Sound card w/ Dolby Digital Encoding and Digital Outs

[RaWk]

Can someone recommend a sounds card w/ Dolby Digital Encoding and Optical or Co-axial outputs. I currently have an mx300 but I want to upgrade to something with digital outs to go with my amplifier. And I can't use the mx400 cause I am running windows 2000 and there is no driver out that utilizes the SPDIF output. Any recommendations that aren't going to bust the bank? Thanks.

 

[Sugadaddy]

I think you mean Dolby Digital decoding, and if you want to hook it up with the digital output (spdif), then you don't even need DD decoding since your receiver (amplifier) will be doing the decoding.

An old Soundblaster Live Value will work, but I'd suggest a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz or Philips Accoustic Edge if you don't want to spend too much...

 

[Caiwyn]

I don't know about the other cards you mentioned, but the SoundBlaster Live Value most certainly does *NOT* have Dolby Digital decoding. I think it's a fair bet that the Santa Cruz doesn't, either. However, if you buy any of the SoundBlaster Live 5.1 series of cards (the SBLive mp3+ 5.1, the SBLive X-Gamer 5.1, etc.), those DO have Dolby Digital decoding built in.

Although, I've got to tell you, I don't recommend getting Dolby Digital decoding built into the sound card. It's better to get speakers with Dolby Digital decoding built in instead, because then the sound card (or DVD card, or whatever) can send the raw signal to the speakers to decode. The speakers do the decoding work rather than making the computer do it, and chances are, if you're watching something with Dolby Digital sound, you'll want to take as much of a burden off the computer as possible.

 

[Sugadaddy]

The Live 5.1 series of cards do Dolby DIgital decoding through software, they DON'T have hardware decoding. Software decoding can be done using a software DVD player (PowerDVD or WinDVD) combined with almost any sound card, which ends up being the same as having a Live 5.1.

However, it's true you'll need 5.1 analog outputs if you want to plug it to an amp with 5.1 analog inputs that doesn't have Dolby Digital decoding. For that, you'll need either one of the Live! 5.1 cards or a Hercules Gametheater XP.(I recommend the XP)

It'd be easier to answer if we knew what kind of amp/receiver it's going to be plugged to...

 

[Broadkipa]

I have just brought the VideoLogic Sonicfury and it has just about all you could want in a sound card. It does not have Digital Encoding but it has everything else and beats the pants off my Soundblaster live card. It comes with loads of software. It supports EAX2 and A3D to.

 

[bellmar]

Check out the Phillips Acoustic Edge 5.1-Channel PCI Sound Card PSC706 .
You can find em pretty inexpensive too. It should do what you want.
http://www.philipsusa.philips.com/cgi-bin/pusaimgr/PUSA/newindex.jsp

 

[MasterHoss]

YOu can easily hook up a DD decoder to the Hercules Game Theater XP via the optical or RCA style digital jacks. No problems.

 

[RaWk]

Yo all, thanks for the recs. Yeah I have a DECODER in my tuner. I don't want the POS decoder on the card.