AsRock H170 Pro4 SPDIF issue

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   hi to all forum members!

I'm having a problem with the above maiboard - I can't get SPDIF to work.
First a quick introduction:

I bought this mobo for a planned upgrade of my htpc ( based on an Asrock 330ION ). It runs a i3 6100 CPU
which has enough GPU horse power to decode 4K 60p HEVC streams. My speakers are Logitech Z5500 with DTS and DD decoding capabilities over Optical/Coaxial SPDIF.

When I read the mainboard's specs I saw that the onboard audio codec is ALC892. Since at work I have  an Asus mainboard with the same codec which has the option of enabling Digital Output though a jack a thought that would be the case with this mobo also. The board does not have an optical out connector and the spdif connector is not soldered on the pcb. The installed drivers show  me only analog outputs no digital ones and this is where I'm stuck: since the onboard codec clearly supports SPDIF output ( even through a jack ), how could I enable it? 

If anyone  has stumbled over this matter or has an idea and would like to share, it would be greatly appreciated. Before considering buying an internal sound card I just want to know if there is really no possibility of enabling digital output of the onboard codec.

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uberbit Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 14 Feb 2016 Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote uberbit Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: AsRock H170 Pro4 SPDIF issue Posted: 14 Feb 2016 at 7:59pm
	hi to all forum members! I'm having a problem with the above maiboard - I can't get SPDIF to work. First a quick introduction: I bought this mobo for a planned upgrade of my htpc ( based on an Asrock 330ION ). It runs a i3 6100 CPU which has enough GPU horse power to decode 4K 60p HEVC streams. My speakers are Logitech Z5500 with DTS and DD decoding capabilities over Optical/Coaxial SPDIF. When I read the mainboard's specs I saw that the onboard audio codec is ALC892. Since at work I have an Asus mainboard with the same codec which has the option of enabling Digital Output though a jack a thought that would be the case with this mobo also. The board does not have an optical out connector and the spdif connector is not soldered on the pcb. The installed drivers show me only analog outputs no digital ones and this is where I'm stuck: since the onboard codec clearly supports SPDIF output ( even through a jack ), how could I enable it? If anyone has stumbled over this matter or has an idea and would like to share, it would be greatly appreciated. Before considering buying an internal sound card I just want to know if there is really no possibility of enabling digital output of the onboard codec.

uberbit Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 14 Feb 2016 Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote uberbit Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 4:53pm
	Nobody? :(

parsec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 04 May 2015 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4996	Post Options Post Reply Quote parsec Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 Feb 2016 at 4:11am
	Your board does not have an optical SPDIF output on the IO panel, as you know, which is the normal location for one IF it is included. Some older boards I've seen had a two or three pin SPDIF electrical header on the board for use with a coaxial connector. I cannot find a header of that type on your board. So I don't know of any way to enable any type of SPDIF output with your board. There really is no way to do it. Besides a sound card, some video cards with the appropriate audio chip might support an SPDIF output. That is usually via an HDMI output connection to the card, or in rare cases, a header on the video card like I described above. You would need to absolutely confirm that a video card had this capability with an HDMI connection. Beyond that is the issue of how to use that HDMI SPDIF signal as an input to whatever DAC you will be using. Included in ALL of this is whether or not the digital signal is NOT just a standard stereo SPDIF signal, and supports DD, DTS, etc. A sound card that you KNOW supports the digital format you want to use is your best option IMO.