pc audio to home theater reciever help! no surround sound.

[prpledoggxii]

ive been trying on and off for months to get my pc to play in 5.1 surround sound. all my drivers are up to date. all my equipment and components are working properly and tested. ill start off with a list of relative information.

my equipment and components
asus sabertooth z97 mark 1 mobo
http/www.asus.com/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_Z97_MARK_1/
asus gtx 780 directcu ii oc
http/www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/GTX780DC2OC3GD5/
rca rt2911 home theater receiver
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?gclid=CJax7e7L4L8CFQUFaQodVi8AVg&Item=N82E16882125529&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Home+Theater+in+a+Box-_-N82E16882125529&ef_id=U8XF4gAAAFCI9TCe:20140725134217:s
Hisense 46" 1080p 60Hz LCD HDTV LTDN46V86US
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889290002
windows 7 64bit

ive tried everything that i found in other posts such as updating drivers, triple checking the sound options and realtek settings and checking the reciever options. but it seems that the only ports on my computer that allow surround sound are the 3 hd 3.5mm jacks on the back of the mobo. according to the windows sound options and realtek options none of my other ports do, including my spdif optical port on the mobo, and various hdmi ports including the one on the 780 gpu. ive double checked the properties on each of the outgoing audio sources and checked for settings that i could change but i found nothing. ive also tried various audio output configurations like gpu hmdi to tv hdmi then tv coaxial to receiver ; gpu hdmi to reviever hdmi input then a seperate hdmi to tv ; mobo optical out to reviever input (current setup). i get stereo perfectly and sometimes the surround speakers will become emulated and play stereo sounds through them, especially when i use pandora. but with this setup it refuses to play in surround, ive tried playing bf4 in surround sound mode and no sound at all through the rear speakers. so with all this being said its clearly a software limitation somewhere on my pc that i cannot find. sorry to ramble on but im really frustrated with this situation becuase i love to play action games and horror games and i bought all the proper equipment and they just dont play well together. so if anyone has any ideas please do respond, im just looking for a cheap way to get my equipment to work in hd 5.1 surround sound. im open to anything as long as it works. PLEASE HELP. ask me if you have any questions.

the back of my reciever
input : 3 hdmi, optical, coaxial, 2 rca stereo
ouput : 1 hdmi
https/www.dropbox.com/s/eqrymfxow6s8cx9/2014-07-25%2006.34.25.jpg

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... you need to use the OPTICAL/Digital output/input for best results. Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel... Determine the size and type of connectors on your reciever and MB and check out EBAY for length options and Great prices.
You will need to set the REALTEK APP setting for what your reciever input will read... and you might have to Enable the Output in Control Panel-Sound app.

 

[prpledoggxii]

yes... and thats my current setup. but if you read the post it states, realtek options and windows sound options dont recognize the optical output on the mobo to be surround sound compatible, only the x3 hd 3.5mm jacks are recognized for 5.1 compatibility. do you have a solution to make the optical output 5.1 compatible?

 

[Cristi72]

Hello,

You must use the digital output as the default audio output (don't use HDMI). Also, in Realtek control panel go to "Sound effects" tab and select an environment.

 

[prpledoggxii]

yes ive already done both of those. realtek digital output optical is my default audio device in the windows sound panel and i have chosen padded cell in the realtek panel as my environment, it seems to fit my environment. any other solutions?

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... my Windows Sound app shows 2 Realtek Optical/Digital outputs avaialble... does yours? and my realtek app shows it not faded.

 

[Cristi72]

In "Digital Audio" properties, "Supported formats" tab, it is "Dolby Digital" activated? Also, check only 44.1/48 KHz sample rate.

 

[prpledoggxii]

yes it does show 2 and both are lit up. one "realtek digital output" and one "realtek digital output(optical). i have the second one set as the default audio device and defualt communications device. in the realtek panel it does not give me an option to setup surround sound, and in the windows sound panel it says 2 channels max. same with both realtek outputs.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... Did you right click the Digital output at the top of the realtek app ? Set default device?

