Realtek HD Audio with 5.1 Speakers

[Guest]

hi there,

i think i hv figured it out...for 5.1 speakers they should hv subwoofer/center, front speakers and SIDE SPEAKERS(instead of rear speakers)...it sounds funny but it does make sense...have a look on ur realtek hd audio manager...if u select 5.1 system, the rear speakers are unavailable which i conclude that 5.1 system doesnt have rear speakers output..heheh

u may find it contradicts with ur motherboard user's guide (it says side speakers are only for 7.1 sytem) but it works for me...i just re tasking the black colour output to side speakers instead of rear speakers or mybe u can just stick with the grey output(no need of retasking)

how this will xplain everything....

 

[Strelok7]

Solution
Im gonna post this on couple different boards to spread the word.

I have GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P motherboard and my speakers are connected to an onboard audio. This is running on Windows 7 64 bit. I just downloaded the latest Realtek drivers from GIGABYTE web site.

I had similar problem – no sound coming out of rear speakers while playing MP3s on WMP or Winamp. Speakers did test fine though, and during gaming all 5 satellite speakers were working properly.
"sketaful" already mentioned this previously but here it is with pictures
Here is what you do (if it applies to you)

Check the “Speaker Fill” Button

and if you need to

Enjoy

Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting

 

[memelover1]

go0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0d

 

[Guest]

What happens if you only get the stereo (2 channel) options and cant select any of the other stuff??

I'm running Win7 64 bit, and downloaded the latest Realtek HDMI and Audio drivers. Connected the computer to a tv via HDMI, and then the TV to the 5.1 receiver.

Any ideas?

 

[brettponch]

What happens if you only get the stereo (2 channel) options and cant select any of the other stuff??

I'm running Win7 64 bit, and downloaded the latest Realtek HDMI and Audio drivers. Connected the computer to a tv via HDMI, and then the TV to the 5.1 receiver.

Any ideas?

Having the same issue. I'm running 7 (64 bit) with HDMI to my receiver, and then HDMI to the TV. I don't have the option to do anything other than 2ch in the Realtek HD Manager, or in control panel.

 

[gamerk316]

Guys, regardless of the number of spekers, most source audio from a PC is Stereo. As shown above, options like Spaker Fill will fill in the extra side/rear speakers, and upmixing techs, like Dolby Pro Logic, will upmix the source audio.

If you can't even SELECT 5.1, try manually doing so through the windows control panel.

 

[Guest]

Can facing same problem, In my Vista 32 Bit OS, I'm getting only "Stearo" Speaker Configuration in Realtek HD Audio Manager.

Any idea how to enable that, I was getting the 5.1 option in XP, but I have reinstalled Vista after that I'm not getting the Speaker selection.

Thanks in Advance

Nagaraj

 

[Victor55]

@ Strelok7

Hiya 😀

I have downloaded the latest driver from the gigabyte website as well. I am running Win 7 64x as well but have a UD4P motherboard instead of your UD3P. Those were excellent pictures of the Audio Manager, but mine is slightly different. Where the "Speaker Fill" option is on yours is just a vacant spot on mine. Did you do anything special to enable that option? Also, the rear speaker option is greyed out for me.... so I'm not sure why these key differences are there.

PS I have been able to utilize 5.1 playback in video files successfully so I know the hardware is fine, but i would like a "fake" surround sound for my music as well and the "Speaker Fill" option seems like it would do just that. So frustrating for it to be so obviously absent in my audio manager (I mean there is a space where that option Should be, but it's just blank leaving only the last two options)

Victor

 

[Guest]

I was having the same problem with not having music play through all 6 speakers until I saw the above method (THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT), but since doing so, my 'front' and 'rear' speakers don't seem to be completely synced. Can anyone help me with this?

 

[Ecotone]

I have the EXACT same problem as Victor, blank spot where speaker fill should be.
I have tried pretty much everything but I can't get it to work...

I have an EP45 DS3R motherboard with Realtek 2.42 installed. I'll try installing an older driver... Also, I have an old Hercules muse sound card and no matter what i do, only stereo sounds come to my face, except when testing the whole thing in the software.

Any help?

