The ATI HD2000 series cards have hdmi out with an integrated digital audio source that can act just the same as a digital audio out on a pc, but this gives you the full hdmi audio spec, also with the 7.1 analog out you could hook up to a 7.1 receiver with 7.1 analog in and do your play back that way.
The ATI HD2000 series cards (and any other current HDMI based video card) simply takes an optical/toslink passthrough from the motherboard. Since optical / toslink can only carry up to a 5.1 digital signal, these cards are not going to carry a 7.1 digital signal. As mentioned above, there is currently no way to get a 7.1 DIGITAL signal from an HTPC to a receiver. There are plenty of AVSForum members with multiple threads talking about this void in integration technology between an HTPC and a receiver. Sure, you can get a 7.1 analog signal to a receiver but if you have high-end processing capability in your receiver, it is kind of a waste.
"ATI Avivo™ HD Video & Media Technology ATI Avivo HD technology found in the ATI Radeon HD 2000 Series enables stunning big-screen entertainment with advanced hardware HD video processing (UVD*) and HDMI connectivity that includes built-in ****5.1 surround audio****. Home theater aficionados will be mesmerized by ATI Avivo™ HD technology that delivers sharp images and vibrant color fidelity from 1080p playback of Blu-ray and HD DVDs."
“An engineer explained to us that hundreds of ear impressions were gathered in the name of research, and while each one obviously boasted its own unique shape and size, one single characteristic remained uniform across the board: the entrance into the ear canal is not a perfect circle, it's an oval.â€
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The ATI HD2000 series cards have hdmi out with an integrated digital audio source that can act just the same as a digital audio out on a pc, but this gives you the full hdmi audio spec, also with the 7.1 analog out you could hook up to a 7.1 receiver with 7.1 analog in and do your play back that way.
@Beau
The ATI HD2000 series cards (and any other current HDMI based video card) simply takes an optical/toslink passthrough from the motherboard. Since optical / toslink can only carry up to a 5.1 digital signal, these cards are not going to carry a 7.1 digital signal. As mentioned above, there is currently no way to get a 7.1 DIGITAL signal from an HTPC to a receiver. There are plenty of AVSForum members with multiple threads talking about this void in integration technology between an HTPC and a receiver. Sure, you can get a 7.1 analog signal to a receiver but if you have high-end processing capability in your receiver, it is kind of a waste.
"ATI Avivo™ HD Video & Media Technology
ATI Avivo HD technology found in the ATI Radeon HD 2000 Series enables stunning big-screen entertainment with advanced hardware HD video processing (UVD*) and HDMI connectivity that includes built-in ****5.1 surround audio****. Home theater aficionados will be mesmerized by ATI Avivo™ HD technology that delivers sharp images and vibrant color fidelity from 1080p playback of Blu-ray and HD DVDs."