5.1 over S/PDIF while gaming?

[Kevin_Walter]

Back when I was running an AMD system I had a Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3, which was a pretty good motherboard, actually. It also came with Dolby Digital software right out of the box, which allowed me to compress 5.1 game audio from games like Skyrim and shove it through an S/PDIF cable to my 5.1 receiver, which was awesome for obvious reasons. 

 

Last year for Christmas, I upgraded my rig. My old FX 6300 was tired and I wanted to go with Intel this time, so I picked up a 6600k (irrelevant, I know), and a Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming 5. It's actually been a really good motherboard, with one exception. 

 

It states on Gigabyte's website that this motherboard uses Realtek's ALC1150 audio codec. And when you go to Realtek's website and look at the information for the ALC1150 codec, it states at the bottom under features that it has "Optional Dolby PCEE program, SRS TruSurround HD, SRS Premium Sound, Fortemedia SAM, Creative Host Audio, Synopsys Sonic Focus, DTS Surround Sensation | UltraPC, and DTS Connect licenses".

 

I'm assuming that the reason that I can't seem to make the motherboard compress game audio and pipe it through optical is because Gigabyte didn't license one of these "optional" bits of software for their audio drivers and give owners of this board that ability, correct?

 

Even if I am correct, is there any way I can get my hands on different drivers that will include DTS Connect or Dolby Digital or something? If the hardware is using a codec that supports these things, I don't really get why they wouldn't be included. It seems like a bit of a dick move to me. 

 

On a side note... pre-compressed 5.1 audio from sources like Blu-Ray movies works just fine. It's only an issue with uncompressed sources like games. 

[CostcoSamples]

Are you running windows 10?  Microsoft rekt 5.1 on win 10.  Try downloading the latest audio drivers from your motherboard manufacturer. 

[Kevin_Walter]

1 minute ago, CostcoSamples said:

Are you running windows 10?  Microsoft rekt 5.1 on win 10.  Try downloading the latest audio drivers from your motherboard manufacturer. 

Yes I am, and the drivers on Gigabyte's site aren't helpful.

[CostcoSamples]

1 minute ago, Kevin_Walter said:

Yes I am, and the drivers on Gigabyte's site aren't helpful.

Well that sucks.  I had a similar problem recently and a simple driver update fixed it.  There are a number of discussions on the topic if you try a google search.  From what I've read, it's a windows 10 problem.