Audio Systems: is surround sound possible?, audio person, apple tv

Question
Hi. I'm installing my new plasma tv next week, and I plan to hook up a computer to the tv as well. My "audio " person told me that the picture will be no problem from the computer to the tv, but it's impossible to get surround sound without purchasing the apple tv device. Is this true? Are there any other ways to achieve surround sound with computer to tv hook-up? (He said the sound would only  come out of the front two speakers).
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks for your time.
Jordan

Answer
Don't know what you are referring to exactly.   Are you wanting to get dolby 5.1 surround audio by playing a movie dvd on the PC?  If that is your goal, there are some motherboards that have dolby high def audio playback built in.  The older PCs and most of the new ones do not have this feature, but Intel and a few others are now making boards that will support 5.1 surround playback.  BUT: The cost of these boards are quite expensive; cheaper to just purchase a dvd player with progressive scan and surround sound output capabilities (around $30 and up).

Does this solve your problem?  Let me know if you have further thoughts.

C