DVD Architect Can't Make 5.1 Blu-Rays

jg0001 wrote on 9/29/2010, 7:32 PM
I just received my Vegas 10 Movie Studio HD Platinum Production Suite software today and was quite excited (based on reviews I read) to FINALLY have something that I could use to create Blu-Rays and AVCHD discs from my Sony HD cam videos.

After wasting 2 hours playing with it, only now is it clear that DVD Architect cannot make 5.1 audio Blu-Rays, it can only do 5.1 for DVDs.

I have to say that I consider the advertising of this product to be very nearly FRAUDULENT and am also incredibly disappointed that none of the reviews mentioned this severe limitation. The product packaging talks extensively about 5.1 audio & HD camcorder footage, but nowhere does it mention how pathetic it is that if you want to make an ACTUAL Disc, you're looking at a downmix!

My Sony cam is over 3 years old and it came with the ability to encode 5.1 audio, and it does it quite well with great spacial separation (as I talk from behind the camera, it is very clear that's where I am, versus my subjects in front of me). How it is that no con or pro-sumer software yet lets me make proper use of this is a farce.

Is the best solution truly to create my project as best possible in Vegas, design and build the BR disc in DVDA, then use something like multiAVCHD to reauthor the primary movie's audio stream, ripping out the downmix and replacing it with exported AC-3 from the Vegas master? Would this work well on a longer movie without losing A/V sync?

Signed,
Incredibly Disappointed

Comments

Steve Grisetti wrote on 9/30/2010, 7:53 AM
I'm not sure what your issue is, jg, but on behalf of all us satisfied users, I couldn't be more happy with the product.

Can you indicate where on the web site this false advertising exists?
KenJ62 wrote on 9/30/2010, 10:27 AM
I know my view won't console you but DVDAS 5.0 has a subset of features of DVDA 5.0 and, for the money, there are surprisingly few features missing. The Studio version supports 5.1 sound only on DVD and you will have to upgrade to the Pro version to get support for multi-channel surround sound on BD.

They had to leave something out to sell it for 40 bucks! How many people use 5.1 sound? I know it's a delicate subject but if you can afford a surround sound (theater room!) sound system perhaps the cost of Pro wouldn't be too much of a stretch. And the added functionality of Vegas Pro would be available to you, too. <shrug> Since you just made a purchase SCS will discount the cost of a Pro upgrade. Give them a call.
jg0001 wrote on 9/30/2010, 4:18 PM
Note: I'm referring to the whole Vegas HD 10 Production Suite in the below, as that is what I bought ---

How about you tell me where on the WEB or on the BOX or anywhere that it says you CAN'T make 5.1 Blu-Rays? They mention in the advertising well more than once that you can use 5.1 audio, they sell this product as an end-to-end solution, they lean heavily on mentioning "HD" and Blu-Ray creation, but then they leave out that the feature to make 5.1 audio Blu-Rays is turned off right where most people would want it.

It would seem to me that they've done everything they can to make a customer think you CAN do 5.1 AND Blu-Ray (AND BOTH AT ONCE). Why must the customer ALWAYS expect to be deceived instead of delighted?
jg0001 wrote on 9/30/2010, 4:23 PM
KenJ -> my run of the mill Sony handcam that I bought 3+ years ago (for about $900 back then, iirc) records in 5.1 (and it's surprisingly good at separation). As far as playback, having a 5.1 audio system is pretty common these days.
KenJ62 wrote on 9/30/2010, 11:30 PM
Well, looking at the product comparison page I would have to say you are right, it may very well give the wrong impression. DVDAS doesn't support the AC-3 codec on BDs either. Only PCM audio.

Among my circle of friends no one owns a surround sound system. BTW, I don't know what a camcorder with 5.1 looks like, either. On-board mikes are usually not well regarded, so how do they manage to put five (or four) mikes on a camcorder? And does it really make a difference? I bought a shotgun stereo mike for my HV20 that clips into the hot shoe just to get better sound.
Steve Grisetti wrote on 10/1/2010, 5:52 AM
So are you guys saying it's false advertising because the box doesn't say what it WON'T do?
KenJ62 wrote on 10/1/2010, 11:03 AM
Steve, according to the product comparison HD Platinum supports 5.1 surround and AC-3 encoding. It doesn't say it only supports it on DVD. HD Platinum only supports PCM audio on Blu-ray disks so the chart is misleading. No biggy for me - and the Studio version must have some limitations to allow for a lower price. But I can see where that might be an issue. This of course is a good reason to use the trial versions first.

If the purchase is within 30 days you may be able to get your money back - depends on the EULA. Give SCS a telephone call. They are in the USA and are very helpful. I upgraded to version HD 10 "Suite" from HD Platinum for 10 bucks within a week after I found out it had a video noise reduction plug-in I wanted. Nice people - really!
BlackMax wrote on 10/1/2010, 3:43 PM
I don't blame the OP for being disappointed, given his Sony camcorder output is DD 5.1.

