encode DTS - DDL otherwise I will get 2.0,
therefore I can't use cheap external USB with spdif output i think.
what are some cheap cards that can do this?

thanks.
 
Last edited:
Solution
Dolby Digital Live or Dts Connect, is keyword for your sound card search. Both do the same, encoding stereo to 5.1 on the fly to fit the limited bandwidth over optical. Question about if your DVD player can accept compressed audio encoded by the sound card remains a chance to take but it should if source is already compressed and dvd player just plays it as is.

See versions and scroll down to Dolby Digital Live to learn what it's about.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital

Sound card with DDL. There are others.
https://www.newegg.com/p/23H-001X-00067

Side note. If you ever replace your entertainment unit some day, go for an avr setup so you can move away needing to encode and use hdmi audio instead.

boju

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Dolby Digital Live or Dts Connect, is keyword for your sound card search. Both do the same, encoding stereo to 5.1 on the fly to fit the limited bandwidth over optical. Question about if your DVD player can accept compressed audio encoded by the sound card remains a chance to take but it should if source is already compressed and dvd player just plays it as is.

See versions and scroll down to Dolby Digital Live to learn what it's about.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital

Sound card with DDL. There are others.
https://www.newegg.com/p/23H-001X-00067

Side note. If you ever replace your entertainment unit some day, go for an avr setup so you can move away needing to encode and use hdmi audio instead.
 
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Solution

Ray_

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Dolby Digital Live or Dts Connect, is keyword for your sound card search. Both do the same, encoding stereo to 5.1 on the fly to fit the limited bandwidth over optical. Question about if your DVD player can accept compressed audio encoded by the sound card remains a chance to take but it should if source is already compressed and dvd player just plays it as is.

See versions and scroll down to Dolby Digital Live to learn what it's about.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital

Sound card with DDL. There are others.
https://www.newegg.com/p/23H-001X-00067

Side note. If you ever replace your entertainment unit some day, go for an avr setup so you can move away needing to encode and use hdmi audio instead.


First, I really would like to thank you for taking the time to help me, your efforts are much appreciated, and I'm still a beginner at this, so please excuse my ignorance,

what I'm wondering was if the optical input on the back of my DVD player support 5.1 or if it's limited to 2.0,
is it common for some DVD player with surround sound to have an optic input limited to 2.0? Even though the system is 5.1.

Specially that I need to buy a sound card for my motherboard for that spdif output plus a cable, so I need to be sure otherwise I might end up with 2.0 audio.

I was thinking about something cheap just like this one, external USB sound card
1234.jpg


I can buy an optical audio cable like this one
5678.jpg


Connect the spdif out from my pc to the optical input on the back of my DVD player,
but looks like it's more complicated than that
there is a chance of it being a 2.0 instead of 5.1,
plus, I need a specific sound card, so the USB external sound card I provided won't work right?

my dvd player
999.jpg


Again I'm very sorry, but I'm still a beginner at this
I really appreciate your help, I've got no one else to ask,
thanks.

Please check this, I believe it's a similar problem
 
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boju

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Any optical cable will work, there's nothing special or version numbers you need to be aware of.

Sound card you get must stipulate that it does Dolby Digital Live real-time encoding otherwise you get just the standard 2 channel as that is what optical is by default without the encoding.

As for dvd player playing the encoded signal, it should, but won't really know until you try it. Since signal is encoded, i don't see why it wouldn't work unless LG actually forced 2 channel no matter what.
 
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Ray_

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As for dvd player playing the encoded signal, it should, but won't really know until you try it. Since signal is encoded, i don't see why it wouldn't work unless LG actually forced 2 channel no matter what.

