i cant seem to get digital 5.1 sound (SBLive 5.1 platinum and yamaha tss-1)

[TommyBoomfiger]

i got the yamaha tss-1 5.1 speaker set from the deals page for about 80 after rebate and other coupons. looked like a good deal especially since i could still return the $70 logitech 4.1s i just bought a short while ago. so i get back from cali yesterday (anybody miss me?) to be welcomed by a huge box with amazon.com written on it. i hook it up to my computer using the optical cable and run creatives test utility... i hear "front left".. "front right"....... nothing, no center, no surround. i say ok, maybe creative doesnt use 5.1 with the optical. i hook up the spdif output to the coax digital input of the yamaha system... same thing. is it just me or shouldnt the spdif out give 5.1? maybe it just me. then i hook up the digital out on the card to analog input, dont ask why i just did. i expected to get nothing since i set it to give a digital signal. i got the test to give me all the 5 channels, but they all came out of the wrong speakers without any sound from the left surround.

the tss has a digital optical input, a digital coax input, and a analog 1/8" minijack front and the same for the surround. obviously i want to get the dolby digital 5.1 sound to work at least, if not dts. the only 2 solutions i can think of is
1) get a minijack to coax cable to hook up the digital out on the sb card to the digital coax in. although that might not work
or
2) get 2 stereo and one mono coax to minijack to hook up the 5 speakers directly but then i lose the sub, which i definatley do not want to do.

anyone have any ideas on what i can do?

[spigidygak]

One very simple thing you may have overlooked, under the creative labs thing where you are testing the speakers, there should be somewhere around there that lets you pick your output source, i.e. headphones, 2 speakers, 4.1 speakers etc. Make sure thats set for 5.1. Also, I'm not sure if this makes any difference but go to: control panels>sounds and audio devices properties>volume tab>advanced. You should be able to pick speaker setup there too.

[TommyBoomfiger]

Originally posted by spigidygak
One very simple thing you may have overlooked, under the creative labs thing where you are testing the speakers, there should be somewhere around there that lets you pick your output source, i.e. headphones, 2 speakers, 4.1 speakers etc. Make sure thats set for 5.1. Also, I'm not sure if this makes any difference but go to: control panels>sounds and audio devices properties>volume tab>advanced. You should be able to pick speaker setup there too.

i actually did that even before i hooked up the speakers, then i tried 4 channel with the same results. when you run the test, the speaket which is being tested lights up. so when it is supposed to say "center channel" nothing happens.

[spigidygak]

only other thing I could think of the speakers themselves aren't hooked up right. . . but I don't know what they look like or how they are setup within each other. . . Got|Link?

[TommyBoomfiger]

Originally posted by spigidygak
only other thing I could think of the speakers themselves aren't hooked up right. . . but I don't know what they look like or how they are setup within each other. . . Got|Link?

maybe i should have started off with this.

the Yamaha TSS-1b system has 5 satellites, 1 subwoofer and an amplifier unit. the amp has 2 digital inputs (optical and coax) and an analog input consisting of 2 minijack inputs. the front panel has a master volume control, subwoofer level, surround level and center level controls. there is also an input seletor to select whether the incoming signal is digital, 4 channel or 2 channel (audio cd, regular stereo). there is a mode button which allows you to choose the decoding method: dts, dolby digital or dolby prologic. the last 2 buttons are test and mute. when i push the test button, all inputs are cut off and a test signal cycles through all 5 satellites. there is no problem with the test signal. also if i hook up the analog out from my sound card to the yamaha amp i get 4.1 channel sound, but there is no center channel input on the amp.
also my idea to hook up the speaker directly to the sound card wont work because no power is sent through the sound card to the speakers. i know the DD5.1 will work because i hooked it up to my ps2 using the optical cable and i could hear it clearly coming from all the speakers.

