Unfortunately AWE64G can only stream audio to SPDIF when source is 44.1 kHz 16-bit and propably it works only in Windows.

tyuper wrote:

Unfortunately AWE64G can only stream audio to SPDIF when source is 44.1 kHz 16-bit and propably it works only in Windows.

Ah okay, so I guess if it probably works under Windows, I'll need to run at least Windows 95?

Yes, in Windows 3.1 it also works, up-to XP. 😀

I only ever used the SPDIF to rip FM music. And it ONLY worked for FM. Perhaps no source I tried was the correct spec or else my AWE 64 Gold is broken somehow, I don't care, it worked for the purpose I wanted it for and is still in use, so it must be doing something right.

What we can take away from this, is that the card's SPDIF interface is one arsey little bugger.

AWE64's S/PDIF output operates in DOS too (proof), but since it only works for 16 bit 44.1 kHz stream, it isn't of much use. I can't really think of any DOS game that would produce such high quality PCM output. Perhaps, Quake with 44 kHz sample rate forced?

tyuper wrote:

Yes, in Windows 3.1 it also works, up-to XP. 😀

Huh, it wasn't outputting anything but Midi under Windows 3.1 for me. Unless I am missing a setting for that.

bristlehog wrote:

AWE64's S/PDIF output operates in DOS too (proof), but since it only works for 16 bit 44.1 kHz stream, it isn't of much use. I can't really think of any DOS game that would produce such high quality PCM output. Perhaps, Quake with 44 kHz sample rate forced?

So that rules out a lot of games. unless it some how works while running DOS games under windows?

HighTreason wrote:

I only ever used the SPDIF to rip FM music. And it ONLY worked for FM. Perhaps no source I tried was the correct spec or else my AWE 64 Gold is broken somehow, I don't care, it worked for the purpose I wanted it for and is still in use, so it must be doing something right.

What we can take away from this, is that the card's SPDIF interface is one arsey little bugger.

I've not tried any FM music yet, but so far I know midi worked. Shouldn't be hard for me to test out FM, I just never liked it's OPL emulation for Descent, for example.

ReeseRiverson wrote:

So that rules out a lot of games. unless it some how works while running DOS games under windows?

I highly doubt it. Why would they work under Windows? DOS games deal directly with the sound hardware and running from Windows cannot change that.

That's weird, I was most interested in my AWE64 Gold to get FM/OPL out of the SPDIF connector, but I couldn't get this to work. I seem to remember game sound effects playing fine (DOS mode, no Windows) but no FM music being audible unless I used the analogue outputs.

Maybe I need to revisit this card...

ReeseRiverson wrote:

Huh, it wasn't outputting anything but Midi under Windows 3.1 for me. Unless I am missing a setting for that.

Winplay3 does the job in my case.

bristlehog wrote:

AWE64's S/PDIF output operates in DOS too (proof), but since it only works for 16 bit 44.1 kHz stream, it isn't of much use. I can't really think of any DOS game that would produce such high quality PCM output. Perhaps, Quake with 44 kHz sample rate forced?

Strangely, I can't make it to stream music even from MPXPLAY or DSS.

To get wave to play on the SPDIF go into the program folder and open "Wave synth WG" under performance tab select "allow wave synth to play at cd quality" then hit ok and restart your system. You have to turn reverberation off for wave effects if you are running it on a 486 you need like 400mhz P2 to run reverberation effects on wave sound when SPDIF output is enabled.

stuvize wrote:

To get wave to play on the SPDIF go into the program folder and open "Wave synth WG" under performance tab select "allow wave synth to play at cd quality" then hit ok and restart your system. You have to turn reverberation off for wave effects if you are running it on a 486 you need like 400mhz P2 to run reverberation effects on wave sound when SPDIF output is enabled.

Creative WaveSynth/WG wouldn't install on my machine because it wants a 90MHz Pentium minimum. Is there a work around then?

ReeseRiverson wrote:

stuvize wrote:

To get wave to play on the SPDIF go into the program folder and open "Wave synth WG" under performance tab select "allow wave synth to play at cd quality" then hit ok and restart your system. You have to turn reverberation off for wave effects if you are running it on a 486 you need like 400mhz P2 to run reverberation effects on wave sound when SPDIF output is enabled.

Creative WaveSynth/WG wouldn't install on my machine because it wants a 90MHz Pentium minimum. Is there a work around then?

My install disc does this too 90mhz for win 3.1 and 133mhz for win 9x, download the sound blaster drivers collection archive from Vogons driver library it has a AWE64 install disc folder in it that one lets you install Wave synth WG regardless of CPU. Also some people were mentioning the SPDIF in DOS I noticed Duke3D outputs the synth in DOS

stuvize wrote:

My install disc does this too 90mhz for win 3.1 and 133mhz for win 9x, download the sound blaster drivers collection archive from Vogons driver library it has a AWE64 install disc folder in it that one lets you install Wave synth WG regardless of CPU. Also some people were mentioning the SPDIF in DOS I noticed Duke3D outputs the synth in DOS

So will checking that option you mentioned, is still limited to certain games?

Most games will output digital audio but anything that use CD music from the CD-ROM drives audio output will not work the AWE64 does not have analog to digital converter in it, the sound that is outputted from SPDIF is coming from EMU chip its not coming from the mixer chip (the SB16 part of the card) when you check that box it directs digital audio to the EMU chip and I haven't done enough comparison to say for sure but it seems to depend on the motherboard\chipset what is digitally processed, I know on newer motherboards and if the OS supports it CD audio is all ran digitally meaning the signal is sent through the IDE cable rather than the 4 pin analog audio output on the drive. I do remember games like Starcraft working with the SPDIF on a P3 system but it did not work when I tried it on a 486 system if you want the SPDIF output for games its probably going to be hit and miss I was mainly using it to listen to MP3s

stuvize wrote:

Most games will output digital audio but anything that use CD music from the CD-ROM drives audio output will not work the AWE64 does not have analog to digital converter in it, the sound that is outputted from SPDIF is coming from EMU chip its not coming from the mixer chip (the SB16 part of the card) when you check that box it directs digital audio to the EMU chip [...]

I didn't think CD music would go through, but I did go ahead and try the SPDIF on my 133MHz Pentium system that has a AWE64 Gold. I checked that box, but digital sounds from games still don't seem to go through, nor windows stock wave sounds.

Sample wave file in the SB16 folder will output via SPDIF no problem.

What game are you trying to run? some games like FF7 I could never get any wave sound out of the SPDIF on any system I am not sure why some programs work and others don't the digital audio decoder in the stereo and the formats it accepts may even play a role

stuvize wrote:

What game are you trying to run? some games like FF7 I could never get any wave sound out of the SPDIF on any system I am not sure why some programs work and others don't the digital audio decoder in the stereo and the formats it accepts may even play a role

Well, on this system, since the WaveSynth option you suggested checking, I tried Descent. no digital sound came through.

I tried Commander Keen 4 for fun, with the adlib support, and everything worked quite well there. I really didn't have access to other games right away on that particular machine like I did my 486. I would have liked to try Day of the Tentacle and Jazz Jackrabbit. Perhaps tomorrow.

By the way, does anyone have any ideas why FM synth becomes chirpy sounding after AWE32 playback has been done on this card, but it's cleared up by rebooting the machine. I notice this with Commander Keen 4 and Descent in OPL mode.

Running AWEUTIL /S between the games should fix that problem.