"ScottW" wrote in message
...
Sorry for bottom posting but for some reason my newsreader refuses to
put
markers in front of your post.
Looks like a top post to me 
Blame google groups.
Sorry, it started out as a bottom post and I reversed it and didn't change
the label.
Let's say that I go with your suggestion and get rid of soundcard and
use
HDMI on the video card for all sound and video transmission together.
Let me try to simplify my questions for that recommended configuration:
1) Do all video cards with HDMI outputs now support digital audio on the
same HDMI? I haven't seen that on data sheets for the gaming video cards
I
have used in past. Is it a required / standard feature all cards will
have
or is it something specialized I need to search for specifically on a
Windows video card?
I would never say all but a relative lowend card based on the AMD/
Radeon 6450
spec sheet here says:
http://www.amd.com/us/products/deskt...verview.aspx#2
So to try to condense a lot of information into a little, what I need to do
is:
1) Get a recent vintage video card that supports digital 7.1 sound over HDMI
2) Make sure that card supports WASAPI interface under Windows
3) Make sure the game software supports WASAPI
4) Configure the WASAPI playback to be LPCM over HDMI
5) Make sure the receiver supports LPCM
Is that basically it?
In terms of my being lost on this issue, I think there is no shame in
being
confused. First, it is confusing.
No doubt...but it appeared you were mixing analogue channel outputs of
the sound card with digital outputs. A pretty fundament mistake but
not unusual I guess,
My Creative X-Fi Titanium sound card has these outputs:
3. Line Out 4 jack Connects to the Rear Left and Rear Right inputs on
powered analog speakers or an A/V receiver.
4. Line Out 3 jack Connects to the Front Center and Subwoofer inputs on
powered analog speakers or an A/V receiver.
5. Line Out 2 jack Connects to the Side Left and Side Right inputs on
powered analog speakers or an A/V receiver.
6. Line Out 1 jack Connects to the Front Left and Front Right inputs on
powered analog speakers or an A/V receiver. Also connects to stereo
headphones with a 3.50 mm (1/8-inch) plug.
Those look like analog and I never thought that they were digital. The
problem I was having was that I saw a clear way to get control of 5.1 sound
by using those analog ports with direct attachments to PC speakers. What I
couldn't see was any way for the PC gaming software to put 5.1 or 7.1
channels onto an optical audio cable (the SPDIF port on sound card). As it
turns out my feeling that this was not possible was right. What I needed
was a different software interface (WASAPI) that supports uncompressed LPCM,
and I needed different hardware (i.e., HDMI), to make that work. So my
"gut" that my current configuration couldn't support digital 5.1 originated
in the game software was correct. I couldn't articulate my way through it
because there were multiple pieces I just didn't understand yet.
Thanks for your help!!
--
W