How to hook-up optical to my setup ?

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U HAX0R

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Dec 21, 2004
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I just got a PS3 and I was wondering how I would hook-up the sound to my setup. The PS3 will be hooked-up via DVI or HDMI (if I get the BenQ FP241W which doesn't have speakers or anything for sound). So my last resort would be to hook-up the sound via the Optical Output, but the thing is, I don't have an Optical Input on my PC or speakers, so what would be the cheapest way to get sound ?
 
What sort of speakers are they? If they are the Logitech Z-5500s, you can run the optical right into them. These are the only computer speakers I know of that can do this.

Are they just 2 channel speakers? If so, skip the optical and just get an adapter that has 2 RCA female to 1 1/8" stereo female jack. You can just connect your speakers to that.


Are you looking to get 5.1 surround, and don't have an optical input like the Z-5500s? You are out of luck as far as I know.... though check out this thread, which seems to be about that subject. I can't offer up any information on that.
 
phreak144 said:
What sort of speakers are they? If they are the Logitech Z-5500s, you can run the optical right into them. These are the only computer speakers I know of that can do this.

Are they just 2 channel speakers? If so, skip the optical and just get an adapter that has 2 RCA female to 1 1/8" stereo female jack. You can just connect your speakers to that.


Are you looking to get 5.1 surround, and don't have an optical input like the Z-5500s? You are out of luck as far as I know.... though check out this thread, which seems to be about that subject. I can't offer up any information on that.
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Nah they're crap Logitech X-230 2.1 speakers. I just want to have sound, don't want/need 5.1. There's no other way for me to use HDMI + optical for video/audio by the way. I can't use HDMI Out and AV Multi Out (for composite/component) at the same time.

I wish they had a cable like the 360's VGA cable ...
 
You should be able to do it with any of the C-MEDIA 8788 based cards. Check this out here: http://www.sondigo.com/node/154

He is talking about taking a 2ch signal in the TOSLINK, encoding it in DDL, and passing it out the output TOSLINK in realtime. If it can do this, I believe you should be able to simply pass the 2ch toslink input to the regular analog outputs.

I believe some Creative cards can do this as well, but I can't vouch for them.
 
No, a C-Media 8788 based cards can't do the decoding (I have one), It can only do the encoding from a source inside windows. Try to look up for the Creative DDTS-100 if there is still any on the market
 
That's also a way but I can't really say that a HT receiver is 100% suitable for a PC speaker, but if you are thinking about a HT receiver, you should get a decent one as it'll be a good investment for a sound system. Take your time to find a best price/performance combination, later you can add a decent speaker set to it. Keep in mind that with HD content, 7.1 will be a new sound standard.
 
alg7_munif said:
No, a C-Media 8788 based cards can't do the decoding (I have one), It can only do the encoding from a source inside windows. Try to look up for the Creative DDTS-100 if there is still any on the market
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Yeah, after posting I realized that the PS3 may not be outputting a 2ch PCM signal. If it were, my suggestion would work. If a Dolby signal is what is passed down the line.... it won't. Can't say I'm familiar with the PS3.
 
No problem mate, on forums we learn something new every day. Actually you're right, I missed the part that HDMI can carry 4x 2-channel digital but I don't think you want only 2-channel from that. I don't know if PS3 and XBox360 will support DD-HD or DTS HD later.

Edit: I don't know if you can turn off the DD encoding on the optical output of PS3 or not but if you can I think your solution will definitely work.
 
It seems that after all, I might be able to use HDMI for video and Red/White for sound ... because in the system settings, there's display settings, HDMI, Component, Composite etc. and there's also Sound Settings, HDMI, Optical and the RCA one. It SEEMS I can set them up individually so I might not need to use Optical after all ... I'll see when I receive my HDMI cable and DVI adaptor.

By the way, in the Optical Out settings, I can check/uncheck DD/DTS and there's the PCM 2ch. that is checked by default, so I wouldn't need a decoder if I don't want DD/DTS right ? I think someone mentioned that earlier.

Anyway, thank you all for the help. :)
 
U HAX0R said:
It seems that after all, I might be able to use HDMI for video and Red/White for sound ... because in the system settings, there's display settings, HDMI, Component, Composite etc. and there's also Sound Settings, HDMI, Optical and the RCA one. It SEEMS I can set them up individually so I might not need to use Optical after all ... I'll see when I receive my HDMI cable and DVI adaptor.

By the way, in the Optical Out settings, I can check/uncheck DD/DTS and there's the PCM 2ch. that is checked by default, so I wouldn't need a decoder if I don't want DD/DTS right ? I think someone mentioned that earlier.

Anyway, thank you all for the help. :)
Click to expand...

Right, you wouldn't need a decoder for 2ch PCM. RCA cables are definitely the way to go for simplicity's sake.
 
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