DVB-T card and audio

[thadious2]

Hi all

I am trying to select a HDTV card for my PC (for use in Australia) and am confused about whether there is any difference in terms of audio – I already have a 5.1 sound card in my pc (Sound Blaster Live!). Can I expect that any 5.1 signal will be software decoded so that this card is properly utilized, or do I need to select a TV-card that is compatible with this requirement?

[minchjp]

The great thing about HDTV cards is that they just 'dump' a Transport Stream to your computer, and software decodes this stream. This means that any card will do what you want, but it is the software you need to be concerned with, and most software will decode 5.1 digital sound. The problem with living in Australia, is that there is only one 5.1 broadcast in the next few weeks, and that will only be an upconversion!

I have the Twinhan Vision Plus card, the software supplied isn't the best, but if you upgrade to free BDA drivers, you can use DigitalWatch and Web Scheduler, which are the two best digital tv programs, and they are fee . The card is very cheap.

If you use Digital Watch for your 5.1 broadcasts, then install AC3 Filter, and use the following filter:

[AC3Filter Audio Decoder - Default DirectSound Device]
LoadFilter({A753A1EC-973E-4718-AF8E-A3F554D45C44}, "AC3Filter")
LoadFilter({79376820-07D0-11CF-A24D-0020AFD79767}, "Default DirectSound Device")
SourcePin ("AC3Filter", "In")
RenderPin ("AC3Filter", "Out")

You can test this out during the day on seven's HD loop which has a 5.1 soundtrack.

Good luck

[thadious2]

Thanks minchjp

Just one question though, don't some HD cards have hardware decoding? This would have it's advantages (eg less load on your processor) and I was leaning toward this option. Does this have an effect on the process you've described?

[minchjp]

There are not many cards with hardware decoding, and those that decode HDTV are expensive.

You might need to upgrade your computer to be able to play HDTV without stuttering if you don't have a card which decodes via hardware. I get around 40% cpu usage when watching HDTV with digital watch, which is due to my graphics card using DxVA. You may need to upgrade your Graphics Card to one which supports DxVA (if you don't already have one). A little bit of extra ram couldn't also hurt!