[seeberg]

Check it: I've got a win98 PC currently using a Soundblaster Live 5.1 soundcard(I'll be upgrading to the Chaintech AV710 when I get the budget to do so) and I want to know if there's a way I can get Dolby Headphone on my PC, which spits out audio to my reciever via coaxial digital output.

Is it possible to do this, and can it be done for free if possible?

Any help here is greatly appreciated.
Late,
Abe

 

[Roan]

Most of the software DVD players such as PowerDVD and WinDVD have Dolby Headphone. I use PowerDVD when I watch movies and it sounds great with my Total BitHead.

 

[seeberg]

Hmmm... I have winDVD preinstalled, are there free updates available for it?

,
Abe

 

[halcyon]

Do you want Dolby Headphone out of multichannel games or from movies?

From movies you might be able to pull it off using the software dvd players that support dolby headphone (e.g. softDVDmax, PowerDVD, etc.).

For games you'd need a special sound card that gives Dolby Digital output from multichannel games and then a separate (outbox) dolby digital to dolby headphone encoder (a more expensive proposition).

 

[seeberg]

Actually, I just want it for music. I don't have the proper setup to watch movies on my PC, and I'm not into PC games. My soundcard is capable of spitting out Dolby Digital through either a 6 channel analog output or digital coaxial output.

,
Abe

 

[deathBOB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by halcyon Do you want Dolby Headphone out of multichannel games or from movies? From movies you might be able to pull it off using the software dvd players that support dolby headphone (e.g. softDVDmax, PowerDVD, etc.). For games you'd need a special sound card that gives Dolby Digital output from multichannel games and then a separate (outbox) dolby digital to dolby headphone encoder (a more expensive proposition).

With what equipment could this be made to work?

 

[Helter Skelter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deathBOB With what equipment could this be made to work?

For movies, you just need a software DVD player that supports Dolby Headphone. PowerDVD works quite well for this, in my experience, but there are several others that support it.

For games (and this has been covered in several previous threads), you'd need a SoundStorm capable motherboard (Abit NF7-S, Asus A7N8X Deluxe, several others). This is currently the only practical way of getting realtime DD5.1 sound in PC games without a significant performance hit (software filters are very resource-intensive, and DD5.1 Live-capable PCI cards are currently in their infancy and I'm unsure as to their performance). You'd then need an external Dolby Headphone processor. I happen use an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe motherboard and a Pioneer SE-DIR800C for the Dolby Headphone portion, and that works out quite well for me.

 

[halcyon]

For normal stereo (two channel) music, I don't think it makes any sense to use Dolby Headphone. It's meant for simulated 5.1 playback on stereo headphones.

If you want artificial soundstage expansion from stereo source, you are better off using something else than Dolby Headphone, imho

For multichannel games to DD to Dolby headphone a following combo could work:


Mystique 7.1 Gold (does DS3D -> DD encoding on the fly):
http://www.hdaudiovisual.com.au/mcpc/xmgold71.htm

From DD to Dolby Headphone a headphone processor like Philips SBC-HD1500 would do:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194397

I haven't tried the following combo myself, so I cannot tell you how well it would work with multichannel games.

You can read more about the Mystique in AVSforums, 3dsoundsurge forums and Hardocp forums.

regards,
halcyon

 

[seeberg]

At present I use the 4Front Headphones plugin for Windows Media Player, although I never really use that. Creative Playcenter serves as my media hub at the moment (can't get iTunes on my system; interested in Winamp, can't set it up the way I want it without help), and its grasp of EAX only serves well on mono sources for me. I made a mono-> surround mode that works well with NES emulators, but that's all it's really suited for.

,
Abe