 

[stinman]

Well it seems we all have the same problem,in a 5.1 setup,the rears are grayed out.I could care less about music because stereo is what it is.But you can not even test if the speakers work in the Realtek control panel.Before I installed the Realtek drivers,Windows gave me 2 choices to check off,5.1 with side speakers or 5.1 with rear speakers.My Onkyo AV receiver is a bit older HT-R530,it only has 5.1 with back speakers,not side.Mine will not test right plugged into gray or black plug.Naturally they should be plugged into the Black ones.Like I said,Windows gave the option to use either and worked,If I didn't need the Realtek driver and control panel I would can it,but I do so I can get Dolby Digital live.If I check off 7.1 then rears work,if I uncheck sides and do a test speakers,then the test sound for sides comes out of the fronts.It seems this has been a problem for quite some time with gigabyte boards.I have a ga-ma790gpt-ud3h motherboard.i have recently installed 239,241,242,243 all same problem.So anyone else have any ideas?
stin

 

[stinman]

@ Strelok7

Hiya 😀

I have downloaded the latest driver from the gigabyte website as well. I am running Win 7 64x as well but have a UD4P motherboard instead of your UD3P. Those were excellent pictures of the Audio Manager, but mine is slightly different. Where the "Speaker Fill" option is on yours is just a vacant spot on mine. Did you do anything special to enable that option? Also, the rear speaker option is greyed out for me.... so I'm not sure why these key differences are there.

PS I have been able to utilize 5.1 playback in video files successfully so I know the hardware is fine, but i would like a "fake" surround sound for my music as well and the "Speaker Fill" option seems like it would do just that. So frustrating for it to be so obviously absent in my audio manager (I mean there is a space where that option Should be, but it's just blank leaving only the last two options)

Victor

He more than likely has the ALC888 or what ever,but probably not the ALC889a

 

[Petrofsky]

I propose a new word: spamjacker--someone who hijacks a thread in order to spam.

 

[coryseaman]

I have a Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H, which has the ACL889 chipset, and as with a few others here, it seems that over the optical (SPDIF/digital) output, the latest drivers only support 2-channel PCM output by default. Frustrating. It's clear that Dolby Digital Live is supported by the chipset, but it's apparently not handled by the drivers. If anyone knows of a registry key that might enable it, PLEASE POST!

I've gone through a 10-post thread w/ Gigabyte support regarding why the Realtek HD drivers don't support any formats other than 2-channel PCM audio (like Dolby Digital Live 5.1), and they still can't understand my question. I've also e-mailed Realtek, but I'm not hopeful about a response from them directly.

HDMI isn't an option for me yet (although I assume HDMI users are in the same boat). My hope was that over optical I would at least get Dolby Digital for DVD playback, but even that doesn't work via Media Center (Win 7 x64)...it's stuck in stereo. I'm not sure if the problem is that Media Center doesn't support the 5.1 playback, or if the driver isn't properly bitstreaming the Dolby signal to my receiver.

Anyone have any successes to report?

 

[DinkyDogg]

I Had this problem but the Anon posters right. Mobo is gigabyte P55M-UD4 with realtek ALC889A chipset, and to get surround sound i:

Right clicked realtek icon>audio devices>clicked speakers> properties>dolby> ticked dolby logic.

Now my speaker are playing out all 5 speakers.

To Coryseaman, I dont fully understand your problem, your saying that Dolby Digital is present, but not being played? Cause ive plugged mine through SPDIF output to a 5 beam speaker, which played out all 5 speakers as surround sound, but i first had to enable the Dolby Digital in the Realtek options (Digital output>Deafault Format>click Dolby Digital button)

Maybe your Amp/beam needs to be set itself, cause mine has multiple options (3 speakers + 2/5 beam/ stereo + 3/ Surround) each had different effects.

 

[coryseaman]

To Coryseaman, I dont fully understand your problem, your saying that Dolby Digital is present, but not being played? Cause ive plugged mine through SPDIF output to a 5 beam speaker, which played out all 5 speakers as surround sound, but i first had to enable the Dolby Digital in the Realtek options (Digital output>Deafault Format>click Dolby Digital button)

No, I just discovered my issue...despite having the Realtek ALC889 chipset, the GA-H55M-UD2H mobo simply doesn't support Dolby Digital Live, which is, according to Realtek, an "optional feature". Gigabyte has to pay Dolby Labs to license Dolby Home Theater/Dolby Digital Live on each of their motherboards, and for some reason they elected not to do it for this one. "Dolby Digital Live" just isn't an option for the default format, and they told me that was by design. However, a sister board like the GA-H55M-USB3 does support it. Again...extremely frustrating.

