MacBook Pro + 5.1 surround sound speakers
i use my MBP as my main computer here in college. i saw a good deal on these speakers and my friend has the exact same speakers that he uses with his pc so i know the sound quality is good. the thing is that is 5.1 surround sound and he needed to buy a sound card 'cause you cant just plug it into the headphone/speaker outlet on the computer. i want these speakers, but since since i cant hook up a sound card ( or possibly just not know that i can) am i better off just lookin for another set of speakers.
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Here is an example:
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/...pno~192748.asp
that thing would cost more than the speakers i wanna get. any other cheaper alternatives?
I have one of the new macbook pro's and I am trying to get digital dolby 5.1 surround sound to work. I am using optical. I have tried a 3.5MM adapter to optical and a TOSLink optical cable with no luck as of yet. Any one have any idea's what I am doing wrong? I have even mucked with the MIDI preferences trying to see if that would make a difference. I also have examined the preferences of the DVD player which have digital dolby enabled by default.
What speaker/amp system are you using?
IF your speaker system has a built-in DD 5.1 / DTS decoder, then all you have to do is use the optical out with an appropriate converter if needed, i.e. an optical to coaxial if your speaker system has a coax input for its digital in. DVD Player will pass through the digital audio stream and the speaker system will take care of the DD / DTS decoding and route the appropriate signals to the appropriate speakers.
If your speaker system does not decode DD / DTS then you have several options, both of these require an external 5.1 or more soundcard which may or may not have a built in DD or DTS decoder. The Griffin FireWave has a built in DD 5.1 decoder, so all you have to do is plug it into your FW400 port and plug your speaker system wires into it and the FireWave will do all the work.
If you have a 5.1 or more sound card that lacks a built in DD or DTS decoder, such as the Sonica Theater USB, you can use VLC to play DVD titles and when configured correctly VLC will decode the multichannel information (DD 5.1 or DTS) and tell the sound card to route the appropriate sound to the appropriate speaker. If you have an Intel MacBook or MacBook Pro with Windows installed, you can simply boot into Windows and use one of the many software DVD Players available that include built in DD 5.1 and / or DTS decoders which will tell your soundcard (Audigy, etc) to route the appropriate sound to the appropriate speaker in your multi speaker surround system.
You can add an external sound card to support 5.1.
Here is an example:
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/...pno~192748.asp
Macmall has the slowest servers EVR!
Macmall has the slowest servers EVR!
That's what I bought, but it was much cheaper direct from Griffin. It's discounted so much I think they may be discontinuing it.