

If you need to run the cable a long way, using television coaxial cable with screw-on RCA ends is a nice solution. The connectors can vary, but normally you need a cable with an RCA plug on each end. The cheapest and most widely supported method is using a coaxial S/PDIF cable. Since the connection is digital, all methods will provide the same quality. Surround sound requires a digital connection between the computer and stereo. Next, we must connect the computer to the stereo. This mode is called Auto Format Decode (AFD) on Sony receivers. Use the test tone feature of your stereo to make sure you have all of your surround sound speakers connected properly, have the volume high enough to hear, and don't have the stereo muted.Īfter testing the stereo and verifying that all the surround speakers are working, check that the receiver is set to a mode that does no extra processing of the signal. Most stereos can play a test tone to all of the connected speakers. You will also need a copy of JRiver Media Center installed on your computer. You will need a set of 5.1 or 7.1 speakers connected to the receiver. Check that your stereo accepts a digital connection (called S/PDIF or HDMI) and that it can decode a surround sound format like Dolby Digital (sometimes called AC3) or DTS.

You will need a receiver that is capable of playing surround sound. 7 Configure Media Center to pass an unaltered digital stream to the soundcard for television.6 Configure Media Center to pass an unaltered digital stream to the soundcard for DVD.5 Configure Media Center to use this device for video, television, and DVD.
