Take a break from Politics, Religion, and Sex in Off-Topic for a moment and geek-out with me in the wake of the Riddler trailer: Which Arkham Asylum resident do you most appreciate, and why?

Certainly villains are not in short supply. Besides those listed above, notable villains include the inimitable Ra's Al Ghul, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, Clayface, and dozens more. Which is your favorite, and why?

Prior to the Animated Series launched in the early 90's I was partial to The Penguin, who was fantastic in the old Adam West television series. The animated series turned me on to Clayface and Mr. Freeze, whose stories were fleshed out and characters practically sizzled with emotion.

Happy gaming,

Boz

Newbie question. I understand the point of the tuner is to convert the analog signals into the display on the image. With the switch to digital, they still need digital tuners... But why arent tuners integrated into the cable set top boxes?

Why cant a monitor (with speakers) be used as the primary tv display and the remote controller is used for the cable box. Everyone i know always buys a TV (with built in tuner)... But it seems unnecessary.

XaosII

To your first question, the US Government required that ATSC tuners be installed in modern sets. To your second question a (PC) monitor can used as a television, but the cost of a monitor (per square inch of viewable area) typically exceeds that of a television, which is why it's pretty rare. It also needs to support the output format of your tuner or cable box, and not every PC monitor supports HDMI or component video inputs.

The only thing you would use the built in tuner for is if you had like basic cable or something.AutoPilotOn

There are many televisions without an ATSC OTA HD Tuner. These are designated as "HD Ready."

Happy gaming,

Boz

I'm going to agree with NVIDIATI and say that it's probably something simple. I've had the same issue with my own home theater PC. Let me ask this: Does your receiver show that it is receiving a digital audio signal? For example, on my Yamaha each speaker that is being sent a signal lights up on the display.

My guess is that your PC is not outputting a digital signal or, if it is, that the signal is not a digital audio signal. If it's only outputting two channels, that's all that'll be reproduced by your receiver. Your sound card must support Dolby Digital Live to output a constant surround signal.

There are several ways to deal with this issue, but it varies by hardware. My first suggestion is to update your sound card drivers to the latest version, then go into the driver interface and perform a surround sound test.

Once you've done that, come back and let us know what sound card you're using, operating system, receiver model, and content you are playing (movie, music, games, etc.).

If you're just looking to get subwoofer output from two channel audio and your receiver is receiving a two-channel signal, then the solution is going to be on the receiver, not the PC.

Troubleshooting is a pain, but the solution will likely be simple.

Boz

Some of the respondents may have missed that this is primarily for use with your laptop, though it looks like you'll be using it with your desktop, as well. Regarding your laptop, the biggest concern is not the amp itself, but the sound card. The Fiio E7 is going to give you a significant improvement in audio with a built-in DAC and headphone amp. Alternatively you could consider the USB Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD or, if you dislike Creative Labs, the Asus Xonar U3.

Those will be your best option for immediately improved audio from your laptop, as they all include higher-quality DACs than are built into your laptop and a headphone amplifier.

NVIDIATI is the resident expert on headphone amps, otherwise.

Good luck,

Boz

I'm in the process of editing the sticky (read it if you haven't already). The following - unedited - is from a forthcoming supplement:

Headphones marketed as "Dolby Headphones" are - except in very rare cases - nothing more than Dolby-licensed two-channel headphones. The use of 5.1 or 7.1 to describe these headphones is more than a little misleading. Dolby Headphone processing is not native to the headphone, but to its processor, which is included in most modern sound cards. But don't take it from me, take it from Dolby, who licenses the technology (and its logo):

"All of this information is combined by the Dolby Headphone processor into two encoded channels that deliver the spatial properties of the original audio, with more natural sounds that actually seem to be 'out-of-head.'"

"...with Dolby Headphone no special headphones are required. The process works well with wired or wireless headphones ranging from inexpensive airline headsets to high-end electrostatic sets, although higher-quality headphones deliver a higher-quality listener experience."

(Source)

To truly reproduce 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound your headphones need to have discrete drivers for each channel and native digital surround content. In a 7.1 setup this means four speakers in each ear (since the center channel is matrixed), three left for rear, side, and front, and three right for the same. You'll have a fourth driver on both sides for your subwoofer channel. The headphones would require separate analog signals from your sound card or have their own digital DAC (digital to analog converter), DSP (digital signal processor), and decoder.

Dolby Headphones do not necessarily reproduce 5.1 or 7.1 discrete channels. From their own site, "Delivers realistic 5.1-channel sound from any set of headphones...Dolby Headphone accurately creates the sensation of up to five loudspeakers in a room using powerful digital signal processing (DSP) technology." The Dolby Headphone Turtle Beach PX5, for example, only has two speakers, two 50mm drivers. Same with the Astro A40's: two 40mm drivers.

Dolby Headphones is just a manner of processing audio to simulate surround sound, not to accurately reproduce the effect. Discrete headphones are rare, expensive, and not necessarily any better than their 2-channel counterparts. The Tritton AX Pros are one of the only "real" surround sound headphones of which I am aware (I'm in the process of researching surround sound headphones). Regardless, surround sound is really meant to be experienced in an open room, not attached to your head.

I hope this helps. You can read more marketing doctrine from Dolby at their web site, if you'd like.

Happy gaming,

Boz

Your player will always output any format encoded on the disc: It's sending raw data through your digital connection. If the disc supports multiple formats, such as DTS-ES and Dolby Digital TrueHD, you have to select the format you wish to output through the menu system of the DVD/Blu-Ray (under sound or audio options, usually).

Your receiver will decode most any format that it supports. If you output Dolby Digital EX and your receiver supports it, it will decode the data into its respective channels and output the audio to its respective speakers. If you output DTS-ES and your receiver does not support the format, it will typically default to an earlier version of DTS, in this case 5.1 audio, from the DTS-ES signal.

In other words, so long as you hook up all the digital sources correctly, you will always have some form or surround regardless of the format. Generally, though, you want to output the signal supported by your receiver and speaker setup. If you only have a 5.1 audio setup, meaning five speakers and a subwoofer, you will be missing audio if you're outputting a 7.1 signal.

Happy gaming,

Boz

Thanks for the suggestion...I tried the headphones but they didnt work, but after a reset, the sound works again! :D

Never happened before. Glad it was just a little bug.

IronBeaver

hd555 for gaming, go with audiotechnica for music. Microsoft1234

Thanks all: Truecrypt it is!

Happy gaming,

Boz

Before you go and buy new speakers, test your audio output to figure out if it's still sending a signal. Plug in a pair of headphones.

If it is sending a signal, check that something didn't become unplugged or severed between the audio output on your computer and your amplifier (typically built into the subwoofer or one of the speakers). Then check the speaker wires between the amplifier and the speaker.

If after troubleshooting this your speakers still don't work, pick up a pair of M-Audio Studiophile AV-30, which come in under your budget. If you're interested in spending a little more you might consider their big brother, the M-Audio AV-40, or possibly the Audioengine 2s, both of which are widely acclaimed.

If you want a subwoofer, that's a taller order. If you can find a Swan M10 you'd be a very happy camper.

Good luck,

Boz