Best way to create 5.1 Quicktime .mov file?

cotton9 wrote on 11/24/2009, 11:32 AM

Hello,

I'm producing some videos that need to eventually end up as 5.1 Quicktime .mov files. Apparently, there's no way to render a 5.1 mov file directly in Vegas.

So I guess I need to render it into another file format and then convert it to .mov using another piece of software.

I've tried uncompressed avi, but changing the audio setting from stereo to 4,5,or 6 channels produces a message stating that it's an invalid custom template.

What would be the best rendering format to use, if I'm eventually going to convert to 5.1 mov?

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 11/24/2009, 11:52 AM

In your version of VMS, is the 5.1 audio option (3/2) available in one of your Sony AVC video templates? If so, your problem is solved.

Render to a compliant .mp4 AVC/AAC file with 5.1 audio. It should be compliant with Quicktime. You can change the extension from .mp4 to .mov if you wish, but it is not necessary.

cotton9 wrote on 11/24/2009, 1:13 PM

Thanks for the suggestion,

I tried rendering it using Sony AVC - AVCHD 1440x1080 NTSC 5.1 Surround (3/2 audio coding), but when I changed the file format setting from the default .m2ts to .mp4, I lost the separation of the audio channels.

However, in the default .m2ts the audio was fine.

Am I missing something? Or do you have any other ideas?

musicvid10 wrote on 11/24/2009, 9:21 PM

Yes, that's an interesting limitation in the template settings.

EDIT: I'll look at some possible ways of rewrapping the .m2ts as .mp4 or muxing .avc with .ac3 streams to do what you want. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, it might be worth opening a support ticket with Sony to see if / when they might incorporate direct encoding to 5.1 MOV. Given the history of Apple, however, I wouldn't hold my breath.

musicvid10 wrote on 11/25/2009, 11:11 AM

UPDATE: Although not a real "workaround," I have found a way to render an .mp4 with 6 channel AAC that plays in Quicktime. It uses Handbrake to encode from an .m2ts file and the results are quite good.

Let me know if you want the details, and I'll post them.