Sivodsi Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Hi Guys, I have a question for those of you with a 5.1 system: what use does CMSF make of the centre speaker channel? The best way to test would be to play a move with the centre speaker plugged in, then replay the move with it plugged out and see if there is a difference. By way of an explanation for this strange request, my hodge-podge stereo system gives me 5 speakers plus a sub, but no centre channel. A big thanks to anyone who can answer this question NB: that would be 'center' for you American English bods. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delta228 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 As I have a 5.1, and am about to play CMSF, I will test it out for you. EDIT: apparently my center speaker is dead...>.< Sorry. Can't really help you atm 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivodsi Posted June 12, 2009 Author Share Posted June 12, 2009 As I have a 5.1, and am about to play CMSF, I will test it out for you. EDIT: apparently my center speaker is dead...>.< Sorry. Can't really help you atm Oh well, thanks for trying! At least you learned something through your effort to help me... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lethaface Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Sivodsi, After your question about this in the 24" screen thread I tested it, the center speaker doesn't give me any sound in CMSF either. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivodsi Posted June 13, 2009 Author Share Posted June 13, 2009 Sivodsi, After your question about this in the 24" screen thread I tested it, the center speaker doesn't give me any sound in CMSF either. Actually just heard from one of my PBEM opponents that he does get sound from his central speaker - echoes effects from distant explosion sounds are what he reports. If we're lucky he'll chime in and let us know how he did it ( to Paul). If the central speaker is just limited to this, I'm not missing out on too much. If its used for voices and initial sound contacts then I'd be concerned. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankster65 Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Interesting thread. Sometimes I get sound in center speaker playing CMSF and sometimes I don't. Never understood why that was. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivodsi Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 Interesting thread. Sometimes I get sound in center speaker playing CMSF and sometimes I don't. Never understood why that was. No relationship to the size of the scenario, perchance? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankster65 Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 No relationship to the size of the scenario, perchance? Don't really know. But this thread has caused me to be more observant with the sound and see if this may actually be the case. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scipio Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 From the technical side: CMSF uses WAV file format which is only capable of mono and stereo sound, so CMSF don't have native support for 5.1 speakers. Maybe the soundcard drivers/chip tries to mix up the stereo sound to 'simulate' 5.1 sound, what could explain why some people seem to hear something on the center speaker, while others don't. At least that's what I guess, I'm no pro in sounddesign/hardware. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkjsmith Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 hi i run a dell 5.1 speaker system on a soundmax onboard sound card on vista ultimate . i have just run a test in CMSF RT calling in air strikes and when i start game the sound is louder on center speaker, then looses some volume on the center speaker but still plays all sounds on on all speakers, in 5.1 sound. as for airstrike messages it comes out of one speaker depending on my position relitive to the spotter. I did have a problem getting 5.1 to work but now it works great. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handihoc Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I've got 5.1. I get sounds from all speakers, but as to what comes from which speaker it's largely due to where the camera is situated in game, and which direction it's facing. Hugely atmospheric, though sometimes aircraft flight sounds come from a different or even opposite direction to that of their weapons visual flight trajectory. To be honest, though, I've not specifically listened to what comes out of the central speaker. I'll pay more attention next time I play - and report back if anything interesting. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivodsi Posted June 18, 2009 Author Share Posted June 18, 2009 thanks - I appreciate it 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handihoc Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Been checking it out again and basically the majority of sounds seem to be distributed fairly evenly across all speakers, including centre. As I said above, it mostly depends upon your camera position and facing - although I've noticed that most air support calls and comms come from the rear speakers, which is quite effective. Scipio says the game is optimised for stereo only, so it is down to the soundcard to compensate for 5.1. Mine does a damn good job overall. It's a Creative X-fi external, with various audio consoles to fiddle around with and enhance sounds. My biggest beef with Creative, though, is that their soundcards give the impression of being built to burn out soon after the warranty expires. I've just had to buy my third in less than five years. My old audio stereo system, by contrast, has an amp and speakers that are more than 25 years old and still work perfectly. Just a bit bulky by today's standards! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivodsi Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 Thanks for the feedback, Handihoc and Scipo, its good to know I'm not missing out on too much. Hmmm, I have the creative Live external soundblaster, its been steady so far, but if I want true 5.1 it seems I have to tow the line and buy their speakers. That's a pain, because I'd rather get something like the logitech Z5500 than the Inspire T6100. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivodsi Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 Ah, just found out the logitech does have spdif in, so yeah, I'll have to sell my old ones and splurge on the z5500. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.