[TommyBoomfiger]

so after pissing off yamaha's tech support (dont know why, i just asked if it would work and the guy jumped on me about how its creatives fault and i need to call them) i decided on messing around some more, with some strange results.

since i dont have a 1/8" minijack to coax cable which can support a digital signal and having no luck finding one anywhere i decided to see what would happen if i used a stereo one which has 2 coax connectors, you know, the ones with red and white connectors. first i tried the red connector to the coax input and got same as i did before, the test for the front left and right speakers worked perfectly but nothing else. next i tried the white connector and surprisingly i got the test sound for the rear left and right surrounds to come out of the front left and right surround speakers. so all four surround channels are coming out of the same output which mean that the other 1.1 channels are coming out of one or two of the other outputs on the card. this also means that creative configured thier system not to use a conventional cabling system so that all 5.1 channel signals go through one cable digitally, but instead go through a dedicated wire since each minijack has 2 channels, you would need 3 separate 2-channel cables to get 5.1 sound and most dd and dts decoders probably wont have that kind of input.

after some more research ive come to the conclusion that creative sucks! apparently thier live 5.1 cards, possibly audigy as well, will only play 5.1 sound with speakers which have a custom connector, ie. cambridge soundworks or creative inspire maybe a few liscenced others. those bastiges could have told me, as i would have bought thier product instead of this one.

the upside to this is that i can still get 4.1 (analog) sound for games (i think that means eax will work, not sure. if anyone knows please tell me) and if i ever feel like watching movies on a 15" curved monitor (until i get my 21" fd trinitron later this month) instead of a 36" wega, i can do it with my ps2 or standalone dvd player and get dd5.1 or dts with directly through that. i also hear that there are unofficial drivers which allow dts and dd5.1 raw signals to pass through when using powerdvd. the only exception to this is that i probably wont be able to use the ac3 encoded tracks for deus ex to get 5.1 sound.

maybe next time ill get a turtle beach, phillips or some other 5.1 card and fully research it before i get it.

[JPR]

7560
Manufacturer: Aim

1/8" mono male to RCA female adapter. Nickel plated.

Ideal for adapting digital output on Creative's Live! and Audigy series sound cards for use with Dolby Digital surround systems.

PRICE: $1.20

Heres a link to the store to the store search for item 7560. If ya want i can get it for you and mail to you.

[TommyBoomfiger]

wow, thanks. ive looked everywhere for that (b&m, catalogs) and no one has that. thanks a lot for the offer, but i think it would be easier for me just to buy it with my cc instead of you having to ship it to me and me sending a payment to you.

[JPR]

Well this place is about 2 miles from my house and I think their minimum shipping rate is $5. It would cost me about a buck to mail it. Anyways just a thought.

[TommyBoomfiger]

i just got a response from creative tech support telling me the only way to get 5.1 sound is to use playcenter2, which i dont really want to install. bastages. quotage to follow...

The optical output will only provide 2 channel output from the Sound Blaster Live Drive.

The SPDIF Out from the Live Drive should have more than 2 speaker output. You should be able to get 5.1 sound from it.

Try the following procedure:

1. Go into the Playcenter2.

2. Select either the PC2 - Regular or PC2 - SB Live! Skin and then go to the Player View.

3. Open the tray window, and click on the CMSS button.

4. Put the dot in front of Movie Mode.

5. Close Playcenter2 and try the speaker test.

Doug
Creative Labs Technical Support

[DREDD]

I know that MANY soundcards will not support 5.1 in games, Music, or recording with the optical or Coax connection. You can only get 5.1 if you stream it to a decoder with a DVD software like PowerDVD. You could get 5.1 Dolby Digital using the Soundblaster's Decoder if you use the analog outputs on the Soundblaster. You can run from the front out to the front in on your speakers and sae for rear and center and sub. then you can get Dolby Digital with the soundblaster decoder. DTS has to be streamed through optical or Coax. You cannot decode DTS through a soundcard yet.

[TommyBoomfiger]

DREDD, i dont know of any games which can even play 5.1 sound yet, except i think with unreal tourney with downloaded ac3 tracks. but when i configured playcenter how the guy from creative instructed and it worked perfectly in dd5.1.

and thanks again to JPR, i printed out the page from altex and took it to the radio shack by my house and got the same connector for a little over 2 buck. so instead of having to plug in the amp from the front of the computer, it nicely fits into the back.