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That’s a real-time testing and benchmark of Obsedian's masterpiece "The Outer Worlds" using NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, a newly released game with tested with a mid-end graphics card using an ultra preset. https://youtu.be/Cnkwf0fV0QI

I have a 49 inch "super ultra wide" monitor which runs at 3840x1080 resolution (Samsung CHG90). This resolution is supported in-game and the game looks absolutely amazing for anything which is rendered in real-time - but there is a problem with cutscenes / pre-rendered videos as the width of the video stretches to fit the resolution, while the height of the video remains the same. This drastically changes the aspect ratio of the video, breaking any immersion held in the moment and lessening the overall experience as a whole since any cool details put into the scene are just obliterated. Most modern games solve for this situation by a) picking the best pre-rendered video based on the screen height, b) scaling that video (while maintaining aspect ratio) to fit the height of the screen, and c) pillarboxing (the vertical equivalent of letterboxing) any additional width using black bars. This solves the problem described above without requiring every resolution to be rendered as a one-off. Please add pillarboxed videos as a default, or at least allow this to be selected within the game settings menu. Thank you!

https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive-video/2019/02/06/131-rapid-fire-questions-about-the-outer-worlds

Hi there! My name is Dainank and I have started publishing several Pillars of Eternity videos! Be sure to check them out and give a thumbs up if you enjoyed them! Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMADF6oHdMjd07Demzh3UANbeLXHdc-yI Video Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HluexIFg8 Thank You!

I've just completed my TCS Speedrun (2:18h, No Glitches), so I thought I would share the build I have used. It's reliable, but not without risks. If you want to reproduce the run, I would suggest studying my video. There is also quite a bit of additional information on my strategies in the video description: Pillars of Eternity - TCS Speedrun (2:18h, No Glitches, Solo, Highest Difficulty, Triple Crown) https://youtu.be/ZtGppK4gWkE (I've just realized that I got the Relative Pacifism achievement for the run, so fewer than 175 NPCs and Creatures are killed!) Concept Push for max. Stealth and compensate Mechanics with the Gloves of Manipulation. The Stealth allows for early completion of Heritage Hill and Cliaban Rilag, opening up high XP Quests in Twin Elms. The final char level is 10, and while Deathblows at level 11 would make the final battle so much easier, its just taking too much time to reach. If you want to make sure the final battle goes right 99% of the time, you can ditch the "Speedrun" part of the build, and just do a few more side-quests before facing Thaos. Build - Moon Godlike, Rogue, Old Vailia, Dissident - Stat distribution: 18 3 18 3 17 18 Abilities - Crippling Strike, Reckless Assault, Blinding Strike, Finishing Blow, Dirty Fighting Talents - Two-Weapon-Style, Shadowing Beyond, Quick Item Slots, Weapon Focus: Soldier, Savage Attack Talent Rewards - The Merciless Hand (+0.3 Crit Multiplier) - Dungeon Delver (+0.1 Crit Multiplier) - Blooded Hunter (+1 Stealth) Skills - Stealth 10, Mechanics 4, Lore 2, Survival 4 Endgame Items - Godansthunyr (Stun on Crit, +Exceptional, +Vessel) - We Toki (Prone on Crit, Exceptional, +Burning Lash, +Vessel) - Aru-Brekr (Movement Speed Increase, +Exceptional, +Might 2, +Crush Proof) - Shod in Faith (Endurance Healing Aura on getting critted) - Rotfinger Gloves (AoE DoT's and Spells to enable Sneak Attacks) - Blunting Belt (More Protection!) - Amulet of Health (More Endurance!!) - Ring of Searing Flames (Good damage buff in the early game, also useful for final battle) - Ring of Unshackling (To negate debuffs in the final battle) Feel free to ask questions or to leave suggestions for improvements.

Today we have a video for you narrated by Carrie Patel (Narrative Designer) wherin she discusses The Devil of Caroc, our new rogue companion from The White March - Part 1. Enjoy!

