RME Audio Hammerfall HDSP AES-32, User Manual

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User's Guide HDSP AES-32
© RME
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Note on Windows Vista/7:
Since Vista the audio application can no longer control the sample rate under WDM. Instead the
user has to work himself through numerous settings, and to set the sample rate to the exact
same value per stereo device.
12.2 DVD-Playback (AC-3/DTS) under MME
AC-3 / DTS
When using popular DVD software players like WinDVD and PowerDVD , their audio data
stream can be sent to any AC-3/DTS capable receiver via the HDSP AES-32. For this to work
an output wave device has to be selected in >
Control Panel/ Sounds and Multimedia/ Audio< or
> Control Panel/ Sound/Playback< . Also check 'use preferred device only'.
The DVD software's audio properties now show the options 'SPDIF Out' or similar. When select-
ing these, the software will transfer the non-decoded digital multichannel data stream to the
HDSP AES-32.
Note: This 'SPDIF' signal sounds like chopped noise at highest level. The first 2 channels
(Loudspeaker) do not support digital AC-3/DTS playback.
Multichannel
PowerDVD and WinDVD can also operate as software decoder, sending a DVD's multichannel
data stream directly to the outputs of the HDSP AES-32. Supported are all modes, from 2 to 8
channels, at 16 bit resolution and 48 kHz sample rate.
For this to work select the WDM playback device ’Loudspeaker’ of the HDSP AES-32 in
XP : > Control Panel/ Sounds and Multimedia/ Audio< , and 'Use only default devices' has to be
checked. Additionally the loudspeaker setup, found under >Volume/ Speaker Settings/ Ad-
vanced< has to be changed from Stereo to 5.1 Surround .
Vista/7 : > Control Panel/ Sound/ Playback < as ‘Standard’. Additionally the loudspeaker setup,
found under >Configuration<, has to be changed from Stereo to 5.1 Surround .
PowerDVD's and WinDVD's audio properties now list several multichannel modes. If one of
these is selected, the software sends the decoded analog multichannel data to the HDSP AES-
32. TotalMix can then be used to play back via any desired output channels.
The typical channel assignment for surround playback is:
1 - Left
2 - Right
3 - Center
4 - LFE (Low Frequency Effects)
5 - SL (Surround Left)
6 - SR (Surround Right)
Note 1: Setting the card to be used as system playback device is against common sense, as
professional cards are not specialized to play back system sounds, and shouldn't be disturbed
by system events. To prevent this, be sure to re-assign this setting after usage, or to disable
any system sounds (tab Sounds, scheme 'No audio').
Note 2: The DVD player will be synced backwards from the HDSP card. So when using Auto-
Sync and/or word clock, the playback speed and pitch follows the incoming clock signal.