say, i have a 5.1 speakers capable of digital data/s-pdif input

my sound card (mobo on-board) can support 5.1 (analog), also s/pdif output

i have setup the s/pdif connection
but can't configure 5.1 speakers

the only way to use 5.1 is through analog


Mobo Gigabyte GA-H97 Gaming 3
ŠŠ Realtek® ALC1150 codec
ŠŠ Support for Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3
ŠŠ High Definition Audio
ŠŠ 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
ŠŠ Support for S/PDIF Out

seems like the way to enable it is to whacking the realtek driver
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/...ractive.193148/

but i'm very reluctant to mess with os

anyone has any other success story?

1) Watch movies. Passthrough DD/DTS to your speaker/receiver. Your speaker/receiver must be able to decode DD/DTS, otherwise, no sound.

2) Play games. Games don't do DD/DTS, you will need DTS Connect/Interactive or DD live to encode the sound to DD/DTS before sending to your speaker/receiver. Again, your speaker must be able to decode DD/DTS, otherwise, no sound.

You sure your speaker can decode DTS/DD??

right click your volume at taskbar, and choose appropriate playback device. Sometime digital audio are automatically send via HDMI assuming you connected your monitor via HDMI.
For your question, Yes SPDIF are capable off sending 5.1 audio.