Spdif output on my laptop used as another output? (have searched)

[Reckoner]

Hey, i just got a pc laptop off my old man, its bout a year old and still hi-spec.

I loaded traktor onto it and saw it had 4 outputs on the built in soundcard which was a shock.
Its a Realtek HD audio output (2in, 4out).

so it has a headphone jack that will be 2outs and i looked in the manual it also has a S/PDIF 3.5mm out jack. so that has to be the other 2outs. i did abit of research and this is a digital output 'ment' for dvd players. i pluged my amp into the spdif out but its just white noise cos i dont have a digital amp me thinks.
so what im getting at is with the right cables could this be used as a cueing output? has anyone done this?

Cheers.

[pier]

Usually spdif comes with RCA plugs not jack or mini jack.

Spdif is a digital protocol, you need a digital spdif IN to make it work. An analog input won't do it.

If you listen to the analog signal of a digital signal you will get only noise of course... it's like when you listened to the digital tapes of the first personal computers of the 80s, or the first modems. Just a bunch of random bleeps when it's slow, and noise when it's fast.

In the long run it would be better to have a dedicated sound card, integrated sound cards are really bad.

[Reckoner]

ok thanks, but im skint dont want to buy a new sound card if i dont have to. what im trying to do is, get like a digital to analog converter with a jack plug on the input so i could use what i allready have. or even digital headphones to go straight in to the spdif jack?

cheers.

[pier]

Converting from digital to analog is not like using an adapter... you need a cpu to decode the digital info and then DA conversion.

You can build that box youserlf but it will cost you money and headaches, unless you want to learn about electornics and DSPs:
http://sound.westhost.com/project85.htm

Even if you find a box that you can buy you will be paying for a very useless box. Why? because you will never use it again.

I still think the best solution is buying a new soundcard.

[djlokifl]

They make a cable that makes mini spdif into regular size spdif (its the same as a single rca cable). What good is that? If you are at a club that has a digital mixer, then it will normal have digital ins and your spdif can hook up to that. Off the top of my head the only mixers I can remember (I know there are more) is Pioneer.

[jakeintox]

Spdif stands for Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format. It's an output optimized for Dolby surround sound, but is not a separate channel out of your soundcard. You will still need an external card for more than one output channel.

[alien2k]

It would work if you have any device which has a SPDIF input. but this will just create latency because later you need to output that signal to somwhere else.

SPDIF is kind of uselss for djing. Some cdjs have spdif outputs, but there are few mixers for this so the only use I have found is that they work great for assign it to traktor as a timecode control input. It really does work flawless, with my M audio interface. Also I have a TT which has a SPDIF output, same as above works great when assign it as timecode

[Reckoner]

Spdif stands for Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format. It's an output optimized for Dolby surround sound, but is not a separate channel out of your soundcard. You will still need an external card for more than one output channel.

Ah ok thats what i wanted to know as i only wanted it for bedroom djing.
it said 4 outs so i though i could use the headphone jack as an out for my amp then get some cheap digital headphones and use the spdif out for cueing but looks like i cant do that.

cheers.

It would work if you have any device which has a SPDIF input. but this will just create latency because later you need to output that signal to somwhere else.

SPDIF is kind of uselss for djing. Some cdjs have spdif outputs, but there are few mixers for this so the only use I have found is that they work great for assign it to traktor as a timecode control input. It really does work flawless, with my M audio interface. Also I have a TT which has a SPDIF output, same as above works great when assign it as timecode

ok cool this is good to know as i was thinking of doing some TT timecode.

cheers people!