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[Gerbrand]

Hello all,

I am fairly new to Media Center and have encountered an issue, that I have not found a solution to in the wiki etc.

I would like to have MC set up as follows:
1) Stereo (2ch 44.1kHz) is passed over SPDIF unaltered.
2) Multichannel audio is encoded into AC3 after being corrected for the video timing etc.

My problem is, that after selecting "use AC3 encoding for multichannel audio" the stereo is automatically up sampled to 48 kHz and encoded to AC3.

Is there a solution for this I have overlooked? Like having different DSP settings depending on the number of channels?

Thanks,

Gerbrand

[Matt]

One solution is to create two zones with two different sets of DSP and output settings.

[Matt]

As an aside, if you have a 5.1 speaker configuration, I'm not sure 2.0 output is the best choice.  Presumably you want something mixing / managing the subwoofer channel, and Media Center is really good at this.

I'd be tempted to output at 5.1 always, and check the 'For stereo sources, only mix to 2.1' box if you prefer.

Switching to HDMI or analog is another possibility.  S/PDIF isn't a great solution for surround sound.

[Gerbrand]

Thanks for the 2 zone suggestion. I will give that a try.

Wrt to using 5.1 output: I use my AV receiver to manage the subwoofer channel for stereo (and also for multichannel audio). It does not have HDMI input. It does have 7.1 channels analog in, but my sound card is not very good.

So,  at the moment, I would prefer not to up sample stereo signals.

Thanks again,

Gerbrand