Ok, I have a Realtek AC'97 with optical and coaxial outputs (currently using coaxial), an RCA 5.1 receiver and Windows XP. This is a new configuration, but I know it works because I tested it using a Dolby encoded ac3 file in Graphedit. All I get in game, however, is stereo. I have seen mixed opinions on the web, including wow forums, whether the game actually encodes Dolby surround, but the logo is on the box, so it has to at some point (just cut scenes maybe?). What do I have to do to make this work? Also, if someone has Dolby surround working (not just quadraphonic analog bleh) please post your configuration.

Ok, thank you. Does this mean that I should scrap my digital output in favor of the individual channel analog outputs in order to hear surround sound in-game?

No, it does not mean to scrap your setup. It just means Blizzard - WoW - does not support it. Hopefully you use your system for more than just WoW?! I spent a lot of time and money in getting my system to work with many aspects of my home setup and for the most part, it all works well together. However, upgrades, repairs, new drivers, etc, always cause a hiccup in my world and I must deal with them as they arise. But to scrap something just because one thing is messed up or one program is messed up or one piece of hardware lacks all the bells and whistles? nah, I can live with one or even a few things not living up to my current configuration ... hardware and software have been playing leapfrog forever .. that is not going to change -ever! WoW's database structure is aging as is it's graphics engine .. they will be forced to make changes in the near future if they want to stay market competitive - millions hooked on WoW or not!

I have a separate rig in my living room that I use for TV, DVDs etc. DVDs, of course, have no problem supporting Dolby surround. This rig, I use for games (Mostly WoW) and music while I work. A little more research seems to suggest that most games only support EAX, which Creative seems to have a firm grip on, requiring you to use a three-jack configuration. This is pretty aggravating. I've looked for a software solution to convert EAX to AC3 so I can pass it through my digital out, but no luck yet.

I looked into that a year or so ago. The EAX code is proprietary and Creative to date has not released it for developers to write an addon to convert it to AC3 - nor have they done it themselves. Maybe not much of a market for it. I have not looked for other hw/sw alternatives, but they may be out there.

I found a solution for this! It only works if you own a Creative sound device, but that was good enough for me. You can use a set of third party Creative drivers called "kX Project" in conjunction with a program called redocneXk, which takes recorded per-channel outputs from ASIO, encodes them to ac3, then pipes them to the selected sound devices spdif output. My setup uses an old Sound Blaster Live and the output of redocneXk piped to my onboard Realtek ALC850 (using NVidia audio drivers). You can use a single Creative device, but mine didn't have any spdif outs. This solution requires quite a bit of setup, but you can find all the info you need if you know where to look.

kx Project download:
http://download.kxproject.lugosoft.com/

redocneXk download:
http://www.driverheaven.net/general-discussion/90887-redocnexk-released-realtime-5-1-ac3-encoder.html

A tutorial on kX that I found useful:
http://www.driverheaven.net/effects-dsp/55649-newbie-guide-kx-s-dsp-concept-how-setup-your-dsp.html

Some other info (somewhat specific to my setup):
I ran redocneXk like this (to select my onboard device for output):
redocneXk.exe -o 1
Device, both in windows and WoW set to: "kX Wave 0/1"
One additional caveat for me was that, while the documented ASIO channels redocneXk read as follows:
FL = asio 0
FR = asio 1
RL = asio 2
RR = asio 3
C = asio 4
LFE = asio 5
I had to set the epilogue pins as follows in my DSP (the terminology makes sense after you read the tutorial I linked, I swear):
FL = asio 14
FR = asio 15
RL = asio 0
RR = asio 1
C = asio 2
LFE = asio 3

You would think that with Creative's problems with Vista and the uproar over their drivers that companies would start adding direct support for Dolby or other standards for surround sound. Creative doesn't seem to have much of a future with their current issues so hopefully we'll see something change soon.

I use an HTPC setup with a surround sound system and use SPDIF out. I'm forced to run WoW in stereo unfortunately and hope this will change soon.

I dislike creative almost as much as Windows.

Glad you found a solution that works, Vulpin! Those are some pretty neat apps.

To clarify, it doesn't matter if the output is coming from EAX, a software 3D sound renderer, or somewhere else - at issue is the fact that once the sound is rendered, it's not encoded for Dolby Digital output, it's just separate audio streams. It's easy for an audio card to send those to separate audio outputs, but being able to encode them to Dolby Digital in real time is trickier. Tech capable of doing that is relatively recent, and Dolby actually has a brand name for it:

Dolby Digital Live - http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/dolby_live.html

So if you have a sound card that supports Dolby Digital Live, then you can get any sound from your computer to work in surround over a Dolby Digital connection. (DTS has a similar technology, called DTS Connect, if you're a DTS fan.)

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital#Dolby_Digital_Live

Offhand, I know Asus' Xonar D2, DX, and D2X support it, plus some of the more recent Realtek chips. (Sorry, Vulpin, but the ALC850 isn't one of them. But it looks like you found a solution that does much the same thing. :) )

Now, to add to the Creative hate - as they deserve it so richly - Creative's higher-end X-Fi cards actually HAVE support for DDL, but they intentionally disabled it in their driver software, with the intent of marketing it as an "upgrade" later on. (FWIW, Auzentech's Prelude, which uses an X-Fi chip, has its DDL support enabled.) Chalk it up as another epic fail for Creative. On the bright side, Daniel_K's hacked Sound Blaster drivers enable this feature, so those of you with X-Fi cards looking for such support may want to look into this.

I actually have that card, the xonar d2x. I just set it up today in fact and am trying to get 5.1 surround to work through the spdif to my receiver. So far, I am only getting stereo although it does sound nice. I have been doing some reading it should be able to encode to dolby digitial or DTS on the fly but so far the games are not doing it. The speaker test in setup is working so I at least know it can do it.

Anyone have any ideas on how to solve this? :)

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Q u o t e:
I'm not sure. I haven't used any type of digital sound systems. My surround sound setup consist of a Logitech Z-5300 system and the 3 audio jack connectors. Perhaps someone else with experience in this type of setup can help you.

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what a PIA this is for everyone ....

so with Vista MS broke one thing, then fmod used to work with the alcemy(sp) hack but then fmod chnaged in patch 2.xxx of wow to some new version of fmod wich now leaves us hosed.

I have a digital out 5.1 card that 100% for sure plays 5.1 out over optical spdif from windows.

fmod in wow does not see the hardware and does not even use a dsound.dll if one is in the wow folder so alcemy does nothing.

fmod needs to support OpenAL -- then vista and 5.1 would be fixed for a whole lot of users.