So I have always been a Linux "Wanabe" But, I needed access to a certain few programs for work purposes.
Recently, however, I got a work laptop. Now my main machine at home is free to use Linux.
So now I am on Linux. Right now. Typing this. =o
I miss one thing from windows, that I had never thought about missing. Dolby Home Theater
It takes my sound, and digitally transforms it into a better sound, imo. So, What i am asking for is either, a way to get Dolby on Suse 13.2 or a great alternative, that can be left alone once setup.
Well any native surround file will output if you use VLC and transmit it over HDMI. The only way I know to upsame stereo to surround is to run the sound to a receiver or processor. You could go it an equalized and tweak the sound manually, through.
Either the signal is natively recorded in a Dolby format, or it's just like any virtualizer of which there are plenty in all platforms including linux and they all pretty much suck balls to be honest, but some virtualization can be cool on closed back headphones sometimes or closed in-ears. If that's what you want, you don't need the Dolby brand name, because the underlying algorhythms are all pretty much the same, the only difference being that Dolby uses presets, whereas in open source virtualizers, you can dial in exactly the sound processing you want.
If the source was natively recorded in the Dolby format, there is no difference between linux or another platform, the audio signal is encoded in Dolby, it passes through to the HDMI output of the video card, or the S/PDIF output of the on-board audio, or a similar connector of any PCI/PCIe or USB audio card in the system. It gets decoded in the receiver or home cinema pre-amplifier that is used for sonorisation, if that external audio hardware is Dolby certified and has the proprietary Dolby decoder on board. Some softwares (proprietary only since the Dolby formats are proprietary) claim to have software decoding, but those never work as well, and are very expensive in terms of system resources for a very sketchy end result in comparison to a real Dolby hardware decoder.
There are even Dolby certified headphones and computer speaker systems these days, but they generally are not of the same quality as the usual receivers. These days, there are a lot of people that are selling receivers second hand, and even new, receivers aren't really expensive any more, nor are decent speakers.
I assume that you want the Dolby home theater application that changes the sound dynamically for "better listening experience"(not my opinion but suit yourself). I am not a Linux user but i think you have to look long for a similar program. I'd play around with some EQ software using PWM signals instead if you are using HDMI.
also, the Dolby Home Theater signal is designed to send 5.1 signals through cables(optical) meant for 2.0 and is therefore not lossless. the application is there mostly to compensate.
Ok. I listen and watch alot of of podcasts... The Tek being one of them.
I like the dialogue enhancment that dolby has to offer. I'm pretty sure that @Zoltan is right on the money.
Finding a native linux virualizer might be an issue though... because, as most of you said, most people prefer the "original" audio. But, I will be doing some googling for an alternative.
I find that it is always too quiet, and "flat lined" where nothing is louder than another thing. Not sure how to explain why i like the audio enhancements, i just do.
Thanks for the help, and let me know if you know of a good virtualizer.