Vegas 6 and AC3

tharris wrote on 4/18/2005, 12:10 PM

I currently have Vegas 5 + DVD and therefore have AC3 support.

If I upgrade to only Vegas 6, will I have the ability to encode AC3 files from Vegas 6 or is it necessary to purchase Vegas 6 + DVD?

Thanks

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 4/18/2005, 1:12 PM

You should be able to because you'll still have DVDA-2 installed. But, it's only $50 more to get DVDA-3 until May 31st, so i would suggest going for it if you can.

tharris wrote on 4/18/2005, 1:19 PM

Thanks, I thought about upgrading to DVDA3 as well but I've already got Adobe Encore 1.5 (needed playlists, auto activate, and Photoshop layers several months ago) so I don't really need DVDA3 at this point. I was hoping to avoid spending another $50 unless I really have to.

p@mast3rs wrote on 4/18/2005, 1:21 PM

Can V6 open AC3 files on the timeline now?

tharris wrote on 4/18/2005, 1:22 PM

Not according to the V6 manual. Can output AC3 but can't import.

Cheesehole wrote on 4/18/2005, 1:59 PM

What do you guys use to convert AC-3 audio back to something usable to Vegas?

It's too bad it isn't supported directly. With SlySoft AnyDVD running you can drag VOB files right off a DVD onto the Vegas timeline, but you don't get the audio track. I was hoping with Vegas 6 the audio track would show up too.

p@mast3rs wrote on 4/18/2005, 2:02 PM

DVD2Avi is what I use to decode AC3 to wav.

Cheesehole wrote on 4/18/2005, 2:03 PM

thx, I use that too. It's just a bit crashy on my system but when it works it works great.

planders wrote on 4/18/2005, 2:11 PM

DVD Audio Extractor seems to work well too.

rontvs wrote on 4/18/2005, 3:10 PM

If Vegas 6 can't open AC-3 files on the timeline then can it at least play the AC-3 ?

It seems strange that you can't have full support for AC-3 on Vegas when some less than $100 programs can. You should "at least" be able to play back the AC-3 file in Vegas after you have rendered it without going to DVDA just to play it back.

Ron

p@mast3rs wrote on 4/18/2005, 3:23 PM

to be able to play it back, it has to be decoded. If it could be decoded, then it could be used on the timeline. Unfortunately, we can do neither in Vegas 6.

rontvs wrote on 4/18/2005, 3:27 PM

I should have said "preview" the file in the Vegas browser like you can with MP3 etc.

Ron

p@mast3rs wrote on 4/18/2005, 3:30 PM

I dont think so. Follows the same principal as I stated above. The only way to get any playback would be in DVDA3.

rontvs wrote on 4/18/2005, 7:42 PM

Not exactly the same principal. The AC3 copyright restrictions may allow Sony to play the file but not put the file on the timeline for editing. They (Sony) don't seem to have a restriction in playing AC3 files, such as in DVDA, so why not in Vegas...who knows.

Ron

p@mast3rs wrote on 4/18/2005, 7:45 PM

Ok, I believe it is the same principal and Ill explain. In order for Vegas to preview, play, or use on the timeline, it has to be decoded which would require a decoder license for Vegas. To encode requires another license. DVDA3 has both of these licenses. Liceneses are for each application seperately. Its not a blanket license.

Maybe Spot will jump in here and explain it better.

goshep wrote on 4/18/2005, 7:52 PM

I was just wondering if he'd be too tuckered out to post a recap tonight. Hmm. Only time will tell....

B_JM wrote on 4/18/2005, 8:06 PM

the decoder license is very in-expensive , it also can be done through directshow (external decoder) ..

sony states that they do it this way because people using vegas to pirate DVD's , which I agree, makes no sense .. as there are much better tools for this if so inclined to legally back up your own disks ..

Maybe it has more to do with handling multichannel files ..

Recall Soft Encoder can decode ac3 5.2 channels quite well - so Sony already has the technology "in-house" on the shelf ..

At the moment - it is a real pain ...