Hi Experts,

I recently purchased an ATI AIW 9600 Pro card, and am using it in a
new Gigabyte motherboard. I first connected the audio output to the
sound card embedded onto the motherboard. This worked OK for sound
from the system or CD. The sound quality was a little distorted when
I played back video/sound captured through the ATI card. I did a
System Compatibility Test with the ATI Mulitmedia Software, Ver 8.8
and it said that the sound card clock stability was greater than 0.2%.
It suggested getting a better sound card.

What I don't understand is that if the ATI already has an audio line
out, why do I need to have another sound card. Why can't I just use
my ATI line out for sound for everything? Is there a driver out there
that will allow me to do this?

I turned off the sound card on the motherboard through the BIOS,
hoping that the system would start using the ATI sound. This didn't
work, I did not get any sound out after this.

Any suggestions would be really appreciated. I'd rather not have to
go out and fork over the cash for a sound card now.

Thanks in advance

Roger Zimmerman

Unfortunatly there's a little more to making a sound card than just having a
"line-Out". I would guess that the sound to go along with the video on your
AIW9600 is created using hardware decoders, in which case there is no
facility to introduce software sound into its mix. Hence, no, there are
drivers you can get to make the "line-out" on your AIW9600pro act like as a
sound card.

CrimsonLiar

"Roger Zimmerman" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi Experts,
>
> I recently purchased an ATI AIW 9600 Pro card, and am using it in a
> new Gigabyte motherboard. I first connected the audio output to the
> sound card embedded onto the motherboard. This worked OK for sound
> from the system or CD. The sound quality was a little distorted when
> I played back video/sound captured through the ATI card. I did a
> System Compatibility Test with the ATI Mulitmedia Software, Ver 8.8
> and it said that the sound card clock stability was greater than 0.2%.
> It suggested getting a better sound card.
>
> What I don't understand is that if the ATI already has an audio line
> out, why do I need to have another sound card. Why can't I just use
> my ATI line out for sound for everything? Is there a driver out there
> that will allow me to do this?
>
> I turned off the sound card on the motherboard through the BIOS,
> hoping that the system would start using the ATI sound. This didn't
> work, I did not get any sound out after this.
>
> Any suggestions would be really appreciated. I'd rather not have to
> go out and fork over the cash for a sound card now.
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Roger Zimmerman

I wouldn't put to much importance on the result of that sound chip clock
stability test. I've had my machine pass on one occasion and then fail on
another (with no component or driver changes in between) and the sound out
of my All In Wonder Radeon has been OK all the time. What sound chip does
the Gigabyte motherboard use? There are *known issues with certain C-Media
chips* (fixed in the latest versions I believe) and MMC but these don't
occur with live TV - only recorded or time delay TV - hows the live TV/FM
Radio sound quality? Are all the mixer volume sliders at moderate levels?

The reason why you need the soundcard/chip is because the AIWs sound output
isn't amplified enough for driving normal speakers and the sound output from
the card is just a direct feed from the tuners/audio source - it has nothing
to do with recording to or playing back from, the HDD. It's a bit like
saying why can't a radio card or speakerphone/voice modem be used as a
general system sound card.

If you're unsure of the audio chipset, do you have the motherboard model and
revision? What does Windows Device manager or DirectX list under the
relevant sections for audio devices? Best to try all other options before
looking at disabling onboard sound and fitting a sound card.

Paul
"Roger Zimmerman" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi Experts,
>
> I recently purchased an ATI AIW 9600 Pro card, and am using it in a
> new Gigabyte motherboard. I first connected the audio output to the
> sound card embedded onto the motherboard. This worked OK for sound
> from the system or CD. The sound quality was a little distorted when
> I played back video/sound captured through the ATI card. I did a
> System Compatibility Test with the ATI Mulitmedia Software, Ver 8.8
> and it said that the sound card clock stability was greater than 0.2%.
> It suggested getting a better sound card.
>
> What I don't understand is that if the ATI already has an audio line
> out, why do I need to have another sound card. Why can't I just use
> my ATI line out for sound for everything? Is there a driver out there
> that will allow me to do this?
>
> I turned off the sound card on the motherboard through the BIOS,
> hoping that the system would start using the ATI sound. This didn't
> work, I did not get any sound out after this.
>
> Any suggestions would be really appreciated. I'd rather not have to
> go out and fork over the cash for a sound card now.
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Roger Zimmerman

What I don't understand is that if the ATI already has an audio line
> out, why do I need to have another sound card. Why can't I just use
> my ATI line out for sound for everything? Is there a driver out
there
> that will allow me to do this?


