multichannel audio in MainConcept Reference

[lord25]

Hello everybody!

I'd like to encode a 5.1 multichannel audio file (e.g. *.aac or *.wma) using the multichannel audio option in MainConcept Reference.
The problem is: I don't know which kind of audio file(s) i have to use as input.

I tried several ways: When importing an AIFF/WAV file with 6 mono channels I can assign only one (the first) audio channel to the designated output channels. When importing an AIFF/WAV file with 3 stereo channels I can assign only the first stereo channel pair (left and right) to the designated output channels. Importing an AIFF/WAV file with 6 discrete mono channels doesn't work at all (Quicktime says to this audio file: 1 audio layer with 6 discrete mono channels).

Is there anything I possibly forget to activate in order to actually encode a 5.1 multichannel audio file?
Can anybody please explain which kind of audio file I have to use as input for MC Reference to solve my problem?

Is there an option to use 6 mono audio files (AIFF of WAV) as input and assign each file to one output channel? I tried this but I didn't manage to activate more than one audio layer in the main window of MC Reference.

Thanks for help!

Best regards,
lord25

[poisondeathray]

6ch wav input works fine, but you need one of the plugins (e.g. if you wanted 6ch aac output, you need the avc or avcpro plugin which includes aac output)

There are many free apps that can do what you want as well. e.g. eac3to, foobar2000, behappy, megui, wmnicenc (for wma)

[lord25]

Thanks for your answer!
Which plugin do i need to encode a WMV file (VC-1) with WMA multichannel audio?

[poisondeathray]

That would be the VC-1 or VC-1 pro plugin

It's listed in the "features" section on their webpage

You have to change the stream type to "asf file format" in order to "see" it in the drop down menu in the audio section

Cheers

[lord25]

In the drop down menu I am able to select VC-1 and VC-1 pro and in the audio tab I can select WMA. The stream type is set to ASF. But the problem is that I'm not able to assign 6 audio channels (which are part of a 5.1 mix) to each of 6 output channels.

[poisondeathray]

Did you load a 6-ch audio input (e.g. wav or ac3) first?

The 3rd tab is the "stream" tab and has to be set to "asf file format", then go back to the 2nd tab, select wma, and the drop down menu for channels should show 6-ch as a possible selection

You can't assign or remap channels in MCR (they have to be set in the correct FL,FR,FC,BL,BR,SUB order with the input file) but you can remap with some of the other free tools I listed above

[lord25]

Yes, the input files I select are 6-channel audio files (WAV and AIFF).

It's no problem to select "FL,FR,FC,BL,BR,SUB" in the drop down menu. But in the input column of the multichannel audio window I can't select/assign more than two audio channels. No matter which kind of multichannel audio file I choose as input (as described in my first post): I never see more than two channels in the input column of the multichannel audio window.

[poisondeathray]

I'm not sure I understand

When you open your 6-ch input wav file, does it say 6 channel audio in the input box for the value column? or is it detecting it as 2-channel input when it should be 6 ?

You can't remap the channels in MCR, it will take what you give it.

Perhaps your input file is corrupt? Try with a different input, eg. 6-ch AC3 file



EDIT: I uploaded a tiny 6-ch wav sample for you to test

tdk%20clip_track2.wav

[lord25]

When you open your 6-ch input wav file, does it say 6 channel audio in the input box for the value column? or is it detecting it as 2-channel input when it should be 6 ?

That's the point, thanks for this question! The software always detects a 2-channel file. But I don't think that my 6-channel audio files are not correct. I tried several ways but it doesn't work.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong or if there's an option in MC Reference which I overlook.


Thanks for the file! I'll test it tomorrow (because I don't have the software on my personal computer where I'm sitting at the moment).

[poisondeathray]

Please check the test clip I uploaded above as input, it's 5MB

If it doesn't work properly (i.e. doesn't show up as 6-ch) , try uninstall/reinstalling MCR. If that doesn't work, and you're sure that your plugins are activated, contact Mainconcept support.

[lord25]

Alright. Thanks for your answers!

[Midzuki]

The software always detects a 2-channel file. But I don't think that my 6-channel audio files are not correct.

What application(s) did you use to hear it How it was produced?
Multichannel WAVs can be one of these "flavors": WAVEFORMATEX,
or WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE. Most applications support only one of such
"flavors". Perhaps your 5.1 WAV is WaveFormatEx, and MCR expects a
WaveFormatExtensible input, which would explain why it detects
only 2 audio channels instead of six.

[Cornucopia]

Just what I was thinking, Midzuki.

Scott

[lord25]

Thanks for all replies!
Can anybody recommend an easy-to-use tool to create WAF/AIFF files (WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE)?
The source files I have to use are either 6 mono channel files or 1 file with 3 stereo channels.

[poisondeathray]

Easiest to use would probably be wavewizard. There are quite a few options and settings for you to adjust for channel mapping and filetypes, but you'll figure it out once you play with it. e.g. you can choose to export WaveFormatEx or PCM wav in the options (or a few other types) .

Note the convention for channel mapping is different for flac & wav than ac3 (or dts, aac , etc...), so make sure you test out your channels, or you might find they are swapped

You should be able to do this in an audio editor as well e.g. audition, soundforge, maybe audacity?, and vegas

I use avisynth + behappy or soundout. Using a script will gives you a lost of options and control over mapping, mixing, amplitude etc.., but it may be difficult to learn at first if you're not already familiar with avisynth basics

[lord25]

Thanks once more!

I tried the file which was posted by poisondeathray. But it didn't work at all (no audio was detected by MC Reference). None of the import modules is disabled, the Quicktime import module is active.

I don't know why this doesn't work in my MC Reference. I guess that's a case for the MainConcept support team.