5.1 sound in current gen

[googlefest1]

Do current gen systems really have 5.1 sound?

They sell speakers for it but i never believed it was truly 5.1 sound. I figured it was 2 channel sound spread all around.

I have been interested in this for some time. I never found a satisfactory answer. I even passed up buying cheap sets of the speakers.

So does anyone know? Does anyone use them and can tell if its really 5.1 not stereo?

On the PC I'm pretty sure games have 5.1 sound. I think Return to Castle Wolfeinstein had it. Did the xbox and ps2 versions also have it?

If the systems do output 5.1 sound - is it only when watching DVDs?

[Tan]

the xbox1 and 360 both do, full 5.1 for about 80% of all the games for them, that's for both games and dvd's, games like splinter cell rely on 5.1 for gameplay purposes, as for the cube and ps2 they use pro logic IIx and pro logic II respectively, both using all channels and IIx can upconvert to 5.1 or higher

[Putney]

the xbox1 and 360 both do, full 5.1 for about 80% of all the games for them, that's for both games and dvd's, games like splinter cell rely on 5.1 for gameplay purposes, as for the cube and ps2 they use pro logic IIx and pro logic II respectively, both using all channels and IIx can upconvert to 5.1 or higher

PS2 can do the Pro Logic, plus "true" Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS (if you use the optical digital connector). Gamecube is unfortunately limited to Pro Logic as the only option.

[njiska]

the xbox1 and 360 both do, full 5.1 for about 80% of all the games for them, that's for both games and dvd's, games like splinter cell rely on 5.1 for gameplay purposes, as for the cube and ps2 they use pro logic IIx and pro logic II respectively, both using all channels and IIx can upconvert to 5.1 or higher

PS2 can do the Pro Logic, plus "true" Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS (if you use the optical digital connector). Gamecube is unfortunately limited to Pro Logic as the only option.

Yes but there's only one occasion i'm aware of where a PS2 game used DObly Digital and that's Metal Gear Solid 2, and even then it was only during the Cutscenes.

[Joker T]

Resident Evil 4 in Pro Logic is amazing

[slip81]

No too many games utilize true 5.1. Most of the time it's just matrixed through Pro Logic. To tell which games have it set your reciever to auto decode and watch what format pops up. If the game is putting out true 5.1 then the reciever should switch to Dolby Digital automatically, if not the auto format will stay on 2.1 (stereo with a subwoofer).

Though it has been my experience that the Xbox is the most surround friendly system. Not sure about the 360, but I don't imagine they would go backwards.

[njiska]

No too many games utilize true 5.1. Most of the time it's just matrixed through Pro Logic. To tell which games have it set your reciever to auto decode and watch what format pops up. If the game is putting out true 5.1 then the reciever should switch to Dolby Digital automatically, if not the auto format will stay on 2.1 (stereo with a subwoofer).

Though it has been my experience that the Xbox is the most surround friendly system. Not sure about the 360, but I don't imagine they would go backwards.

That's largely because the Xbox has a hardware Dobly Digital decoder. Everything, 5.1 source or not, gets converted to 5.1 and then dumped out as such.

The 360 does it in software on core 2 and all 360 are required to have 5.1 audio.

[googlefest1]

so what about the speakers that were/are for sale -- i thought those get plugged in directly to the console and no reciver is needed.

i actulay thought the optical connection on the ps2 was only for dvd movies

XBOX ----
is the only way to get the 5.1 sound through the "Advanced" box

PS2 ---
is there any other way to get the sound other than the optical connector

[Tan]

the xbox1 and 360 both do, full 5.1 for about 80% of all the games for them, that's for both games and dvd's, games like splinter cell rely on 5.1 for gameplay purposes, as for the cube and ps2 they use pro logic IIx and pro logic II respectively, both using all channels and IIx can upconvert to 5.1 or higher

PS2 can do the Pro Logic, plus "true" Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS (if you use the optical digital connector). Gamecube is unfortunately limited to Pro Logic as the only option.

Yes but there's only one occasion i'm aware of where a PS2 game used DObly Digital and that's Metal Gear Solid 2, and even then it was only during the Cutscenes.

the cutscenes for front mission 4 are in 5.1 as well, other than cutscenes the ps2 only does 5.1 for movies.

as far as those speakers as concerned ones like the SphereX or logitech 530 have a decoder/amp built into the sub casing and come with a remote, i'm not sure of the quality of sound though, they aren't made for large rooms, more for dorms and such.

