Well, I still haven't tried this yet (because I'm chicken... afraid that if it messes up something else I won't be able to undo it properly) but wanted to report that I have now run into the issue with a second game, and it is also a GOG game. Don't know if that matters, but with the literally hundreds of games I own from GOG (mostly GOG, more GOG titles than all the others combined, and it's not even close), Steam, and of course physical copies the only two times it's happened have been with GOG games. But again, that could be normal given most of my games are by far from GOG.

The interesting thing with this one though was that it only occurred after switching to 5.1 sound. The game in question was "Sir, You Are Being Hunted" and when it originally came on, I had sound in the intro and in the game. But when I went into options to switch from Stereo to 5.1 sound, I no longer have sound in the intro or on the main menu, but once the game starts I have great 5.1 sound in-game (I can tell it's 5.1 sound because I here stuff behind me as well as to the left and right of me.

Strange, huh??? Wonder if a codec problem would make it so we have sound in Stereo but no sound in 5.1.

So now, after my experience with SYABH, I wonder if you're using 5.1 or simply stereo sound on your HDMI to TV???

This is getting stranger and stranger...

You could try installing it on your least used computer (as you mentioned 3 different computers it happens on) also use Profile 10 Lots of Stuff without player, if you're fond of your current media player as that shouldn't hurt anything - especially if you uninstall it afterwards.

I'm going to uninstall the codec pack from my computer and test if the sound still works out of curiosity - I need to upgrade the coded pack anyway, so it'll be a simple inbetween step.

Good idea. My "secondary" laptop hasn't even been turned on in a few months, so I obviously rarely use that one anymore. I was getting blue screens rather frequently on that one and the codes were indicating some sort of hardware issue, either memory related or MB related. And because the warranty was over and I can't fix laptops myself, I just bought a new one. So yeah, it wouldn't be the end of the world if I tried it on that one. Thanks.

OKAY, WE HAVE NEW KNOWLEDGE!!!! (Knowledge is power, or so I've heard)

I still didn't try the codecs (because I'm too lazy to go get the other laptop and mess with it) but what I DID do was to change my settings on this one from 5.1 (in the Sound section of Windows Control Panel) to stereo and doncha know that I then got sound in the intro to SMAC.

I then returned it to 5.1, and, once again, no sound on the intro (and I assume movies) with SMAC.

So, since it seems to me changing from 5.1 to stereo is a lot easier (and easier to UNDO) than installing new codecs, I think I'll just go with this solution. I will set my system(s) to stereo to play SMAC, and then back to 5.1 for others.

Thanks once again to everyone who responded. Together I think we figured out a solution.

Who knew 5.1 would make such an odd difference. The funny thing is I've always had it on 5.1, yet play old games all the time without such an issue. Age of Empires (the first one), Betrayal at Krondor, Heroes of Might and Magic (the first one) are all much older than SMAC yet no sound issues with them in intros or in game.

Weird, but at least I've got a work around. Thanks again!!!!

I second Geralt's choice of codecs. Light, made only for playback, never had troubles with them in any games.

Intel/Nvidia combo here and no problems what so ever - sound works great without any tweaks or special codecs on Win7 64bit.

Just an FYI.

Just stereo, I don't have any fancy sound installations so it wouldn't do anything to set it to 5.1 anyway.
I have no idea what causes the issue with 5.1 for SMAC for you, but although annoying setting it to stereo is a workable workaround probably.
And if you ever have a lot of time on your hands you know where to look for a possible solution now.
So congratulations in a way ;)

My TV also has only stereo. However, Santa Clause has been nice to me and I just finished setting up my new 5.1 system and started experimenting with it. I'll have another look at SMAC later though that might take a few hours.

No problem with the intro sound on 5.1 either. At least on my system.

The funny thing is, much of the heavy lifting in the CCCP is done by Linux componentry (communism! ;P ) that's been retrofitted to talk to Windows (eg. ffdshow) because it's easier than reliably keeping many of the Windows-native codec implementations from stepping on each other's toes.

Give me a copy of Windows 7, and I'd be happy to check for you. =P

Sorry I can't help, I'm on XP, and at this point I figure I might as well wait until Windows 10 is out to upgrade.

BTW, I hope no one is offended by my question about it being another "audiophile" issue. I don't mean any offense by it, I just put in into quotes because I don't really understand what it means. The only thing I get about the term is that apparently some people have better (and more refined) hearing than I do and can differentiate the quality of sounds better than I and for them, all sound choices are important. But apparently not all of us have that range of hearing, or whatever.

As an example I guess, some folks can differentiate not only the different brands and types of wines, but also which year they were made and from which specific parts of the country they came from. I can't do that either, and only know I like some kinds of wine and can't tell any difference within those kinds.

"Pepper" in this scene provides a good example on my "expertise" when it comes to wine (and listening to sounds). And, also, too, my choice in how to prepare a fine steak as well.

CoDec = Compressor/Decompressor

They're the DLLs which tell your system how to convert a video file into a stream of frames to be sent to the monitor (and/or, how to convert a stream of frames from your webcam into a video file). You might be either missing one, using one with a bug, or have them installed incorrectly.

(When people are arguing about things like "KLite vs. CCCP", they're arguing about which one is most likely to install the least buggy version in the most proper way.)

Yeah, I get "technically" what they are. what I don't get is why people install their own. I've never had a system yet where I've had to install my own. if you have a sound card (on board or otherwise) they come with codecs, as otherwise they'd be useless. And if they have bugs, they are usually updated, just like video drivers.

So yeah, everyone who has sound uses codecs, what I don't understand is why many choose third party ones. Such as the quote I answered to in which the person said he seconded that particular choice of codecs.