NP8278-S Digital Audio out issue

Hello guys. I am sorry if this has been asked before but I wasn't able to find anything for my laptop specifically. Here is what I want to do.
I want 5.1 Surround out of my lap top when I have it hooked up to my screen and stuff at my desk at home. I have a receiver that regrettably does not accept HDMI connections only analog and optical inputs. I have it hooked into a 32" Samsung Smart tv and have been just running the HDMI out from the laptop to the TV and using the optical out from the TV to that amp. The TV is capable of receiving and transmiting 5.1 surround but unfotiantly I could not get my laptop to send 5.1 through HDMI.

So my next step was to just hook my laptop directly into the amp using the S/PDIF 3.5mm optical out jack on the side and I get sound but it still only puts out 2 channels. The really irritating part is I can go to the properties of the Realteck Digital Output and go to the supported formats and click DTS audio and even Dolby Digital and click test and it will play through all 6 channels independently flawlessly. But after that I only get 2 channels. Also in the Sound Blaster X-Fi 3 mb control panel I only get options for headphones no 5.1 or anything . not even normal stereo.

You guys have been very helpful in the past even the ones that got me to choose this laptop and brand all together. So please someone solve this frustrating issue for me please

 

Have you looked into the menu options on the receiver? Some will have you define what to take the incoming signal as despite it being 5.1 or whatever. Next thing to check would be the audio driver and see if there is an update or possibly a rollback that ends up working for you. Another thing to try if both those fail is to maybe find somebody with a different receiver that has hooked a laptop like this up to it before and got 5.1. Try plugging yours into theirs and see if it works. Would help you to narrow down if it's a problem with the receiver or the output. I know mine randomly will decide what it wants to do one day and the next decide something else.

 

Thanks for the reply Derek. My receiver only plays what it takes in when its on optical. Ive used this receiver for years and the computer that i replaced with this laptop was hooked into it with an optical cable and it worked just fine. When I had the optical cable hooked into my Smart TV and had netflix on for example the receiver would switch to 5.1 surround and work perfectly. But when hooked into my computer, it is only getting 2 channels from my computer. The computer says its only giving two channels. Like I said before the irritating part is I can go into the sound options and test DTS or Dolby Digital and it plays through each speaker independently perfectly then the amp switches back to 2 channels because the computer refuses to give it anything else unless Im running that test on DTS or Dolby Digital.

 

So does this mean you've tried the other suggestion of looking for an update to audio drivers or try rolling back to a previous version to see if there is a difference?

 

I guess I forgot to mention that. Yes I have tried every driver from the last few years and even a few modded ones.

 

Don't know what might be the case then. Perhaps check the sound output settings within the application you're trying to push the audio through. They'll sometimes have you manually select sound output based on the output device used.

 

You may have already tried this, so if I missed it in your OP, I apologize: Have you checked the [speaker] configuration in Windows' Playback devices and/or the Realtek software? There are options there for stereo, quadraphonic, and 5.1 surround. Those may not apply here, but I haven't tested those options with an optical cable connected.

 

Yep. Even my HDMI out can be finicky on my no5160. Occasionally I have to manually select what kind of output. Irritating, but I've used it a lot less lately. Audyssey DSX matricizes real well so don't notice difference sometimes in heavy dialog movies.

 

I wish it was just that simple. The HDMI would be my preferred choice but when it is hooked up by HDMI it only outputs 2 channels. Stereo is the only option given by the options in the sound manager. If i recall correctly and from what I have seen the HDMI is controlled by the video card anyhow and the settings on the realtek have no bearing on it. When it is hooked up via S/PDIF (Digital Optical Out) it gives no option to change the speaker configuration at all. My video card is the 880 m by nvidia and when its not on the Intell HD graphics take place. I think the sound through the HDMI is always controlled by the intel HD graphics and that is why it only get 2 channels. Its a piece of crap. Im starting to regret I bought this laptop from Xotic PC.. Mainly because I have had a slew of minor issues and inconveniences with it since day one that would be much easier to fix with the Alienware option simply because a bigillion people own one and have been through the issues and I can find solutions real easy online.

 

Wasn't aware you bought the machine through us. Have you tried to make use of our 24 hour support line? Stuff like this is exactly why we have that.