My current basic equipment fully supports the 5.1 standard: an integrated 6 channel audio card and an analog 5.1 PC speaker system.
I want to connect my Xbox360, Playstation 3 and (if possible) Playstation 2 to PC so that I can enjoy a 6 channel (5.1) sound. What would be the cheapest way?
Just yesterday I was reading some updated info (http://www.avsforum.com/t/1121367/the-inconvenient-truth-about-spdif-input/150) on this, which is an old problem. In a gist, it's not possible without significant delay, which won't work for games. Also, it seems to require XP and some specific cards. The ideal thing is to get a hardware decoder. They seem to be around $50 from a quick google.
You will also probably need a 6-channel switch. See this Creative decoder, from when Creative used to make actually creative products http://www.head-fi.org/t/94870/creative-ddts-100-decoder (http://www.head-fi.org/t/94870/creative-ddts-100-decoder). It came with its own switch. It appears that it's not easy to find a cheap switch though, so you might have to buy 3 stereo switches.
Just yesterday I was reading some updated info (http://www.avsforum.com/t/1121367/the-inconvenient-truth-about-spdif-input/150) on this, which is an old problem. In a gist, it's not possible without significant delay, which won't work for games.
This might be true with the SPDIF interface. What about HDMI? At least Xbox360/PS3 generation consoles are compliant with this connexion, it’s just that I’m worried about the fact that HDMI capture cards themselves might not be 5.1 compatible. This card (http://avertv.avermedia.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?Id=499), for example, seems to be fine, except that nowhere it is mentioned if it supports more than 2 channel input.
You don't want to capture to PC first for games, that introduces delay. I'd think it'd be even more difficult to do it via HDMI anyway. You can get a standalone Dolby decoder with 5.1 output for about $50. Or if you want HDMI, you can buy something like this (http://www.gefen.com/kvm/gtv-hdmi-2-hdmiaud.jsp?prod_id=9164), but at that point I'd rather get a receiver.