SVCD or VCD 5.1 audio

[fiercekid84]

is there a way to make the audio to be in 5.1 in SVCD or VCD

[jimmalenko]

Short answer No.

5.1 can only be achieved by using AC3 sound and not MPEG Layer 2 which is used in VCDs/SVCDs.

[fiercekid84]

or how about a close to 5.1 audio like dolby surround

[jimmalenko]

No. Dolby Digital and DTS are only available in AC3. Look in the What is VCD and What is SVCD sections for the maximum bitrates. You will find that 384kbps would be pretty comparable on a tv.

[wildcatfan]

Short answer No.

5.1 can only be achieved by using AC3 sound and not MPEG Layer 2 which is used in VCDs/SVCDs.

Actually true 5.1 is (technically) possible, but good luck getting the hardware that will actually do it. Mpeg Audio has 5.1 extensions and can contain a true 5.1 stream (up to 7.1 actually). You can use the hypercube transcoder to convert ac3 to mpeg multichannel.

Now for the bad news. Not many hardware devices support it. Some Phillips players will output the signal, but there are even fewer Receivers that will decode it. And I don't know of any software dvd players that decode the 5.1 signal. One good thing though is that even if your player/software doesn't support 5.1 they will still play the correct L/R signals from the stream. But then why go to all the trouble if your player doesn't support it?

Edit: BTW, this only applies to SVCD's, VCD's are 2ch only.

[jimmalenko]

I just read up on the SVCD specs and yes it is possible but probably not practical. I stand by my "Short answer No" comment.

[cooljoe666]

Yes it can be done, but there is a catch.

The audio tracks have to be on a different disc seperate from the video track.

[Fluffbutt]

Umm what about some stand alone players that will play non standard vcd (called xvcd ? I think).

You could then maybe have a vcd video stream with an ac3 multiplexed into it? Would that work? (or am I talking outta my arse?)LOL