[Tan]

so what about the speakers that were/are for sale -- i thought those get plugged in directly to the console and no reciver is needed.

i actulay thought the optical connection on the ps2 was only for dvd movies

XBOX ----
is the only way to get the 5.1 sound through the "Advanced" box

PS2 ---
is there any other way to get the sound other than the optical connector

besides the settings in the advanced tab you have to make sure your audio equipment is set up as well

you can use the standard rca type ps2 cables for games since ps2 games don't have true 5.1 in-game because pro logic 2 is an analog signal, same with the gamecube, the optical cord is for convienience and true 5.1 and DTS in movies

btw you need one of the advanced av units to get an optical jack on the xbox, there are different ones that can have either s-video/composite or hdtv/component, both have the fibre optic jack on them.

[googlefest1]

so i was right about the PS2 not haveing 5.1 in games

so the PS2 only has 2 channel sound, am i correct.

xbox - the only way to get the 5.1 sound is optically?

To confirm, some xbox games have 5.1 sound


spherex and the like were not the ones i was thinking of those are on the high end

i used to see in every game store these very ugly speakers. I don't remember the names or the brands but they were pretty much the same speaker for each system. they just physically looked a little different and had different colors. But they were interchangeable because you plugged the rca audio connectors into the sub-woofer( i think)

the last i saw these were when they were marked down to 30$ from 100$

also, it was because of those I assumed that the systems only had 2 channel sound. I kept hearing about 5.1 sound and though it was bull. Even now before posting i searched the web and really didn’t find any specific info. In particular how they are connected.

also I was under the impression that the advanced xbox packs were also just for dvds

now i have a better idea thanks

[Tan]

so i was right about the PS2 not haveing 5.1 in games

so the PS2 only has 2 channel sound, am i correct.

xbox - the only way to get the 5.1 sound is optically?

To confirm, some xbox games have 5.1 sound


spherex and the like were not the ones i was thinking of those are on the high end

i used to see in every game store these very ugly speakers. I don't remember the names or the brands but they were pretty much the same speaker for each system. they just physically looked a little different and had different colors. But they were interchangeable because you plugged the rca audio connectors into the sub-woofer( i think)

the last i saw these were when they were marked down to 30$ from 100$

also, it was because of those I assumed that the systems only had 2 channel sound. I kept hearing about 5.1 sound and though it was bull. Even now before posting i searched the web and really didn’t find any specific info. In particular how they are connected.

also I was under the impression that the advanced xbox packs were also just for dvds

now i have a better idea thanks

not just some, probably more like 80-90% of xbox games have 5.1, the ps2 has 5 distinct channels, it's not as accurate as dolby digital 5.1, but pro logic 2 is still pretty good and worth having the 5.1 speaker setup.

maybe you are thinking of the DVD playback kit for the xbox? the advanced av packs allow the use of component and s-video signals and digital audio for both games and movies, the dvd playback kit is the remote+ir reciever that plugs into a controller port.

i know what you mean by those cheap speaker kits, they call them 2.1 even though there's no actual sub channel, the woofer is enclosed in it's own casing but still plugs into one of the speakers.

[googlefest1]

forgive my ignorance please-- you can get 5.1 sound from a left and right rca connection??? -- i thought you needed either 6 rca jacks, one coax or one optical. OK, now im all discombobulated.

i have an old dvd player and old prologic reciver and for 5.1 sound i have a rats nest of cables becasue im useing 1 cable for each channel - so thats why im thinking the way i am.

actualy the speaker systems i was refering to are 5.1 not 2.1

so then what kind of reciver do you need to hook up a ps2 for 5.1 sound. Xbox you need one with an optical connection so i got that, but ps2?

[mario2butts]

forgive my ignorance please-- you can get 5.1 sound from a left and right rca connection??? -- i thought you needed either 6 rca jacks, one coax or one optical. OK, now im all discombobulated.

To output Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS, yes, you need to use coax, optical, or 6rca (well, just optical for PS2 Xbox and 360)

The best surround format you can get from a 2rca connection is Dolby Pro Logic II, which compresses 5.1 channels down to 2 channels. If your receiver or whatever supports DPLII, it will take the 2 channels of information and extract out the other channels, giving you 5.1 sound. Obviously, it doesn't sound as good as Dolby Digital or DTS. Many GC and PS2 games support DPLII.

As an aside, note that some PS2, GC, and even PS1 and N64 games support Dolby Pro Logic I, often just called "Dolby Surround." It basically works the same way only there is only one rear channel and its limited range. In my experience DPLI sounds worse than plain jane stereo, so it's not really worth it.

so then what kind of reciver do you need to hook up a ps2 for 5.1 sound. Xbox you need one with an optical connection so i got that, but ps2?

Most PS2 games that support surround sound (note that many are stereo only) use DPLII or sometimes DPLI, so the least you would need is a receiver that supports those formats; you can connect via 2 rca jacks, optical is not needed. You can use optical if you want and if your receiver supports it; the sound quality will be better because of the pure digital connection.

