Worth noting that this kind of processing has been present on some PC soundcards for a while.
Creative has its 'surround' processing for the Z series and a similar feature whose name I forget for the x-fi series. Processing done in hardware.
Dolby also has its own virtual surround processors that come with some of Asus' Xonar offerings. I'm not sure what degree of processing is done in hardware/software.
A lot of home theater receivers also support pro-logic.
I've bought a few x-fi's and a SBZ just for their surround abilities alone.
Creative has its 'surround' processing for the Z series and a similar feature whose name I forget for the x-fi series. Processing done in hardware.
Dolby also has its own virtual surround processors that come with some of Asus' Xonar offerings. I'm not sure what degree of processing is done in hardware/software.
A lot of home theater receivers also support pro-logic.
I've bought a few x-fi's and a SBZ just for their surround abilities alone.
A youtube video I found comparing the above techs doing stereo->headphones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ROujJ8Ae8
I know the Creative cards can work off a multichannel input as well, not sure about the Dolby tech.