I have analog 5.1 speakers on my PC which I have owned for several years. When I bought the speakers, I remember seeing 7.1 setups for sale too. Now I can't seem to find 7.1 computer speakers on sale anywhere. Looking through my DVD collection, I can't find any movie that claims to have 7.1 audio (most have 5.1 audio). Has the 7.1 standard been abandoned? If I want to upgrade my computer speakers, what is the state-of-the-art format that I should look for? I want to use these for PC games, movies, and game consoles.
7.1 is a problem because the only way to transmit it is via analog (AC97 standard, which is more for PC use then HT use) or HDMI. 5.1 works because you can tramsit it via a standard digital coaxial/optical connection (DD/DTS), and even then, those formats are lossy.
Blu-rays tend to have more 7.1 tracks then DVD's do, simply because HDMI had taken off by the point Blu-Ray came out.
