OT: 5.1 Authoring Question

kkolbo wrote on 10/1/2002, 4:32 PM
Any of you that are using 5.1 Dolby Audio for DVD's -- What DVD Authoring package are you using that supports importing the streams. From what I can tell, other than DVD Studio Pro on the MAC and the Producer and SceneArtist packages from Sonic Solutions, there does not appear to be many options. Have I missed one?

Thanks

Comments

vonhosen wrote on 10/1/2002, 5:10 PM
Sonic's ReelDVD (cheaper than Producer or Scenearist) supports import of AC-3 5.1 but only has a built in encoder for stereo. Hopefully Acid Pro 4.0's AC-3 encoder will be available soon & after doing the mix & encoding there you will be able to import them into Reel.

For info on ReelDVD see here

http://www.sonic.com/products/reeldvd/

(It doesn't advertise 5.1 import option but it accepts them.)
nolonemo wrote on 10/1/2002, 5:14 PM
DVD Workshop 1.2 support AC3 5.1, but you must mux with your video before importing, because the program does not accept elementary streams. However, DVD Workshop 1.3, announced, but release date unknown, will accept elementary streams. BTW, DVDWS is very simple to use and gives (for me good results) for basis authoring (I don't need subtitles or multiple audio tracks and all the attendant authoring complexity).
Luxo wrote on 10/1/2002, 6:04 PM
If you can find yourself an old version of Sonic Foundry's Soft Encode package, it will take 6 .wav files and spit out a 5.1 .ac3 file you can import into ReelDVD. SF stopped making Soft Encode a couple years ago though, but I think it's still available for sale of some obscure web sites. However, on the upside it looks like they are working on some kind of replacement. Looking forward.

Luxo
kkolbo wrote on 10/1/2002, 7:22 PM
Do you know it will accept them from personal experience? It says specifically Stereo on the specs. (ReelDVD)

kkolbo wrote on 10/1/2002, 7:23 PM
The new version will accept elementry streams but that does not mean it will accept AC3. DVDit accepts elemntary streams but will not support AC3.

kkolbo wrote on 10/1/2002, 7:24 PM
The nice thing is with ACID you can do a 5.1 mix and then make a 5.1 Windows media file from it. It is not a DVD, but others with Windows Media Player and 5.1 audio can enjoy it!.

K
nolonemo wrote on 10/1/2002, 8:45 PM
kkolbo,

Since 1.2 supports AC3 (personal experience with 2/0, 3/0 & 3/2), I'd be amazed if 1.3 dropped that capability. But, you might still have to pre-mux as you do in 1.2, 1.3 might not take AC3 as an elementary stream, I hadn't thought of that possibility.
vonhosen wrote on 10/2/2002, 12:52 AM
kkolbo

I know it says stereo in the specs , because it only has a stereo encoder. I haven't got a 5.1 encoder yet (Softencode is hard to find & I'm waiting to see the Acid Pro 4.0 plug-in). I am a regular on the Sonic Solutions forums having used their products for quite a while and there are plenty of people there importing AC-3 5.1 encoded audio fine.

Sonic administrators on the site also confirm that this is possible.
http://forums.sonic.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=32;t=000016
brycej wrote on 10/2/2002, 1:16 AM
Pinnacle Impression DVD-Pro allows import of AC3 5.1 files.
kkolbo wrote on 10/2/2002, 9:35 AM
How are you pre-muxing it?

K
nolonemo wrote on 10/2/2002, 9:57 AM
TMPGenc has a utility that will demux or mux video and audio streams.
riredale wrote on 10/2/2002, 12:50 PM
I am using an obscure authoring program called DVD Wise to build DVD files that are then burned with Nero. The reason I have endured the aggravation of DVD Wise, a rather primitive program with a help file written in fractured English, is that it is surprisingly powerful. For example, it allows for multiple language streams, a feature that I am using to offer two soundtracks to viewers of my videos, a conventional Dolby 2/0 ac3 stream, and a second separate Dolby 2/0 ac3 stream that has been remixed to include a running commentary, just like the Hollywood boys.

DVD Wise includes a vob file builder that requires elementary video (mpv) and audio (wav, mp2, or ac3) streams. It also includes a demultiplexer so that you can bring in a program (mpg) stream, split it into elementary streams, then re-mux it into a legal vob. The ac3 streams can be anything from 1/0 (mono) to 5.1. Softencode is a very nice program for creating ac3 streams, but as mentioned elsewhere it is nearly impossible to locate these days. Apparently there is another way of creating ac3 files via a freeware program called BeSweet. I've never used it, but I see references to it over at www.doom9.org.

Frankly, as I've mentioned in the past, I believe Dolby is committing slow suicide by keeping access to ac3 codecs scarce and expensive. There is more than one way to compress an audio file (mp2) and even though it's not strictly "legal" in NTSC countries, if virtually every DVD player from today on can play an NTSC DVD with mp2 audio, then it becomes a defacto standard, no matter what the suits in the standards committees dictate.