Thank you so much, believe me your help was more valuable than LG themselves! Talked to them, they wouldn't know if the optic input on the back of the home theater would accept 5.1 or turn it to 2.0,
at least I was able to find some details of my exact product
I'm not sure if it could help
this is my home theater spec:

https://www.lg.com/ae/home-theatre-systems/lg-DH6530T

regarding the sound card, I'm going to do my search, I just need your conformation before I place any order, I really would like it if you could keep an eye on my post, you are so kind and I really appreciate every single second you spent helping me, 1 million thanks my friend, I'll give an update in a few days regarding the sound cards,
thanks, much love.
 

boju

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Yeah let me know how you go. The unit supports Dolby Digital decoding so it should decode the signal encoded by the sound card and play 5.1.

Tried searching for anyone with experience running a console, PS4 or Xbox using optical for audio because consoles can also encode. Actually, do you have or know someone who has an Xbox or PS with optical out so you can test this out before buying a sound card?

Or even another dvd player. Since dvd movies already have compressed tracks on disc then that would give an indication as well.
 
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Ray_

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Yeah let me know how you go. The unit supports Dolby Digital decoding so it should decode the signal encoded by the sound card and play 5.1.

Tried searching for anyone with experience running a console, PS4 or Xbox using optical for audio because consoles can also encode. Actually, do you have or know someone who has an Xbox or PS with optical out so you can test this out before buying a sound card?

Or even another dvd player. Since dvd movies already have compressed tracks on disc then that would give an indication as well.


I would look into it, thank you so much for the idea,
plus, I updated the post to be more clear,

Searching the manual, I found this:

44444.jpg


When they mention 5.1 they say 5.1(2.1,2.0) so no true 5.1 then? or i'm missing something?
 

boju

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The way they explain it doesn't really say if an external device (dvd player, console, PC) with compression (Dolby Digital Live to encode the source aka compression) or already compressed tracks that are on dvd movies won't pass compressed 5.1 via optical.

So we know optical 5.1 relies on compression. The way im understanding the manual is surround sound channels will depend on source device and content. Most tvs only put out 2ch if you were to use tv audio through to speakers. The built in dvd player is 5.1, we know that. Only way to know if optical input accepts 5.1 is send it compressed audio from the above examples, another dvd player or console. If try console route you'll have to check sound options for optical related settings because it'll be set to Hdmi audio probably.
 
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The way they explain it doesn't really say if an external device (dvd player, console, PC) with compression (Dolby Digital Live to encode the source aka compression) or already compressed tracks that are on dvd movies won't pass compressed 5.1 via optical.

So we know optical 5.1 relies on compression. The way im understanding the manual is surround sound channels will depend on source device and content. Most tvs only put out 2ch if you were to use tv audio through to speakers. The built in dvd player is 5.1, we know that. Only way to know if optical input accepts 5.1 is send it compressed audio from the above examples, another dvd player or console. If try console route you'll have to check sound options for optical related settings because it'll be set to Hdmi audio probably.


Hi my friend, I was thinking about an alternative solution, I'm not sure about it, but I thought to share it with you,

using audio extractor from HDMI

I'm using VLC media player and can use any other media player for that purpose,

I play video files mp4 format DDP 5.1 audio downloaded from the internet, usually 10 GB per movie or so,

got 2 HDMI on my pc
A- from my Graphic card, " using it to connect my projector as display"
B- empty HDMI on my motherboard because my CPU comes with eternal GPU, I've never really used it,

---------------------------------------------------
regarding the adapter-coverter
here is what they say in the description of the product

Extractor HDMI Audio Splitter HDMI + Audio HDMI Audio Converter
HDMI CONVERTER HDMI TO HDMI / SPDIF / 3.5MM STEREO OUT
2CH/5.1CH HDMI Audio Extractor ,
Hdmi Audio Ectractor converts HDMI signal to analog or digital audio signal.
Specifications:
Simultaneous audio output support: SPDIFand Stereo.
Supports 2.0ch/5.1CH audio switch
Supports 1080p high video resolution.
Supports 225MHz / 2.25Gbps per channel (6.75Gbps all channel) bandwidth
Supports 12bit per channel (36bit all channel) deep color.
HDCP support.
Support for uncompressed audio such as LPCM.

