How to convert AC3 5.1 into DTS 5.1 with minimal quality loss ?

[Hitesh12]

I have a lot of mkv files encoded in AC3, and I want them to convert to DTS. Possible ?
I know AC3 is an even more lossy format than DTS but my new TV supports DTS, not AC3 (very odd lol).
Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

[FulciLives]

There are BluRay players that can play back MKV files that have been burned to DVD or BluRay discs (use Data Disc mode). Most of these also have a USB 2.0 input that will play MKV files that way (via a USB Thumb Stick). I would recommend this method because you can tell the BluRay player to output the audio as Linear PCM and that should work with your HDTV and it saves you from having to re-convert stuff.

Of course it does mean you'll have to spend more money by buying one of these types of BluRay players but it will save you SO much time and effort.

It's a thought.

As for converting AC-3 to DTS ... I know this can be done with eac3to.exe which is a command line program for Windows. There are also some GUI's for it but I'm not sure if any of those support AC-3 to DTS (my guess is that you'll have to use the command line, but it is rather simple to use). In order for this to work you'll have to have a DTS encoder installed. The online manual for eac3to suggests using the SurCode DVD DTS encoder but this is NOT free nor cheap software.

You should probably look at this site: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Eac3to/How_to_Use

Good Luck!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
I just tested this with a 640Kbps 5.1 AC-3 audio file and I was able to convert it to 5.1 DTS audio file at a bitrate of 1536kbps so it does work if you have the Surcode DTS encoder installed. Please note that regular DTS supports 1536Kbps and 768Kbps so for best quality I'd use the higher rate (which is what eac3to uses by default).

[Detmek]

You also have ffdcaenc that is free.

[FulciLives]

You also have ffdcaenc that is free.

Interesting. I was unaware of this free solution. Although I happen to have the Surcode DTS encoder so I probably won't bother with ffdcaenc but it's good for those who don't have Surcode.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[El Heggunte]

If one wants anything beyond "DVD-compliant" or DTS-CD streams, then ffdcaenc is the way to go.
FWIW, it's the only DCA encoder that supports all the sample rates and bitrate values allowed by the official «DTS Coherent Acoustics» specification.

And IMHO, Surcode is outdated, it is no match for the Master Audio Suite.