Help me with Upmixing Stereo to 5.1 audio for HTPC setup

[zeek543]

3 Problems:


1) I am trying to get my HTPC to output all audio as 5.1 channels. My HTPC is connected to my receiver via a digital coaxial cable.

I cannot figure out how to make the PC output stereo as upmixed 5.1. However, DVD movie with 5.1 audio playback just fine as Dolby Digital 3/2.1. But I cannot get any other program to output 5.1 audio. I want my music and recorded TV shows to play back on all of my speakers. When multichannel audio is sent to my receiver it lights up with "multichannel decoding", and it shows all the speakers in its diagram on the display.

I have found that I can put my receiver in to "PLII MUS" mode and it will upmix on its own. Is it better to do it this way, or is it better to have the computer to the upmixing (if possible). Also, it appears my receiver auto senses a true 5.1 signal and sets itself to play it naturally (it switches out of "PLII MUS" mode).

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2) I can find a way to play sound through both the digital coaxial to my receiver and a 3.5mm stereo mini cable to an Iphone dock's aux-in port at the same time. The Windows sound playback only seems to let me pick one of the two as the default, and that is the one that the music plays through. However, if I test the other, it will playback the test clip while music is playing on the other.

So, is there any way to have the same sound (music) play through both the digital and analog outputs at the same time?

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3) My WinTV tv tuner program won't play the sound out of the digital coaxial output for some reason. Anyone have a fix for this?

[zeek543]

oh sorry forgot to add:

HTPC is a HP Pavilion a6220n with Realtek HD Audio (analog and coaxial).

Receiver is a Sony STR-K850P.

[guns1inger]

Yes, it is better to let your amp do the upmixing through Dolby ProLogic II. Upmixing yourself would require re-encoding or transcoding. I know that some media streamers can do this, although how good the upmixing is I don't know.

Playing back through digital and analogue outputs at the same time will be a driver issue. If it is not supported, you won't be able to do it. I know the drivers for my on board sound under windows 7 do not allow both speakers and headphones simultaneously, but under XP they do. Go figure.

[zeek543]

guns1inger,

thanks for the reply.


I found that under Media Player Classic HC I could select to output sound via analog or digital out, but it wouldn't do both, as I could only select one option. So it seems I could put different music out to two sets of speakers from 2 separate audio players at the same time, as long as one plays through digital and one through analog. Not what I wanted to do, but interesting if true, as it appears to be.