Audigy's ac3 decode

[Apeman]

Hi everyone,

I knew that audigy can decode ac3. However, powerdvd and windvd also have the ability to decode ac3.

so my question is:

"When encounter a DVD has only ac3, should i let the audigy to decode it, or let the powerdvd/windvd to decode it?"

ps. i'm only focus on analog output, and don't worry about the digital output for now.

 

[ritesh_laud]

"When encounter a DVD has only ac3, should i let the audigy to decode it, or let the powerdvd/windvd to decode it?"

I have directly compared the Audigy's decoding to that of PowerDVD XP. To put it bluntly, the Audigy's decoding blows. The audio in the DVD I was watching (Aliens I think) sounded muted and dull. With PowerDVD, audio (especially speech) was definitely clearer and more impressive. Note that you may need good speakers to really tell the difference. On Klipsch Promedia 5.1s or similar quality, it's a crying shame to use the Audigy's built-in audio decoding so you should definitely leave it off. The best option, of course, is a nice external decoder. But my estimation is that PowerDVD's decoding roughly equals the average hardware decoder out there.

Otherwise, the Audigy is a nice card! But both the AC-3 decoding and the software MIDI synthesizer have got to go...

Ritesh