Realtek S/PDIF Problems

[Remo Nonaz]

I have been working to consolidate all my digital music into my computer and connect the computer to my home stereo system. This has been going well but for the inability to get the S/PDIF interface working. I've read and re-read all the relevant manuals, updated the [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]drivers[/FONT][/FONT]

(twice) and confirmed that the S/PDIF interface is at least electrically working - the red LED is on.

Here are the particulars. Can anyone comment on what I am missing or need to do?

Computer:
- OS, Win 7 64-bit
- Computer, Intel DG43NB mobo with Q6600 CPU
- S/PDIF, mobo header with Asus S/PDIF back card - wired red+5, black-ground, brown-S/PDIF
- Audio chip - RealTek ALC888VC
- Drivers, initial setup - Windows audio, upgraded to RealTek 6.0.1.6201 using auto update, then upgraded to 6.0.1.6482 from RealTek site

Stereo
- Sony STR-AVDE545
- Digital interface, S/PDIF (2-CD, DVD) and co-axial

Wiring
- 50' fiber cable

One issue I have is the fact that the stereo operation mode is unclear. The ​

[FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]user's [/FONT][FONT=inherit !important]manual[/FONT][/FONT]

states that it has two digital modes, an analog mode and an automatic detection mode. It then implies that if no digital signal is detected it will only operate in the analog mode. This is what it is doing - pressing the analog/digital switch does not change modes. I am assuming from this that no ​

[FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]digital [/FONT][FONT=inherit !important]signal[/FONT][/FONT]

is reaching the stereo, even though the fiber cable is emitting a red light.

My suspicion is with the drivers and the settings for the S/PDIF interface in the computer. I found a RealTek document on line called "RealTek High Definition Audio", ​

http://uk.ts.fujitsu.com/rl/servic [...] 00_0418-05

[1].pdf, which describes all the various features and settings for an un-named RealTek driver or sound card; the document does not specify what it documents. That document describes a number of screens or panels that enable and control the S/PDIF interface. The controls that come with the RealTek drivers do not mention the S/PDIF interface at all and I suspect that the drivers loaded are either not aware of the S/PDIF interface or do not perform the control of it properly. The controls that come with the RealTek driver do not match the controls in the document noted in a number of areas as well.

I saw a post on line which stated that if the RealTek drivers did not detect a S/PDIF interface they would not present the S/PDIF ​

[FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]control [/FONT][FONT=inherit !important]panels[/FONT][/FONT]

. I do not know if this is true. How can I confirm that the S/PDIF header and back card are working properly? No smoke can out when I connected up the wires and the red LED is on. What else can be tested?

I have only one yellow exclamation mark in my controls/device manager panel. The one exclamation is for other_devices/simple_communications_controller. I do not know what this is or if it relevant. The error for this is that drivers are not installed. A search for drivers using the update driver box does not find any drivers.

If the drivers and the S/PDIF header/back card won't work, what are my best options with a PCI/PCIe sound card? I would need S/PDIF but since the stereo will doing all the mixing and amplification, I would assume that I don't need a lot of features in the sound card itself. The plan is to have the computer essentially be a very smart CD changer. ​

 

[Binky]

If you pull up the sound properties in Win7 (search "sound" on start menu), do you see any Realtek devices there? On my system, I see both "Realtek Digital Output" and "Realtek Digital Output(Optical)"

 

[Ross Ridge]

First, since you're using an Asus SPDIF bracket with an Intel motherboard the problem may be simply that they're not compatible.

You can check is to see if you're using the digital audio output device rather than the analogue one. Under Windows 7 these are different devices. Go to Control Panel -> Sound and look for a "Digital Output" device under the "Playback" tab. If you only see a "Speakers" device, then right click on the empty white space below any devices you see there and select both "Show Disabled Devices" and "Show Disconnected Devices".

If "Digital Output" shows up on the list but it's disabled, right click on it and select "Enable". If it shows up but says its disconnected despite being connected then your Asus bracket probably isn't compatible. Otherwise right click on it and select "Set as Default Device".

Note that instead of "Digital Output" it may say something like "Realtek Digital Output (Internal)". The key thing is to look for something that isn't "Speakers" and has the word digital in it. If you find mutliple devices that fit this description then try them all.

If you can't find any device like this then there's probably nothing you can do to get SPDIF working on your PC. If you can but still can't get it working it may be a problem with your bracket, your cable or the length of your cable. While potentially optical cables are capable working over very long distances, the cables and equipment used for consumer optical audio is all very low end. Try a shorter length cable, or try using coaxial if possible instead. You can use just about any cable with an RCA jack on either end, a video cable is better, but one half an audio cable will work.

Finally if none this works then simplest solution to your problem is to just use analogue audio cables. From the sound of things you don't need Dobly Digital or DTS 5.1 surround support so you won't be missing anything.

 

[Remo Nonaz]

I have both the analog and digital services coming up in the Realtek audio manager, but it only shows the 3.5mm ports as output devices, no listing for S/PDIF. I am aware that the header might not be compatible with the Asus back card, but there is no reason to suspect this. The Intel mobo guide recommends this setup and I triple checked the wiring to make sure it was correct. (It is only +5, digital signal and ground, how wrong could it be?) The red LED is on, though I can't determine if it is actually signalling since I have nothing to test with other than the stereo. I would try a coaxial cable to test the interface but I don't have one that will reach (about 15' minimum) and the stereo can't easily be moved.

I've also determined that my mobo bios is quite old. There are bunch of revisions, none of which mention S/PDIF, however. I tried updating this last weekend but the update wouldn't update. I'm going to try again doing incremental updates until I get it up to current revision.