SPDIF n00b here

sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
edited August 2005 in Hardware
I now have SPDIF (in and out) on my new motherboard, and I have no idea how to use it. Theres pins on the motherboard to plug SPDIF things into, so does that mean it would come from the sound card? I'm just using the on-board audio and running it to my reciever. So can someone explain the basics of SPDIF to me? Thnx :)

Comments

  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited August 2005
    It's basically just a different type of audio connector (which you already knew). If you have other hardware (speakers, a Digital Audio Tape machine, stereo receiver, etc) which can make use of it, it gives you a straight digital connection - superior to the analog connection commonly used.

    WHATIS has a nice definition:
    S/PDIF

    S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is a standard audio transfer file format. It is usually found on digital audio equipment such as a DAT (Digital Audio Tape) machine or audio processing device. It allows the transfer of audio from one file to another without the conversion to and from an analog format, which could degrade the signal quality.

    The most common connector used with an S/PDIF interface is the RCA connector, the same one used for consumer audio products. An optical connector is also sometimes used.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    ok if i had an SPDIF IN connector on my reciever and plugged an RCA into it, would it work? Is it just that one cable for Right and Left? Do I use it in conjunction with the MiniDin/analog cables?
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited August 2005
    pilotwings119 wrote:
    ok if i had an SPDIF IN connector on my reciever and plugged an RCA into it, would it work?
    You'd need a coaxial RCA-type for it to work, unless it was a very short run and you were very lucky.
    Is it just that one cable for Right and Left?
    It's a digital signal which actually travels over one wire (the other wire is the shielding part of the coax). It works the same way you can get 800 channels of cable TV in stereo over one little plug - digital goodness. :D
    Do I use it in conjunction with the MiniDin/analog cables?
    Nope. Pick one or the other.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    ok thanks for all the answers. I have one more question.

    Can I go from SPDIF Out on my motherboard to the regular RCA/Composite In on my reciever? Or does it have to specifically say SPDIF?

    Also, I didn't quite get what you said about the cable type. If I use a regular RCA-type/composite component cable, will that work for under 10 feet?
  • qparadoxqparadox Vancouver, BC
    edited August 2005
    It has to be an actual SPDIF input. The composite inputs are analog and have no way to decode and convert the digital SPDIF signal.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    ok thanks ;)
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    If you want to use multi-channel in things like games or anything other than DVDs then you need to use the Analog outputs on the soundcard and not the S/PDIF anyway. Although really, the difference between the Analog and S/PDIF outputs on the card are going to be negligible to non-existant unless you have an amazing sound system connected and even more amazing hearing, heh.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    Enverex wrote:
    the difference between the Analog and S/PDIF outputs on the card are going to be negligible to non-existant unless you have an amazing sound system connected and even more amazing hearing, heh.
    both of which i totally dont have :p
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    ok my stereo reciever has no SPDIF inputs or any of those Digital square inputs. It's all RCA/Composite plugs. How can I upgrade from my current ghetto Mini-Din adapter setup and migrate to SPDIF??
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited August 2005
    Buy a new receiver. ;)

    There may be a box to do the digital>>Analog conversion for you, but it wouldn't do you any good. Digital is really only worth having if you're running a digital signal from start to finish. Once analog is introduced at any point along the way you suffer somewhat of a loss in quality.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    okay. I might look into getting a new reciever, because mine just has so many problems. Any ideas? I have no idea where to start looking. My current one is Aiwa and I pretty much hate it, so no Aiwa again.

    edit: It's an Aiwa AV-D50, and you can hardly find anything about it online. This is about as much as I could find on it.
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