Question : Problem: Trying to setup 7.1 (or 5.1) surround from my computer with digital audio connection

I have just gotten a blu-ray player for my computer and a new 7.1 surround system from Onkyo, and I'm having a hard time getting surround audio to be passed properly to the receiver via digital connection.  I've never worked with surround sound on a computer, but I'm a very advanced user.  Any ideas or suggestions would be very helpful.  I'll put as much information as I can think of below.

Soundcard 1: Creative Audigy 2 ZS (couldn't get the digital connection to work at all)
Soundcard 2: "SoundMax Integrated Digital HD Audio" - onboard with my Mobo
Mobo: Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus
OS: Windows XP SP3
Receiver: Onkyo HT-S5100

I am connecting the SoundMax soundcard to the receiver via coax digital audio cable (I tried an optical cable but could not get that to work).  Everything as far as quality sounds great, but I know the channels are not right.  I was watching a 5.1 movie and much of the dialog was simply not being played.  I also downloaded a short test file which plays through each channel one by one, and again, they were incorrect.

I cannot find any settings to tell the SoundMax soundcard to only output digital audio (there is an option to disable digital audio).  I have the card configured for 7.1 speakers, however that seems to be related to the analog ports (as each speaker displays "not connected" next to it), which of course I am not using at all.  Also, in my travels on a few forums, I saw a few mentions to "S/PDIF Passthrough."  I'm not sure what this is, but my guess is that it tells the soundcard not to decode the audio but to simply send it straight to the receiver - which would make a lot of sense if I could only find that option!

I have updated the SoundMax card's drivers to the latest via Asus' website.  I did not update the Creative card's drivers as I've seen a lot of people having a lot of problems with digital audio from that card in particular (it's considered an "old" card these days).

Any ideas or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
- Jonathan

Answer : Problem: Trying to setup 7.1 (or 5.1) surround from my computer with digital audio connection

>1) Do I need a great card when passing audio straight from an application to the receiver via digital connection?  The thinking is that if the receiver is doing all of the decoding, then I just need the cheapest card available which has an optical connection.

No, even motherboard soundcards will do a good job if they are set for "S/PDIF passthrough" - in other words, no decoding is done by the soundcard and all is left to the receiver.

>2) What should I be selecting as an output inside of an application?  SPDIF?  5.1 Surround?  5.1 is missing channels, while SPDIF studders, as if something has crashed (the audio is restored once any other selection is made).

If you play a regular dvd (not HD) and choosing S/PDIF results in stutters, there's something not set up correctly or the hardware is faulty.  Stuttering is usually an indication that the incoming stream is not in the right format.  See this thread about VLC and stuttering with S/PDIF and try the settings: http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:DxKIGQUXIpgJ:forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php%3Ff%3D14%26t%3D20757%26start%3D0+S/PDIF+setting&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us

>3) Why on my SoundMax card can I use the Digital Coax connection, but not the Optical connection right next to it?  There are no options when it comes to the digital outputs; all speaker settings (i.e. 5 speakers, 7 speakers, etc.) comes with the "Anolog outputs only" stipulation.  There is no option to force digital output.  The only output options I can find come from within the applications - such as VLC and CyberDVD.

There should be no difference between using the coax or optical port.  When you use the digital ports, you are not doing any decoding, so you don't have any controls for it.  It expects the receiver to handle any settings.

>4) (new question) Is there any way to get true 5.1 surround out of PC games via Optical or Digial Coax connection?  Some have suggested that this is only possible via Analog connections... :-\

Only if the game itself outputs through the digital port.  DVD player software, as you already have noticed, gives you this control.