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    s/pdif output on laptops

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by jeffreybaks, Nov 28, 2010.

  1. jeffreybaks

    jeffreybaks Notebook Deity

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    What sorta things does everyone use with s/pdif on there laptops? Iv seen that you can hook up speaker systems with it, what else can you use it in conjunction with?
     
    jeffreybaks, Nov 28, 2010
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  2. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    S/PDIF is digital audio out... thats about it... so a receiver?
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Nov 28, 2010
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  3. jeffreybaks

    jeffreybaks Notebook Deity

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    lol I was figuring some other audio equipment or something.
     
    jeffreybaks, Nov 28, 2010
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  4. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    LOL. Well mine is hooked via Toslink to a Sony 7.1Ch receiver in the living room. :) S/PDIF does sound much better than the analog audio out though!
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Nov 28, 2010
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  5. KimoT

    KimoT Are we not men?

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    Some TVs, and most home theater receivers. As well as a few speaker sets.
     
    KimoT, Nov 28, 2010
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  6. Teraforce

    Teraforce Flying through life

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    My dad used to have a Gateway Solo 600 laptop that actually had an s/pdif (toslink) port built-in. It's a very old model though (15.7" 4:3 screen, Pentium 4m, c. 2002), and I've never seen any other laptop with such a port on it.
     
    Teraforce, Nov 28, 2010
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  7. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    Actually a lot of notebooks have it, it's just people don't know it. Like for instance my Acer 3680. It has optical out through the headphone jack. You just have to buy an optical cable that has toslink on one end and 3.5mm jack on the other. :)
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Nov 28, 2010
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  8. KimoT

    KimoT Are we not men?

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    My Alienware m3200 had the same setup...shared port for headphone and spdif.
     
    KimoT, Nov 29, 2010
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  9. dune10191

    dune10191 Notebook Evangelist

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    Actually I'm quite sure the G51vx-A1 has the same thing.
     
    dune10191, Nov 29, 2010
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  10. KimoT

    KimoT Are we not men?

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    Probably. I usually use the HDMI for audio, so I haven't checked.

    [edit] Yep, there it is in the specs. Good to know.
     
    KimoT, Nov 29, 2010
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  11. Teraforce

    Teraforce Flying through life

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    Huh, I never knew that. I'm pretty sure my old Compaq nw8440 doesn't. Then again, it is a business-oriented notebook, so I'm not surprised.
     
    Teraforce, Nov 29, 2010
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  12. lead_org

    lead_org Purveyor of Truth

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    SoundBlaster_Live_24_Bit_External_Sound_Card

    [​IMG]

    this usb sound card gives you s/pdif output, you can get one on ebay for around 30 USD (second hand).
     
    lead_org, Nov 29, 2010
    #12