Player 5.1 channel

[joey_doe]

Please, can anybody tell which player can play 5.1 sound?

[Enchanter]

DVD player softwares, such as WinDVD and PowerDVD, can output 5.1 channel sound, provided the DVD source has AC3 sound. PowerDVD can also upmix stereo source into 5.1 channel to achieve similar results (I don't know about WinDVD though). Your soundcard will, of course, need to be able to output 5.1 analog sound signal.

Or were you asking about stand-alone DVD players?

[joey_doe]

DVD Player

it plays AC3 but I'd like to play AVI files, and they don't

[Enchanter]

For AVI files with 5.1 sound (AC3), you must have the AC3 filter installed from a codec pack, such as Nimo or Tsunami. Alternatively, having a DVD player software, such as PowerDVD or WinDVD, will achieve the same effect.

For DVDs with 5.1 sound, you can use a DVD player software as I described before. As for stand-alone DVD players, many are able to decode the AC3 signal into analog 5.1 sound signals, which can be directly sent to your 5.1 speaker setup. Some models do not do this and will output only digital AC3 signal, which will have to be sent into a decoder (eg. on-board decoder in your speaker system), before you can get 5.1 sound. Check the manual of your player about this.

[setarip]

"it plays AC3 but I'd like to play AVI files, and they don't"

If you are referring to standalone DVD players hooked up to televisions, I don't believe there are presently any that are capable of playing .AVI files...