DVD ARchitect 2.0 compressing AC3 files

[scrtagt69]

Im using dvd architect to author some music videos. i extracted my mp2 and tried using besweet and ffmpeg to convert this to an ac3 file. now when i try adding this ac3 file either as bkgrd music or as part of my video dvd architect always wants to compress it. i tried sound forge 7 to convert my mp2 to ac3 and this file works fine in dvd architect...problem is for some reason with sound forge my audio sounds really low after conversion. can anyone give me any advice on this...its really pissin me off now. thanks in advance for any help.

[FulciLives]

Im using dvd architect to author some music videos. i extracted my mp2 and tried using besweet and ffmpeg to convert this to an ac3 file. now when i try adding this ac3 file either as bkgrd music or as part of my video dvd architect always wants to compress it. i tried sound forge 7 to convert my mp2 to ac3 and this file works fine in dvd architect...problem is for some reason with sound forge my audio sounds really low after conversion. can anyone give me any advice on this...its really pissin me off now. thanks in advance for any help.

There is an excellent guide on the doom9 forum website on how to properly encode AC-3 audio using Sound Forge.

They have many forums and I forget which one it is in but I want to say it is in the AUDIO forum.

It should be easy to find as it is a STICKY POST so it will be at the top of the forum list of threads.

This is the guide I use for creating AC-3 audio and it works well for me.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[freestyler]

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=56020

[scrtagt69]

yeah i tried that site, and for some reason the volume still winds up lower, i made some modifications from what was recommended on that forum and the audio did get somewhat louder but no where close to the original. i find it weird that architect wont take any other ac3 encoded file unless its from its own software.

[erratic]

Correct AC3 settings in Vegas to avoid lower volume:

Dialog normalization: -31 dB.
Dynamic range compression: None.

I haven't used DVD Architect but I assume the same settings apply.

[scrtagt69]

architect doesnt provide any options for the audio. it converts it itself.

[FulciLives]

Correct AC3 settings in Vegas to avoid lower volume:

Dialog normalization: -31 dB.
Dynamic range compression: None.

I haven't used DVD Architect but I assume the same settings apply.

Dialog normalization is not always going to be -31db as this depends on the source ... apparently you didn't read that doom9 sticky post.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[erratic]

I did read that Doom9 post and I tried it. I always ended up with a lower volume everytime I converted a WAV file to AC3 with Vegas. My settings don't lower the volume.

[erratic]

SomeJoe wrote that Doom9 post. He wrote this too in another thread:

To make completely unaltered sound, you need DRC turned off, and dialnorm at -31 dBFS.

[FulciLives]

SomeJoe wrote that Doom9 post. He wrote this too in another thread:

To make completely unaltered sound, you need DRC turned off, and dialnorm at -31 dBFS.

Interesting ...

Is that in the same thread?

I use that guide but I set DRC to none but I still set the dialog normalization to the method described i.e., using the normalization value given in Sound Forge ... this is often times not -31db

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[erratic]

No, it's in this thread.

[andie41]

I had low ac3 volume levels until discovering the above mentioned guide - since then, my sound is just the way I want it.

To make completely unaltered sound, you need DRC turned off, and dialnorm at -31 dBFS.

That advice is to make "completely unaltered sound", not necessarily the best - depending on the original. If I have audio at -12RMS and encode AC3 at -31 db, I get very overblown and distorted sound.

AC3 from my computer sound card is noticeably lower than when played from my standalone DVD player- both played through the same amp and speakers.

[FulciLives]

I had low ac3 volume levels until discovering the above mentioned guide - since then, my sound is just the way I want it.

To make completely unaltered sound, you need DRC turned off, and dialnorm at -31 dBFS.

That advice is to make "completely unaltered sound", not necessarily the best - depending on the original. If I have audio at -12RMS and encode AC3 at -31 db, I get very overblown and distorted sound.

AC3 from my computer sound card is noticeably lower than when played from my standalone DVD player- both played through the same amp and speakers.

I've noticed too that AC-3 audio played back on my computer is always lower in volume than when I playback using my stand alone DVD player. In fact I've heard many other people say the same thing.

I was almost sold on the -31db thing but now I think I'll just stick to the way I've been doing it ... audio isn't always "loud" but it isn't really "low" either.

I don't want overblown f'cked up audio!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[erratic]

In my DVD player my AC3 files sound exactly like the source WAV files. They have exactly the same volume. All other AC3 settings lower the volume. I've never had overblown audio if it wasn't overblown in the first place.

What part of unaltered don't you guys understand?

[andie41]

unaltered - "not changed: still the same, without having changed or having been changed"

If it is less than optimum to begin with, it will remain so. If ideal to start, then likewise.

If your method works for you, excellent - mine works for me. That is what it is all about.