The VideoLAN Forums

I have my laptop hooked up to my HDTV through HDMI, and then with an optical cable to my receiver. When I watch videos using VLC on my laptop, the only way to get Dolby Digital 5.1 is to select "a/52 over s/pdif" in the right click audio menu, but the problem is that I have to do this every time I watch something. I saw a thread where someone had a similar problem only they selected "5.1" under the drop down menu for their setup. The problem is, there is no default option under preferences for "a/52 over s/pdif", only "5.1", "Stereo",etc. Is there any way for VLC to select the "a/52 over s/pdif" option every time by default?

First go to Tools >> Preferences >> Audio, and then under "Output Module", select "Win32 waveOut extension output." You should now see a check box that says "Use S/PDIF when available." Tick it, click "Save" and you should be good to go.