You ARE using the ATI line out ALL sound.....related to the ATI.
Sound card is needed to amplify.
'Line in' from a 'line out' source is just that - input/output at
'line' volume...as if you were running a turntable (well close
anyway) with only the RCA outputs, you need to amplify it in a
different way (more power,simply) in this case.


The sound quality was a little distorted when
> I played back video/sound captured through the ATI card.

I first connected the audio output to the
> sound card embedded onto the motherboard.

Through what jack/input? do you even have an option? 'Mic in' or
'line in' or just an 'input'?
Sometimes line volumes are set High, its really up to the equipment's
max output / min input and the engineers discretion, and now I could
babble on about the intricacies of it, but that's the gist of it.

"Roger Zimmerman" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi Experts,
>
> I recently purchased an ATI AIW 9600 Pro card, and am using it in a
> new Gigabyte motherboard. This worked OK for sound
> from the system or CD. The sound quality was a little distorted
when
> I played back video/sound captured through the ATI card. I did a
> System Compatibility Test with the ATI Mulitmedia Software, Ver 8.8
> and it said that the sound card clock stability was greater than
0.2%.
> It suggested getting a better sound card.
>
> What I don't understand is that if the ATI already has an audio line
> out, why do I need to have another sound card. Why can't I just use
> my ATI line out for sound for everything? Is there a driver out
there
> that will allow me to do this?
>
> I turned off the sound card on the motherboard through the BIOS,
> hoping that the system would start using the ATI sound. This didn't
> work, I did not get any sound out after this.
>
> Any suggestions would be really appreciated. I'd rather not have to
> go out and fork over the cash for a sound card now.
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Roger Zimmerman

Paul,

It turns out the mixer level was set to high. I turned it down to mid
level and the 0.2% distortion problem went away.

The next thing I am trying to troubleshoot is a DMA issue. When I run
the ATI TV, it gives a warning that the DMA is not enabled on my sound
card and performance will be degraded. I checked in control panel (I
forget exactly where now) and it said the sound card is working with
Ultra DMA level 6.

Any suggestions as to why ATI gives the DMA warning?

Thanks

Roger Zimmerman

Sounds like there's some mix up there, its normally hard disk drives which
run under Ultra DMA 6. Have you had a read of this:
http://www.ati.com/support/compatibility/pccheck.html information about ATIs
PC Check utility? It refers to how you can ensure DMA is enabled for your
drives. If you're still stuck, if you can give the exact warning and
(precisely) where its found/what you did to get the warning, this will aid
any further troubleshooting.

Paul
"Roger Zimmerman" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Paul,
>
> It turns out the mixer level was set to high. I turned it down to mid
> level and the 0.2% distortion problem went away.
>
> The next thing I am trying to troubleshoot is a DMA issue. When I run
> the ATI TV, it gives a warning that the DMA is not enabled on my sound
> card and performance will be degraded. I checked in control panel (I
> forget exactly where now) and it said the sound card is working with
> Ultra DMA level 6.
>
> Any suggestions as to why ATI gives the DMA warning?
>
> Thanks
>
> Roger Zimmerman

Paul;

You are correct it was DMA for the HDD not the sound card.
Here are the details:

1. I run the TV feature of my ATI multimedia launch center 8.8. I get
Warning: DMA Not Enabled
Personal Video Recorder and TV on Demand
Performance will be degraded on this system as DMA for
the hard dis is not enabled.