I was trying to figure-out the differences between DVD Architect Studio, and the Pro version, and it was impossible to do by looking at their web pages or spec sheets. I finally downloaded the User Manuals for each (thankfully I found 'em) and laboriously went thru them side-by-side and page-by-page to learn the diffs. Incredibly hard to do, I remember Subtitles and DVD Scripting were two diffs, along w/alot of little ones. Oh, there's a tiny note in italics on Page 15 (Chapter 3) of DVDAS "Getting Started" (the only manual I think):

"AC-3 audio is available only for DVD projects."

When it comes to Sony Creative Software, as well as most other of these softwares that come in many varieties, you gotta either run the trial software or examine their userguides very carefully indeed. Caveat emptor to the extreme!
jg0001 wrote on 10/2/2010, 6:39 PM
Thanks BlackMax. I don't know why there are always people so willing to support a product that they bristle at any criticism.

Frankly, 5.1 Audio in a project is NOT "special" anymore. Every FREEBIE PRODUCT in common use can handle not only 5.1 but 5.1 in the fancier Blu-Ray formats. To think that there is a reason that Sony would hold back 5.1 as being a 'premium' item is ridiculous.
GaryDZ wrote on 3/21/2011, 11:01 AM
Sorry to resurrect this thread but I have the same issue. Can you buy just DVDA Pro? I see where I can download it but not sure if it is sold separately.
TOG62 wrote on 3/21/2011, 11:08 AM
Sorry to resurrect this thread but I have the same issue. Can you buy just DVDA Pro? I see where I can download it but not sure if it is sold separately.

No, DVDA Pro is not sold separately.
vkmast wrote on 3/21/2011, 2:37 PM
Don't know if this is any help re DVDAS, but if you havethe VMS HD10 Plat, this info from the SCS Support Knowledgebase might be interesting.
------
Render Settings for a Blu-ray Disc
Published 01/14/2010 08:55 AM | Updated 10/04/2010 03:37 PM
.......

Instructions for Vegas Movie Studio Platinum:

-When your project is complete, click the "Make Movie" button.

-Select "Burn it to DVD, Blu-ray Disc, or CD" and click "Next."

-Select "Blu-ray Disc" and click "Next" again.

-Choose "MainConcept MPEG-2" as the video format and select a template that best matches your source material. If you are unsure which

template to choose, go to Project> Properties and click the "Match Media Settings" button (folder icon) in the top right corner of the Properties

dialog. Find a sample file and click "Open." That sets the appropriate setting. Use this when rendering as well.

-The audio template in the "Burn Blu-ray Disc" dialog will automatically match your project properties (Stereo or 5.1 Surround Sound).

-Click "OK" to burn your Blu-ray disc.
------
Maybe someone can check this, my PC with VMS PP10 is currently busy rendering something and I haven't gotten into the 5.1. yet.
TOG62 wrote on 3/22/2011, 12:30 AM
VMS can render 5.1 sound, but DVDA will convert to PCM stereo.
vkmast wrote on 3/22/2011, 4:21 AM
That's of course true with DVD AS, but I understand one can (theoretically, at least) burn a blu-ray disc with PCM 5.1 from the VMS10 PLATINUM timeline? Or am I totally wrong in this :)?
geminigod wrote on 3/30/2011, 2:13 PM
jg001, you are absolutely correct, and I am in awe of some of the complacent responses here regarding your post. I also recently purchased the HD Platinum suite based on the false advertising by Sony regarding its 5.1 capabilities, and I can confirm that at the present time DVD Architect Studio 5.0 does not support AC3 or 5.1 surround of any kind. Look at the product comparison page. False!

Here is a direct quote from the software's help file: "Choose a setting to indicate the format whether you want to use PCM Stereo audio, AC-3 Stereo audio, or AC-3 5.1-surround audio. *Only PCM Stereo audio is available for Blu-ray Disc projects.*" Could it get any more misleading than that!

There should be total outrage from everyone about this. I have wasted days of my time and my money because of this. I don't care whether your friends don't have 5.1 sound systems. I don't care whether you think this is a "premium feature that I should have to pay more for." The product was advertised falsely, end of story, and my time has been wasted. If Sony wants more money for that feature, then tell me "I want more money for this feature!" This is class-action lawsuit stuff here folks.

Also, regarding burning straight to blu-ray from Vegas 10, please understand that Vegas is not a dvd/blu-ray authoring program. That is the point of having DVD Architect Studio. So if you want to make menus and such, then this is not an option. Furthermore, Vegas 10 HD Platinum doesn't render out to much of any hi-fidelity outputs very well, if at all. Most of those "make movie" features in Vegas 10 HD Platinum either don't work at all or don't work properly in some way. The only way I have found to properly edit hi-fidelity lossless video and audio using Vegas is to do everything as AVI-lagarith video and w64 audio (keeping them as 2 separate files). I use 3rd party freeware apps to do all rendering into and out of these formats.

We'll see how customer support handles this when I call...
geminigod wrote on 3/30/2011, 8:39 PM
I have good news to report. Customer service was very friendly and helpful and took care of me. If this problem is affecting you, I recommend you do the same.
Steve Mann wrote on 3/30/2011, 10:21 PM
And the solution is .....?
BlackMax wrote on 3/31/2011, 5:45 AM
>There should be total outrage from everyone

Indeed, particularly as you made us read your rambling complaint, then said your problem is resolved but neglected to state how!!?!!!