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shaun3000 · Nov 1, 2003, 07:36 PM

I know it's not supported via the onboard soundcard, but is there another way? I know Creative makes some USB soundcards that support 6.1 channels, though they are PC, only, as far as I know. Is there anything similar for the Mac?

And while I'm on the subject, does the included DVD player on the current PowerBooks, or ANY Mac DVD player, support multi-channel audio?

dialo · Nov 1, 2003, 08:42 PM

There are a bunch of options, from the m-audio sonica (~$60) to the emi 2|6 (~$300) and beyond....

tisoncam · Nov 1, 2003, 10:13 PM

I have an m-audio sonica theater--the drivers were really bad under Jaguar, but they just released drivers for Panther and the performance has been awesome both with iTunes and DVDs. I don't have any games so I have't been able to try it out--I might get UT2003, and will post if and when I can try it.

shaun3000 · Nov 2, 2003, 12:19 AM

Thanks for the replies. I am more likely to use it for DVDs, not games. Does Apple's DVD player support multi-channel output? Are there any decent DVD players for Mac that support multi-channel?

How do these USB soundcards affect performance? I had an Extigy USB on my XP notebook, and it slowed it down to a crawl, making movies and games unuseable. It was rediculious. What about Firewire, are there any reasonably priced consumer models? All I ever see are expensive professional mixers.

Thanks

terrancew_hod · Nov 2, 2003, 02:10 AM

I have the Sonica; it's not connected to a PB (hopefully I'll order it next week), but i've watched divx movies, DVDs and video cds and haven't had any problems with slow down. The drivers work in panther, i think even the panther install recognized the sonica and installed the driver for me.

My machine is running at 1GHz and has 1.2GB of RAM.

Terrance

tisoncam · Nov 2, 2003, 09:31 PM

I think that Apple's new DVD player (in Panther) supports 5.1 sound, but I don't know if this only works on the new G5s or if it works with the Sonica Theater. I have heard that VLC supports digital 5.1 surround sound--but I don't have digital speakers so I haven't tried it out. The SRS feature on the Sonica Theater works really well--it lets you use all speaks with iTunes and non-5.1 enabled software.

shaun3000 · Nov 2, 2003, 10:01 PM

Yeah, I just read a review of the Sonica and it said there is nothing on Mac that supports true, discreet surround sound, so you have to use the matrix thing. That review was nearly a year old, thouhg. Is there anything out, now, that supports discreet output on the Mac, without having to have an external decoder?

RayX · 09:42 AM

The Sonica is fully supported by DVD Player 4.0 in Panther (and any other S/PDIF device).

You can output the 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, etc, (whatever the DVD is using) bitstream to a decoder such as a AV/Receiver or other 5.1 system.

I would avoid VLC for multi-channel output, in my experience it has been very unstable with the Sonica device. Panther's DVD player fills that gap now.

Sarc · Nov 3, 2003, 10:10 AM

Creative Labs' Extigy is also supported since OS X 10.2.3 ... anyone tried it under Panther ?

shaun3000 · Nov 3, 2003, 01:06 PM

What about outputing the 5.1 directly to speakers? I have the Logitech Z-560s, which don't have a decoder. They have a plug for the front speakers, and a plug for the back. Does Panther and DVD Player 4 allow for multi-channel analog out? (True, discreet, 5.1 sound)

RayX · Nov 3, 2003, 11:25 PM

Originally posted by shaun3000:
What about outputing the 5.1 directly to speakers? I have the Logitech Z-560s, which don't have a decoder. They have a plug for the front speakers, and a plug for the back. Does Panther and DVD Player 4 allow for multi-channel analog out? (True, discreet, 5.1 sound)

In that case you would want something like this: Sonica Theater

This device accepts the raw audio from Panther's DVD Player and decodes it.

InterfaceGuy · Nov 17, 2003, 11:41 AM

I have Raven Shield and Ghost Recon for PC but don't have the Mac versions. Both support multi-channel sound on the PC through EAC. Do the Mac versions support multi-channel sound? If so I might buy this Sonica Theater and move my 5.1 speaker system over to my PowerBook.

Riemann Zeta · Nov 17, 2003, 07:11 PM

I have an old creative labs Extigy USB surround processor. It is technically supported under Mac OS X, meaning that my TiBook recognizes its existence. It does not, however, actually work under OS X. The sound is crackly and hissy and gets even worse under moderate processor (e.g. dock animation) and USB (e.g. moving the mouse) loads.

nagromme · Nov 17, 2003, 11:12 PM

A Cardbus solution would be great.