Using the Sonica with a Software DVD Player
The Sonica will work with any software DVD player.What type of audio
signal your DVD player sends to the Sonica depends on the setting in your
DVD player software.
Generally, your DVD player software will provide a series of audio setup
options or preferences.The exact location of these audio options may vary,
so check your DVD player’s documentation for more information. It is
from these setup options that you will be able to change or direct the
audio output of the DVD player.
The choice of audio settings within software DVD players, and the way they
are named,will vary and may be limited by the version,or `level’,of your DVD
player. The choices within your player’s settings may include stereo analog
output, S/PDIF output, or 5.1 surround output. Here is a breakdown of how
these settings might appear and how they affect the output of the Sonica:
2 Speaker: When the Sonica is chosen as your computer’s audio
device (see sections,“Sonica and the Windows Sound System,” and
“Sonica and the Macintosh Sound Manager”), this setting will send
a stereo signal to the Sonica’s outputs.
Use S/PDIF: When you have the Sonica digital output connected
to the digital input of a surround sound receiver,choose this setting
to send the encoded surround signal (Dolby Digital, DTS) to the
receiver.
6 Speaker: If your DVD player is capable of decoding a surround
sound signal, such as Dolby Digital and DTS, and you are listening
to a set of stereo speakers or any stereo setup, you may make this
selection.Then, in the Sonica Control Panel (see the next section),
choose 5.1 Cinema Mode (Windows only). This combination of
settings utilizes TruSurround XT to provide the best surround
sound simulation from stereo speakers.
NOTE: At the time of this writing, Macintosh OS 9 will not allow you
to send a digitally encoded surround signal, such as Dolby Digital
(AC3) or DTS, from a digital audio port such as the Sonica’s optical
digital output. Mac OS X is expected to support this capability
sometime in the future.
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