 

[Minstedmaz]

If you want surround sound Optical/spdif wont work, you will need either to do these 2 things:

PC HDMI -----> Receiver -----> Hdmi TV (your receiver will have to have hdmi input and output)

or

Use your analog outputs in your card/mobo, for this you will need 3 3.5mm stereo to 2 rca cables, and connect them to the front/surround/c. bass outputs in your motherboard.

Why do you have to do this? Its because surround through optical/spif works only in movies, games and music wont work this way, unless you buy a dedicated card with dts live.

That's why the 3 3.5 mm to rca is the best option, after you connect them through this cables you will only need to change your speaker configuration to 5.1 surround and you are set.

 

[prpledoggxii]

minstedmaz. yes, my reciever has both input and output hdmi, but i have tried that once before and it didnt work. i will try it again though. and about your second option, my reciever does not have rca inputs for surround sound, only stereo. it has optical, coaxial,hdmi and two seperate rca inputs for stereo sound. is it possible to convert the 3 seperate 3.5mm jack outputs to one of the inputs on my reciever such as the hdmi, coaxial or optical input?

 

[Minstedmaz]

Mmhh ok, the hdmi through your receiver should work, do you think you could upload a picture from the back of your receiver?

 

[prpledoggxii]

i updated my origional post and added a link to the pic you want. sorry if its kind of hard to see it.

 

[prpledoggxii]

ironsounds, yes its also chosen as default by my realtek panel.

 

[Minstedmaz]

From what I see the problem you have is your receiver, it is a HTIB receiver, the problem with your HDMI connection is that when you pass it through your tv or straight to your Home teather it doesn't stay in 5.1 surround (sorry I don't know the right terms for this) it changes it back to stereo, and most mobos don't have DTS encoding/DTS Live so they output only in stereo (unless it is a movie) So the best I can suggest you is to get a sound card that has DTS LIVE or DTS encoding through its Spdif output, I don't know if the Asus Xonar DSX or DG have that capability but they are some of the best/cheap ones, you might try that.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... sounds like RCA fooled you in what your were getting and connecting... ( Always a add-on card needed ) than the PC standards we have today... the realtek Digital outputs work great for me.

 

[prpledoggxii]

thats possible but shouldnt my realtek driver and windows sound options recognize the hdmi and optical outputs as surround sound compatible? it recognizes the 3.5mm jacks to be compatible and nothing is even plugged into them. im going to try your first option now but is there a way to implement your second option with my setup? maybe with the use of some sort of adapter configuration.

 

[Minstedmaz]

There is no way you will get surround in BF4 by just changing settings in your realtek options, your mobo spdif output isn't able to output 5.1 surround because it doesn't have DTS Live or DTS encoding, trust me on this, a while ago I did similar questions here on toms hardware, your only option would be to try using the spdif of a DTs enabled sound card, you should see if a friend can lend you one, otherwise your receiver from what it seems doesnt output 5.1 surround even through hdmi input, leaving you the only option for the sound card, you should get a borrowed sound card and give it a try, there are no adapters I can think of that would work in your case with that receiver.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... http/www.sevenforums.com/sound-audio/195652-no-5-1-option-realtek-hd-audio-mgr-only-stereo.html
Or here is a file mod if ya wanna try it... http/www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/unlocked-realtek-hd-audio-drivers-with-dolby-digital-live-and-dts-interactive.193148/page-8
Yes, there seems to be alot of different Standards? and methods... Companies seem to not wanna come up with a standard yet...
I use my digital outputs for home/live recordiing gear and not to a TV or Reciever... SO buyer beware and do your research on compatability of ALL the Standards? ( Formats ) before buying the Hardware.

 

[prpledoggxii]

i realize this as it clearly tells me all my audio outputs besides the 3.5mm jacks DONT support surround sound. and my reciever works fine with an xbox 360 and dvd player and blueray player. i just ran a self test and all speakers are getting power. so its not the reciever. i understand that the optical output and hdmi output dont support surround sound, but the 3.5mm jacks do. which meens i need to convert the 3 3.5mm jacks to hdmi or optical or coaxial. is this possible in any configuration of cable arrangements or using a sort of audio adapter?