Ripping DVD Chapter Gives Very Quiet Audio

[mrb712]

I know, the title is cryptic.

I am ripping chapters from a factory DVD. I only want a few soundbites here and there. So I extract the audio track with 0SEx-0.0110a1 and then convert the .ac3 file to .aiff with mAC3dec. The process works just fine, but when I open the new .aiff in Sound Studio or any other sound editing tool, the sound is extremely quiet. I have to boost the volume of the audio file by almost 200% in order to get a file that I can actually hear.

Is there a reason why the audio track comes over so quiet?

Is there something else I should try during the extraction or conversion process?

I appreciate the help,
mrb

[WiseWeasel]

If you use the 5.1 channel surround sound AC3 track, you have to downmix it to stereo with mAC3dec, which can often yield very unbalanced sound. If you only have the 5.1 channel AC3, then you're stuck. If you have the 2 channel stereo AC3 track, try using that instead.

[terryj]

Why not just re-record the audio
using Audio Hijack Pro direct from
DVD Player, if all you wanted were
sound bites (no video)? You could then
go in and SELECTIVELY record the bites
you need, to a clean AIFF, ready to go without
editing....

seems like what you did was akin to killing a fly
with a sledgehammer....