Xbox and Surround sound!

[Cauterize]

what a suprise, as i got home tonight, my dad had bought me a subwoofer 5.1 surround set (u know what im on about..)

im wanting to use it on xbox and have all 5 speakers working instead of the front 2... i know xbox runs on 2.0 sound, but how can i get the other speakers plugged into it to simulate a 5.1 (without the surround) if you understand me?

i heard here is something called a Console Convertor you can use...

any help would be greatly appreciated!

[payday_jones]

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/highdefinitionavpack.htm


That should help you with what you are trying to do.

[Cauterize]

cheers mate.... looking now!

[Cauterize]

hmmm.. thats not quite it...

what i need is something to split the two audio cables into 6 cables...
one for each of these:

Front Left
Front Right
Centre
Bass
Rear Left
Rear Right

So really i need something to duplicate the two cable which i can repeat and plug in to the surround subwoofer

[CitizenWhite]

DrJustinRamone has surround with his xbox. It's not hard to do, mand him and another friend set it up in a night. What you want to do is get either the HD cables (the one linked to) or the s-video ones, and an optical cable. Plug the optical cable from the box coming out of the xbox into the receiver input, and you're done.

[tholly]

DrJustinRamone has surround with his xbox. It's not hard to do, mand him and another friend set it up in a night. What you want to do is get either the HD cables (the one linked to) or the s-video ones, and an optical cable. Plug the optical cable from the box coming out of the xbox into the receiver input, and you're done.


i also have my xbox hooked up with surround sound....all you need is the S-Video or High Def. pack that has an optical output....get an optical cable and plug this in....it will sound amazing.


now, what i would love is somthing that would allow me to split the 2 optical inputs i have on my reciever to hook up more than 2 items that have optical output

[K3V]

hmmm.. thats not quite it...

what i need is something to split the two audio cables into 6 cables...
one for each of these:

Front Left
Front Right
Centre
Bass
Rear Left
Rear Right

So really i need something to duplicate the two cable which i can repeat and plug in to the surround subwoofer

You need to get a 5.1 receiver. You'd plug all your speakers into the receiver and then connect the digital audio cable from the Xbox to the Receiver and viola, 5.1 digital surround.

[izret101]

I am pretty sure there was a 4.1 surround sound system licensed for use with Xbox but i could be wrong. It might have just said it can be used with Xbox.

[PhoeniX]

i know xbox runs on 2.0 sound, but how can i get the other speakers plugged into it to simulate a 5.1 (without the surround) if you understand me?

Maybe I don't understand you, but the Xbox does support true 5.1 dolby sound (depending on the title). The only way I am aware to get it though is to buy one of the A/V cable sets that has an optical out (I'm not sure if digital coax is supported), then plug the optical cable to your receiver, which will decode the 5.1 audio signal. Playing games in 5.1 is truely amazing, In Halo for instance you can hear explosions and even footsteps of players comming up behind you! Keep in mind that the signal to noise ratio isn't as good for the satelite speakers in basically all 5.1 speaker applications so the quality of the sound from the rear isn't as good. This, fortunately doesn't impeed game play, if you have the ability to do 5.1, DO IT!

[fahrvergnugen]

I think what he's saying is that he has a 5.1 speaker set, but he lacks a dolby digital decoder. so what you'd like to do, and correct me if I'm wrong, is to take front left and mirror it to front left, rear left, and center, and take front right and mirror it to front right, rear right, and center.

Ye gods man. I can't abide that. Go get a 5.1 decoder.

[98PaceCar]

Keep in mind that the signal to noise ratio isn't as good for the satelite speakers in basically all 5.1 speaker applications so the quality of the sound from the rear isn't as good. This, fortunately doesn't impeed game play, if you have the ability to do 5.1, DO IT!

That's not necessarily true. Maybe in a cheaper receiver it is, but in the design of Dolby Digital 5.1 the only difference between the front left and right and surround left and right is that the 2 surround speakers don't receive the entire frequency range. The low end is lopped off and routed to the subwoofer. That's the big strength of DTS over DD 5.1. DTS runs full range to all speakers and sounds lightyears beyond DD 5.1. In a higher end setup, you want all 5 (or 7) speakers to be identical for optimal sound.

Regardless, the advice to DO IT stands! Xbox in 5.1 is nothing short of amazing! The first time I heard Darth Vader's breathing come up behind me was enough to remind me why I spent so much on home theater!

98PaceCar

[PhoeniX]

5.1 speaker set, right on, but is it litterally just 5 (six with sub)bare speakers, is there an amplifier/receiver? If the connection type is RCA then one way to do it (with 5.1 suround) would be to get a receiver that can receive a digital (preferably optical signal) and output a pre-out RCA signal for each of the six channels. If his 5.1 setup has an optical connection just use that with the Xbox enhanced A/V cable sets. If the connection is coax (the orange RCA looking thing) then I think your screwed as I don't believe the Xbox supports it. I get the impression that your setup is one of those proprietary computer/console setups. Knowing more specifically what it is would help.

[98PaceCar]

I think there are toslink to rca converters for DD signals, but I wouldn't use one unless I absolutely had to! Probably cheaper to just get a receiver that supports toslink in anyway (I've seen decent ones for around $100 lately).

Yep. More info about what you have would be great!