How to connect 5.1home theater to pc

[akshayt]

Hi

I have a Pioneer 5.1 Home THeater System which i am connecting to my tv and also want it to be connected to my computer for superior sound playback and hardcore gaming. How do I do that ?

 

[TechnoKid]

do you have a multi channel output/surround sound soundcard? Like the latest Soundblaster audigy or on board sound or whatever.

If you do, you can either use it's analog outputs, or use the single digital coax/optical output to hookup to your reciever.

 

[akshayt]

i have an onboard sound card , but if required i can go for amongst the lowest end cheapest sound card for attaching the system,i need to connect the theater to tv and computer

 

[TechnoKid]

is your onboard sound 5.1? 6.1? 7.1? if your onboard sound is multichannel and has an optical digital or coaxial digital, that'd be the easiest connection, just one cable from your computer to a input on the reciver you have.

Otherwise you could hookup it up by means of the minijack outputs on the soundcard if your reciever has analog multichannel inputs.

 

[Thegonagle]

If you've got a digital output on the soundcard/motherboard, just hook it up (just like hooking up a DVD player's audio). Digital makes even on-board audio sound good. There are two types of digital audio connection: Coax, and optical. Your receiver must support the type of output the motherboard supplies; any halfway decent receiver supports both. If it's coax, you should use a 75 ohm composite video/digital audio cable, but a regular RCA cord (like the one that came with your CD player, for example--or rather, just the red or white half of the RCA cord) will work just fine if the length is short. If it's optical, you'll need to buy an optical cable.

 

[akshayt]

Write now my sound is onboard 845

in march i will upgrade to amd 64 and msi neo fsr 250gb,5.1 or 6.1 or 7.1 ch

will that mb support the connection

 

[Thegonagle]

What motherboard do you use now?

 

[bigpow]

easiest connection would be via an SPDIF cable (for multi-channel audio) & component cable (for video).
Unless your PO is close to the receiver, I wouldn't recommend a Toslink fibre.

 

[DaveSimmons]

for superior sound playback and hardcore gaming.

All of the above replies ignored the gaming part.

Game audio is sent over a digital connection as PCM stereo, not as dolby 5.1. Over a digital cable only the pre-encoded data in DVDs is sent as a 5.1 surround signal.

The one exception is nforce2 SoundStorm, but that is only on some Athlon XP motherboards, zero A64 mbs, and certainly not on an intel mobo

To get surround sound game audio you need to use analog: 3 stereo miniplug to RCA y-cables, in to the 6-plug 5.1 analog input that most receivers now have (often labeled DVD).