SPDIF and AC3 ?

[ashrafkadry]

Hi

I recently bought Creative Labs 5.1 inspire speakers package, which has a five speakers and a subwoofers, my system is operating using Aureal's Vortex AU8830, which has only two line out ports that is suitable for 4.1 channel system. To get the full effect of five channels, I can connect a SPDIF to one of the output jacks, and it should be connected to an AC3 decoder that will give me the 5.1 full-channels effect.

What is a SPDIF, and what's a AC3?

I'm using windows 98, 256 SDRAM 133, Pentium III 1 GHz, and a motherboard by Gigabyte GA-60xet based on Itel's i815ep chipsets

Best Regards
Ashraf Mohammed

 

[Snayyar]

S/PDIF (Sony/Phillips Digital Interface Format... or some such) is the connection type you use, to listen to an AC-3 (Dolby Digital, DTS, etc) source. So if you output using the S/PDIF connection, you will need a Dolby Digital/DTS decoder if you want to experience the 5.1 soundtrack in its full fidelity. Your speakers will be connected to the decoder, not the soundcard, the soundcard is just going to throughput your digital signal.

 

[Workin']

To put Snayyar's answer another way -

SPDIF is a digital transmission format using coaxial cables to connect components. In ashrafkadry's case, he would need to connect the SPDIF output from his 8830 soundcard to the SPDIF input of a surround-sound decoder, and then connect his speakers to the decoder. Unless he has the Inspire Digital 5700's, which have a SPDIF input and built in decoder, in which case he can connect the SPDIF output of the soundcard to the SPDIF input of the speakers.

AC-3 was Dolby Laboratories' development name for what is now called Dolby Digital. AC-3 is alleged to have meant "Advanced Codec 3", since this format is Dolby Labs' third multichannel coding scheme for consumer products. DTS is a similar but different and incompatible multichannel format, which needs its own decoder separate from Dolby Digital.