Editing Dolby Digital (section)

=== Dolby Digital Live ===
Dolby Digital Live (DDL) is a real-time encoding technology for interactive media such as video games. It converts any audio signals on a PC or game console into a 5.1-channel 16-bit/48&nbsp;kHz Dolby Digital format at {{nowrap|640 kbit/s}} and transports it via a single [[S/PDIF]] cable.<ref name="DDL">{{cite web|title=Dolby Digital Live|url=http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/dolby_live.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208012537/http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/dolby_live.html|archive-date=Feb 8, 2007|access-date=Nov 16, 2021|website=dolby.com|publisher=[[Dolby Laboratories]]}}</ref> A similar technology known as [[DTS Connect]] is available from competitor [[DTS (sound system)|DTS]]. An important benefit of this technology is that it enables the use of digital multichannel sound with consumer sound cards, which are otherwise limited to digital [[PCM]] stereo or analog multichannel sound because S/PDIF over RCA, BNC, and TOSLINK can only support two-channel PCM, Dolby Digital multichannel audio, and DTS multichannel audio. [[HDMI]] was later introduced, and it can carry uncompressed multichannel PCM, lossless compressed multichannel audio, and lossy compressed digital audio. However, Dolby Digital Live is still useful with HDMI to allow transport of multichannel audio over HDMI to devices that are unable to handle uncompressed multichannel PCM.

Dolby Digital Live is available in sound cards using various manufacturers' audio chipsets. The [[SoundStorm]], used for the [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] game console and certain [[nForce2]] motherboards, used an early form of this technology. DDL is available on motherboards with codecs such as [[Realtek]]'s ALC882D,<ref name=ddl882>{{cite web |url=http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=2773 |title=Nvidia nForce 500: Biostar and MSI Aim for the Gold |publisher=[[AnandTech]]| first=Gary | last=Key| date=June 8, 2006}}</ref> ALC888DD and ALC888H. Other examples include some [[C-Media]] PCI sound cards and Creative Labs' X-Fi and Z series sound cards, whose drivers have enabled support for DDL.

NVIDIA later decided to drop DDL support in their motherboards due to the cost of involved royalties, leaving an empty space in this regard in the sound cards market.
Then in June 2005 came [[Auzentech]], which with its X-Mystique PCI card, provided the first consumer sound card with Dolby Digital Live support.

Initially, no Creative X-Fi-based sound cards supported DDL (2005~2007) but a collaboration of Creative and [[Auzentech]] resulted in the development of the Auzentech Prelude, the first X-Fi card to support DDL. Originally planned to extend DDL support to all X-Fi-based sound cards (except the 'Xtreme Audio' line which is incapable of DDL hardware implementation), the plan was dropped because Dolby licensing would have required a royalty payment for all X-Fi cards and, problematically, those already sold.<ref name="DDL license issue of X-Fi">{{cite web |url=http://www.parkoz.com/zboard/view.php?id=dm_audio_qna&no=15261 |title=A Korean reply comment (the fifth), which explains Dolby license royalty issue of X-Fi. Since the information leaked from SoundPrime, the Korean partner of Auzentech, all sources about this information are Korean. |access-date=2009-11-27 |archive-date=2015-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924064328/http://www.parkoz.com/zboard/view.php?id=dm_audio_qna&no=15261 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2008, Creative released the X-Fi Titanium series of sound cards which fully supports Dolby Digital Live while leaving all PCI versions of Creative X-Fi still lacking support for DDL.

Since September 2008, all Creative X-Fi-based sound cards support DDL (except the 'Xtreme Audio' and its derivatives such as Prodigy 7.1e, which is incapable of DDL in hardware). [[X-Fi (audio chip)|X-Fi]]'s case differs.

While they forgot about the plan, programmer Daniel Kawakami made a hot issue by applying Auzentech Prelude DDL module back to Creative X-Fi cards by disguising the hardware identity as Auzentech Prelude.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parkoz.com/zboard/view.php?id=dm_audio_qna&no=12661 |title=What Daniel_K wrote "This utility was written from scratch and does not contain any copyrighted code. Creative's director of developer relations, George Thorn told me, in a chat session, that is OK to provide mods as patches. It does not modify any executable or DLL, so it is NOT a crack." Daniel_K's driver MOD itself did not include any DDL module, until it began to support Creative's official DDL pack. Daniel_K's 'DDLUnlocker.exe' merely used disguise to install Auzentech Prelude DDL module}}</ref>

Creative Labs alleged Kawakami violated their intellectual property and demanded he cease distributing his modified drivers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/04/daniel_k-who-fi.html |title=Daniel_K, Who Fixed Creative's Broken Vista Drivers, Speaks Out |website=Wired.com | first=Rob| last=Beschizza| date=April 1, 2008}}</ref><ref name=BrokenBlaster>{{cite web |url=http://forums.creative.com/t5/Sound-Blaster/SB-Audigy-Series-Support-Pack-3-6-11-09-2009/td-p/540934/page/2 |title=There is BrokenBlaster blame about CL – Creative Labs, its much later than the issue but show common case who blame Creative Labs and admire Daniel_K |publisher=[[Creative Technology]]}}</ref><ref name=daniel_k_2>{{cite magazine |url=http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/03/silence-from-so.html |title=Silence From Sound Card Maker After Customer Revolt |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]| first=Rob | last=Beschizza | date=March 31, 2008}}</ref>

Eventually Creative struck an agreement with Dolby Laboratories regarding the Dolby license royalty by arranging that the licensing cost be folded into the purchase price of the Creative X-Fi PCI cards rather than as a royalty paid by Creative themselves.<ref name="DDL license issue of X-Fi"/> Based on the agreement, in September 2008 Creative began selling the ''Dolby Digital Live'' packs enabling Dolby Digital Live on Creative's X-Fi PCI series of sound cards. It can be purchased and downloaded from Creative. Subsequently, Creative added their ''DTS Connect'' pack to the DDL pack at no added cost.<ref name="Dolby Digital Live pack">{{cite web |url=http://buy.soundblaster.com/_creativelabsstore/cgi-bin/pd.cgi?frompage=category&page=product_detail&fromcategory=Software&category=Software&pid=F2222DDN6Z2H2ADDEZD |title=Dolby Digital Live pack, its DDL pack but also say "Get DTS Connect Pack FREE! for every purchase of Dolby Digital Live Pack." |publisher=[[Creative Technology]]}}</ref>