Optical Input for PC?

[ggouweloos]

I am looking for an optical input for my PC.

I have a DVB (Digial Video Broadcasting) receiver that has an optical S/PDIF output, and I want to record audio via an optical cable on my PC, with Audacity, Audition or Total Recorder. Maybe I am seeing this wrong and could it be compared with DV for video, so I will get some DA on the PC?
Anyone having experience with this and what is the best way to achieve this?

[redwudz]

Some of the higher end Creative Soundblaster audio cards have optical inputs. http://www.creative.com/products/welcome.asp?category=1

[ofbarea]

I've been doing this with the help of a creative Audigy I and a Live Drive II. The Live Drive II has optical and coax interfaces. Basically you connect your digital source to the Live drive (installed on a 5 1/4 drive bay) and record the PCM stream with the application of your choice.

It is not 100% as using firewire. Creative cards allways resample your recordings so it will not be a 100% 1:1 exact wav file as the origianl source, but it will be very good.

These creative cards have an internal sample rate of 48 kHz. If you capture audio from a CD player (44.1 kHz) it will be resampled internally to 48 kHz an dthen once again to 44.1 kHz, so your application can processes it. This will reduce the quality a little bit, but to mee this was never a big deal.

The Creative Audigy I is compatible with the Digital IO option that you place at the back of your PC. It works but it not partical due to plug location.

Newer creative Cards are no longer compatible with the Live drive II, but they usually come bundled with its own digital inputs.

The older sound blaster live is also comaptible with the Live Drive II. It will work but I will not recomend it because it will give a lower recording level.

Besides Creative there are other cards from M-Audio and some firewire external cards that are very good at recording from digital inuts.