Can I get a savvy volunteer with a GA-H55M-USB3 or (another Gigabyte board that supports Dolby Digital Live) to take a look at their Realtek registry settings and see what it would take to enable the support? These boards all use the same Gigabyte Realtek HD driver package, so there's got to be a software-based tweak that can switch on the support. It must look up the mobo model in the BIOS/system settings and enable/disable all the various possible inputs, outputs, and Dolby Digital Live at install time.

 

[Guest]

Solution
Im gonna post this on couple different boards to spread the word.

I have GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P motherboard and my speakers are connected to an onboard audio. This is running on Windows 7 64 bit. I just downloaded the latest Realtek drivers from GIGABYTE web site.

I had similar problem – no sound coming out of rear speakers while playing MP3s on WMP or Winamp. Speakers did test fine though, and during gaming all 5 satellite speakers were working properly.
"sketaful" already mentioned this previously but here it is with pictures
Here is what you do (if it applies to you)

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/4238/configurationb.jpg

Check the “Speaker Fill” Button

and if you need to

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/6724/roomcorrection.jpg

Enjoy

Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting

 

[coryseaman]

Let's be clear: "Speaker Fill" doesn't magically allow you to use 5-channel sound...it simply re-distributes a stereo (2-channel) signal across 5 or more speakers. It's not even on par with something like Dolby Pro Logic, which uses a matrix algorithm to encode and then decode 5 channels within a simple stereo signal.

Just be aware that unless Windows, the Realtek drivers, and your game are all set up for a 5.1-speaker system, you won't be getting true 5-channel sound. If your game is set up for stereo and you have Speaker Fill turned on, your rear left speaker WILL NOT play sounds that are supposed to be "behind" you...it will play the SAME sounds that are coming out of your front left speaker. Does that make sense?

It might make some folks feel better for some reason to be utilizing all of the speakers in their setup when playing music or whatnot, but you're not doing yourself any favors by keeping Speaker Fill turned on if true 5.1 is available.

 

[Guest]

Hello,
Hi everybody i need a help with my sound.I have now Windows 7 and 5.1 home system ..Genius-wood.I have a AS rock P45 Turbotwins 2000 mainboard.I install the HD realtek..and center dont play..why ? 😀 In back analog panel i see green and orange.I have in green 2 inputs..(R and L in reducer or what is it 😀 2=1 out..you know.Anything i do..never play the center..only if i have active administration bass and take off the change for out midle repro for subwoofer-But now play a slow subwoofer-very slow 🙁 So what i must do to fix this problem ?

 

[Groknar]

I Had this problem but the Anon posters right. Mobo is gigabyte P55M-UD4 with realtek ALC889A chipset, and to get surround sound i:

Right clicked realtek icon>audio devices>clicked speakers> properties>dolby> ticked dolby logic.

Now my speaker are playing out all 5 speakers.

To Coryseaman, I dont fully understand your problem, your saying that Dolby Digital is present, but not being played? Cause ive plugged mine through SPDIF output to a 5 beam speaker, which played out all 5 speakers as surround sound, but i first had to enable the Dolby Digital in the Realtek options (Digital output>Deafault Format>click Dolby Digital button)

Maybe your Amp/beam needs to be set itself, cause mine has multiple options (3 speakers + 2/5 beam/ stereo + 3/ Surround) each had different effects.

DinkyDogg THIS WORKED FOR ME AS WELL. I have a Gigabyte mother board. GA X58A-UDR3 with the ALC889 sound chipset. Their is NOT a speaker fill option in my RealTek control panel that comes with the latest (R2.46) driver from Gigabyte. But your solution worked perfectly. Now I can listen to stereo MP3s in Windows Media player in surround sound with my 5.1 analog speakers coming from all channels. Also, next to the Dolby ProLogic IIx check box their is a box with "..." inside this option it allows me to change the "Center Width" which controls how much sound comes from the center, with Narrow being alot of center and wide alot of front and rear, and a "Dimension" slider that controls how much sound comes out front to rear. This solution works in Windows Media Player 12, iTunes, and streaming Videos through Netflix. I'm sure it works for alot of other things but that's all I tested. I believe this is the solution the original poster was looking for.

