Found a couple of fdk autobuild packages for Win.

If I have to re-encode audio, I just as well keep it playable and good quality. PCM 6ch exceeds size limit for my 3 hr. shows.

@Musicvid

During the night, I got to thinking that it would be pretty easy to add an option to pass-thru an existing audio file. Rather than mux a file rendered from inside of Vegas that is created at runtime, simply load a pre-rendered file. That way you could render your audio using Dolby Pro in V13 and then add it during video rendering inside of V14 or whatever. That would also enable one to easily add audio delay corrections if necessary.

Just looked at the R+ Encoder Settings dialog, and there is room for such an addition (Appearance is everything-Ha!). Let me know if you're interested in testing a pre-release version.

Of course. I love this stuff.

@wwaag

I'm not looking in the right place for placing fdkaac.exe in a Tools folder as in the tooltip.

Is that folder something I need to create myself?

Oh, that was easy, thanks, back soon with results.

@wwaag @rraud

Ok, I have successfully installed and tested fdkaac in Render +

Notes:

• f****c.exe v2.0 64 bit here. This will save Wayne any concerns over discussing such things on his own thread tooics.
• Output is 48/16 LC stereo in vbr or cbr, which is perfect for my use. It should also be perfect for streaming and youtube, better than anything from Handbrake currently..
•  
• Bitrate is 5 levels in vbr, higher is better. But at Level 5, bitrate is 700kbps, which is exactly Overkill x 2. A list of fixed cbr rates including 320, which is merely healthy hyperparanoia..
• Place your compiled fdkaac.exe in  "C:\Program Files\HappyOtterScripts".

This may become the quickest option available for converting personal DVD rips containing AC3 audio to mp4/AAC for streaming or media servers. [Edited /]

Not to worry, a face-off with Handbrake is in the works

Note that Wayne's scripts do not decrypt rips from store-bought dvds, There are tools for that, and in deference to my own previous statements, I have removed the name of one. [Edited /]

@Musicvid

"Surround encoder is not enabled in R+."

Yes, it is. For 5.1, a 6 channel wave file is rendered and then encoded using fdk_aac. You can also verify if you look at "C:\ProgramData\HappyOtterScripts\Magix Vegas Pro\RenderPlus\LastRenderLogFile.txt" which is the FFmpeg log file.

Here's the timeline:

HOS Render Settings:

MediaInfo:

BTW, other audio bit rate options can be easily added.

I will test using a different .vob siurce be right back.

It's the way Vegas imports the ac3 audio. Got a couple of good paths to test through Import Assist.

The quick trick appears to be to import the Video_TS folder using the Gary James method.

Ran into a roadblock in Import Assist, but will keep digging.

Current roadblock is the .wav intermediate which would be too large.

Can this be changed to W64 or FLAC?

R+ supports both W64 and FLAC. W64 has 5.1 templates and you can render from Vegas successfully. However, fdk doesn't support w64 inputs. Flac doesn't have 5.1 templates and I have no idea whether fdk will read such files anyway.

Backing up a bit, what is the problem with how Vegas imports the ac3 audio?

In the event you haven't seen it, if you check "Select Vegas Audio Template" and click the blue gears icon, you'll get this dialog where you can select Vegas templates.

I might add that this whole area is pretty buggy. I hadn't tried a w64 render until today--your version will probably crash. It should, however, work if there is no video to be rendered--just audio.

Yes, I'm ahead of myself.

Source: Unencrypted DVD video_ts folder with 5.1 ac3, 2.5 hours

Goal: x264 mp4 with fdk AAC 5.1

Import: Gary James method, giving us a properly muxed video track with discrete 5.1 audio tracks in 5.1 project.

Problem: render+ internal render to .wav fails to file size limitation. Aborts gracefully.

Problem: import assist does not reveal fdk-AAC encoder.

Problem: timeline render to w64 6ch discrete fails as external audio Import in render+

Problem: import assist will not accept .IFO (GJ method)

Problem: add pcm is a nonstarter.

I think if internal conversion was to W64 instead of WAV (or to 1.98GB chunks), it might work. The W64 rendered from timeline is 5.4 GB.

I'm just not familiar enough with the interface to notice the obvious yet

Like I said before, fdk does NOT support w64--it give the error message "Unsupported Input File". It must be a wav input. Can Vegas render out multiple wav files to overcome the 2GB limitation? Presumably not, and that is the problem.

I think it will, if we render to avi1.0 and render + accepts that folder as Source.

However that would make it slower than Handbrake, I fear. An in-house alternative in Vegas would be quite a convenience to people with DVD collections. I hit a wall importing MKV rips as well, but haven't focused on it as much.

Will revisit tomorrow with fresh brain.

@Musicvid

I think I have the solution or at least something for you to try. Divide your 2.5 hr program into 2 regions--preferably finding a break point where there is silence. Then do a regions render with the option ticked to join. Each region will be rendered and then joined afterward. I tried it on a short sample and it works OK with the fdk encoder. During my initial testing, the joining was frame accurate.

I have also written an mp4 file joiner app that gives the user a number of different joining options.

Will try first tomorrow, thanks!

Thanks MV, I had downloaded the fdkaac_autobuild-master from Github but can't find the fdkaac.exe anywhere or a way to install it. I added the Nero AAC.exe encoder file a week or so ago and that works in HOS Render +

@rraud

f****c.exe 64 bit

Looks like a success with the regions and join method. Now rendering region 2 of 3. Times actually look comparable to Handbrake.

[Update] the joiner got stuck at 250Mb. Starting again, maybe pebcak.

@rraud

f****c.exe 64 bit

Thanks again MV !