Hi, I'm wondering about the SPDIF audio port on DVD/CD Drives and the connection on motherboards. How does this compare to standard audio port of drives? Can you have both connected at same time? Any websites with info about this?
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Somewhere buried in all of the old posts here, is the information on how the audio out actually works on cd drives. I was under the impression that the audio cables aren't necessary for normal audio playback through the pc speakers (I haven't used any in years). I thought the cable was only needed to get audio back to the headphone jack on the drive itself.
Google is your Friend -
Depends on the drive. Older drives only had: 1. Analog audio lineout 2. Data out through the ATAPI (or similar) data cable. The audio (on a CD for example) would be read, decoded, converted to analog and sent out the lineout wires (3 or 4 leads) the internal "line-in" or "CD audio-in" on a sound card.
Newer drives have more smarts and so are able to send the audio direct to the OS, without converting to analog, and then the OS passes that in the usual manner to the sound card.
This is all for CD Audio, of course. DVD audio is all incorporated in the VOBs and is so much more complicated to decode that there has NEVER been a drive that internally decodes it, so it is ALWAYS sent as data to the OS for it to decode.
Good thing about Digital-out drives is that there is almost always much less EMI/RFI noise.
SPDIF is a COMPLETELY different connection. I've never seen an Internal connection on a sound card, just the usual RCA connection on the outside. NEVER seen one on a Drive (though I guess it's possible). It really wouldn't make that much sense though. For example, DVD audio decoding is already sent to the OS. If the OS drivers & apps pass the un-decoded RAW audio data stream to the sound card (via its SPDIF port), this wouldn't ever need to go direct from a different connector on the drive. It would be kinda redundant.
Scott -
It depends on the Windows version by default XP will play audio CDs through the Data cable as a part of the data stream. 2000 needs the audio cable and ME as I remember it could be either.
Win98 also needed the audio cable.
That cable is a simple L & R audio with ground. Drive so Sound card only. Some sound cards coulduse the SPDIF cable in. It was usually a 2 conductor cable. And pretty much CD audio ripper did digital extraction from the drive through the ribbon cable.
I seem to remember Roxio 4 & 5 for example had a test to test the throughput of the digital connection as well as a test for the data transfer rate. -
Thanks for the information. Does anyone else know about this? Does the $2.99 spdif audio cable for optical drives work for what I am talking about? What are the advantages if any?
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You can have both the spidf 2 pin and the analog 4 pin connected at once. Sound devices usually if not always limit you to selecting one or the other.
Most motherboards I've seen (Many) have the 4 pin analog connector and no spidif connector. You are not confusing the 4 pin analog with spidf are you?
Main difference comes down to which device has a better digital to analog conversion. The Optical drive or the sound device. with a few digital speakers as exceptions, at some point the digital sound on the disc must be converted to analog in the normal computer.
Edit:
with very few exceptions if any, no computer sold with Windows XP or Vista has a audio connection to the optical drive(s). Think of a Dell, HP, Gateway etc. or Laptop, Laptop is always digital to the sound card.
I've got a ton figurtively speaking of those 4 pin audio cables left over hanging on a hook in our parts area, we have sold one this year, yup all of one. XP killed that market. Even most retail cd/dvd drives are not including them anymore. Most Win2000 and 98 machines have them now so the demand has dried up. -
Scott, reading back most drives I've seen have a 2 pin port next to the 4 pin audio. The 2 pin port is marked digital. I've been assuming that is what he is referring to as spidf. I could easily be wrong too.
We actaully had a small demand for the 2 pin digital cable for a while some years back. -
Do you mean that you don't need to have a analog audio cable attached from optical drive to motherboard? Is that only Win XP? Is that why my dvd rw drives didn't come with audio cables? Or my motherboard? However, it seems that my dvd rom drive I bought before came with one though. No I got the optical drive analog cable attached to 4 pin cd in on motherboard. However I see on my motherboard (integrated realtek sound) that there is an spdif in that has 3 pins, is that for connecting to digital 2 pin spdif on optical drive?
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Have seen many drives with the SPDIF-out, never connected one to a mobo SPDIF-in, which seem to be fairly rare.
The 4-pin analog cable is known as the Red Book Audio connector, this was technically for CD-audio only, other files played thru the data cable. Not needed anymore as noted, not sure what OS ended this need. I also have a boxful of these cables.
SFAIK the digital audio would be passed untouched thru the external SPDIF, assuming hardware and playback software allow for this, so I'm not sure what the advantage to the internal and on-drive SPDIF would be. -
I still wonder why it isn't explained how to connect spdif of optical drive to motherboard integrated sound or sound card. What the advantage is either?
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The benefits of having an ALL-Digital path from disc to sound DA and port are these:
1. Immunity form EMI/RFI hum, noise, crackle etc.
2. Less-to-NO chance of intermediate stage mix overload and distortion
3. Cleaner and easier "Mixability" (with sometimes improved freq. response)
However, SPDIF is useless unless you've got an appropriate and compatible connection on both drive and MOBO, and those on MOBOs are rare, PARTICULARLY on those with integrated sound, AFAIK.
As has already been said, you can hook up both (if you have all the connections). You computer won't simultaneously use both (and you SHOULDN'T try--you'll likely get bad phasing). Read the manuals of the Drive and MOBO to see where to hook up and what kind of cable is required.
Scott -
"However, SPDIF is useless unless you've got an appropriate and compatible connection on both drive and MOBO, and those on MOBOs are rare, PARTICULARLY on those with integrated sound, AFAIK. "
Where would I find a connecting cable for the spdif digital ouput (2pin) from a liteon dvd burner to the 3 pin digital spidif in port on my mobo, GIGABYTE GA-G33M-S2H ??
Searched everywhere and cannot seem to find such a thing.
Thanks peter -
From the manufacturer: http://tw.giga-byte.com/Products/Motherboard/Products_Accessories.aspx?ProductID=2600
Or you could likely make one yourself. But I've never used one myself.Google is your Friend -
Hmm, not quite what I was looking for. Actually trying to link the DVD 2 pin digital audio out to the 3 pin spdif-I both clipped. Not sure I really need it anyway.
The manufacturer does not sell retail, those are just pictures and you would still have to trawl thru reams of system integrators to maybe find the item. -
Heh heh, I remember getting one of those two wire digital cables when I bought my first DVD drive. Connected it to my SB Audigy, and never did get it to work. What a complete waste of money .
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Originally Posted by obs
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