Capture ac3

[matrix]

I intend to capture ac3 audio from a satellite.
I recently red some posts about ac3 capturing, and how to do it, (I know about the KX drivers, and staff like that) but I want to ask something.
Right now I only have a sound blaster live card, but I'm thinking of buying an Audigy2 one. The problem is, my satellite receiver only has optical out, (and the normal stereo)
So I need to ask, do I have to buy a card that has optical in like Audigy2 platinum?, or could I do it somehow with a regular Audigy2 and some kind of an adapter or something?
Does anybody know?
I appreciate any help on this.

[mic]

If by ac3 capture you mean the actual ac3 file, then to my knowledge there are only a couple of cards on the market that will allow it, & they start around the $80 US mark I think. The trick is they have to accept the signal & NOT pass it through the dac portion of the card -- at least that's my understanding. I have read posts of people being able to do it with a Soundblaster card, but I've never been successful with my Audigy 2, & that's including with the kx drivers. One of the less expensive alternatives was the Catalina, see their faq here, where it talks about bit perfect transfer: http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/kb_ftp/5866014.asp

Search the posts here for directions on what to do with the recorded file if you're successful -- it will not be an in-spec ac3.

As far as the optical vs coax spdif, If your sat box with the optical out is not close to the optical in for your PC, IMHO it would work out about the same $ if you bought or made an optical to coax spdif convertor, versus longer optical cable & maybe an amp for the signal.

RE: Soundblasters... The audigy line, & I believe your Live, have a row of auxillary connectors where the front panel or breakout box is connected -- this is absent on some OEM & Value cards. If you have the necessary connectors on the card, you can run 2 wires from spdif coax to the spdif in on the card. Without the extra connectors, the digital CD in might still work. There are a few adapters available to give the live and audigy lines extra input/output options -- search Hoontech.

That all said, if you're going to be spending ~$200 - $300, check out the M-Audio line and some of the more music oriented cards for recording -- some will do bit-perfect transfer over spdif, & you can sometimes pick up a deal at musiciansfriend.com

[matrix]

Thanks for the quick reply.
I was reading this (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&postid=338286#post338286) post, about how to capture the actual ac3 file to the computer, where they said that you can do it with the audigy card and the kx drivers. I guess you've read that too, but couldn't make it work.
I thought I can just buy the card, download those drivers, and record the file.
I don't want to spend $300 (the audigy2 platinum is allmost $300 here in Canada), while the audigy2 is less than half. So I was thinking with it and some kind of an adaptor, I can do it.
But if it comes to wiring and stuff like that, I'm totaly lost. I mean I need to see things.
Thanks again for your help, I'll keep searching the net, mabe I'll find a solution.

[mic]

But if it comes to wiring and stuff like that, I'm totaly lost. I mean I need to see things.

Hopefully you'll find something that will work great for you. You might also look into capturing or recording via firewire if your sat box includes pvr.

If it helps as an alternative, you might look at some of the external Soundblaster products, &/or other brands for that matter. If you'd like a plug in solution, an USB box might be ideal for simplicity.

While I'm sure I'll miss some points here...
Pros: Most include coax & optical spdif, & can be set where convenient. Can probably pick one up at a local store & probably return if it doesn't work as you wish.

Cons: Not as good (particularly for gaming) as an internal card for the same cost.

Either way, what I've found personally is that using spdif input results in a cleaner, quieter recording, BUT, if you're not going through your capture device, the chances of sync problems increase.

You can record audio as before IF your sat box outputs decoded ac3 via spdif. If you can decode the ac3 with your sound card or box, the recording is better yet as you eliminate a lot of electrical type noise getting mixed with the signal.

How much of an improvement? Please bear in mind that these are my results.
http://forum.doom9.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=&stc=1
silence.png

http://forum.doom9.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=&stc=1
decoded ac3 silence.png
Best Luck