A handful of PS2 games, including GTA Vice City and San Andreas, support DTS 4.0, also called "DTS interactive" (the "4.0" indicates no dedicated subwoofer channel and either no center or only one rear, I'm actually not sure on that one...). You would need a reciever that supports DTS and has an optical jack, and use the optical connection on your PS2.

Lastly, some PS2 games, such as MGS 2, support Dolby Digital 5.1 in cutscenes, for this you'd need a receiver that supports Dolby Digital, has an optical jack, and use the optical connection on your PS2.

Phew. For a listing of games that support the various sourround sound formats go to

www.hdtvarcade.com

It looks like thier database is under construction at the moment but hopefully it will be up and running soon. I don't know how good those standalone surround setups are, so I can't really comment on their quality. I'm a bit of an audiophile myself; I have a Denon reciever hooked up to 5 Polk speakers and a Sony sub.

Good luck with everything!

[googlefest1]

Nice explanation

final question from me i think

for the PS2, gamecube and xbox - would i get all the sound in the games if i use the optical connection?. Do all the formats (the DPLII and the 4.0 and the DTS and stereo) output from that one connection?

up untill now ive been just using a stereo reciver for the games - and i want to upgrade.

But im not looking for an expensive upgrade - the cheapest possible - even durabrand would suffice. Ive decided to wait on the highend stuff till i move.

[SirDrexl]

for the PS2, gamecube and xbox - would i get all the sound in the games if i use the optical connection?. Do all the formats (the DPLII and the 4.0 and the DTS and stereo) output from that one connection?

I don't have a PLII capable receiver, but I think the PLII information is embedded in the signal (if it's digital). If not, you would have to switch the receiver to PLII mode. Of course, since the Gamecube doesn't have a digital audio output, you'll need to activate the PLII mode for those games. You could just leave it set for PLII even if the game doesn't support it, but the results may sound weird. Of course, a "purist" would want to switch to stereo mode for non-PLII games.

BTW, I know of at least one game for the PS2, Fantavision, that doesn't output audio through the optical connection. My brother bought the game, and took it back for an exchange because he thought something was wrong with it. I don't know if there are any other games like this.

What I do with my setup with my Xbox and Gamecube connected, is connect the Gamecube's analog audio to the same inputs the Xbox's digital audio. What I mean is that some of the inputs, labeled as DVD, TV, etc., have a digital and analog connection associated with them. So, I hooked up the Xbox to the digital input labeled "TV" and the Gamecube to the analog input also labeled "TV." As long as the Xbox is on, the receiver detects the digital signal, and that's what I hear. When the Xbox is off, the analog signal for the Gamecube goes through. That way, I don't have to switch inputs on the receiver to hear the other console's audio.

[mario2butts]

for the PS2, gamecube and xbox - would i get all the sound in the games if i use the optical connection?. Do all the formats (the DPLII and the 4.0 and the DTS and stereo) output from that one connection?

Well, GC doesn't have an optical out, you have to use 2rca. For PS2 and Xbox, yes. I have my PS2 and Xbox connected via optical ONLY (red and white RCA not connected), and I've never had any problems. The optical out handles both stereo and surround just fine. I heard a weird rumor somwhere once that there are one or two PS2 games that have wonky sound when the PS2's connected by optical; I can't confirm or deny this, however. EDIT: Just read the above post, looks like that rumor was true. If its a problem just use both connections and switch between them on your receiver as necessary.

In fact, if you can connect via optical, do it, even if your game and/or sound system doesn't support surround for whatever reason. Since the optical jack feeds a pure digital signal to the receiver one digital- to- analog conversion is eliminated, giving you cleaner sound. I notice a difference in quality when using optical rather than RCA even on stereo-only games, but then, as I said, I'm a very picky when it comes to audio quality, you may not notice a difference.

Funny aside: theres a hack someone discovered that lets you tap digital audio output from the SNES and give your system a coax or optical jack. Now obviously SNES is stereo only, but I'd still like to do it eventually just for the sake of cleaner sound. Imagine Super Metroid's soundtrack through a digital connection....

[googlefest1]

no optial on the GC? -- i could have sworn i saw one on there -- i guess that shows how often i use my GC

thanks for the input guys


I guess there is no cheap option for this - unless i use only xbox

i think all the cheap recivers are only compatible with the digital only formats

[njiska]

no optial on the GC? -- i could have sworn i saw one on there -- i guess that shows how often i use my GC

thanks for the input guys


I guess there is no cheap option for this - unless i use only xbox

i think all the cheap recivers are only compatible with the digital only formats

There is a Digital Video output on first and i believe second gen GCs, but not digital audio.