Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with surround and dolby

TOSLINK USB surround sound adapter + Mac OS X?

Blazecock Pileon — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:57:24 -0800

What is a good, working surround sound USB adapter for a Mac mini in a home theatre setup, which uses a TOSLINK connector? (I would be using this with DVD Player, iTunes, VLC, QuickTime Player, etc. if that matters for software support.)

The sound from a movie download comes out of two speakers, but what about 5.1?

skylar — Mon, 04 May 2009 03:29:35 -0800

These days a lot of movie viewing takes place from digital files sitting on a computer and downloaded from BitTorrent. In this environment, is it worth having a 5.1 type surround sound audio decoder? Do most of the movie files on BitTorrent come encoded as multi-channel surround sound these days? And to output 5.1 digital surround from a computer what does one need? A special sound card? Some kind of surround sound decoder separate attached to the computer via its optical out?

How can I use my TV speakers as the center channel on my receiver?

odinsdream — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 07:02:13 -0800

How can I use the speakers in my TV as the "center" speaker on my receiver? I have a receiver hooked up to four normal speakers. I'd like to use the speakers in my TV as the center speaker.

My TV has audio inputs for each set of video inputs. These are normal RCA red-white connectors.

Is there some way to connect powered speaker wires to these without breaking the TV? My first thought was to open the TV and disconnect the speakers from the internal wiring and substitute my own. I'd prefer not to do this since the TV is new and still under warranty.

The other problem would be that the TV has two internal speakers, left and right, which I want to treat as one.

Any thoughts?

"We should have recorded the album in Dubley..."

Blazecock Pileon — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 14:31:52 -0800

Wireless speakers for a Philips HTS3555 surround sound system? After years of setting up and breaking down computers, I hate wires with a hateful, bloody passion. Is there any way to use the speakers with this surround system in a wireless fashion, without much extra expense? Is there another system you might recommend which includes wireless speakers and more or less the same features as this system?

I have just bought a Dolby 5.1 sound system. Please tell me why I should or shouldn't listen to my CDs, recorded in stereo, using all six speakers.

meech — Wed, 14 Jul 2004 19:39:26 -0800

Audionazi-filter: I have just bought a Dolby 5.1 sound system. Please tell me why I should or shouldn't listen to my CDs, recorded in stereo, using all six speakers. [And slightly related: What movies should I rent for their brilliant 5.1 sound?]