Today, take a journey with The White March's Lead Area Designer, Bobby Null, through some of the expansion's coolest areas. Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

This build is a solid choice for a TCS run and has been thoroughly tested by me. I'm sure quite a few people have come up with something similar by now, but my recorded TCS run might serve as a nice basic strategy guide for people wanting to use this build for a run of their own. Here is the playlist of my run: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrU0fsUmH2FaASxfjRn9medY4YyQQOZZZ And here is a video about dealing with Thaos: https://youtu.be/ynynYV2IJjs Build Moon Godlike, Rogue, Deadfire, Merchant Stat distribution: 18 3 17 3 18 18 Abilities - Crippling Strike, Reckless Assault, Blinding Strike, Dirty Fighting, Withering Strike, Deathblows Talents - Dual Wielding, Shadowing Beyond, Deflecting Assault, Vicious Fighting, Bloody Slaughter, Quick Item Slots Talent Rewards - The Merciless Hand (Doemenel route) - Dungeon Delver (Twin Elms, Girl in the inn, Help the adventurers) Skills - Stealth 5 (Required to sneak past Caed Nua throne room Spectres), Lore 10 (8 if you find Glanfathan Adraswen), Mechanics 7 (Requires two or three +1 inn rests throughout the game), Spare points into Survival. Very important items - Shod in Faith (Smith, Knights Castle in Defiance Bay) - Rotfinger Gloves (Merchant, Ondra's Gift) - Minion summoning figurines Good items to have - Azureith's Stiletto (Smith, Gilded Vale) - Gaun's Share (Temple of Eothas, Gilded Vale, Dangerious to get early on) - Äru-Brekr (Looted from the group trying to steal the Foge Knight research papers) - Blunting Belt (Smith, Gilded Vale) - Ring of Protection (Random loot, Merchant in Copperlane) - Ring of Deflection (Random loot, Merchant in Copperlane) - Glanfathan Adraswen (Random loot) Endgame weapons - Starcaller (Market, Hearthsong) - We Toki (Larha in Galawain's Maw, Oldsong)

Hi mighty adventurers! Today's another great day of victory, Thaos died once again, but this time by the hand of a cruel and merciless Bleak Walker! This time I'm going to go a bit more in the details of the build that I used for my hero. 0. Introduction: Why a Paladin? Why a Bleak walker? Pros: - It's a good challenge to play a bad and mean character in a rpg - Paladins get bonus stats if you roleplay, and I was intrested in that kind of gameplay - Not the most common class used to solo the game, and I love new challenges Cons: - Not so many active and offensive skills, so a bit annoying the early levels - Extremely gear dependant - No shadowing beyond 1. Attributes - Might 18+ - Constitution 18+ - Rest of the stats 10 Constitution is the best stat to solo the game in my opinion. Some fights are really long (especially the last one) and without enough of Cons, you will not survive. Might is great, but I guess you can balance it with some Dex if you want to attack faster. 2. Skills Key points: - Athletics 2/3 (80/90% Combat fatigue reduction, essential imo) - Lore 2: You will need it the first part of the game to use flame fan scrolls for Caed Nua - Mechanics 10+ : OverPowered. Free traps, Free loot, Free XP all along the game. A Must have - Stealth: Optionnal, but still good to take when the rest is maxed out 3. Abilities & Talents Key points: - Faith and Conviction + Deep Faith: a must have to solo the game. Free defensive points - Lay on Hands: Free heal once per encounter - Cautious Attack (+10 Deflection) - Superior Deflection (+5 Deflection) - Unstoppable (+10 Defense against Blind, Daze, Hobble, Prone, Stuck) - Mental Fortress (+10 Defense against Charm, Confusion, Domination, Fear, Terror) - Zealous Endurance (+3 RD) - Sworn Enemy (Nice damage boost for single target) 4. Gear Those are Core Items, the rest of the gear is up to what you will find. Act1. - Outworn Buckler (Merchant Gilded Vale) - Gaun's Share (First dungeon, Gilded Vale) - Blunting Belt (Merchant, Gilded Vale) - Ring of Minor Deflection (Merchant/chest) - Plate Armor (Backer next to the tree, Gilded Vale) - Fire fan scrolls (Crafting + Chest) Act2. - Oaken Scarab Figurine (Hidden cache, Copperlane close to the comedians) - Iridescent Scarab Figurine (Heritage Hill) - Obsidian Lamp Figurine (First Fire) - Rotfinger Gloves (Merchant in Ondra's Gift) - Sanguine Plate (Task: The Forgotten) - Ring of Deflection (Merchant in Copperlane) - Gaze of the Adragan's Trap (Merchant, Copperlane) Act3. - Blesca's Labor (Merchant, Hearthsong) - Purgatory (On the way from Stormwall Gorge to Elmshore, group from the Key) - Animancer's Boots (on a corpse during the riot, end of act 2) - Bartender's ring (Locked chest, Copperlane) - Boots of Speed (Random loot) - Health potions (Craft) Screens of the Stats of my character here: - Attributes: http://i.imgur.com/1EfSeLU.jpg - Gear Bonuses: http://i.imgur.com/d2bAMEj.jpg - Abilities and Talent: http://i.imgur.com/yaHjino.jpg Final Boss Video: http://youtu.be/8GkU_V3gKVM I hope you enjoyed the video and the Build, if you need more explanations, feel free to ask as always

