Freeware AC-3 in a commercial DVD

[dylanpank@msn.com]

Dear all - I may be helping to produce a commercially available DVD of my students' short films. In order to save space I may be using the FFMPEG ac3 encoder to generate the audio. However I wondered what the legal issues are with that, seeing as originally ac3 is owned by Dolby who I assume protect their rights quite aggressively.

[offline]

This is not an answer. For copyright info on AC3 see www.dolby.com

I made a limited release commercial DVD series some time
back and thought about the same issue. I went and purchased
an out of date 2nd hand copy of an authoring app that handled
DD hoping it would cover me.

These days I have the genuine encoder which comes with
the license.

[BJ_M]

well for one thing -- it will not be totally compliant ...

you can buy an ac3 2ch encoder with tmpgenc fairly cheap .. as well as with other authoring apps ..

[dylanpank@msn.com]

Thing about getting an out of date piece of software with the licence is that wouldn't Dolby also get pissed off if I were to encode something with someone else's software (that, as I've just been told isn't 100% compliant and screws up on certain players) and then stuck their logo on the DVD?

Secondly... The non compliance thing... is that like to be a big, or even medium sized problem? The DVDs I've made with FFmpegX (I'm on a Mac) at home haven't had any real problems so far on the limited number of players I've used them with. . If so I guess I'll think about playing it safe and going for PCM and compressing the video a little harder, or getting the faculty to stump up for a proper licensed AC-3 encoder. (the DVD would be for a collection of my student's films that we would sell back to them and friends/family to cover costs).

2ch would be fine.

Thanks for the swift replies, these were helpful.

[offline]

and then stuck their logo on the DVD?

The logo is a different matter and a different license.

As for FFMPEG (MAC) compatabilty, I'd ask those
weird fellows over at the Mac forum of their real world
experiences. I bet PCM will end up taking too much
space for your liking.

[dylanpank@msn.com]

> The logo is a different matter and a different license.
>

I was under the impression if you used Dolby encoded sound you had to include the logo on the packaging. What I wondered is would using FFmpeg encoded .ac3 infringe their licence.

> As for FFMPEG (MAC) compatabilty, I'd ask those
> weird fellows over at the Mac forum of their real world
> experiences.
>

Thanks I will.

> I bet PCM will end up taking too much
> space for your liking.
>

That is what worries me.

[mpack]

I was under the impression if you used Dolby encoded sound you had to include the logo on the packaging.

I don't know the true answer, but I would have guessed it was the other way round - ie. in order to use the Dolby logo (their TM) on your product you have to have used a Dolby-certified encoder (meaning, Dolby's own).

[BJ_M]

I was under the impression if you used Dolby encoded sound you had to include the logo on the packaging.

I don't know the true answer, but I would have guessed it was the other way round - ie. in order to use the Dolby logo (their TM) on your product you have to have used a Dolby-certified encoder (meaning, Dolby's own).

true

and send them a sample


i can tell right away if it is a true dolby or not ... because i can check ac3 streams .. i am sure they can also ..

i am also sure that the free encoders will keep getting better and soon there will be a point where there is no diff.

[mh2360]

The fact that Region 1 DVDs must have either an AC3 or PCM soundtrack must be a bitch for American DVD creators. We Europeans have MP2 audio, which can sound outstanding. There are many freeware MP2 audio encoders, but no freeware DVD Compliant AC3 encoders out there.

As for licenses... I believe (i might be wrong) that you need some sort of MPEG2 License to distribute MPEG2 Video Technology, just as Dolby requires... There are at least 2 freeware MPEG2 Video encoders available...

Read:

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=546938&Main=546938

[dylanpank@msn.com]

AFAIK, you don't need a licence to distribute Dolby encoded soundtracks, you're just required to label the box with a Dolby DD Logo, Dolby make their money licensing the codecs to hardware and software manufacturers I assume - every DVD player sold or copy of Windows XP means another penny goes back to Dolby. I think the same is true of MPEG2. I guess the deal with freeware Mpeg encoders like FFmpeg or Mpeg2enc is that what they produce "isn't really" mpg2 (just like DivX "isn't really" Mpeg4 and XviD "isn't really DivX or something like that) but something that's really similar.

Obviously whoever made FFmpeg and other subsequent uses of it (such as FFmpegX et al) haven't paid those licences, yet they are churning out ac3 or ac3-a-like sound tracks, albeit not 100% compliant ones.

[BJ_M]

The fact that Region 1 DVDs must have either an AC3 or PCM soundtrack must be a bitch for American DVD creators. We Europeans have MP2 audio, which can sound outstanding. There are many freeware MP2 audio encoders, but no freeware DVD Compliant AC3 encoders out there.

As for licenses... I believe (i might be wrong) that you need some sort of MPEG2 License to distribute MPEG2 Video Technology, just as Dolby requires... There are at least 2 freeware MPEG2 Video encoders available...

Read:

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=546938&Main=546938

European dvd's must also have an ac3 or lpcm track .. that was changed about 2 years ago ..

[dun4cheap]

Well do what Pinnacle has done with Studio9. The have like dolby surround technology. Since the AC3 your creating is not licensed, it sounds like Dolby Digital technology but its only Dolby Digital compatable. Or just purchase MyDVD crap with dolby digital, so you have a license. Toss the CD and keep the license.

You remember the Soundblaster compatable days
Dolby Compatable sounds

[BJ_M]

Since the AC3 your creating is not licensed, it sounds like Dolby Digital technology but its only Dolby Digital compatable

huh? that makes no sense ...