[mythtv-users] SPDIF Hardware

[Eric Hattemer]

I'm thoroughly confused about S/PDIF hardware.  I have an nforce3
chipset (gigabyte GA-K8NS Pro).  I think it came with an SPDIF adapter
for the motherboard, otherwise I stole that from an old MSI motherboard
I had.  The nforce3 chipset doesn't have the soundstorm acceleration, so
I'm in the market for a new sound card.  I want proper Dolby coding for
DVDs and hardware openAL support for America's Army.  I don't want to
pay a ton of money for the card.  I'm looking at the Audigy 2 ZS or
Audigy 2 Value. I want good hardware decoding, and an spdif out. 

Both cards say that they have spdif, but I've been staring at the
pictures trying to figure out how I can connect my big RCA digital coax
wire to those tiny little ports.  Do those cards actually have digital
coax on-card, or do you have to buy a special adapter for them?  I've
read that they definitely don't have optical.  If I need an add-on card,
will the one that came with my motherboard work?  Are all spdif out
interfaces the same?  If so, why doesn't Creative include the spdif
adapter in their box?  Or do they include it in the box, and just none
of the retailers show it?  I'm so confused, and have been searching
around and looking at pictures for hours.  I know plenty of people here
have spdif solutions, and I'm wondering how you did it. 

-Eric Hattemer