On the Output Quality tab you can set your speaker environment, output mode, and the dynamic range compression used on the audio.

Speaker environment

Depending on your sound card and/or number of speakers, select the speaker environment that matches how you are listening to content in CyberLink PowerDVD:

•Headphone is mainly for notebook users who listen to their audio output on headphones.

•2 Speaker is the selection for most users playing discs on their desktop/laptop who only have 2 speakers or a sound card that only outputs two channels.

•The 4 Speaker selection is for computers equipped with sound cards that support 4-ch output.

•The 6 Speaker selection (a.k.a. 5.1 channel) is for computers equipped with sound cards that support 6-ch output and is optimal for DVD Video titles that feature multichannels encoding such as Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1.

•The 8 Speaker (a.k.a. 7.1 channel) option is available for users who have multiple speakers and wish to output audio to each of them.

•The UseS/PDIF option is an advanced technological Digital InterFace, as opposed to transferring signals via conventional analog interfaces, designed by the Sony and Philips corporations. To enjoy true 6 speaker output quality, you must have an external Dolby Digital or DTS decoder along with a S/PDIF-compliant sound card to make this selection available.

•The HDMI output selection is for users who have their audio connected with an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) connector.

Output mode

This option lets you select the special processing that is used on the audio signal. Experiment with the available settings to decide which you prefer.

Headphone Output Options

The following output options are available when the speaker environment is headphone. The option you should select depends on your personal preference and setup.

•The major difference between Dolby Surround* Compatible Downmix and Stereo is that Dolby Surround uses the Dolby Surround downmixing algorithm and the possibility exists of connecting an analogue Pro Logic decoder to the sound card so as to enable 4-ch surround sound (left, right, center, surround) for Dolby Surround. Otherwise, both are relatively similar in 2-channel output.

•Dolby Headphone* is a post-processing effect designed to create a virtual surround sound experience particularly for a headphone environment, but is suitable also for both notebook and desktop environments. Select one of the following options depending on your individual listening environment.

•Dolby Headphone: Small room model: this option simulates a small, well-damped private room appropriate for both movies and music-only recordings. It is equivalent to the Dolby Headphone Reference Room and is provided on all Dolby Headphone equipped products.

•Dolby Headphone: Conference room model: this option simulates a more acoustic live room particularly suited for music listening (e.g. intimate jazz clubs).

•Dolby Headphone: Movie theater model: this option simulates larger venues like a concert hall or movie theater.

•The TrueTheater Surround* option uses technology developed by CyberLink to improve the quality of audio output from a notebook over headphones. The Advanced options simulate the very different experiences of listening to sound in a living room, a small theater or a large stadium. Select one of the following options depending on your individual listening environment.

•Living Room: this option simulates a small, well-damped private room appropriate for both movies and music-only recordings.

•Theater: this option simulates an intimate live concert environment, particularly suited for music listening.

•Stadium: this option simulates a larger concert venue.

2 Speaker Output Options

The following output options are available when you select 2 speaker. The option you should select depends on your personal preference and setup.

•The major difference between Dolby Surround* Compatible Downmix and Stereo is that Dolby Surround uses the Dolby Surround downmixing algorithm and the possibility exists of connecting an analogue Pro Logic decoder to the sound card so as to enable 4-ch surround sound (left, right, center, surround) for Dolby Surround. Otherwise, both are relatively similar in 2-channel output.

•TheDolby Virtual Speaker* option allows you to experience virtual surround sound through 2 speakers. Select one of the following options depending on your individual listening environment.

•Reference: this mode creates a convincingly realistic five-speaker surround sound from two speakers with the apparent width of the sound across the front image defined by the distance between the two speakers.

•Wide 1: this mode provides a wider, more spacious front image when the two speakers are close together.

•Wide 2: this mode is similar to Wide 1, but further emphasizes the surround speakers.

•TrueTheater Surround*: is a virtual surround technology developed by CyberLink. Select one of the following options depending on your individual listening environment.

•Living Room: this option simulates a small, well-damped private room appropriate for both movies and music-only recordings.

•Theater: this option simulates an intimate live concert environment, particularly suited for music listening.

•Stadium: this option simulates a larger concert venue.

4/6/8 Speaker Output Options

The following output options are available when you select 4, 6, or 8 speaker. The option you should select depends on your personal preference and setup.

•Dolby Pro Logic IIx*: has three options. Select one of the following options depending on your individual listening environment.

•Movie mode: select this option for watching movies.

