IntroductionI recently got an Alienware Alpha, I’m pretty happy with it except for a big issue with the Optical input and its driver’s ability to encode sound using Dolby Digital Live (DDL) or DTS Connect on the fly.Why is it important to encode audio on the fly?Because that’s the only way we can send 5 channels of audio at the same time on the same optical cable. References. The source of the unlocked driver is this so many thanks to user “2bad” for this amazing unlocked driver. All the steps that I documented here are based on the ones described in this videoyou should watch this video at least once before start with this procedure so you can have an overall idea on what to do and why. Thanks to Youtube user “SpoonHandle” for the detail explanation of the procedure.All the following material are based on the previous references but with some changes and extra explanations from me to orient the user to apply the changes on an Alienware Alpha, also I will comment my own experience during that process.
StepsAll the following steps need to be done on the Alpha’s Desktop Mode, so connect a mouse and a keyboard and send this page to the Alpha and follow the steps there.1. Uninstall your current Realtek audio drivers and restart, (restart implies to restart Windows, then wait for the AlienUI to load and select Desktop Mode again, patience is required).2. Install the official R2.71 RealTek drivers and restart.NOTE: If you try to install R2.71 without removing the current installed driver, the installer will uninstall it first and ask for restart, but after that the installation process is not continued, you will need to start it again, so it is better to remove it before the installation.3. Open a Command Prompt as Administrator, the easiest way is to hit Windows key + X in the Desktop, a menu is displayed and click on the option “Command Prompt (Admin)”, if you have troubles to start it, check hereNow with the Admin prompt opened, copy and paste these commands:bcdedit -set loadoptions DISABLEINTEGRITYCHECKSbcdedit -set TESTSIGNING ONThis last one has to remain on.
If you disable test mode the modded drivers will not work, also it will display a “Test Mode” message on right side of the desktop, that’s normal, in step 7 there are instructions to remove the message, but it is totally optional, in my case I prefered to not touch the message.4. Unzip the unlocked RTKVHD64.SYS driver then run dseo13b.exe as an Administrator (right click on the program, Run as Administrator) and sign the unlocked RTKVHD64.SYS driver, this is the 64bits version.If you want to skip this step, use mine which is already signed (the 64 bits version needed for the Alienware Alpha)5. Copy the signed driver to C:WINDOWSSYTSTEM32DRIVERS6. Restart computer.7. NOTE 1: This step is OPTIONAL, in my case I didn’t do it, it is better for me to show the test mode message.
You can skip this one and continue with step 8NOTE 2: On Windows 8.1 My WCP Watermark Editor has been shown to cause issues with computers sleeping properly and breaking some Windows 8.1 apps. So I recommend just living with the TEST watermark at this point. If you have already ran My WCP Watermark Editor and want to undo the effects, run the following in an elevated command prompt: SFC /scannowIf desired use MYWCPWATERMARKEDITOR.exe to remove the test watermarks. Restart computer8.
Realtek Dolby Digital Live Software Reviews
At this point the Realtek Audio Manager icon on the tray is displayed (it MUST be, it is required, otherwise the program is failing to start), double click it and you will see the Realtek audio settings, here select the optical input, select Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect as the default output format and that’s it, you can go to the program called SupportAssist (Alienware software pre-installed on Alpha) and do an Audio test, you should now hear 5.1. As well as Dolby Digital Live, you can choose DTS Connect, both work as expected.The ultimate test is to start a games and notice the individual usageSo now you have the audio well configured, these changes are seen and used on the AlienUI Console mode too, now Alpha is ready for some living room experience for real this time!!!Just for the records, my audio system is a “Logitech Z-5500 THX-Certified 5.1 Digital Surround Sound Speaker System” which have a Dolby Digital and DTS decoder and uses optical output. I just recently upgraded my Alpha to Windows 10, but this audio issue is still there, I can't understand why, but what I know is that next time I buy a PC I will stay away from RealTek and their shitty audio drivers.Well, to re-enable DTS or Dolby Digital follow these instructions, they are easier and Test Mode is not needed anymore,The RealTek audio manager will never show up again in Windows 10, but you can configure audio settings and default output on the windows audio device manager, the same that pops up when you click the volume icon.