It supports compressed audio such as DTS Digital, Dolby Digital.
Support 3D format, including1080p / 23.98 / 24Hz, 720p / 59.94 / 60Hz / 50Hz, bandwidth up to 225MHz.
Package Included:
  1. HDMI audio Extractor X1
  2. AC power adapter
  3. Screws
Input connector: HDMI female

Output connector: HDMI female, toslink optical, coaxial SPDIF RCA, 3.5mm stereo.

Stock Code : w1927-001

do-you-mean-this.jpg


---------------------------------------------------

What do you think?

----

Example of one of the files i usually play,
Audio
ID : 2
Format : E-AC-3
Format/Info : Enhanced AC-3
Commercial name : Dolby Digital Plus
Codec ID : A_EAC3
Duration : 1 h 23 min
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 640 kb/s
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel layout : L R C LFE Ls Rs
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 382 MiB (11%)
Title : English
Language : English
Service kind : Complete Main
Default : No
Forced : No
=================
it was DD+ not just DD,
after seeing my system limited support to only Dolby Digital,
am I better off buying a sound card that can encode everything to Dolby Digital live on my PC, then even if the source I was trying to play on my PC was Atmos, DD Plus, DTS, or whatever else, the sound card will encode it to DDL,

therefore my system will be able to give me 5.1, and it should be more compatible,

Reading online, some say DDL+ would fall back to DDL if the receiver don't support it, but I'm not sure about that, therefore
It's important, Especially if I'm going to have issues playing the audio track of the example I posted DDL+ in my 5.1 thought the optical input
would the sound card solve such problem? Or am I missing something?

Thanks a lot.
Much love and respect.
 
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boju

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Using Hdmi extractor might work, that's if motherboard Hdmi port is active whilst a gpu is installed which is often not the case. Gpu audio would be better if it's got Displayport because Displayport to Hdmi cables continue inline multi channel audio and then use extractor from here.

Sound card with DDL would still be best assured way to go.
 

Ray_

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Using Hdmi extractor might work, that's if motherboard Hdmi port is active whilst a gpu is installed which is often not the case. Gpu audio would be better if it's got Displayport because Displayport to Hdmi cables continue inline multi channel audio and then use extractor from here.

Sound card with DDL would still be best assured way to go.

Your efforts were outstanding, I really did lean a lot from your experience, it was a pleasure meeting you.

On my GPU, I've got a display port and HDMI port,
I would connect the HDMI out of my GPU to the HDMI in the extractor
then connect the HDMI out of the extractor to the projector for the display, and connect the spdif out of the extractor to the optical in that's on the back of my DVD,
everything seems to be clear

HDMI audio extractor would be the best option now,
but I still have 1 concern regarding the format of the video files I'm planning to use, most of them are Dolby Digital plus using
Format : E-AC-3
Format/Info : Enhanced AC-3
Commercial name : Dolby Digital Plus

while my home theater only supports Dolby Digital, and the audio extractor also support Dolby Digital and DTS with no identification of Dolby Digital plus

--------
Searching online, I found this
Is Dolby Digital Plus content backward-compatible? Because Dolby Digital Plus is built on core Dolby Digital technologies, content that is encoded with Dolby Digital Plus is fully compatible with the millions of existing home theaters and playback systems worldwide equipped for Dolby Digital playback.
--------

but I'm not sure if the audio extractor would take the dd+ and that my home theater would make the DD+ as DD and play it as 5.1 instead of down mixing it to 2.0

If this is going to be an issue then this is where the sound card will come handy since it will encode everything to Dolby Digital live,
no matter what the source is, at least this is my idea of a sound card?,
for example, if I was playing a source file which has DTS, dd+, the sound card will encode it live to DD, Right?
In short, whatever source I'm playing the sound card will encode it to dd, and it will be compatible with my home theater which only supports dd.

