Audigy 2

[lovedaddy]

Originally posted by Happy Go Lucky
say for eg. Doom 3 has 5.1 sound, does that mean it is pre-coded?

So what you are saying for any other game that may/or not have 5.1 or 4.1 sound the nforce 2 will encode the sound to a 5.1 or a 4.1 format in to your surround speakers.

Doom3 with the nForce (according to current news) will generate 5.1 streams on the fly. So instead of say 4.0 EAX, with the nForce, youd get 5.1 channel sound.
I think UT2k3 does the too, but i aint checked.

You still need the hardware to work out where in 3d space the sound is going to come from. There are standards, like DirectSound3D that do similar things to DD5.1, but none are anywhere near as impressive as DD5.1.

It really is worth trying to check out things like Halo, Project Gotham and SegaGT2002 on the Xbox to hear how impressive it can be.

 

[Xavier]

Originally posted by Scooba Da Bass


Sorry for butting in here, as this isn't really my field, BUT, does the encoding not take place in software regardless, which is then passed onto the soundcard to be decoded? It strikes me as being odd that you need a sound card to create a 5.1/6.1 stream when it's just a way of multiplexing seperate streams into a single transmittable channel.

no, the encoding is generally done in hardware, the APU of the MCP-T on nForce2 handles all the DD5.1 encode rather than put additional load on the subsystem. Don't forget the games are, as standard, 4-channel sound sources. It's not just a simple upmix either as the APU is able to re-mix the channels from the discrete sources in engines such as DoomIII.

 

[Xavier]

Re: Welcome news?

Originally posted by Happy Go Lucky
I was shopping for a new sound card, and came across this (from tecnation link to gamepc.com review of audigy2.



Update (11/26/2002) : Creative has informed us that the Audigy2 CAN decode Dolby Digital 5.1 / 6.1 content without the use of a seperate decoder. The Audigy 2 has built-in Dolby Digital decoding of AC-3 audio streams. Also important to keep in mind that the Audigy is capable of decoding 5.1 and 6.1 audio streams, while the nVidia nForce2 is only capable of encoding and decoding in 5.1.

 

[Xavier]

Re: Welcome news?

Originally posted by Happy Go Lucky
I was shopping for a new sound card, and came across this (from tecnation link to gamepc.com review of audigy2.



Update (11/26/2002) : Creative has informed us that the Audigy2 CAN decode Dolby Digital 5.1 / 6.1 content without the use of a seperate decoder. The Audigy 2 has built-in Dolby Digital decoding of AC-3 audio streams. Also important to keep in mind that the Audigy is capable of decoding 5.1 and 6.1 audio streams, while the nVidia nForce2 is only capable of encoding and decoding in 5.1.

So, what you're saying is, we have the choice of a card which can decode in 5.1/6.1 or encode/decode in 5.1

Hmm, hard one that...

Seeing as most gamers I know don't have the space or separation to position their speakers correctly for a 6.1 setup I know which one I'd opt for...

 

[legendario]

Originally posted by Xavier


no, the encoding is generally done in hardware, the APU of the MCP-T on nForce2 handles all the DD5.1 encode rather than put additional load on the subsystem. Don't forget the games are, as standard, 4-channel sound sources. It's not just a simple upmix either as the APU is able to re-mix the channels from the discrete sources in engines such as DoomIII.

I think it is a licensing issue aswell as a technical issue.

Dolby request a license for every digital surround multiplexer chip that is bought (try and buy one from RS components).

So I assume that dolby licensed software would be needed although if you were a decent programming h4xor you could easily write the software yourself.

The other point is what xav has just mentioned. A dedicated hardware de-multiplexer should significantly reduce CPU load.

 

[~YuckFou~]

Xav is a triple posting noob

 

[Big G]

Audigy 2 is overkill imo - i use my PC for professional music recording and i'm satisfied with the SB Live. I haven't even maxed *that* out to it's full potential yet.

Gaz

 

[Yaka]

why dont creative ever make a card with an optical or coaxial port built infs