If I hook up my laptop sound to a Dolby Pro Logic II Decoder then will I be able to get surround sound? I asked Dolby Digital on their web site but they take to long to answer and i need an answer ASAP.
Depends. The soundcard/onboard sound's digital out needs a special feature ensuring bit-identical output. I can't recall the name ATM. If you browse some soundcard manufacturer's homepage you'll find it easily.
- USB-to-8 channel analog line out (on 4 stereo 1/8" mini jacks)
-USB-to-S/PDIF RCA coaxial out
-Stereo 1/8" analog line in
-S/PDIF transmits linear PCM, AC3 or DTS[b/]
-Input/output formats:
-sampling frequencies (Hz): 11025, 22050, 32000, 44100, 48000, 88200, 96000
? 24-bit linear PCM
? 16-bit Linear PCM
? 16-bit AC-3 over S/PDIF (not available in Mac OS 9)
Note: Due to USB 1.1 bandwidth constraints, not all sampling frequencies can be used in every output setting. This depends on the number of active audio channels.
S/PDIF = digital in/out. This (digital out) is needed to transfer DTS/AC3 data (= compressed surround audio stream as it is on the DVD) to a receiver (that needs to be able to decode these data). All soundcards' digital outs are capable of transfering linear PCM, but what you need for surround (decoded by the receiver) is a digital out capable of transfering DTS/AC3.
If you already have this laptop, just grab a DVD with the sound you want to decode, take it to a shop where they have the receiver you want and ask them if you can test if it works ...
As long as you have digital outs on the laptop, then the AC3 (Dolby Digital) file will automatically use the ProLogic "surround". It's not true surround, but a clever piece of decoding, but it works well enough. Dolby refer to it as "magic surround".
It also works from Sky digital if you don't have the sky+ it will, if you have 5 speakers & LFE attached, use ProLogic.
lol
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