Is 5.1 surround sound possible in Assetto Corsa?

Alex Townsend · Feb 18, 2016

Just a quick question. Do any of you have any issues getting AC to output 5.1 surround on your set up?

I'm running Windows 10 with a GTX-780 with HDMI into a Sony STR-DG710 then the Sony outputs HDMI to the TV.

I have an option for onboard optical but read that it was inferior to HDMI.

If I could get real 5.1 from this title I wouldn't care about that.

Have any of you got it working as I only have the option for stereo speakers under Windows sound settings. NVIDIA hd audio is the default sound option.
I've got 5.1 when watching Netflix or Mkvs playing...

Chris Kennedy · Feb 18, 2016

you should be able to right click the nvidia hd audio, press configure speakers, and select 5.1. if this is not an option, then perhaps your gfx card doesnt support 5.1 lpcm over hdmi.

optical would be the same in that regard as it only supports DD or DTS 5.1 or 2.0 lpcm. you can use dolby digital live or dts equivilent to encode on the fly but that is not an ideal solution.

netflix and mkvs are probably doing passthrough to your amp which ignores whatever is set in the "configure speakers" page.

Matheus Machado · Feb 18, 2016

AC doesn't support full 5.1 sound AFAIK. Also, Win 10 doesn't support compressed 5.1 sound output. I tried to make my setup work with HDMI and optical without any success. It was directly connected to my TV though.

Alex Townsend · Feb 18, 2016

Thanks for this. I always get a sort of static sound from the rear speakers in AC but sounds like 5.1 on titles such as Tomb Raider or Titanfall. I just checked support pages from Palit and they say it supports up to 7.1 over HDMI. My motherboard also accepts 5.1 with DTS connect and 7.1 with DTS UltraPC II

So... would I get some sort of 5.1 if I tried using an optical cable from the motherboard and then trying either of the DTS modes?

Alex Townsend · Feb 18, 2016

Oh just reread your post. Windows 10 not any good with compressed audio with optical... damn... Are Kunos working on this?

Matheus Machado · Feb 18, 2016

Abosolutely zero idea if kunos is developing support for 5.1.

Alex Townsend · Feb 19, 2016

Guess we can only hope... Will check the KS forums this weekend.

Chris Kennedy · Feb 19, 2016

did you check the "configure speakers" for the nvidia hdmi output is set to 5.1?

Alex Townsend · Feb 19, 2016

It won't allow me to set anything other than stereo...
I'm not at my pc at the moment to take a screenshot. But there are no other options at all.

I've read up on Windows 10 forums too and it would appear that HDMI had issues with 5.1 but now is fixed. 5.1 over optical is apparently still impossible even with dedicated soundcard.

Moxley6969 · Feb 20, 2016

AC 100% has 5.1 audio. When dealing with an HDMI External Amp, PCM mode is needed (at least on my setup)

Matheus Machado · Feb 21, 2016

Moxley6969 said:
AC 100% has 5.1 audio. When dealing with an HDMI External Amp, PCM mode is needed (at least on my setup)

It isn't 6 speakers being rendered individually. I can get 5.1 by PCM too, but it isn't true 5.1 audio, it mirrors the audio from the front speakers to the back ones basically.

Alex Townsend · Feb 21, 2016

That's the thing. It seems that windows 10 has issues with 5.1 over optical DD or DTS without a lot of messing around with the drivers and registry...
Assetto Corsa doesn't even load with the sound setting at DTS. That was my issue getting onto the F3 race last night...

Moxley6969 · Feb 21, 2016

Matheus Machado said:
It isn't 6 speakers being rendered individually. I can get 5.1 by PCM too, but it isn't true 5.1 audio, it mirrors the audio from the front speakers to the back ones basically.

No it does NOT render the front's to the rears. Im on Win8, Didn't know about ANY limitations on Win10...So if thats the case i have no clue, But i 1000% know AC has 5.1

Matheus Machado · Feb 21, 2016

I got that info from AC forums in the FAQ section:

Surround audio is still not fully implemented. It already works well for some aspects (i.e. tyre squeal displacement), but is still not tweaked and balanced for others.
We strongly suggest to play Assetto Corsa in stereo/2.1 configuration. Improvements will come at the right moment. Thanks for your patience.

I am not blaming AC for not having it, I just don't like the results of compressed 5.1 sound in any game at all. What I personally use is noise cancellation headphones, they give powerful, detailed sound and completely immersive, as I can't hear anything else if I want to.

Alex Townsend · Feb 22, 2016

That's a bummer. Guess just wait and see how high up it is on their BoW.
It's strange though. Having messed around with the sound I can get a proper directional 5.1 test on Dolby Digital yet I cannot select 5.1 speakers in windows configuration. I play a 5.1 DVD and it plays in 2.1. Games appear to do this too...
Unfortunately I can feel a reinstall of win7 coming up as people saying they still have 5.1 dolby and dts over optical...
My receiver has hdmi and states that it supports dts and dolby digital. I also get 5.1 surround on the Xbox One so I know it's not the receiver... got to be an issue with win 10

Chris Kennedy · Feb 22, 2016

what receiver is it?
when you install nvidia drivers, i assume you dont untick the high definition audio driver right? assume you tried latest drivers too?
you should be able to view supported formats in the windows sound control panel page

Matheus Machado · Feb 22, 2016

Alex Townsend said:
Dolby Digital yet I cannot select 5.1 speakers in windows configuration. I play a 5.1 DVD and it plays in 2.1. Games appear to do this too...

Compressed 5.1 is what they get. Full surround is supported via HDMI or p2 cables. Haven't fiddled around to get 5.1 on movies because I use headphones, but you can look for something on google.

Moxley6969 · Feb 22, 2016

Inside info from a VERY highly respected Fmod guy says that Fmod Project is Exported in 5.1, but some people legitimately have issues with 5.1/7.1/headphones from time to time.

Alex Townsend · Feb 23, 2016

Matheus Machado said:
Compressed 5.1 is what they get. Full surround is supported via HDMI or p2 cables. Haven't fiddled around to get 5.1 on movies because I use headphones, but you can look for something on google.

So I should be able to get 5.1 from my gtx 780 or through the onboard hdmi?
I have an Asus P8Z77-V PRO and haven't tried plugging the hdmi cable into it as figured the video card would be best to plug into the receiver to handle video and audio.

Sorry if I sound dumb but really having issues with win 10 and 5.1 and it doesn't seem as straight forward as win7

Matheus Machado · Feb 23, 2016

Yeah, it should be possible. The information I had when I did my research about is that it would play in movies and softwares that support 5.1 audio. I don't know how to do it as I never could get it to work, as I didn't spend enough time because I use mainly headphones. I know that win 7 it wa more straightforward.