Home Theater question

randallkubin · 04-18-2008, 04:21 PM

does anybody know... my Dell XPS 420, has an integrated optical output... i have it connected to my home theater, optically... but... for some reason, it's not DTS. is there a reason why? is there anything for me to configure? Like I said... it's integrated, so I'm not sure who the manufacturer is.

ellanky · 04-18-2008, 05:12 PM

It probably doesnt support or decode DTS.. if it doesnt buy a sound card that does!

thekl0wn · 04-18-2008, 09:01 PM

This may sound stupid, but what are you using the PC for? Is it DVD playback or mainly music? This question does affect the answer.

(for music) Going on-board optical like you're doing, is going to be about the best quality sound you're capable of, in stereophile terms. BUT, the limitation is in the number of channels supported by SPDIF, and the bitrates.

(for DVD) If you're needing the surround mode, then you're looking at upgrading the PC to a soundcard with the DTS capabilities.

randallkubin · 04-21-2008, 06:13 PM

it's my media center pc. The onboard sound card is 7.1, with an spdif optical output.

I bought the pc specifically for watching blu ray movies... but mostly i've been listening to music on it.

My video card has an audio out, actually. it's an ATi HD 2600, and it sends audio and video through HDMI. My stereo receiver doesn't have HDMI ports, though... so i haven't been using it.

Is HDMI the best audio quality now? or does optical still hold the lead? I'm curious now whether I should update my sound card or home stereo.

mightymilk · 05-04-2008, 07:47 PM

couple things.

your computer doesn't need to decode DTS if you're passin it to a receiver (which you prob have). some where in the options, should be an option to not decode DTS and just pass it through.

HDMI and Optical are basically the same when it comes to sound quality. video is the only place it matters

Quick69GTO · 05-05-2008, 01:58 AM

The optical output will pass the DTS (and 5.1/7.1) signal thru regardless if the source media is DTS.
Are you sure the receiver can decode DTS? Not all home theater receivers can decode DTS. Also, most of them that can decode DTS usually need to be manually switched to it (my Harmon Kardon does).

04-18-2008, 04:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
randallkubin New Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 21	Home Theater question does anybody know... my Dell XPS 420, has an integrated optical output... i have it connected to my home theater, optically... but... for some reason, it's not DTS. is there a reason why? is there anything for me to configure? Like I said... it's integrated, so I'm not sure who the manufacturer is.

04-18-2008, 05:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
ellanky Silver Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Anaheim, CA Age: 17 Posts: 153	It probably doesnt support or decode DTS.. if it doesnt buy a sound card that does! __________________ MoboAbit- NF8 CPUAMD Sempron 3000+ GraphicsGeforce 6600 AGP :< Memory768MB DDR

05-04-2008, 07:47 PM	#5 (permalink)
mightymilk New Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 18	couple things. your computer doesn't need to decode DTS if you're passin it to a receiver (which you prob have). some where in the options, should be an option to not decode DTS and just pass it through. HDMI and Optical are basically the same when it comes to sound quality. video is the only place it matters __________________ Gigabyte GA-P31-S3G Motherboard (Intel P31 Chipset) Intel Core Duo 2.33Ghz (1333FSB/Conroe) eVGA 9600GT (512MB) WD 240gig SATA150(7,200rpm 16mb cache) x2 G. Skill Dual Channel DDR2 1066 (2Gigs) Plextor 16x/48x DVD+-RW SATA150 Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Seasonic 500W Power Supply LIAN LI PC-G70B Full-Tower ViewSonic 19" VP191b LCD Monitor

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04-18-2008, 09:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
thekl0wn New Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: PoCo, IN Age: 25 Posts: 13	This may sound stupid, but what are you using the PC for? Is it DVD playback or mainly music? This question does affect the answer. (for music) Going on-board optical like you're doing, is going to be about the best quality sound you're capable of, in stereophile terms. BUT, the limitation is in the number of channels supported by SPDIF, and the bitrates. (for DVD) If you're needing the surround mode, then you're looking at upgrading the PC to a soundcard with the DTS capabilities.

04-21-2008, 06:13 PM	#4 (permalink)
randallkubin New Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 21	it's my media center pc. The onboard sound card is 7.1, with an spdif optical output. I bought the pc specifically for watching blu ray movies... but mostly i've been listening to music on it. My video card has an audio out, actually. it's an ATi HD 2600, and it sends audio and video through HDMI. My stereo receiver doesn't have HDMI ports, though... so i haven't been using it. Is HDMI the best audio quality now? or does optical still hold the lead? I'm curious now whether I should update my sound card or home stereo.

05-05-2008, 01:58 AM	#6 (permalink)
Quick69GTO Bronze Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 90	The optical output will pass the DTS (and 5.1/7.1) signal thru regardless if the source media is DTS. Are you sure the receiver can decode DTS? Not all home theater receivers can decode DTS. Also, most of them that can decode DTS usually need to be manually switched to it (my Harmon Kardon does).