What do you think?
Thanks.
 

boju

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Dolby Digital Plus is a higher quality format. Hdmi audio extractor i don't think compresses audio tracks enough to fit over optical but could be wrong how they work. The encoder on sounds cards compresses to fit multi channel over optical and DD+ is backwards compatible.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...UQFnoECA4QBg&usg=AOvVaw2sQ_z8gPXchImDVcKR0FUc

Try the extractor and see how you go. Have you tried running another dvd player or console yet to determine if the player would see compressed 5.1?
 
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Ray_

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Dolby Digital Plus is a higher quality format. Hdmi audio extractor i don't think compresses audio tracks enough to fit over optical but could be wrong how they work. The encoder on sounds cards compresses to fit multi channel over optical and DD+ is backwards compatible.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...UQFnoECA4QBg&usg=AOvVaw2sQ_z8gPXchImDVcKR0FUc

Try the extractor and see how you go. Have you tried running another dvd player or console yet to determine if the player would see compressed 5.1?


Thank you for the clarification,
no, I' haven't tried any other device, but I got an answer from lg claiming that the optical input on the back of my DVD will accept Dolby Digital 5.1 at least,

the files I'll be playing are DDL and DD+,
so just to put everything into a final conclusion,

using the HDMI audio extractor:
it might work with DDL sources, but it might not work with dd+
it can go wrong from the extractor not supporting DDL+
or my home theater might just not play it as DDL
from my understanding, extractor won't accept dd+

Using a sound card:
it will encode everything to DDL, therefore I don't have to worry about my source because no matter what my source is the output will always be DDL 5.1 which is compatible with my DVD .

And from here I can make my decision whither to only watch DDL content if I want the extractor, or use whatever content I want if I'm going with the sound card which is 10 times the price.

Please correct me if any of the information was wrong.
The amount of time and support you gave me was 1000 times better than the official support of the products that I paid for,
thank you from the heart.
 

boju

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Your welcome.

You could try the extractor first since that won't set you back so much. Let us know how you go.

Another thing to consider, might make sound card more worthwhile to you. Besides knowing it'll do the job regardless, if you play games at all, a sound card will do 5.1 here as well.
 
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Your welcome.

You could try the extractor first since that won't set you back so much. Let us know how you go.

Another thing to consider, might make sound card more worthwhile to you. Besides knowing it'll do the job regardless, if you play games at all, a sound card will do 5.1 here as well.

Sure thing, I will let you know how things will go,
yes, I do play video games, and I would love to have 5.1 when playing,
it's good to know that the sound card will support this, unlike the HDMI audio extractor,
currently, I'm considering this card

https://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-z-se
" the cheapest sound card that can encode to DDL"

I will let you know in the upcoming days,
and I will make sure to get back here to thank you,
you were very patient with me, and you gave me a lot of your time, and that's something I will never forget,
much love and respect.
 
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You're making it more complicated than necessary.
Connect PC to TV with HDMI cable. Both video and audio go through this connection.
Connect TV HDMI ARC port and Home theater with HDMI cable for audio.
That's it. No need to use optical. No need to use a discrete audio card.
 

Ray_

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You're making it more complicated than necessary.
Connect PC to TV with HDMI cable. Both video and audio go through this connection.
Connect TV HDMI ARC port and Home theater with HDMI cable for audio.
That's it. No need to use optical. No need to use a discrete audio card.

Thank you so much for the help, the thing is my setup is a bit different from what you've mentioned,
first, my home theater only accepts
optical in + RCA in, there is no HDMI in on this unite,

second, i''m not using a TV, I'm using a projector,
it got spdif out, which I connect to my home theater,
but it's 10 meter away

another thing worth noting,
after doing some search I found out that DDL+ can't be transmitted via optical cable, I might be wrong that what google said,
therefore I believe I might need to buy a sound card that can encode everything to dd because it's the only format that's being supported by my home theater, because some of my content are dd+
but for regular dd sources I should be able to play them using VLC with optical link because it can provide dd 5.1