9 replies to this topic

[AndrewF]

I've been following the (often heated) HD audio discussions with interest. When I upgraded my HTPC motherboard late last year, I went with a Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (rev. 1.0), partly because it listed HD audio as a capability.

From their website (http://www.gigabyte....?ProductID=2667)

"Blu-ray/HD DVD Full Rate Audio Support
The ALC889A enables high quality Full Rate Lossless Audio for content protected media and support for both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats for an exhilarating home theater entertainment experience."

Note that the board only has analogue and SPDIF audio out (no HDMI).

I wasn't sure whether I'd use it or not, or what the quality would be like, but I was happy with the motherboard's other features anyway, so I bought it. I connected it to my receiver via 6 channel analogue, and have used it that way for all audio (including HD DVD). It sounds great to me, though the amp/speakers/room combo is not ideal.

As many people know, however, there is currently no way to actually get HD audio out of this setup.

And then, in the last month:

"Taipei, Taiwan—June 05, 2008—CyberLink Corp. (5203.TW), innovative solution provider for the connected digital lifestyle, announced today its joint demonstration with leading
IC design house Realtek Semiconductor Corp. to incorporate Realtek's high-performance ALC889 audio codec within PowerDVD, delivering exceptional high-definition audio playback at 192kHz/24bit." (http://www.cyberlink.../view_1725.html)

PAP resolved?

And then:

"Taipei, Taiwan—June 20, 2008—CyberLink Corp. (5203.TW), innovative solutions provider for the connected digital lifestyle, announced today that PowerDVD receives certification by DTS for the support of DTS-HD Master Audio technology." (http://www.cyberlink.../view_1746.html)

Licensing resolved? (for one format, at least)

More info in the press releases at the links.

So everyone, especially ExtremePC and vlad, what do you think? Will I get at least DTS-HD by the end of the year? (for which I think I will need some Blu-Ray movies. And a new drive.. Pretty sure none of my HD-DVDs have it)

Andrew

[AndrewF]

I did a bit more digging, and from the release notes of Realtek driver 1.95 from early Jun, found the following:

Driver Package R1.95
6. Add/Fix
1.) Driver :
1. Customizations.
2. Fix encryption stream issue for ALC889.
3. Fix DRM issue.


The date of the driver release (around 7th Jun) matches fairly nicely with the date on their press release above.

I wonder if I'm just waiting on Cyberlink to update PowerDVD now? I'm not at home with my HTPC at the moment, so haven't had the chance to update to a driver release with this fix and see if there's any change yet. Certainly sounding promising though.

[Mox]

I can only hope.......

[ExtremePC]

It sound like the ALC889 will be allowing 7.1 and DTS-HD via the line level analog outs of the motherboard. It says nothing yet of HDMI.

[diverbelow]

It sound like the ALC889 will be allowing 7.1 and DTS-HD via the line level analog outs of the motherboard. It says nothing yet of HDMI.

... if thats the case I wonder what they mean by this statement in the press release then http://www.cyberlink.../view_1746.html :

"CyberLink PowerDVD featuring DTS-HD Master Audio support will be available as an upgrade to existing users in in July 2008. An HDMI 1.3a-enabled audio system is necessary to enjoy the high-definition DTS-HD Master Audio."

[ExtremePC]

... if thats the case I wonder what they mean by this statement in the press release then http://www.cyberlink.../view_1746.html :

"CyberLink PowerDVD featuring DTS-HD Master Audio support will be available as an upgrade to existing users in in July 2008. An HDMI 1.3a-enabled audio system is necessary to enjoy the high-definition DTS-HD Master Audio."

Honestly I don't know, maybe for video cards that have the realtek chip onboard?

[AndrewF]

It sound like the ALC889 will be allowing 7.1 and DTS-HD via the line level analog outs of the motherboard. It says nothing yet of HDMI.

I really hope so, since that's my setup. (well in 5.1, anyway)

No mention of Dolby True HD in any of this though, and it's by far the most prevalent HD audio format in my collection

[jalyst]

It sound like the ALC889 will be allowing 7.1 and DTS-HD via the line level analog outs of the motherboard. It says nothing yet of HDMI.

It sounds like this is a reality now (i.e. BD playback) with certain softplayers, but was wondering if anyone can confirm?
I have ALC889, but I belive only difference is that gigabyte licensed dolby home theater to be added to 889a.

Thank-you!