Re: Simple 3D mixer confusion
Re: Simple 3D mixer confusion
- Subject: Re: Simple 3D mixer confusion
- From: Matthew Xavier Mora <email@hidden>
- Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 14:30:54 -0700
At 11:19 AM -0700 5/5/04, John Stiles wrote:
I am trying to use the 3D mixer to make positional sounds work on
real 5.1 hardware. At my disposal, I have a Sonica Theater USB box
with outputs for five speakers and a subwoofer.
I have existing code which can play a WAV positioned in 3D space
using the 3D mixer unit. This is serving me quite well. Far-away
sounds are quieter than nearby sounds, and there is a bit of stereo
positioning (not a ton, but enough).
I hooked up the Sonica Theater USB box and installed the latest
drivers from the m-audio web site. The M-Audio setup application
shows lots of surround sound options and multi-speaker
configuration; however, Audio MIDI Setup shows it as a simple "2ch
16-bit" output device. (Even my SoundSticks have more options--they
can go 1ch or 24-bit!) I am not 100% sure but I get the feeling that
the Sonica's real purpose is to SIMULATE surround from a 2-channel
input signal, which is pretty lame. I hope I'm wrong :)
If I remember correctly the Sonica device only outputs multi-channel
audio from an AC-3 encoded stream. If you have a sonic and play a
DVD, the DVD player can send the AC-3 encoded data to the sonica
which will render it in 5.1. AC-3 encoded data to hardware looks like
a stereo 16bit stream, which is why you see that format in AMS. It
should also show that is has a "AC-3" non-mixable stream.
Unless OpenAL encodes the n-channel audio into AC-3, I don't think
you'll get 5.1 audio out of the sonica. What you need is a real 6
channel device like the Emi-2/6.
Matt
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