I'll be short: Diffuculty: Easy Roleplay: Assassin About self: Casual player This was the second playthrough, so I know the basics. This knowledge helps me a bit, but still I can not say that the playthrough was really easy. Movies: 1. Leyra (sorry for a language, next videos are in English) 2. Zombies 3. Sky Dragon (this was tricky) 4. Adra Dragon (LMAO) 5. Thaos (really hard, all thanks to "Starcaller") Character sheet: Ok, on videos you see everything is looking easy. Actually, this was not easy everytime. Any large group of enemies may kill Rogue within seconds, especially darguls, cean gula, fampyrs. I'd avoided most of really dangerous encounters, I am not a battlemage and I don't know how "to use environment" Either run away, either fight. FYI "Solo on PotD" thread: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/76328-solo-play-tips-not-exploits-potd/ Playing as Rogue I've missing something special for this class like these: One trap problem. 2-3 traps will be good. At least, why Clerics are able to set up as many traps as they wish? Abilities problem. Either make some of them per encounter or add more free points to choose more abilities on level up. Stealth problem. High level stealth is not working as expected! Stealth skill above 5-6 points looks useless. In the end I wish to tell that, probably, most intresting part of a rogue is the "Thief" roleplay (RES based). Rogue is a weakest of all classes because of lack of magic abilities and spells. There is no AoE attacks except Watcher's one (they are almost non-combat). And, perphaps, RES based rogue will be interested as a candidate to gain the achievment "less 175 kills". Meantime, due the bad stealth mechanic (it is mob level based) you can not avoid all encounters if you wish to have high points in mechanic skill to avoid traps and use picklocks to leveling. However, I am happy that the game is possible to complete solo as a rogue. Thanks to Obsidian!

Pillars of Eternity: The Road to Eternity - Part 2

Hey guys! Here is finally the video of the final boss in PotD with my Rogue with all the explanations you need! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=562MPFJzgOc I hope you'll enjoy it ! Sorry in advance for my bad english and accent, i'm french you know Cheers

I have a 2014 15" retina MacBoko Pro and bought the game through Steam. I have set the resolution to 2880 x 1800 and for the first few times I played the game everything was OK. Now whenever I start the game it looks like the resolution is 'off the screen' and although I can see the menu down the left, playing the game is impossible. Any ideas anyone? Thanks. The error looks like this:

In this video, I try to explain what setting the game takes place in. What is Eora and the Eastern Reach? Who are the Dyrwoodans? What is Dyrwood? Who are the Glanfathas and why are they so concerned about their Engwithan Ruins? Who are the Aedyr? Hopefully I answer these questions. Sorry if I ramble too much on certain parts of the video, I apologize. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2SghKgVlFE

In light of this post by Josh Sawyer, I thought I'd make a feature wishlist just in case any of these things haven't yet been considered for the list of "found work" for the remainder of PE development. Most of the things I point out are relatively minor, but some aren't. Covered sections: Character Creation, Art, Graphics, Areas, UI, Combat, General Mechanics, Character Advancement, Narrative, Animations & FX, Skills, Controls, Enchantment, Bestiary, Sound Word doc with jotted down points Probably forgot a few things, but I'll cover those in later videos anyway. Background music is Nest - Trail of the Unwary

