Home Theater centered around PC equipped with Audigy2ZS Plati

Question

Part of the reason I built the computer the way I did was to not only make it an awesome gaming PC, but also so that when I leave college (in year) and enter the real world, it can also be the center of my home theater/entertainment system. That was the primary reason for going for the ZS Platinum over the ZS Gamer.
Now, what I want to know is this: What will I be looking for to complete a home entertainment system? I know I'm a year or so out from graduation, but it doesn't hurt to start looking now and spending time researching and comparing prices and see what's coming out soon (heck, my dad took about a year before finally buying a DVD player, and he spent that year looking at what was available, what he would want, etc.).
I want at make full use of my computer as my DVD and audio center (the video aspect is easier, and not a problem if I get an HDTV monitor), but I want to make sure that I'll get the most out of my sound system.
I have my DVD-ROM dri've connected to my Audigy2 ZS Platinum via the digital audio cable, so that connection is still purely digital. I'd like to keep the source to speaker path having as few A/D conversions as possible. With that said, what should I be looking for in a digital reciever? with a home theater speaker system (thinking of going Klipsh, but that's just one possibility that I'm aware of)? Can the ZS Platinum do Prologic IIx, or should I have it output a purely digital signal NOT already decoded? If the later, should I use the available optical output or the S/PDIF coaxial output? Remember, I'll be getting the reciever and speakers and everything else necessary based on my computer, not simply accomodating to what's out there.
While I'm fairly versed in computer audio, I'm pretty oblivious to home theater audio and such and am essentially a novice at it, while I'm more an experienced amatuer in the purely computer realm.
So, any advice on building a home entertainment/theater system around my computer's sound setup would be most appreciated.

Answer 1

"I have my DVD-ROM dri've connected to my Audigy2 ZS Platinum via the digital audio cable"
No need of this since datas are transmitted through IDE cable since many years now.
" With that said, what should I be looking for in a digital reciever?"
You should not look for a digital receiver if you go for a card such as the ZS platinum.
"or should I have it output a purely digital signal NOT already decoded"
Read the FAQ and you'll see that is the only way to obtain multichannel with already encoded signal.
Creative cards cannot encode signals to AC3-(DD/DTS).
"Can the ZS Platinum do Prologic IIx"
It can do prologic if you use its decoder.
"if the later, should I use the available optical output or the S/PDIF coaxial output?"
When you use digital, it doesn't matter, just choose a good quality cable.
You should know that DVD Audio cannot be output through digital outs for DRM reasons. So you'll need analog connections to listen to DVD audio.
You could also go for a DTS60 to encode the analog signals from the ZS to DTS5. signal, but you'll loose quality when playing ultra high definition audio.