DVD Audio - Best File Type

pmooney wrote on 10/25/2006, 2:12 PM
My company is slowly exploring the DVD audio format for a number of reasons. One of the questions I would like some feedback on is whether there is a "best" audio file type to render our tracks to?

We released a product this year that used the AC3 format based on the decision that most DVD players can handle that without a problem. I've run into some audio "enthusiasts" who consider AC3 a "video" format because the files are not placed in the AUDIO TS folder of a rendered and burned DVD. They were much higher on AIFF or uncompressed Wave files as being the "best" sound for DVD.

To clarify, we're not including any video on our DVDs, just audio.

I'd appreciate anyone's comments, but if you're an audio Pro, please mention that near the beginning, as your decisions have the weight of "putting your money where your mouth is".

Happy Woden's Day!

Comments

tazio wrote on 10/25/2006, 4:05 PM
Hmmm interesting concept (BTW audio professional radio and studios for 27 years, ohmygawd has it been that long?)

If it is audio only, there is little point in rendering it to a DVD file, because you are indeed compressing the sound.

I would render out a wav PCM file at your project settings. Most likely 44.1 of 48k, 16 bit.

Just out of interest, if it's audio only, why not use that old fashioned technological solution - the CD
Geoff_Wood wrote on 10/25/2006, 5:03 PM
The 'best' must be the top audio spec DVD-A can handle (24/96 24/192 ?).

However there is little point in rendering to anything above what the source files are, unless further processing is likely to occur.

What is the max spec media your DVD-A application can accept ?

geoff
pmooney wrote on 10/25/2006, 8:25 PM
Thanks for the feedback. The reason for going to DVD in this particular case was that we were moving an entire audio series from multiple cassettes to one DVD. The total playing time of the entire series is 12 hours and thirty minutes. Three of the tracks are 90 minutes long (which is why they were not upgraded to CD in this digital age), and the last track is 8 hours long (its a sleep/dream sound tool).

We have other extended audio series that may one day be converted to DVD, too, which is why I wanted to gather other professional points of view.

The source material was 48/16, which we then compressed to AC3 at the same setting. Even at over 12 hours of audio, we had room to spare on the DVD.