Combining stereo dubbing with original 5.1

[embe]

I apologise if this is already discussed somewhere here, but I haven't been able to find the answer. Sorry for my english also

I have polish DVD with 5.1 PL Audio and I have 2.0 czech dubbing which I took from some divx. I edited dubbing in Vegas so now it`s almost ok with the movie (not match movie for 100% but it`s ok for me).
What I want to do is to combine this CZ 2.0 dubbing with PL 5.1. So I used some DVD Audio software which demuxed PL 5.1 to 6 wav files (each wav has it`s number). My questions are:

- as CZ 2.0 dubbing contains complete 5.1 sound in 2.0 will it disturb (because complete CZ dubbing including sound etc will go from center speaker)?
- as CZ 2.0 doesn`t match movie for 100% as i mentioned so channels will diverge maybe - will this disturb again?
- I have 6 wav files demuxed from original DVD. Subwoofer's wav is easy to recognize. Also PL language's wav file (center) is easy to find. But how can I recognize which wav is FL and FR and SL and SR so I can assign these into channels in Vegas?

This is my first DVD which i`m trying to edit like that

[Krispy Kritter]

You best choice would be to use one or the other.

If you replace the existing front L/R channels of the PL audio with your CZ channels, the remaining channels will still have the wrong language, the surround channels aren't just used for sound affects. Plus the fact that your CZ channels are not 100% in sync, they won't match the PL channels.

Besides, any decent surround reciever can create the surround channels from the stereo source. It won't be as good as true 5.1, but it will sound decent.

[guns1inger]

Further to the Krispy reply, not only will the surround channels still have PL in them, the stereo source will have been a downmixed version of a surround mix, and will have all other effects in it. If you combine them you not only get a mix of languages speaking at the same time (or worse, slightly out of sync), but all the sound effects will be coming out of the wrong speakers as well. Instead of getting the best of both worlds, you will just get mud.

[embe]

Guys, thanks for yr replies. So people don`t do this? I thought it`s normal In my case PL language (speaking) is not a problem because i deleted it. So I will only hear CZ language but exactly as you mentioned - the stereo source will have been a downmixed version of a surround mix and all the sound effects will be coming out of the wrong speakers as well - in this case from center.
Movie I`m trying to edit has not that much sound in it and when actors talk there is no sound so I have only one option - cut everything exept talking and fill cutted passages with empty events. The question is if this has a sense...

Another thing is that I don`t understand what problem is the surround channels still have PL in them as it`s only sound, I will make AC3 in Vegas from them and then author in DVD architect as CZ. What do you guys mean?

[guns1inger]

There is a common mis-conception about 5.1 audio that there is a dialogue channel, and that the dialogue can be isolated or removed by removing this mythical channel. It isn't true. While most dialogue is concentrated around the centre channel, it can in fact be mixed into any channel, including the surrounds. It all depends on the movie and the audio mix. If there is a crowd scene, a war scene, or anything where there are characters talking behind the camera, there may well be dialogue in the surrounds. In fact in some scenes, some dialogue is mixed only into the surrounds to get the right effect.

In your case, you may well find that you can replace the main dialogue with a different language, but the original language could still be in any of the other channels.

Of course, this varies from mix to mix, so you may have got lucky with this one. However I still think you are going to a lot of effort for little if any gain, especially given the new language track doesn't line up anyway.

[embe]

There is a common mis-conception about 5.1 audio that there is a dialogue channel, and that the dialogue can be isolated or removed by removing this mythical channel. It isn't true. While most dialogue is concentrated around the centre channel, it can in fact be mixed into any channel, including the surrounds. It all depends on the movie and the audio mix. If there is a crowd scene, a war scene, or anything where there are characters talking behind the camera, there may well be dialogue in the surrounds. In fact in some scenes, some dialogue is mixed only into the surrounds to get the right effect.

In your case, you may well find that you can replace the main dialogue with a different language, but the original language could still be in any of the other channels.

Of course, this varies from mix to mix, so you may have got lucky with this one. However I still think you are going to a lot of effort for little if any gain, especially given the new language track doesn't line up anyway.

I see...thanks for detailed explanation mate. I thought it`s easy and i also thought that people often do this...I have a "forum friend" which do this, he also passed me movie "Last boy scout" in 5.1 where he did it like i wanted.
The problem is that some movies are very difficult to get here in my country and it`s even more difficult to get these with with dubbing or subtitles because these are not that commercial or these are old and out of stores/hire. The only option is to get original somehow (amazon, e-bay etc) and put there dubbing from VHS or divx. And I thought if I play with it I can do it 5.1 in above described way.

Thanks mate!