I'll try to format this in a way that makes sense.
Background
The GameCube and Wii were both capable of utilizing surround sound through the Dolby Pro Logic II codec. This codec basically "hides" surround data inside of a stereo audio stream that is then decoded by a compatible audio receiver, amp, etc. where it is then turned into 5.1 audio.
Dolphin Implementation
Dolphin can output surround sound two ways:
While both these options certainly work, they require a bit of setup and can be a bit of a pain to work with. If you have a 7.1 setup, you're constantly having to switch it to stereo or 5.1 in Windows for surround sound to output properly. If you choose the stereo route, you also have to set your receiver to Dolby Surround so it processes everything correctly.
In both scenarios above, setting windows to 7.1 causes the sound to only come out of the front two channels.
Change Request
Allow Dolphin to send the decoded 5.1 signal inside of a 7.1 container. This would allow Windows to simply pass it along to the receiver without having to change the speaker output from 7.1. For those of us with a 7.1 setup, this would make the surround sound settings in Dolphin "set it and forget it".
Hopefully I've explained this well enough. It's kind of an edge case that really only effects people like me who use Dolphin on a PC hooked up to a big home theater setup.
Background
The GameCube and Wii were both capable of utilizing surround sound through the Dolby Pro Logic II codec. This codec basically "hides" surround data inside of a stereo audio stream that is then decoded by a compatible audio receiver, amp, etc. where it is then turned into 5.1 audio.
Dolphin Implementation
Dolphin can output surround sound two ways:
- DSP LLE. Set windows output to stereo. Connect to receiver that is can decode Dolby Surround signals. Set receiver to Dolby Surround or Stereo mode (will vary between receivers).
- DSP LLE. Check the box for Pro Logic II decoding. Set Windows output to 5.1. Connect to receiver that can handle a 5.1 PCM signal.
While both these options certainly work, they require a bit of setup and can be a bit of a pain to work with. If you have a 7.1 setup, you're constantly having to switch it to stereo or 5.1 in Windows for surround sound to output properly. If you choose the stereo route, you also have to set your receiver to Dolby Surround so it processes everything correctly.
In both scenarios above, setting windows to 7.1 causes the sound to only come out of the front two channels.
Change Request
Allow Dolphin to send the decoded 5.1 signal inside of a 7.1 container. This would allow Windows to simply pass it along to the receiver without having to change the speaker output from 7.1. For those of us with a 7.1 setup, this would make the surround sound settings in Dolphin "set it and forget it".
Hopefully I've explained this well enough. It's kind of an edge case that really only effects people like me who use Dolphin on a PC hooked up to a big home theater setup.
