Does sound card matter when watching (s)vcd,divx on TV?

[Vacant]

First, sorry for being off topic but there isn't a hardware forum for sound cards as used in this manner.

I am building a computer that will be connected to my TV and home entertainment sysyem full time so I can watch svcd, vcd, and divx whenever I want. My DVD player (Sony NS400) says it plays vcd, but its fussy and it doesn't play svcd or divx at all. Since I have most of the computer equipment already I figured this would work.

I have a Sony Receiver with Bose AM-10 5.1 speakers. Does the sound card I use make a difference for this application? When people encode in vcd,svcd,divx is the sound encoded for 5.1 playback? Any input about sound card and difference it makes is appreciated.

[devinemi83]

No standalones yet play divx files. And some wont accept SVCDs. If you are asking about the quality of VCD audio. Its usually cd quality. However, it not Dolby 5.1. To use that you need media that has it, like a commercial DVD. And divx movies, I am assuming you mean the kind you download off things like kazaa. You will find usually the audio isnt all that great. Using 5.1 speakers on a VCD is overkill. Also even if you play DVD in your computer the 5.1 can only be used to its fullest on the speakers if your sound card is dolby 5.1 enabled.

When people encode for VCD they use 224kbps MPEG,stereo.
And divx files vary. Some use 48kbps mp3 encoding, making for very hollow echoing sound. But other use 96-160kbps mp3 which sound good quality.
Really, when it comes to a soundcard, I use the soundblaster 64V and it makes my videos sound awesome on my machine and my sound card is worth all of 15-25 dollars,came with the system.

[Vacant]

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like getting the 5.1 card (which only costs about $75 anyway) isnt really necessary since most if not all (s)vcd, divx are not encoded in 5.1 in the first place. Like you say a $25 sound card will work fine.

THanks for the advice