Well, after much tweaking with my laptop setup and software, I've got it hooked up and playing Windows Media High Definition material on my home theater. Wow! this stuff is very, very good! For those that don't know, some films are already available in high-definition on this format, playable through a computer, such as Terminator 2. This is true 720p or 1080p high-definition, not upconverted. I have a few more WMHD discs coming in the mail in the next few days.
Here's what I can't figure out, though--WMHD uses a WM 5.1 surround sound format, not DD or DTS. When I send the audio via digital coax to my home theater processor, it gets sent via PCM, not a surround format. (playing a DVD on my laptop, I can send DD or DTS via coax) So invariably, this WMHD stuff gets played with some very so-so audio, including dialogue very quiet and muted, like something's wrong. Does anybody know, is there a way to correct this? And possibly send surround sound to the processor? I'm kind of guessing that the answer is that WMHD audio is proprietary and can't be transmitted digitally. So then how the heck do I play it in surround sound in a theater?
Here's what I can't figure out, though--WMHD uses a WM 5.1 surround sound format, not DD or DTS. When I send the audio via digital coax to my home theater processor, it gets sent via PCM, not a surround format. (playing a DVD on my laptop, I can send DD or DTS via coax) So invariably, this WMHD stuff gets played with some very so-so audio, including dialogue very quiet and muted, like something's wrong. Does anybody know, is there a way to correct this? And possibly send surround sound to the processor? I'm kind of guessing that the answer is that WMHD audio is proprietary and can't be transmitted digitally. So then how the heck do I play it in surround sound in a theater?
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