[MPlayer-users] playing DVD

[Arpi]

Hi,

> Luis.F.Correia wrote:
> >    Dolby? Digital audio decoding to 5.1 speaker channels in analog or
> > digital modes 
> 
> > Of course this could be a 'sales pitch' and not actually true.
> > But they say the card does decoding ... or should we say the drivers do it
> > :) ?
> Actually this is another meaning of the "decoding" word. It means that it
> "decodes" the audio into "5.1 listenable" audio. E.g.: you can't
> connect your SB PRO to an 5.1 analog system, because it can't "decode" the
> 5.1 sound. The SB Live! also can't. The SB Live! 5.1 can.
> 
> So if they wouldn't use 'sales pitch' style, they should have
> written: The card can output 6 (5.1) channels sound.

It's not so easy.
Actually sb live! has a 40Mhz(?) DSP (figital signal processing) processor
and 4 or 6 (depending on type) channels analog and 1 sp/dif outputs.
The card itself cannot do anything more than putting raw data to the
analog/digital connectors, _but_ you can write various filters/effects for
the DSP, even complex ones like stuff helping ac3/mp3 decoding or dolby
prologic decoders. but they are programs, running on the DSP, and they are
not gpl so you have to crack the windows drivers and find that firmware-like
stuff in it. the emu10k1.sf.net project has assembler and other helper stuff
for this card, so you can write programs for the DSP. i remeber even some
examples implementing simple equalizer and such stuff. it was a year ago,
probably there is a lot more now, maybe they rewrote or rev.engineered all
the filters the windows drivers have.


A'rpi / Astral & ESP-team

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