How to monitor 5.1 channel audio
 

Hello all

I am using Premiere CS5 on a Windows 7 PC and I'd like to be able to listen to 5.1 channel audio on my edits.

Currently I do this by using a multichannel output. So I have 3 stereo jacks connected to the various outputs of the sound card (actually the motherboard's on-board sound) and 3 cables that go into 6 inputs on my amp, one for each of the 5.1 channels.

However, it would seem to make a lot more sense to use the single digital or optical output from the PC to connect to the amp. However, how do you get Premiere to mix the audio output from the 5.1 session into the Dolby format that actually goes down the cable to the amp?

As you might perceive my understanding of how this works is very limited. Hope someone can shed some light!

thanks,

/ben