M-Audio Revolution 5.1 [29/36] Revolution 5 applications

About Tab

This tab provides information about the software version of the Control Panel and driver

software. This information can be useful to customer support personnel when

troubleshooting problems with your Revolution 5.1. There is also a link right to

M-Audio’s website on this panel.

Revolution 5.1 Applications

Now that we’ve finished connecting speakers and setting levels, you’re probably

interested in getting started. This chapter should help you through some typical uses of

the Revolution 5.1.

DVD Playback

The Revolution 5.1 ships with WinDVD 5, which can be found on the Applications CD that

came with your Revolution 5.1. WinDVD 5 plays back a Dolby Digital-encoded audio

signal, sending the decoded 5.1 surround signals to the Revolution 5.1’s six line outputs.

Use the supplied WinDVD version to take full advantage of the surround sound features

of your Revolution 5.1 under the Windows operating system (Macintosh DVD player

software prior to OS X 10.3 may not support Dolby Digital playback, so check the

documentation that came with your DVD player for more information).

Installation of WinDVD 5 onto your Windows system is done by double-clicking on the

Application icon in the WinDVD folder of the included Applications CD (refer to the

Appendix B of this manual for more detailed instructions on installation).

To set up WinDVD 5 for Windows, click on the “Subpanel” button (this button looks like

an arrow pointing right) from within the WinDVD 5 application. Then choose “Audio

Mode” and click on the “Setup” button (the Setup button looks like a wrench). Now click

on the “Audio” tab, and select the desired output format (6-channel, etc.). For additional

information, again see Appendix B.

The Revolution 5.1 will work with any software DVD player. The type of audio signal that

your DVD player sends to the Revolution 5.1 depends on the setting in your DVD player

software. Generally, DVD player software provides a series of audio setup options or

preferences. The exact location of these audio option controls may vary, so check your

DVD player’s documentation for more information. These setup options enable you to

change or direct the audio output of the DVD player.

Stereo - When the Revolution 5.1 is chosen as your computer’s audio device (see the

previous chapter, “Software Setup”), this setting will send a stereo signal to the

Revolution 5.1’s outputs. You may want to turn on the Circle Surround II feature when

playing a stereo movie (see the previous section for details).

Digital Out - When you have the Revolution 5.1’s digital output connected to the digital

input of a surround sound receiver, choose this setting to send the encoded surround

signal (Dolby Digital) to the receiver. This selection is called “Use S/PDIF” in WinDVD 5.

Your surround sound receiver will then decode the Dolby Digital format.