Ripping Audio from DVD Best Format Lossless???

[matthewjohn23]

I have some music DVDs that I would like to rip. The audio on the DVD is 448 kbps AC3 48000. I would like to know what the best format is for the music with the best quality (aside from a stream rip).

[midders]

FLAC - free lossless audio codec

[matthewjohn23]

But what would I use to convert AC3 to FLAC? And isn't it really not lossless considering that you're upping the bitrate with FLAC?

[jagabo]

Just demux the AC3 track. Don't convert it at all. Open your VOB file(s) with DgIndex, then File -> Demux Audio Only. That will give you a .AC3 file that you can play with many players.

[matthewjohn23]

I can certainly demux, but I would like a more user-friendly end format.

[MOVIEGEEK]

AC3 is more user friendly than FLAC on a PC. What will you be playing the files on? If portable then use FLAC.

[hech54]

Convert it to .wav if you want user-friendly- what's the big deal?

[jman98]

I can certainly demux, but I would like a more user-friendly end format.

Please define what you mean by "user friendly". If you mean "Will play on an iPod" that's one thing, but "will play on my Xbox" might be completely different. And let us know if you want to keep the multi-channel audio or are OK with stereo as part of any conversion.

[kpa]

But what would I use to convert AC3 to FLAC? And isn't it really not lossless considering that you're upping the bitrate with FLAC?

FLAC is 100% lossless, whatever you feed the compressor is reproduced bit by bit identical when decompressed.

[Cornucopia]

I think when the OP said "upping the bitrate" he meant that the conversion to uncompressed or lossless would leave a file with a higher bitrate than using AC3 (a lossy codec), which of course is axiomatic. Why this might be a problem, I don't know.
Once again, you've got a newbie asking the "what is best" question without qualifying their idea of what "best" means...



Scott

[jagabo]

What the OP doesn't understand is that to play the AC3 data the audio is first uncompressed, then sent to the audio digital-to-analog converter. When using FLAC you are taking that uncompressed data and compressing it again with a lossless algorithm. When it is decompressed again for playback the data is exactly the same data that came out of the original AC3 decompression.

[matthewjohn23]

What the OP doesn't understand is that to play the AC3 data the audio is first uncompressed, then sent to the audio digital-to-analog converter. When using FLAC you are taking that uncompressed data and compressing it again with a lossless algorithm. When it is decompressed again for playback the data is exactly the same data that came out of the original AC3 decompression.

I'm following the logic. But this would be similar if you had an 3 MB MP3 and you converted it to 30 MB FLAC. It's like blowing up a 400x400 picture into a bigger file. You don't gain anything by upping the size of the file in the conversion. Unless of course you're putting it on a CD for playback. I guess I would probably just make an MP3 or AAC with a similar bitrate to the AC3 if I wanted to make the files more compatible for portable audio devices.

[jagabo]

I'm following the logic. But this would be similar if you had an 3 MB MP3 and you converted it to 30 MB FLAC. It's like blowing up a 400x400 picture into a bigger file. You don't gain anything by upping the size of the file in the conversion.

Of course. But you question was what is the best format other than the original AC3 audio. Lossless flac or uncompressed PCM (WAV) both give you no losses over those incurred in the original AC3 encoding.

I guess I would probably just make an MP3 or AAC with a similar bitrate to the AC3 if I wanted to make the files more compatible for portable audio devices.

You should have mentioned that this was your issue in the first place. You have no choice but to convert to a format that is compatible with your player.

[jagabo]

oops, duplicate post