Hi, hopefully this is the right place to ask this question!
I'm trying to connect up my Xbox 360 to my PC and pass through the Dolby Digital Audio to my 5.1 speaker setup (my LCD has dual input, DVI for the PC, D-SUB for the Xbox).
The motherboard (Abit AB9 QuadGT (http://www.abit.com.tw/page/en/motherboard/motherboard_detail.php?pMODEL_NAME=AB9+QuadGT&fMTYPE=LGA775)) has a Realtek ALC888 (http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=28&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=135) chipset and I have a 5.1 speaker system connected via 3 x 3.5mm jacks (FR/FL, RR/RL, C/LFE).
I get full 5.1 output from the PC.
I have connected the optical audio cable from the Xbox to the Optical In on the motherboard's backplate.
With the Xbox in `Digital Stereo` mode I get 2 channel audio from the Xbox, through the PC, to the speakers.
With the Xbox in `Dolby Digital 5.1` mode I get no sound at all.
I previously had the Xbox optical audio connected to my Hi-Fi amp in the living room so I know that the DD5.1 output is working fine.
I have the latest Realtek drivers installed in Win 7 32-bit.
- Is it possible to use the full 5.1 DD from the Xbox via the PC?
- If so, am I missing some option(s) in the Realtek setup?
- Do I need some other piece of software to do this? (AC3Filter or ffdshow perhaps)
Any config help with Realtek/AC3Filter/ffdshow would be great too!
Many thanks
Shevek
It sounds like there should be some passthrough option for S/P-DIF. I think AC3filter will allow this but I'm sure someone more experienced and knowledgable will be able to suggest more
Looks like its not possible.
Found a post on another forum which specifically states that this is not supported in Realtek chipsets.
The x box can be connected in two different ways and that is digitally and analogically. The best and the most people uses the digital way and it is very simple and much effective that the other one. When you are connecting the x box using toslink you must make sure that you are using x box 360 AV cables, other wise it may not work properly or may not work at all. You make sure that you have installed it right.
that's not the problem at all. This has been kind of a holy grail for a small segment of the HTPC community for years. I'm not sure if they accomplished anything worthwhile, but I never thought it was such a big problem. Back in the day you could get standalone decoders small enough that there wasn't much reason to use the PC as a makeshift audio receiver.