I'm suggesting the developers implement a 'deadzone' where the formation orientation wheel doesn't show up until you've held right click and moved it outside this threshold. As-well as a slight delay when clicking so it doesn't accidentally show up unintended. Currently there's almost no delay (if any) and it makes it an uncomfortable experience when clicking just to move. In practice these mechanics pretty much work the same as what everyone's used to in IE games but a much better look and feel. Please see this video for a working example and description of how I think it should be in Pillars of Eternity. (ignore that it's an RTS, it's the mechanics that are important) Bonus: The 'cancel' command should double as a 'hold position' command (or a new hotkey altogether in the controls menu) so you can tell your guys to stand still even with enemies nearby, keeping formation with a tap of the button. I assume the ability to queue movement is coming? Ideally we should be able to shift-queue movement *and* orientation along with actions/abilities (Cancel command too). It's imperative to your tactics when playing the game real-time. Scenario 1: Telling a Wizard in an open area to move wide on an enemies flank and cast a ranged spell while assaulting the front with your fighters. Scenario 2: Casting an ability, and retreating to cast another ability automatically. Scenario 3: Making enemies chase summons around while you shoot them from range. This is possible in Baldur's Gate so i'd hope we'll be able to do it in PoE. Thanks for your consideration.

Do we know what PoE news we might see coming from GDC this week? Another design talk maybe? Or a gameplay video at last? That'd be quite nice. I know we've been told Obs want to wait until the game is polished enough, but come on now. We know what Alpha means, right?