•Music listening: select this option for listening to music.

•DDEX mode: select this option for enhanced surround sound.

•TrueTheater Surround*: is an audio channel expansion technology developed by CyberLink that converts a stereo audio sound and outputs to multiple channels (converts a 2 channel source to 4, 6, 7, or 8 speakers or a 6 channel source to 7 or 8 speakers). Select one of the following options depending on your individual listening environment.

•Movie playback: this mode is suitable for movies, especially those with dynamic audio position shifting.

•Music mode - standard: this mode simulates a concert from inside the audience.

•Music mode - onstage: this mode simulates a concert from onstage.

Use S/PDIF Output Modes

The following output modes are available during the playback of Blu-ray Disc titles when Use S/PDIF is selected as the speaker environment. The mode that you should select depends on the external decoder (AV Receiver) connected to your computer.

•Only primary audio: this mode only outputs the audio from the primary video (e.g. no sound will be available for Picture-in-Picture, secondary video streams or director commentaries). The compressed audio format is passed-through to the external decoder unit (AV Receiver).

•Dolby Digital* mixing: this mode outputs both primary video sound and secondary video sound simultaneously by mixing both audio and encodes into a Dolby Digital bitstream. Select this option if your external decoder unit (AV Receiver) supports Dolby Digital.

•DTS* mixing: this mode outputs both primary video sound and secondary video sound simultaneously by mixing both audio and encodes into a DTS bitstream. Select this option if your external decoder unit (AV Receiver) supports DTS.

HDMI Output Modes

The following output modes are available when an external decoder (AV Receiver) is connected with an HDMI connector under Windows 8, 7 or Vista. The mode that you should select depends on the external decoder (AV Receiver) connected to your computer.

•PCM decoded by PowerDVD: this mode creates a digital representation of an analog signal. Select this option if your external decoder (AV receiver) does not support Dolby Digital or DTS to produce a digital sounding output for your audio.

•Non-decoded Dolby Digital/DTS audio to external device: this mode passes compressed audio through to your external decoder (AV receiver). Select this option if your amplifier/receiver supports Dolby Digital or DTS to enable either during playback, when available.

•Non-decoded high-definition audio to external device (HDMI 1.3 and above): this mode passes lossless audio through to your external decoder (AV receiver). Select this option if your amplifier/receiver supports high definition audio to enable either during playback, when available.

Dynamic range compression

This section only applies to disc titles with Dolby Digital technology.

•select the first option if you are watching in a quiet environment. All audible sound, from low frequency to high frequency audio effects, are highly distinctive and fall into the full dynamic range of Dolby Digital.

•select the second option if you are watching in a normal listening environment. Audible effects that fall in the extreme ranges of Dolby Digital's audio spectrum are compressed.

•select the third option if you are watching in a noisy environment, or on a notebook or laptop. For this option, low range audio signals are amplified so that the audible volume will be increased.

On the Miscellaneous tab you can synchronize the audio output and enable exclusive audio output.

Audio output synchronization

Use the audio output synchronization option to fix audio and video streams that are out of sync. This can occur if the audio and video are connected via different interfaces, because TV post-processing can delay the video. You can also use this option if you are experiencing an audio delay when using Bluetooth headphones.

•Delay audio for: in the field provided, enter the duration you want the audio delayed (up to 2 seconds). If the audio is behind the video, you can advance it up a half a second by entering a negative value.

Exclusive audio output (WASAPI Exclusive)

•select the available option if you want to utilize the Windows Audio Session API (WASAPI) to mute all other audio during playback and bypass the Windows mixer to avoid audio quality degradation by Windows sound mixing. If supported by your audio device (card/chip) and driver, the audio heard during playback will be bit perfect. Once selected, CyberLink PowerDVD will exclusively play the intended audio and mute all other audio on your computer, including any secondary audio that may be available on a Blu-ray Disc.

DSD audio output mode

DSD (Direct-Stream Digital) audio is a high quality audio format. If an audio file you are playing outputs DSD audio, select one of the following output modes:

•Decode DSD audio to PCM for best compatibility: this option downmixes DSD audio to the PCM format. Select this option if your external decoder (AV receiver or sound card) does not support or has trouble playing DSD audio.

•Bypass non-decoded DSD bitstream (DoP) to external audio device to ensure the best sound quality: this mode passes DSD audio through to your external decoder (AV receiver or sound card). Select this option if your output device supports DSD audio to enable during playback, when available.