Real 5.1 Surround Sound for Movies

tigergibb · 05-01-2007, 10:55 PM

I followed this FAQ on setting up 5.1 sound for my system:

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/faq-...ard-audio.html

I encountered a few problems because I run a VIA EPIA-CN13000G as opposed to the M10000. Alas, I got it set up after playing around with Via's Audio Deck a bit. Here's the problem I found:

1. The music plays on all my speakers, all the time.
2. DVDs play on all my speakers, all the time
3. Surround sound uses the rears for effects

How can we set up the surround sound to mimmick what it would do in a theater in our cars? I am looking for cheap/affordable solutions only. A software fix would be perfect, or maybe I just set up my settings wrong? Any help would be highly appreciated. Thank you.

Dennis5587 · 05-01-2007, 11:19 PM

I've never read that FAQ, and don't feel like doing it now... but little thing not sure if its on there, if you go to control panel, and then speakers, there is options for setting up what kind of speakers you have... headphones, 2 speakrs, 2.1, 4.1, 5.1 what not... did you set that to 5.1?

tigergibb · 05-02-2007, 06:49 AM

Yes, I set it to 5.1 in the Via Audio Deck. I then turned off the option to have it stop making the back speakers copy the front ones. I put in a surround sound movie, and the rear speakers didn't play anything.

pancit175 · 05-05-2007, 09:18 PM

Have you researched into investing into a system that utilizes a SPDIF or an optical connection feed into a quality dolby or DTS processor such as the Alpine processor/EQ PXA-H701. In my opinion, it works just like a home theater receiver for your car, if not better.
I know it's not exactly cheep, but it gets the job done. If you're lucky you might be able to find a set of the processor and the controller for about $500-600. I'd say that this was the single greatest investment I made toward my setup. I'm sure I'm not the only one to testify that this is a good route to go, but I'm sure I've mentioned it more that others.

psyrex · 05-05-2007, 09:27 PM

What are you using to play the movie? Can that player support (decode) 5.1?

tigergibb · 05-05-2007, 09:58 PM

I'm using mpg123, or whatever the default is for RoadRunner. Do I need to get WinDVD or something? I can't afford a procsesor right now.

Jahntassa · 05-06-2007, 12:39 AM

Are you sure the movie you were watching had rear sound? Even if it's a 5.1 film there may not be anything going through the speakers in the back because they didn't mix it that way.

Does your audio driver have any sort of speaker test just to be sure that you are discreetly getting each channel? Like something that says 'front left', 'rear right' kind of thing?

tigergibb · 05-06-2007, 08:42 PM

We tested the movie in our home theater.. at the beginning there's a train going by that goes through the rear speakers. It didn't work in the car

.

I tested with the VIA Audio Deck, and each channel works perfectly. You press the speaker on the screen and it plays insturments out of that speaker. Do I need to set up some other software or use a different DVD Player in RoadRunner than the built-in one for proper surround sound?

Jahntassa · 05-07-2007, 12:12 AM

Actually looking back up, psyrex may be on the right track. Is your software capable of 6 channel playback? I know there are different versions of PowerDVD, for example. Some are 2ch and some are 6ch, so you may want to look into that as well..

crooper · 05-09-2007, 03:20 AM

I use AC3Filter to output 5.1 surround (DD/DTS) as 4.1 (matrix center across left and right). Works great.

volum3rider · 05-09-2007, 05:03 PM

That is exactly what I do and it works perfectly.

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