Technical FAQ Purpose: To help answer and diagnose simple technical issues you may run across and not yet know how to fix or understand. Always remember to be careful and cautious when doing any work with a computer or system, physically or logically. I/We are not responsible or liable for any issues/damage/problems/data loss that arise as a result of the use of this guide or comments therein. Any software or companies suggested as a utility or helpful resource are done so based on personal opinion and as a helpful starting point for making your own decisions regarding use. Above all, if you are really unsure of something do not attempt it without proper research and/or asking someone who does know what they are doing. Secondly before any major system work ALWAYS perform a backup. Any loss of data or content as a result of not properly creating a backup of some kind is your responsibility. System Image Backup: With the above said a couple of options for creating a system image or backup are; http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx Very stable and consistent backup utility that is free for use. It does not do incremental backups, but otherwise is a very easy to use application and can be largely automated. Previous personal use with it was fine, and it was very easy to use. http://www.paragon-software.com/home/br-free/index.html Very stable with more backup options (differential/incremental, etc) but not quite as universally compatible, still a great option for simple backups. It is important to get into the habit of creating backups regularly. Even if you have never had an issue or lost data, it only takes one time before you realize the error and wish you had. With the cost of storage these days there is really no reason not to. Once you have a backup seriously consider getting some extra DVDs, or a portable HDD used only for image burning. If you do not want to create a system image, windows restore points or the windows backup utility are also decent options (restore being a much softer backup). At least a weekly backup is preferable to no backup, at worst you lose a week, instead of weeks/months/years/decades of work. Fresh Windows install common application loader, and start button/menu re-addition to windows 8: http://ninite.com This is an invaluable website for a clean install, or as the need arises. The premise is simple, select the applications or components you want or need to install on your computer (everything from Chrome to the latest Java to Steam, AVG and Notepad++ along with much much more). Once selected click on get installer and it auto installs all of the programs for you. The only downside is non customized installations but can save you a lot of time installing all of these applications. The installers will remember the software selection as well, so you can save it for use later, or as a template installer. For windows 8 Start button/menu install the Classic Start utility. You will now have a customizable start button/menu again and it auto sets to load to the desktop cutting out charms. Windows 8 PC Refresh/Re-Install: Windows 8 provides the option to ‘refresh’ the PC by bringing the computer back to an almost fresh install state. The benefit here is that you will retain all of the files and downloads pictures etc you have, while reverting to default windows files and setup. Note that this WILL require you to reinstall programs, but you wont lose specific data files as just mentioned. Start-Up / Boot cleanup: A lot of programs like to insert items into startup, a lot of them are extra drains on resources for things like version checking or updates. To disable these items pull up the start button and in the search box type in msconfig.exe then hit enter. MSConfig gives you a lot of different options for your system. This can be a very helpful little utility, but also very dangerous if you play around in the wrong areas. The only 2 places you should really bother with are the Boot and Startup tabs. Boot Tab, controls multi boot loading (EG if you dual boot windowsXP and 7 for instance) and you can control things like time to select, default OS, etc. Also, and sometimes more importantly, the ability to turn on safe boot, with options (eg minimal, networking) and boot logs which can help very much in identifying problems with an unstable system. Just remember to turn off safe mode when you are finished! Startup Tab, basically exactly what it sounds like. Lists the items that are launched on startup and gives you the ability to disable them (uncheck the checkbox) Another good option is to periodically go through your installed programs list and remove anything you no longer use or was not what you thought it might be. Firewall / Antivirus: Over the years firewall and anti-virus apps have come a long way, and there are quite a few great free options. Here are some of the offerings you may come across, most of these are combo these days (both firewall and AV rolled into one) though typically you need to pay for a bundle. Firewall: Zone alarm, very popular free firewall with a lot of options and active scanning. Supports WinXP/vista/7/8 http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/zonealarm-pc-security-free-firewall.htm Windows built in firewall. This used to be much worse than it currently is. These days its fairly robust but pretty straight forward. It is a good option provided you spend a little time to get to know it and its limitations. It is adequate for most home use, especially if you don’t know a whole lot about firewalls and ports. Comodo Personal Firewall, great firewall with active scanning and known good/bad program lists. http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/free-download.html Online Armor, has some cool features, like setting programs to effectively ‘run as’ a user with lower permissions. http://www.online-armor.com/products-online-armor-free.php Anti Virus: AVG antivirus, very popular and good anti virus http://free.avg.com/us-en/free-antivirus-download Avast, another very popular free option: http://www.avast.com/en-us/index Ad-Aware, very popular system http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware.php It is really important to make sure you have protection installed early and updated often. Much like backups it pays to not have an issue or lose data, or have your identity or credit cards compromised. Weird windows problems or crashing: A useful tool to record problems or crashes is actually one built into windows, psr.exe To open it, go to the start -> search and type in psr.exe click on the record button and perform the steps that lead to the problem. When you are done it will ask where to save the zip file, choose a location. Inside the zip file is an mht file, which opens in internet explorer. It will give you a screen by screen recap of what you did, where you clicked, and what happened along with some information about the OS, the program being used, and versions therein. This can be a great help when diagnosing a problem, or trying to figure out what is happening. A lot of issues can crop up from bad/missing/corrupt windows files or protected items, luckily there is a built in application to help find and fix these. Open a command prompt and type in sfc /SCANNOW This will scan protected and core files to ensure integrity and operation. If any are missing it will attempt to repair them. (Can take a while to perform) Some issues arise from newer drivers or application packages, you can try to use older versions which sometimes can be difficult to find. A couple useful websites to use in