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Mati89

Member

Registered: 2012-02-17

Posts: 18

Surrond effects (DTS/DD) not working

Hello!

I've got some problems getting DTS/DD effects working on my Logitech Z-5500 sound system (connected through SPDIF). My sound system have an lcd panel which shows current input, effect and so on. I've two samples with DTS and DD sound, but every time I play those sound effect defaults to stereo x2 or is completely silenced.  Note that those samples works with DTS and DD effect out of the box on Windows 7 using vlc player so it's not an hardware issue. I haven't found any helpful solution on the wiki or internet yet so I'm begging you for any configuration tips! I'm using KDE with Pulseaudio, recently updated. Players that I've tested: vlc, mplayer, xbmc (so I don't think it is media player related) Thank you!

Mati89

Member

Registered: 2012-02-17

Posts: 18

Re: Surrond effects (DTS/DD) not working

Update: I did read following wiki:

http://alsa.opensrc.org/DigitalOut

Unfortunately, I haven't found any multichannel audio samples to test it with aplay. I have installed pavucontrol and checked in AC3 and DTS effects under my advanced digital output settings. It results with no sound at all while playing my DTS and DD material. I'm really stuck right now.

brebs

Member

Registered: 2007-04-03

Posts: 3,742

Re: Surrond effects (DTS/DD) not working

multichannel audio samples

There's halfgaar's "chan-id.wav" file.

Mati89

Member

Registered: 2012-02-17

Posts: 18

Re: Surrond effects (DTS/DD) not working

Hi brebs! I got the following message while trying to play this file through aplay:

[mateusz@mateusz-pc ~]$ aplay -D iec958:CARD=Intel,DEV=0 /home/mateusz/Downloads/chan-id.wav
Playing WAVE '/home/mateusz/Downloads/chan-id.wav' : Signed 16 bit Little Endian, Rate 44100 Hz, Channels 6
aplay: set_params:1239: Channels count non available

brebs

Member

Registered: 2007-04-03

Posts: 3,742

Re: Surrond effects (DTS/DD) not working

man aplay

-c, --channels=#
The number of channels.  The default is one channel.  Valid values are 1 through 32.

Mati89

Member

Registered: 2012-02-17

Posts: 18

Re: Surrond effects (DTS/DD) not working

I am getting the same message even when I add the -c parameter with selected channels. Media players still doesn't play any sound on my DD and DTS samples so I suppose that this sample wav won't work either. brebs, you seems to be experienced with sound configuration. Do you know what configuration files should I check to get this working?

brebs

Member

Registered: 2007-04-03

Posts: 3,742

Re: Surrond effects (DTS/DD) not working

with selected channels

Which channels?

You're using Pulseaudio, so have to deal with that. And I've never seen anyone here have the slightest explanation of what black magic Phonon is doing!

I keep it simple with pure ALSA in XFCE, no "helpful" sound mixers.

I would hazard a guess that your Phonon or Pulseaudio is stuck in stereo mode.

Mati89

Member

Registered: 2012-02-17

Posts: 18

Re: Surrond effects (DTS/DD) not working

I have tested both with 6 and 2 channels (I suppose that I should choose 2 channels for the spdif output). The analog connection works fine with the 5.1 sound. I know that I can only get the stereo output through spdif, but my sound system is still capable of DD and DTS playback which is working correctly under Windows.
Well, I could use ALSA if it is possible to get multiple sound outputs at once (sound from flash content, media players, etc.) and application separate volume control. If it's possible to get it on ALSA and get the DD/DTS effects without any bigger struggle, I can give it a try!

brebs

Member

Registered: 2007-04-03

Posts: 3,742

Re: Surrond effects (DTS/DD) not working

application separate volume control

Need pulse for that, if using the in-app volume controls is not acceptable.

Mati89

Member

Registered: 2012-02-17

Posts: 18

Re: Surrond effects (DTS/DD) not working

Ok, I got it. I assume that it will be hard to get those surround effects to work together with pulseaudio? Is the only alternative to switch to pure ALSA setup?

Mati89

Member

Registered: 2012-02-17

Posts: 18

Re: Surrond effects (DTS/DD) not working

For testing purpose, I have uninstalled PulseAudio and I'm using ALSA right now. I am also using configuration from your signature brebs. Still there is no sound or just crackling on DTS / DD material.