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Author Topic: Help With 5.1  (Read 48 times)

javicho21

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Help With 5.1
« on: November 12, 2003, 04:37:00 AM »
QUOTE
I remember there being a box that would decode the signal before it got to the receiver.


I've never heard of such a thing.  How would you input into your receiver??  You still have 5.1 channels going into a 2 channel receiver.  Maybe it can give 5.1-like sound but not duplicate it without the proper equipment.
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Whatup1049

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Help With 5.1
« Reply #1 on: November 12, 2003, 04:59:00 AM »
wink.gif
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Shuflie

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Help With 5.1
« Reply #2 on: November 12, 2003, 05:03:00 AM »
You need a sound blaster extigy, will function as a standalone DD decoder and provide 5.1 analogue outputs for your amp.
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bleugh

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Help With 5.1
« Reply #3 on: November 12, 2003, 06:57:00 AM »
buy a new receiver!........
or, use a PC with a soundblaster live5.1 card or later in and hook the digital output of the xbox into that (you may need an optical to coaxial converter)
then output the soundcard outputs into the receiver inputs.

dolby 5.1!

or get a cheapo dolby digital computer amp, or one of them £70 quid ones from asda and hack it up, tapping into the line level outputs before the amps and feeding them into the line inputs of your receiver


...personally I think buying a new receiver is better, dolby digital amps can be had for under £100
(www.richersounds.co.uk for uk peeps), I got my old man the KRV5050 for his birthday last year, £95 incl VAT and shipping from an advertisement in the back of what HiFi

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Mr Ed

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Help With 5.1
« Reply #4 on: November 12, 2003, 08:23:00 AM »
QUOTE (javicho21 @ Nov 12 2003, 06:37 AM)
QUOTE
I remember there being a box that would decode the signal before it got to the receiver.


I've never heard of such a thing.  How would you input into your receiver??  You still have 5.1 channels going into a 2 channel receiver.  Maybe it can give 5.1-like sound but not duplicate it without the proper equipment.

Obviously he has 6 coax cables that go from his DVD player into his receiver if the signal is already decoded.
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Mr Ed

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Help With 5.1
« Reply #5 on: November 12, 2003, 08:24:00 AM »
QUOTE (TheJackBlackShow @ Nov 11 2003, 06:43 PM)
I bought my receiver when it was common to have a DVD player that would decode and your receiver didn’t. Now I’m screwed because I can’t play games in 5.1 sure I have a DVD player that sends the audio decoded, but I want games in 5.1 also. I remember there being a box that would decode the signal before it got to the receiver. I looked online and talked to the local retail stores and we can’t find one. Does anyone know where I could find one of these things?  

Thanks in Advance For the Help

Buy a new receiver.  Probably a Yamaha.

Make sure it does HDTV component video switching so it's more future proof than your current receiver, or else you'll find yourself buying a new one again in two years.
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eduncan911

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Help With 5.1
« Reply #6 on: November 12, 2003, 08:32:00 AM »
wink.gif ) has an HDTV set and an 5.1 optical receiver.

Eric
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Mr Ed

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Help With 5.1
« Reply #7 on: November 12, 2003, 11:40:00 AM »
QUOTE (eduncan911 @ Nov 12 2003, 10:32 AM)
Yeah, you're going to need a new Receiver to decode the Dolby Digital 5.1 signal.  Or as someone suggests above, a sound card for your computer (boo, I wouldn't) that decodes 5.1 optical, then send that to your receiver (yes, all 6 cables).

Also if you haven't purchased it yet, you will need the XBox HDTV Component cable adapter.  It has the 3 colored YrYbPb outputs, stereo L/R outputs, but also the all important 5.1 optical output as well.

Unless there's a stand-along optical output for the Xbox.  I haven't looked at all of the addons you can buy.  There may be...  There has to be!  Because not everyone (I do though wink.gif ) has an HDTV set and an 5.1 optical receiver.

Eric

Uh, the S-Video box has a digital optical cable port as well.
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bleugh

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Help With 5.1
« Reply #8 on: November 12, 2003, 11:44:00 PM »
QUOTE
Yamahas suck. Get a onkyo or a denon.


I agree, yamahas aint the best, I brought one of the 180 quid new models and my arcam alpha 7 in stereo is infinitley better

Denon's are ok
stay away from that other jap-crap tho
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miklos

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Help With 5.1
« Reply #9 on: November 18, 2003, 07:28:00 AM »
I had the exact same issue the initial poster had:

my DVD player has 5.1 out, I have an surround processor with 5.1 in, but there is no DD decoder in it.

I had two options: replace my dolby surround processor and my amplifier (both good quality units) with a receiver which does DD. Price tag (for something with similar quality) at least $600

The other option: buy on ebay a used DD decoder - which would output a 5.1 signal for my  dolby processor (which of course does not do any processing on a 5.1 signal).

I got a Yamaha DPP2 unit ( but there are many similar units out there from Sony, Pioneer, Marantz and others ) for $100, shipped. And the best part: it comes with 1 year warranty too!

So problem solved, at a reasonable price... ( spending $600 just to get Xbox sound in 5.1 would have been way to much. $100 is still much, but more reasonable...)

Miklos
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