I'm wondering what the deal is with the new M-Audio Revolution 5.1. I guess it can do 24/192 output on all channels (not just two like with the 7.1), but is that the only thing new about it? I was looking in the support base for the 5.1, and there was nothing there about DVD-Audio like there is in the 7.1 support base. Does this mean the Revolution has DVD-A support? Inquiring minds want to know!

As I recall, the DVD-A standard only supports 24/192 on two channels anyway, with 24/96 in multichannel.

DVD-A playback programs are going to cost extra of course.
I believe WinDVD 6 Platinum is capable of DVD-A playback, and Creative Labs has their own program.

I can't think of a good reason to have 24/192 support on six channels for output only, since the card is still limited to 24/96 in. Perhaps M-Audio got a good deal on a 6 channel 24/192 DAC

But doesn't WinDVD 6 Platinum still require the hardware decoding of the Audigy 2?

Sort of. It will play the MLP-encoded tracks on other sound cards, but it resamples to 16/44.1. To get 24/96 or 24/192 output, you still have to use an Audigy 2, which WinDVD will auto-detect in your system.

There's some speculation over at the avsforums that this card is based on the Envy24GT instead of the HT. However, VIA's spec pages for their audio chipsets are rather vague, so I'm not entirely sure what this means. They seem to be trying to market it to gamers, so I would home reduced CPU usage is part of it. Supposedly they will also be retrofitting the 7.1 drivers with all the improvements introduced for the new card.

That is absurd One can only hope that full resolution playback will be supported at some time in the future. Undoubtedly this will require a licensing fee on the part of the manufacturer.

I bet the folks at Creative and Intervideo probably just struck some deal so more Audigy 2's could be sold. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if the MLP format can be decoded/played in the first place, it should be able to work at 24/96 or 24/192 as long as the user's audio hardware supports it.

Yeah, the Revo is quite capable of DVD-A playback. M-Audio supposedly even has a player ready to distribute, but they don't have the legal right to do so.

If they made people pay for it, wouldn't everything be fine and dandy? Or are the people behind DVD-A just that anal?

Either they're just that anal, or Creative payed them a lot of money to be anal to everyone else.