this instance: http://www.oldapps.com/category/drivers http://www.driverguide.com/ With that said though, just as many, if not more issues can be caused by OLD drivers, so be sure that you regularly check for updates to your system drivers. I would caution against downloading .dll files by themselves, if you have a missing or corrupt dll file. There are a lot of websites with dll downloads, but it is best if you perform a re-install of the application which uses/installed the dll in the first place. If you absolutely need to do it you will likely need to register the dll, or may need to un-register and re-register the new one. To do so open the start button and type in cmd, right click on the cmd.exe that appears and select run as administrator. In the new window to register a dll (tell the OS that the dll exists, in a specific location, for application use) type the following: regsvr32 “path\to\dll\nameof.dll” eg regsvr32 “c:\users\myuser\dekstop\abc.dll” To unregister a dll (forget it): regsvr32 /u nameof.dll Some useful websites with vast technical knowledge and help: http://www.tomshardware.com/ reviews, troubleshooting help and tech tips http://www.hardwareheaven.com/ much like tom’s hardware http://www.avsforum.com/ centering more predominantly on audio and home theaters http://www.head-fi.org/ great audiophile and headphone community Don’t be afraid to use google, it has saved me many times and can be an excellent resource for finding information on bugs or error codes you come across. Hardware: Hardware issues can be difficult to diagnose, especially with little or no experience dealing with it. If you are really unsure or timid ask for help! Provide as much detail as possible, and be friendly, people will help you out! A key thing to keep in mind, or plan, is a good power supply. The power supply is the most important non glamorous piece of equipment in your machine. If it is poorly built, or weak, or provides uneven power you can easily blow your system, or cause intermittent and nearly impossible to troubleshoot problems. DO NOT SKIMP on the power supply. This doesn't mean you need a lot of power, it means you need quality power. Stick to good name brands (OCZ, CoolerMaster, Corsair, Antec, EVGA, etc) If in doubt, do some research! Also you want to, these days, find one with an 80 PLUS rating. This on a very basic level means that you get more bang for your buck. In the conversion of power, and loss of power as heat (any heat generated is lost power, eg lost dollars) a unit with an 80 PLUS rating (with various sub tiers) means the unit will pure convert at least 80% of the power drawn to usable system power. The better the tier ( going from Bronze to Gold for instance) the better the conversion and the less power lost. YMMV on actual cost savings but on bigger rigs, or multiple run 24/7 it can add up over time. Make sure that you regularly clean your system out as well (once every month or 3). You can use something like a can of air to do it and its pretty fast. If you do not, dust buildup can create 2 problems. The first being insulation. As dust accumulates it insulates the areas it is in contact with, and this is bad news for a computer. It will begin to increase the temperature of those components and create extra wear and tear on them, shortening lifespan or creating heat related crashes or hangs, and general slowdowns. The second issue, while less likely these days, is creating a short between components. Due to newer technology and shielding this is less likely, but still something to keep in mind. Two components with voltage that normally should never interact could become linked in the right circumstances, and fry some components. As a side note, NEVER EVER blow on your components (ala old NES cartridges) or into a connection slot. While you may get rid of some dust, you are also sending a wave of watery saliva into the components which at the least can cause corrosion if nothing else. Whenever you install, remove, or troubleshoot a component be sure that you unplug the system before hand and use an anti static strap (you can find them all over the place – officemax staples, online, etc). Never remove or install components into a live (on/plugged in) system. While the board itself may not carry a charge, if there is dust buildup it can hold a slight static charge and create a short/arc and ruin that shiny new GPU. If you have problems with your system booting, or crashing and it seems to be hardware related be smart. Start with a bare system (cpu/ram/video card and no HDDs/accessories) and work your way up installing one component at a time until you get a failure. If the issue is present with nothing but the 3 previously mentioned bare components, it is likely one of those three, start with a different video card (if possible) and ram. Make sure all fans on the case or components are spinning, and clean them of any blockages (using something like the can of air and perhaps some Q-Tips). Never clean your system with any form of liquid or a vacuum or anything like that. Audio/Video: These days there are a lot of people with HD capable monitors/TVs and decent AV receivers. If you have these but are perplexed as to how to get the best picture and audio its not that hard. To get true DD/DTS audio from media files (not games) you will need to have an optical or coaxial digital audio connection or HDMI output from your computer (either onboard, or sound card based) to a device that likewise has these connections (receiver). It’s quite easy these days to simply just pass your audio through your video card to your listening/watching device (provided it uses hdmi). My normal media viewing setup passes my video and audio through HDMI out of my videocard to my receiver. I get my movies (DVDs/BluRays/Rips Ive collected) in DD/DTS and have excellent picture. (GTX 460) This is where the ‘fun’ begins. Configuring for true DD/DTS pass-through is a walkthrough in itself but in the end is not terribly hard. There are two main, great, guides/walkthroughs on how to do this: http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=516729 This one is a bit more easy to follow but I find it lacks a few things from the second guide. Overall quite a good guide, in particular some great tips on madVR setup. http://www.avsforum.com/t/1357375/advanced-mpc-hc-setup-guide Very thorough guide bit more complex, but still easy enough to follow, based a bit more on best possible audio. These days most TVs have HDMI input, and further can easily handle the way a computer outputs video, so hook it up and have a blast! One interesting thing to note, if you have get a DVI to HDMI conversion cable, most newer video cards can output audio from the video card to a TV/etc from this connection. (YMMV) For DD/DTS in video games, you will need a sound card capable of using something like Dolby Digital Live!/DTS Connect. To decode this. An example of these are: http://us.store.creative.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-Z-PCIe-Sound/M/B009ISU33E.htm http://us.store.creative.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-Recon3D-PCIe-Sound/M/B00654PUPA.htm http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_hometheater_hd.php http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_forte.php That concludes the FAQ for the time being. Many thanks to the originator of the first FAQ version, and the various sites and forums listed in this guide for all of the help over the years. Attached is the XP version of this FAQ WinXPFAQ.pdf - Many Thanks to Metadigital who wrote the original (XP) version!