How to convert 5.1 to 2.0 AC3 and vice versa

[lapetite_66]

Hi:

I have some movies that I have encoded and plan to put onto DVD. I encoded with the free "oldie but goody" Divx to DVD(free). Then I used the old MPEG to VCR to combine and make a MPEG of the VOB file. Last but not least I am using DVDPro Lab.

Each of the files only has one audio channel, three have 2.0 AC3 and one has 5.1 AC3. But I would like to have both 2.0 and 5.1 AC3 on all four. Basically I would like to know how to convert the 5.1 AC3 to 2.0 and vice versa.

I have download the nxMyAC3.dll file. I don't see the channels on the screen like it was said that I should. The only way I see the channels available is when I go to the "Edit" tab and scroll down to the "Convert sample format". When I go to the convert sample format screen and try to convert the AC3 file I get an error message.(see below)

What am I doing wrong?

[tinker]

First of all you do not need to convert 5.1 to stereo. Player will do that for you automatically.
To convert stereo to 5.1 you can check this.

http://stevethomson.ca/vi/

some guides are here

http://forum.doom9.org/archive/index.php/t-105684.html

[Soopafresh]

Sample rate for DVD should be 48000, at least I think that's the case

[lapetite_66]

Thank you Soopafresh and Tinker.

I went to http://stevethomson.ca/vi/ and that plugin seemed doable...until I went to the doom 9 forum and let me say those directions are a little too confusing for me.


Is there one piece of simple and easy software that will allow me to upmix 2.0 to 5.1 AND downmix from 5.1 to 2.0???

[tinker]

I do not know of any. Maybe somebody has some idea.

[lapetite_66]

Since making that last post I found three pieces of software AC3Gain and 2.0 to 5.1 upmix and TCM Audio Tool.

The only problem was the sound quality of the AC3 file. I couldn't really tell the quality of the sound watching the movie on my computer so used DVDProLab and put it onto a disc and watched a few minutes of the movie via my DVD player. I noticed the ACE3 file I had extracted using from the original AVI file using TCM Audio Tool had this echo sound as well as this slight background buzzing sound.

I'm thinking that AC3 that I extracted using TCM Audio tool was the problem? Maybe I should have just used the 2.0 AC3 file that I got after the video file was multiplexed(I think that's the term) in DVDProLab and then upmixed it to 5.1??? Dam! I guess it's back to the drawing board.

Still I would like to find a piece of software that can extract quality audio files from various file types.

Thanks,