Trying to capture Dolby Digital 5.1 from Xbox

[hopeSOLO]

I'm trying to explain this as best I can..


- I have my Xbox (not 360) connected to the Hauppauge HD PVR with component cable. I also have optical toslink cable coming from Xbox to HD PVR's optical in.

- I also have another component cable, which connects my TV and HD PVR (so that I can see and hear what I'm recording)

- I have nothing connected to the HD PVR's optical out. Should I connect something in there? I don't need to actually hear the 5.1 sounds, I just want that my final MP4 footage have 5.1 AC-3 track inside of it.

- In the Xbox Dashboard, I have enabled Dolby Digital.

- I'm using this official CaptureModule application which came with the HD PVR.

- In the CaptureModule, if I choose "RCA Back" as my audio input, everything works and captures fine, but of course I only get 2-channel audio.

- If I choose "S/PDIF" as my audio input, the preview window disappears, and when I click "Capture" and then "Stop", i get this nasty error saying something like "Capture failed!"



Am I missing something obvious here?

[Nelson37]

Verify with amp or speakers that the Xbox optical out is functioning. This does not seem to be as simple an operation as it should be, in my experience.

[yoda313]

There is also a chance the fiber optic out on your xbox might not be firmly connected. To me it seems like my xbox 360's fiber optic port is not quite as snap-in-ish as it should be. Wiggle it around a bit to make sure it is firm.

Also just be sure your source is 5.1. I don't know if any 360 games AREN'T in 5.1 but if they aren't you'll never get 5.1.

Come to think of it Xbox Live Arcade games MIGHT not all be 5.1. I have a quite few I've bought over the years but I don't play games in 5.1 so I don't know (I do watch movies in 5.1 but not games).

Edit - sorry my advice is for a xbox 360. Didn't catch you are using a xbox 1. I got rid of my xbox 1 a long time ago so I can't offer advice on that specifically.

But the same advice does apply - make sure your source is actually 5.1. I don't know if you can get a list of all 5.1 xbox 1 games but it has to be encoded that way to record it that way.

[hopeSOLO]

Thanks for the help. I'm now capturing 720p video with AC3 5.1 sounds from original Xbox.

The problem was faulty toslink cable, passing through only dim red light.

I bought new optical toslink cable, and the light seems very bright now

[DarrellS]

The Hauppauge does optical passthrough but to get 5.1 ac3, you must have an optical cable hooked to the output of the Hauppauge to get the Hauppauge to think it's passing through the audio. The cable does not have to be hooked up to anything else, it just needs to be connected to the output of the Hauppauge.

I tried hooking an optical splitter between my Cable box to my surround receiver and the Hauppauge but it would not work so I had to run the optical to my receiver and run the coaxial with an optical adapter to the Hauppauge and an optical out to nothing before I could record 5.1 ac3 with the TME software..

If I just do the A/V passthrough thing then I have to keep the Hauppauge turned on all the time or I won't get a picture on my TV or audio to my receiver. I have the component cable split to my TV and the Hauppauge also. The problem would be solved if I could use the HDMI cable to my TV and the Cable box had two optical outs but the HDMI kills the component to the Hauppauge..

[hopeSOLO]

I've nothing connected to the HD PVR's optical out, but my output.m2ts is still getting AC3 5.1 track, or at least thats what VLC shows me:

https://forum.videohelp.com/images/imgfiles/sDN5e.png