Q:  If I am playing a game with EAX surround, can the Montego DDL encode that 
    EAX signal to a dolby digital to be sent out to a home audio receiver via
    the Digital Optical S/PDIF connector?

A:  The Montego DDL is compatible with EAX 1 and EAX 2. Anything higher is
    proprietary to Creative sound cards only. Whatever sound is passed from 
    the game API to the sound card can be output, digitally, through the 
    S/PDIF output of the sound card. There are usually options within the 
    game that you can set the various audio options available to you.

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Q:  Also, can it encode regular music to Dolby Digital to be sent out the 
    same way?

A:  The Montego DDL can encode music on your computer and output it as a 
    Dolby Digital 5.1 audio stream which would then be decoded at the A/V 
    receiver's end.

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Q:  Can the card output a strictly Dolby Digital signal, or will it be Dolby
    Digital DTS?

A:  The card will pass through either Dolby or DTS. If you use the encoding
    feature on the sound card the output will be Dolby.

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Q:  Can the "Montego" have optical in source such as an external DVD player 
    and play the 5.1 channels through the surround computer speakers (5.1)?
    I ask this because I am going to install a computer system into my car 
    which has a DVD player with a optical out, then to the input of the 
    soundcard optical in. Then via the speaker outputs of the "Montego DDL"
    to external amplifiers. Can this be accomplished with that sound card? 

A:  Please do not confuse ENcoding with DEcoding. What you wish to do is 
    not possible. At least not in 5.1. Montego's Dolby(R) Digital Live (DDL) 
    real-time ENcoder converts PC audio into a 5.1 channel Dolby(R) Digital 
    stream. There are no Dolby DEcoders on this card. DDL does not work 
    *from* external sources. You might get 2 channel audio (if anything). 

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DirectSound and 5.1:
Q:  Is the application running DirectSound over a 5.1 channels and will the
    Dolby Digital Live take each channel individually and encode them in the
    AC3 stream (as if it was a 6channel direct analog connection) or will it
    remix the source as a Stereo with a PrologicII effect?

A:  The sound card is using Direct Sound over the 5.1 channel output. The 
    Dolby Digital Live will take each channel and encode them individually
    to the AC3 stream.

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4 different songs from 4 speakers?
Q:  I would like to hook up four speakers to Catalina Sound Card, so that all
    four speakers can be controlled by separate drivers. If the card is 
    configured correctly, I should be able to hear four different songs from
    four speakers. That is to say that every speaker can play separate songs
    simultaneously.

A:  This is a 7.1 capable sound card. This means that you can play an audio
    signal through various speaker setups up to and including a 7.1 set up.
    It does not mean that you can hear 4 different songs from 4 speakers.

    For your particular purposes you really want to look into a high end multi
    output audio interface and software package that utilizes ASIO drivers so
    that you can address each port separately.

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Incoming Signal > Routed out 1: 
Q:  Will the S/PDIF input "pass through" to the multi-output channels?  
    I am attempting to use a sound card as the decoder in my home theater 
    system.  I have separate amplifiers for each channel and need a way to
    decode Dolby Digital and DTS from DVDs (internal computer drive) and send
    the signals to the respective channel amplifiers.  I assume your card does
    this, but will it also accept a S/PDIF signal from a satellite receiver 
    and translate it into the individual output channels?  In other words, 
    I will have eight amplifiers connected to the card (one per channel in 
    7.1 format) and I need the card to send an audio signal from my satellite
    unit to the speakers (most likely S/PDIF).

A:  The Montego DDL cannot do any of this. It has a  real-time encoder that
    converts PC audio into a 5.1 channel Dolby(R) Digital stream. This means
    that the signal MUST BE IN THE COMPUTER no externally. It cannot decode 
    an incoming signal from a different source nor can it send an analog
    signal to the digital out. 

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Incoming Signal > Routed out 2: 
Q:  Actually, it wouldn't have to decode the signal.  It simply has to take 
    the incoming sound and send it out to the 5.1 (or 7.1) channels. The 
    input could be S/PDIF or simple stereo RCA jacks, if need be. I just want
    to be able to watch television and hear the sound through the same
    speakers the computer uses.  The audio signal is just stereo.  Will it do
    that?

A:  I will not do that as the signal is NOT inside the computer.
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