5.1 option missing from SPDIF output

Thanks mate. Found a new amp infact it's the model up from mine for $300 so just going to order that and a few new HDMI cables and be done with it.

Thanks again.

sygnus21 said:

Where'd you find (see) that info at cause looking at your owner's manual for that board left a lot to be desired as far as setup and info goes. Is this coming from the Sound settings? Post?

It is supported 5.1 DD on the hardware, it is the driver that no longer supports it, you have to use a modified sound driver to get 5.1 back on the spdiff. That is what I did and I have a thread here on how to do it.

I dont understand this self perpetuating myth that 5.1 DD is not possible on the spdiff. Have you been taught that or what?
Legally the driver designers may have been forced to no longer give it away, they seem to want to force people into using HDMI to have the 5.1 and use AV recievers and or streaming boxes vs HTPC on board sound .

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McManny said:

Thanks mate. Found a new amp infact it's the model up from mine for $300 so just going to order that and a few new HDMI cables and be done with it.
Thanks again.

If it is a realtek chip this turns on the 5.1 sound again

surround sound - Windows 10 and Realtek Optical Output 5.1 DTS - How to Enable - Super User

sdowney717 said:

If it is a realtek chip this turns on the 5.1 sound again

surround sound - Windows 10 and Realtek Optical Output 5.1 DTS - How to Enable - Super User

But that is technically not Dolby Digital --- it is Dolby Digital Live.

There are several issues that got all mixed up together creating confusion.

(1) DD is not DD Live. DTS is not DTS Connect.
(2) If you purchased a brand name PC 15 years ago, it would come with a dvd burner, oem burner software and oem windvd player. The oem windvd player allows you to play dvd movies with dolby digital via digital output. If you built a pc yourselves 15 years ago, you would have bought a oem burner that came with oem burner software (BUT most likely no oem windvd software included).
(3) For a brief moment in time, Microsoft provided a free solution with windows 7 home premium. OS'es before windows 7, you had to pay extra to get the windows media center edition of the OS. For Windows 8/8.1, you had to pay extra to get the Pro edition of the OS.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/...s-media-center

(4) if you bought a gaming motherboard 10 years ago, your motherboard would most likely came with either Dolby Digital Live and/or DTS Connect --- they are for games, designed for real time encoding for the game engine's surround sound effects via digital output to your Dolby Digital or DTS receiver. They are not for movies.

(5) Dolby decided to give away Dolby Atmos for free for windows 10 (on Microsoft Store) --- provided that you purchase a Dolby Atmos capable receiver. You only have to pay money to use the headphone version.

So the confusion came from numerous issues all mixing up together. Now PC's don't normally come with dvd burners anymore, so no dvd software included in your pc. Microsoft doesn't offer a free dvd software player anymore and discontinued their windows media center edition. Dolby offering free Dolby Atmos app thus motherboard manufacturers no longer bundling DD Live with their motherboards.

although this topic is old.... I have the same issue, and no its not the spdif or anything. Easy to test, in the output properties go to supported formats and there u see DD and DTS. This you can test and then you see it on the AMP switching. Problem is the default format doesnt list 6 channel outputs. Weird thing is that when I play a DD or DTS movie it does switch correctly, but Im using SPDIF for Simhub and for some reason Simhub doesnt or cant change it to 6 channel, probably because the default is set to 2. It worked fine before with my previous mainboard, you just had to install realtek v2.8. But with my new MB its giving issues during installation and like a hardware error. As if this is a different kind of chip..... Very annoying

My explanation above already answered 90% of the question.

Here is the more comprehensive answer.

Cannot get 5.1 to play out of Realtek (Optical)card other than in test

You should not install r.2.82 from realtek's website because it contained unpatched security vulnerabilities.

Realtek Fixes DLL Hijacking Flaw in HD Audio Driver for Windows

Your DVD software player paid for Dolby Digital and allows spdif passthrough. You can also passthrough Dolby Digital if you use Netflix app on Windows 10 (because Netflix paid for Dolby Digital).