VCD and Dolby Surround

[RodNichols5]

I want to try video capture with my computer in place of my VCR. I
would like to record episodes of tv shows, such as Star Trek or
x-files, by using a capture card such as ATI all-in-wonder radeon 7500
or 8500. I want to capture the shows to my hard disk, convert to
mpeg-1, and then burn them to VCD using Nero. I know that the two
cards I mentioned have stereo capabilities. If I capture and burn,
will I also get the Dolby Surround ?
I know that Dolby Surround is in two channels, stereo is also in two
channels. If I capture the signal, in stereo, and if the broadcast is
Dolby Surround, and my receiver that my DVD player is connected to
will process Dolby Surround, I should get the results I want, correct ?

I know that Dolby Digital is 5.1 and is not supported in VCD, right
now I just want Dolby Surround on the VCD of some of my favorite
episodes.

Does all this sound correct ? Sorry for my longwindedness but I
wanted to clarify my question, and establish that I mean 2 channel
Dolby Surround rather than 5.1.

Any advice would be most appreciated !!
I have been reading the guides and the forums on this site but didn't see this specific issue raised.

Thanks in advance !!

[devinemi83]

Stereo is the best you will get with VCD. The VCD standard only supports stereo.

[vitualis]

If the broadcast has Dolby Surround encoded stereo AND you capture the audio in stereo, then your subsequent VCDs will retain that Dolby Surround information.

That is, if you connect the audio output to a Dolby Pro Logic decoder, you will get L, R, C and S audio output from your VCD.

That is, answer to your question is "yes".

@ devinemi83: Dolby Surround encoded audio can be carried by ANY stereo sound source (included stereo TV broadcasts, FM radio, audio CDs, etc.) and so you can have Dolby Surround encoded audio on a S/VCD as well.

Regards.

[devinemi83]

I didnt know he meant to use a decoder as well. I misunderstood the question.

[Thorn]

Virtualis: would the capturing sound card have any affect on that? Obviously you'd need to capture stereo at 44.1KHz or 48Khz. I'm assuming you're saying that the Dolby surround won't be filtered out or lost because it's encoded into the audio (like steganography in a way) so it's automatically there in any subsequent re-encode. Is that right?

[vitualis]

Virtualis: would the capturing sound card have any affect on that? Obviously you'd need to capture stereo at 44.1KHz or 48Khz. I'm assuming you're saying that the Dolby surround won't be filtered out or lost because it's encoded into the audio (like steganography in a way) so it's automatically there in any subsequent re-encode. Is that right?

The capturing sound card should have minimal effect on the Dolby Surround as long as you capture in stereo.

And that's right. It is like steganography in a way. It will automatically be there when you subsequently re-encode it. The only caveat is to NOT use joint stereo encoding. The Dolby Surround info is in part encoded by the phase difference between the the left and right channel. Joint stereo encoding can affect this phase information --> degrading of the Dolby Surround encoding.

Regards.

[RodNichols5]

Guys,

Thanks for all the advice !! Now I just need to get the right video card. I am leaning towards one of the AIM Radeon either the 7500 or the 8500. I had an ATI card before and really loved it. I believe as long as the specs say that the card will capture in stereo I should be okay. If my research is right, the sound card won't matter.

Thanks again,