 

[mjh992]

Let's be clear: "Speaker Fill" doesn't magically allow you to use 5-channel sound...it simply re-distributes a stereo (2-channel) signal across 5 or more speakers. It's not even on par with something like Dolby Pro Logic, which uses a matrix algorithm to encode and then decode 5 channels within a simple stereo signal.

Just be aware that unless Windows, the Realtek drivers, and your game are all set up for a 5.1-speaker system, you won't be getting true 5-channel sound. If your game is set up for stereo and you have Speaker Fill turned on, your rear left speaker WILL NOT play sounds that are supposed to be "behind" you...it will play the SAME sounds that are coming out of your front left speaker. Does that make sense?

It might make some folks feel better for some reason to be utilizing all of the speakers in their setup when playing music or whatnot, but you're not doing yourself any favors by keeping Speaker Fill turned on if true 5.1 is available.

Hey coryseaman, im having the same drama with no true surround sound from my gigabyte mobo (ma785gm-us2h) over optical AND hdmi to a onkyo TX-sr576 reciever (5.1 setup). Previously i had a gigabyte ma78gpm-ds2h and i had true surround with it. atm im only getting the 2 channel sound over optical and hdmi and there is no dolby digital live button to enable the 5.1. so very frustrating!!!!!!!!

Iv tried several realtek driver versions including r1.55, r1.93, r2.31, r2.44, r2.48 and none of them bring up the option.
If i was to boot up my old mobo (ma78gpm-ds2h) again where exactly would i look for these registry keys??????

Its crucial i sort this issue out cause all my movies have 5.1 sound and just cant go back to stereo sound....

eagerly awaiting your response...

mjh992

 

[dcinmich]

Just thought I would chime in. I have Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) and a Gigabyte P35-DS4 (rev 2.1) motherboard with the Realtek High Definition Audio. I could not get my rear speakers to work, either. Then I changed the speaker configuration to 7.1 surround and the rear speakers started working. I did this by right-clicking on the speaker icon in the taskbar (down by the clock) and choosing Playback Devices. I then clicked Configure and change the configuration to 7.1 - this also changed the configuration in the Realtek HD Audio Manager. Now I get sound from all five speakers.

If you can't find the Realtek HD Audio Manager then go to Control Panel, then Hardware and Sound - you should see it in that window.

Hope this helps.

 

[astrallite]

mjh992, with A/V receivers you need to turn off HDMI Audio passthrough. Because hdmi port is linked to both the receiver and TV, the computer sees the TV which can only support 2 channel sound.

If you turn off HDMI Audio (I think it's one of the "input source" menus on the Onkyo) then the computer will sense the receiver only, and you should have options for 7.1 audio in the Windows Programs and Sound control panel.

 

[Matthias99]

There are (at least) two different problems being referred to in this thread.

Problem #1) The Realtek HD drivers for Windows 7 -- at least the 64-bit version -- for some reason default to a 5.1 speaker setup having "side" speakers instead of "rear" speakers, but the driver defaults to the third speaker port being mapped to the "rear" speakers. This means that if you set it to 5.1 speakers and plug 5.1 analog outputs into the default ports on the MB, the rear speakers will not be getting any sound.

To fix that, just go into the "Realtek HD Audio Manager" (under Control Panel) and change the jack where the rear surrounds are plugged in from "Rear Speaker Out" to "Side Speaker Out". Changing the speaker setting to 7.1 will also enable them as rear speakers, but this may sound weird if applications like games or DVD/Blu-Ray movies attempt to play true 7.1 audio, since then the side speakers will be missing.

Problem #2) The Realtek HD drivers for Windows 7 do not currently appear to offer a stereo upmix feature, which is what allows 2-channel stereo to be played back on more than two speakers. So even if the rear speakers are recognized in the test utility, when you play normal stereo audio sources, sound will only come out of the "front left" and "front right" speakers (unless you use a program that has its own upmix functionality). This seems likely to be a bug: some of their earlier drivers offered this, and the drivers offer many *other* modes that upmix and modify stereo audio output, just not a simple surround upmix.

To fix this:

Ideally, Realtek should add back in the "surround fill" option that was there in some of their other (non-Win7) drivers. If that option is there, just check it and you should be set. You might want to try the latest drivers from the Realtek website to see if they have fixed this. As of 7/21/2010, the latest drivers (R2.50) do not have this option, at least in Windows 7 64-bit.

