Great sound, lots of bells and whistles
Written: Jan 09 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great sound, lots of inputs, decodes 5.1 AC3 formats, comes with remote
Cons: Remote only works with Creative Software (limited), IR detector sensitive
The Bottom Line: A great card with many inputs, analog and digital, ideal for college students who want great sound with TVs, stereos, DVDs, games, etc. The extras--EAX, remote, etc.--are not practically useful.
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| nopain00's Full Review: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 Sou... |
This sound card has just about every type of input and output you can imagine. Digital interfaces are supported through both SPDIF and optical connections. The Live!Drive allows for all of these inputs to go in from the front. The actual card, back, and Live!Drive sport many input connections for multiple DVD or CD drives, modem, TV card, external audio components, etc.
The sound quality is great through analog speakers, but a digital 5.1 speaker system really shows what the card can do. Decoding of AC3 streams is very good. The EAX allows for many effects, though I cannot think of any good reason to actually use them.
The remote is fairly large and works with the Creative Remote Center to control certain media functions. The downside is that the remote cannot be used very well with other programs. Simple tasks like closing a window and UP/DOWN buttons are supported, but that is it. The IR detector decodes through software so there is a lag time between pushing a button on the remote and having something happen. In addition, the sensitivity controls can be set, but often tend to pick up signals from other remotes (VCR, TV, etc.), causing erroneous functions.
Overall this is a good card for students and other individuals living in studio-type apartments since all audio components (TV, VCR, stereo receiver, DVD player, etc.) can be routed through this decoder, providing very good sound. It does not replace a stand-alone receiver. The remote control feature has little use besides basic volume controls.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 160
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Epinions.com ID:
nopain00
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Member: Sagar
Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 1 member
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