Ryan,

Firstly, thanks a bunch for re-engineering a 5.1 sound set for some of us, it is very, very, much appreciated, and the OC is working very well too!

 

My 5.1 observation - rear channels have sound in the virtual cockpit only; rear sound disappears in the external view.

 

My SP1 sequence of events includes completely uninstalling the 772LR, all folders, liveries, as well as all the NGX & JS41 liveries as described in your pre-release instructions (no thanks to Capt. Rob, LOL).  I then reinstalled the 772 base pack and the installed SP1.  I had stopped there for a while and did not have a chance to use the OC until after it was already updated to v1.10.  This was the OC version used to download and install most JS41, NGX, 772, and 773 liveries yesterday morning.  Then I found the OC 5.1 'External' sound download options for the 772 & 773.  The 'External' 5.1 sound packs downloaded and installed without any noted issues.

 

The name 'External' on these OC 5.1 options is where my observation (possible confusion) comes in - when I test 5.1, I fade the sound from front, to rear, and back (repeating).  In the Virtual Cockpit I clearly hear mostly engines when faded to rear, and mostly wind/vents when faded to the front channels; works as expected.  But when I view the plane externally, all audio is still only on the front channels.  When I fade to the rear channels, all sound becomes mute.  Because the OC 5.1 sound options are labeled as 'External', this leads me to believe I should also hear rear channel audio when viewing the plane externally.

 

After a 772 flight from KBOS>KIAH last night, I went back and confirmed the External 5.1 Sound options are still set in the OC.

 

If it matters - as noted in my Profile PC Specs, I have the FMC sound set to my SoundBlaster Titanium 5.1 PCI card and FSX Comms set to my MB Realtek sound chip (for FS2Crew headphones) which has been configured this way since the very early NGX days.

 

Is there a rough list of audio files I can check the date/time/size to confirm external 5.1 rear-channel sound should be working?

 

Thanks again for a very smooth SP1/773 release.

 

 

But when I view the plane externally, all audio is still only on the front channels. 

 

Same here!

 

Robert

According to a post by Armen Cholakian. PMDG Sound Engineer on the Dev Team you won't.

"Looks like a typo on the Operations Center - The 5.1 sounds are for the cockpit / interior..."

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/447026-pmdg-777-300er-surround-sound-51/?p=3037420

 

 

Yup, just saw Armen's post - thanks Claude. 

Al, You're welcome...

 

 

Is there a rough list of audio files I can check the date/time/size to confirm external 5.1 rear-channel sound should be working?

 

If you believe you've spotted an error, or want to reach the team directly:

support.precisionmanuals.com - that's the only way it's guaranteed to be seen.  This is the community support forum.  Sure, they occasionally come in here, but they're all pretty busy answering tickets.  Coming in here isn't their top priority at the moment.

Dear Al,

 

Thank you for your detailed feedback - the bad news is that, as far as I am aware, it is not possible to have a surround sound setup in the external view in FSX - it looks like that is the way they implemented it.  

 

Instead of surround sound in the external view, they went with the "Sound cone" technology where the sounds vary considerably as you walk around the aircraft - this implementation (like the 5.1 sound in the cockpit) also uses mono sound files - so in theory, the external view sounds are already in the correct format for 5.1 - but I noticed way back making the first FSX soundset for the 747X that no matter what I tried I could not manage to get the external sounds to playback in 5.1 mode.  So its a known issue since day one in FSX unfortunately (disclaimer: as far as I am aware!).  

 

 

If you believe you've spotted an error, or want to reach the team directly:

support.precisionmanuals.com - that's the only way it's guaranteed to be seen.  This is the community support forum.  Sure, they occasionally come in here, but they're all pretty busy answering tickets.  Coming in here isn't their top priority at the moment.

Fully aware of the ticket process, thanks. The issue was not a high enough priority for me to warrant bothering the team directly via support with the noted observation (knowing how busy they are right now).

Dear Al,

 

Thank you for your detailed feedback - the bad news is that, as far as I am aware, it is not possible to have a surround sound setup in the external view in FSX - it looks like that is the way they implemented it.  

 

Instead of surround sound in the external view, they went with the "Sound cone" technology where the sounds vary considerably as you walk around the aircraft - this implementation (like the 5.1 sound in the cockpit) also uses mono sound files - so in theory, the external view sounds are already in the correct format for 5.1 - but I noticed way back making the first FSX soundset for the 747X that no matter what I tried I could not manage to get the external sounds to playback in 5.1 mode.  So its a known issue since day one in FSX unfortunately (disclaimer: as far as I am aware!).  

Hey Armen, nice to hear from you again - been a while,

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I knew about the external sound-cone since the early days, but not of the external 5.1 sound issue. I still learn something new with FSX after all these years. Good to know, thanks.