If that option is not there:

They *do* have another mode that will do this, but it may slightly affect the sound output. If you go under the "Sound Effects" tab in the audio manager, changing the "Environment" setting to "Room" will effectively cause a stereo surround upmix. (All of the modes will do a stereo upmix, but most of the other ones apply various effects that will make your music sound terrible. This one is close to neutral.)

Another option -- if your motherboard's chipset supports it -- is to use Dolby upmixing. This *also* may slightly affect the sound quality, although probably less than using their effects panel. To do this, go to Control Panel->Sound, select the "Speakers" output device, and hit the "Properties" button. This should open up a tabbed window with a bunch of settings. If you have a "Dolby" tab, go to it and check the "Dolby Prologic IIx" checkbox (or whatever option is there). This will remix stereo sound into 5.1 or 7.1. If there is no "Dolby" tab, then your motherboard does not support Dolby upmixing.

Another possible solution is to set all the jacks where your speakers are plugged in to "Front Speaker Output". This will cause the driver to send the same 2-channel output to all the speakers. However, this will break anything that tries to play real 5.1 or 7.1 audio, since the side and rear audio is then not going anywhere!

Realtek also offers a utility on their website called "3D Soundback". This may be helpful, although it has to be configured on a per-application basis. It is also designed for Windows Vista, so it may not work properly under Win7.

 

[Rickao]

There are (at least) two different problems being referred to in this thread.

Problem #1) The Realtek HD drivers for Windows 7 -- at least the 64-bit version -- for some reason default to a 5.1 speaker setup having "side" speakers instead of "rear" speakers, but the driver defaults to the third speaker port being mapped to the "rear" speakers. This means that if you set it to 5.1 speakers and plug 5.1 analog outputs into the default ports on the MB, the rear speakers will not be getting any sound.

To fix that, just go into the "Realtek HD Audio Manager" (under Control Panel) and change the jack where the rear surrounds are plugged in from "Rear Speaker Out" to "Side Speaker Out". Changing the speaker setting to 7.1 will also enable them as rear speakers, but this may sound weird if applications like games or DVD/Blu-Ray movies attempt to play true 7.1 audio, since then the side speakers will be missing.

Problem #2) The Realtek HD drivers for Windows 7 do not currently appear to offer a stereo upmix feature, which is what allows 2-channel stereo to be played back on more than two speakers. So even if the rear speakers are recognized in the test utility, when you play normal stereo audio sources, sound will only come out of the "front left" and "front right" speakers (unless you use a program that has its own upmix functionality). This seems likely to be a bug: some of their earlier drivers offered this, and the drivers offer many *other* modes that upmix and modify stereo audio output, just not a simple surround upmix.

To fix this:

Ideally, Realtek should add back in the "surround fill" option that was there in some of their other (non-Win7) drivers. If that option is there, just check it and you should be set. You might want to try the latest drivers from the Realtek website to see if they have fixed this. As of 7/21/2010, the latest drivers (R2.50) do not have this option, at least in Windows 7 64-bit.

If that option is not there:

They *do* have another mode that will do this, but it may slightly affect the sound output. If you go under the "Sound Effects" tab in the audio manager, changing the "Environment" setting to "Room" will effectively cause a stereo surround upmix. (All of the modes will do a stereo upmix, but most of the other ones apply various effects that will make your music sound terrible. This one is close to neutral.)

Another option -- if your motherboard's chipset supports it -- is to use Dolby upmixing. This *also* may slightly affect the sound quality, although probably less than using their effects panel. To do this, go to Control Panel->Sound, select the "Speakers" output device, and hit the "Properties" button. This should open up a tabbed window with a bunch of settings. If you have a "Dolby" tab, go to it and check the "Dolby Prologic IIx" checkbox (or whatever option is there). This will remix stereo sound into 5.1 or 7.1. If there is no "Dolby" tab, then your motherboard does not support Dolby upmixing.

Another possible solution is to set all the jacks where your speakers are plugged in to "Front Speaker Output". This will cause the driver to send the same 2-channel output to all the speakers. However, this will break anything that tries to play real 5.1 or 7.1 audio, since the side and rear audio is then not going anywhere!

Realtek also offers a utility on their website called "3D Soundback". This may be helpful, although it has to be configured on a per-application basis. It is also designed for Windows Vista, so it may not work properly under Win7.

Thank you Matthias99