Utility Sharpens Your PC's Sound

MGI Software lets you listen to Dolby-quality sound coming from your PC through any headphones.

Lincoln Spector, special to PC World

MGI SoftDVD Max with Dolby Headphone lets you watch DVDs on your computer and get full 5.1 surround sound in the inexpensive privacy of a pair of headphones.

First, some definitions: The standard configuration for digital movie sound is 5.1, used both in theaters and on DVDs. The 5 stands for five full-range directional tracks: left, center, right, left surround, and right surround. The .1 is a smaller low-frequency-effects (LFE) track that sends the rumble of explosions and other low noises to a subwoofer. The 5.1 experience requires a lot of speakers--unless you have access to the new software-based Dolby Headphone process.

MGI SoftDVD Max with Dolby Headphone costs $39.99. Current users of SoftDVD Max can upgrade for $19.99.

It's All in the Head

Dolby Headphone software converts five surround tracks into two--but they will still sound like five when sent directly into your ears. The headphone hardware itself need not be anything special.

When you listen to speakers, each ear hears every speaker in the room. You can tell where the sounds come from because the angle in which the waves hit your ear affects how they sound. Normally, headphones send the left track of a two-track mix exclusively to your left ear and the right track exclusively to your right ear. Dolby Headphone alters each track for each ear, attempting to recreate how you would hear the sounds from their appropriate speakers.

Dolby Headphone works on more than just 5.1 tracks. According to representatives of Dolby Labs, it makes even two-track stereo sound as if it's coming from speakers placed in front of you. And it doesn't require Dolby Digital sound; DVDs encoded with archrival DTS will work as well.

Of course, Dolby can't get around some headphone limitations. For instance, Dolby Digital mixes in the LFE track as bass for both ears, and if you have good headphones it will have some effect. But even the best headphones can't reproduce what a good room-shaking subwoofer will do.

Enjoy Surround Sound With DVD on PCs

MGI SoftDVD Max is the first PC-based software DVD player to support Dolby Headphone. If you have a DVD-ROM drive on your 450-MHz or faster system, and you're using the latest version of SoftDVD to watch movies, you can get the full surround sound through your headphones.

MGI won't have this monopoly for long. Other player software products are sure to follow.

Unlike Dolby Headphone technology itself, SoftDVD Max doesn't work with DTS-encoded sound tracks. MGI has not been able to get a DTS license.

You can spend a thousand dollars or more to fill your living room with big 5.1 sound. But for tens of dollars, you can put most of that sound into your head.