Nforce2 chipset SPDIF question

[Protouringcars]

I just recentely bought a new leadtek mobo with an nforce2 chipset. It has a coaxial out SPDIF interface. Is this interface only really going to come into use if I use windvd or powerdvd to play a movie ? I do have a home receiver to hook that connection up to, but I already have a Sigma Designs Xcard that works fine for my audio needs concerning dvd audio playback. One of the reasons I bought the board was due to it's Dual Channel Memory Banks and 333Mhz FSB, but also thought that the SPDIF would be cool...until I bought my Xcard and the question that's in this post came to me. Are there any games that take advantage of the whole 5.1 dolby digital or 4.1 pro logic aspect of things. Where do I get info on the audio output signals that games use (dolby, prologic...etc).... .as well as the hardware that supports it (not that I'm not set...but just incase I choose to upgrade.
Any informative websites that focus on this subject matter would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mavrick007]

The spdif will only be good for 5.1 dd if you go to a receiver for movies. Anything else that you use it for will only give you 2 channel stereo sound. If you want 5.1 out of your games, for the ones that support it, you have to connect the channels separately, like one cable to the front l/r, one to the rear l/r, 1 for center, and 1 for sub.

 

[Eymar]

I'm pretty sure you can get multi-channel output via spdif with the nforce2. I would check this shootout on Firingsquad. The page linked talks about nforce2's realtime dolby digital encoding.

 

[Protouringcars]

Thanks guys