AC3 From BeSweet = Crackling at high frequency?

[wesmoc]

I just started trying out DVDLab as a replacement for the very very old SpruceUp and I am very happy with the interface.

The Process
My method of operation is:
Camera->Windows MovieMaker->Save To AVI

Saved AVI->MainConcept MPEG Encoder (Video Only)->Save to MPV file
Saved AVI->TMPGEnc->Save to MP2 File->BeSweet->Save to AC3 File

Saved MPV file and Saved AC3 File -> DVDLab -> Nero - DVD

The whole process works out great. I still have some tweaking to do with the MPEG Encoder to get the best VBR quality I can get, but it all works.

The Problem
However, I did notice that, on high frequencies (loud noises), the audio breaks up and crackles when played on the stand alone player. I checked again, and it does it when playing the resulting DVD on the computer, too.

Since the process I do creates files at each step, I tend to save them all until I am sure the project has been ripped out. So, had the original AVI with the audio, the MP2 file created by TMPGEnc, and the AC3 file from BeSweet.

As far as I can tell, it is the AC3 file creation. It's pretty consistent. I don't hear the artifcats (cracking at higher pitched loud noise) with the MP2 file, but it is definitely there in the AC3 file.

And of course, I need the AC3 file for set top compatibility and for the compression size. Grrr.

BeSweet
My BeSweet command is:
"C:\Program Files\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "d:\Audio.mp2" -output "d:\Audio.ac3" -logfile "C:\Program Files\BeSweet\BeSweet.log" ) -ssrc( --rate 48000 ) -ac3enc( -b 256 ) -profile( WesMo_MP2_to_AC3_for_DVD )

When I originally did the MP2 to AC3 creation, it created it at 44.1khz, and DVDLab complained that "Some DVD players might not play the audio properly" and it recommended 48khz audio. So, that's why my BeSweet command up's the rate to 48khz.

HELP!
So.. am I doing something wrong here? Any ideas? I'm pretty much at a loss as to where to turn.

It is definitely the AC3 file that gets created.

Any help would be wonderful!

[wesmoc]

Bah! Definitely a BeSweet problem.

I came across a bunch of postings where people reported the same problem. I tried out Ac3Machine, and, whatever the options were, the audio came out a lot better!

Obviously, Ac3Machine and BeSweetGUI are just two different front ends to BeSweet's command line back end, but AC3 Machine's command line options did the trick.

I did notice with the latest BeSweet beta, it immediately errors out saying that "support for ac3enc.dll had been removed due it its suckness!"

So, that tells me that there is a known AC3 encoding problem. Unfortunately, it also tells me that there is no solution on the BeSweet side of things, and the fact that it has been removed makes it such that the latest beta of BeSweet cannot do AC3 encoding any longer.

So, I guess I am on the hunt for a new AC3 encoder. Any ideas as to what is best?

[awlchu]

wesmoc,

Go get the TMPGenc Dolby Digital Plugin for $29US. It is an official Dolby certified 2 channel encoder with the world's ugliest interface .

No kidding, it's a GREAT buy and will encode until the cows come home.

Here's some more description on this wonderful tool:

http://www.mmbforums.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=4198#25466

I use it with all my DVDlab projects and I am very, very happy with it. Forget about Besweet etc., this is the tool for AC3 encoding.

[Perro Grande]

It isn't BeSweet's problem, per se. The problem is with the buggy AC3ENC.DLL AC3 encoder that BeSweet calls. This DLL isn't written by the author of BeSweet -- who has recently disabled support for ac3enc.dll "due to its suckiness" -- yet it is one of the largest causes of problems for BeSweet users. No wonder the author (DSPGuru) disabled it in the newest version.

There are some commands that can be passed to ac3enc.dll for normalizing, level correcting, etc. Perhaps AC3Machine passed a better set of parameters to ac3enc. It is free -- might be worth a shot.

However, I do agree that the AC3 module for TMPG is a great value and seems much more reliable than the aforementioned dll...

[johns0]

another ac3 encoder you might want to try out is ffmpeg with gui.

[wesmoc]

Thanks!

I did manage to get my hands on Sonic's Ac3 Encoder, and that did a great job, too.

I suspect that you are correct in that Ac3Machine simply sent a better set of options for normalization than BeSweet did.

I'm checking out TMPGEnc's DVD Author + Ac3 encoder now..