Please check the System Setting in the Windows
Control Panel for the following devices:

Maxtor 6Y120P0

2. I check the contol panel//Device Manager/IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers
The only controller is:
NVIDA NForce 2(tm) SPP/IGP ATA Controller
Under "Primary Channel" I get:
Master:
Current Transfer Mode
Ultra DMA 6 - Ultra 133
enable write cache [followed by a box with a check mark in it]

Slave
Current Transfer MOde
No Device

Under "Secondary Channel" I get:
Master
Current Transfer Mode
Ultra DMA 2 - Ultra33
Enable Write Cache [greyed out box, no check mark]

Slave
No device

The primary channel is the HDD, secondary is the DVD.

Any ideas on why I get the warning and how to correct this?

Thanks,

Roger Zimmerman

In terms of an answer for "Any ideas on why I get the warning and how to
correct this?" my thoughts would be along the lines of ensuring the latest
motherboard chipset drivers are correctly installed. What does ATIs PC Check
say about things (the last tab in the PC Configuration program under the ATI
Multimedia Centre start menu icons)? Additionally, do you get the DMA
warning under ATI DVD Player?

Paul

On 8 May 2004 20:19:33 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) (Roger
Zimmerman) wrote:

>Paul;
>
>You are correct it was DMA for the HDD not the sound card.
>Here are the details:
>
>1. I run the TV feature of my ATI multimedia launch center 8.8. I get
>Warning: DMA Not Enabled
>Personal Video Recorder and TV on Demand
>Performance will be degraded on this system as DMA for
>the hard dis is not enabled.
>
>Please check the System Setting in the Windows
>Control Panel for the following devices:
>
>Maxtor 6Y120P0
>
>2. I check the contol panel//Device Manager/IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers
>The only controller is:
>NVIDA NForce 2(tm) SPP/IGP ATA Controller
>Under "Primary Channel" I get:
>Master:
>Current Transfer Mode
>Ultra DMA 6 - Ultra 133
>enable write cache [followed by a box with a check mark in it]
>
>Slave
>Current Transfer MOde
>No Device
>
>Under "Secondary Channel" I get:
>Master
>Current Transfer Mode
>Ultra DMA 2 - Ultra33
>Enable Write Cache [greyed out box, no check mark]
>
>Slave
>No device
>
>The primary channel is the HDD, secondary is the DVD.
>
>Any ideas on why I get the warning and how to correct this?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Roger Zimmerman


Don't worry about it, Roger. The Ati configuration app is notorious
for misleading and incorrect diagnoses, and the fact that it can't
read a number of IDE drivers' information is one of them. If your
system information says DMA is enabled and the Ati app says it may not
be, you're fine.

I've had any number of different MMCs running on several different
systems, all with DMA enabled at whatever speed and working perfectly,
and not once has the configuration app ever managed to detect this.
Other disinformation from it includes faster AMD CPUs and even, I
understand, P4s "not having MMX enabled" and capture drivers not being
installed when they are and capture is fully functional. You would
have thought Ati would be able to read the correct installation of
their own drivers!


patrickp

(E-Mail Removed) - take five to email me

Patrick,

Thanks for the suggestions.

Could you assist with one other issue? I solved the 0.2% distortion
issue by reducing the mixer level. I am not fully happy with the
sound quality when I record from a Camcorder output. I have not tried
anything else yet (via the ATI card input).

I was told there could an IRQ conflict. I checked IRQs through:
accessories/system tools/system information/hardware
resources/conflicts/sharing. I found that the Standard OpenHCD USB
Host Controller and NVIDIA(R)nForce(TM) Audio Codec Interface both use
IRQ 20. I tried unistalling them and letting them auto install on
boot up and they both picked IRQ20 again. I can't find anyway to
change the IRQs that they each use in the device manager.

I suspect that my machine is fast enough (2.5GHz, 512MB RAM) that it
allows them to share IRQs. However when it comes to ATI audio
codecs/compression and recordng audio, I am suspicious that sharing
the interrupts with USB may screw up the sound quality with occasional
lost data.

Do you think this IRQ conflict could screw up sound quality? If so,
any tips on how to resolve the IRQ conflict?

Thanks,

Roger Zimmerman