Ac3 5.1 audio track convert to stereo

[Anonymous543]

Hi i have ac3 5.1 audio track
I wanna convert to streo
How can I do it with ffmpeg?

By the how many channels in 5.1 audio track
And a streo track

I don't know much about audio

[JoeS99]

I'm no expert but did you try a web search for "ffmpeg 5.1 to stereo"?
I usually try such searches first. Become self sufficient.

[Anonymous543]

Even i also did research but guides which am seeing is confusing lil bit that why I posted here

In guides i readed something about channels but
what is channel idk

May be mono have one channel and streo have 2 channels but not sure...

And may be 5.1 has 5 channels


And may be channels affects file size also
Like more channels means more file size

Still am not sure about anything ,that's why I need a clear explanation on this topic

[jagabo]

If you're happy with the default mapping and levels:

ffmpeg -i input.ac3 -ac 2 output.ext

[Anonymous543]

So -ac specifies channels?

What if I put only 1 channel
Then sound will only play in one side of my headphone or both side?

More channels will make file size bigger?..

[Skiller]

By the how many channels in 5.1 audio track
And a streo track

A 5.1 AC3 file has 6 channels. Each channel is designated to a speaker. In a standard home cinema setup you would have 6 speakers in total.
A 2.0 (aka stereo) file has 2 channels for 2 speakers, like headphones and most TVs.

Downmixing is the process of reducing 6 channels into usually 2 for stereo playback.


This is more technical, but for playback on stereo equipment such as headphones and TVs I would actually advice not to use a ProLogic compatible downmix (proper term is Lt/Rt), which is often the default. Reason is it mixes the two surround channels equally into both, left and right, therefore removing the ability to discern left and right sounds of the original surround channels. They would just appear to be in the middle then. For stereo playback a Lo/Ro downmix (often labeled "Stereo") yields better results.

[jagabo]

So -ac specifies channels?

Yes. 2 channels = stereo

What if I put only 1 channel
Then sound will only play in one side of my headphone or both side?

One channel is mono. Most players will play on both sides of a stereo system.

More channels will make file size bigger?..

It depends on what type of encoding you do. Uncompressed WAV? Yes, more channels means more data. With most compressed formats the bitrate determines the size, not the number of channels. For example MP3 at 128 kbps will deliver the same size for mono and stereo -- but the mono track may sound better at the same size.

[Anonymous543]

For smartphones/mobile phones how many channels are used widely?

[Anonymous543]

If you're happy with the default mapping and levels:

ffmpeg -i input.ac3 -ac 2 output.ext

-ac 1 will make my audio track mono?

[jagabo]

Why don't you try it and find out?

[Anonymous543]

Whenever i try ,i find something new errors
Whatever I'll try it in this evening and give error reports

[Anonymous543]

when i tried to encode my ac3 5.1 audio to opus 32k with this code

ffmpeg -i input.ac3 -c:a libopus -b:a 32k output.opus

it give me this error


[Attachment 62681 - Click to enlarge]

then i did some research on this error

https://trac.ffmpeg.org/ticket/5718

on this site it says i have to add -af "channelmap=channel_layout=5.1" to my code




then i tried encoding this this code

ffmpeg -i input.ac3 -c:a libopus -b:a 32k -af "channelmap=channel_layout=5.1" output.opus

[Attachment 62682 - Click to enlarge]

it worked but output sound quality was to much badd





then i looked at this guide

https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Encode/AAC


[Attachment 62683 - Click to enlarge]


it says with -ac 2 this code we can also do it




so i tried encoding with this code

ffmpeg -i input.ac3 -c:a libopus -b:a 32k -ac 2 output.opus

it also worked and output sound quality was also too good


[Attachment 62684 - Click to enlarge]







now my question is with
-af "channelmap=channel_layout=5.1" this code why sound qaulity bad and with,
-ac 2 this code sound qaulity good






i checked both output files codecs information in vlc player
-af "channelmap=channel_layout=5.1"
output.opus codec information

[Attachment 62685 - Click to enlarge]



-ac 2 output codec information

[Attachment 62686 - Click to enlarge]




what does
-af "channelmap=channel_layout=5.1" this code do? and
-ac 2 this code

[CDK]

why not to use eac3to?

[Anonymous543]

why not to use eac3to?

Because i am interested in ffmpeg cli

[Anonymous543]

If you're happy with the default mapping and levels:

ffmpeg -i input.ac3 -ac 2 output.ext

What are default mapping and levels settings?

[jagabo]

now my question is with
-af "channelmap=channel_layout=5.1" this code why sound qaulity bad

32k isn't enough bitrate for six audio channels. Add -ac 1 to mix it down to one channel.

ffmpeg -i input.ac3 -af "channelmap=channel_layout=5.1" -ac 1 -c:a libopus -b:a 32k output.opus

[jagabo]

If you're happy with the default mapping and levels:

ffmpeg -i input.ac3 -ac 2 output.ext

What are default mapping and levels settings?

-af "pan=stereo|FL < 1.0*FL + 0.707*FC + 0.707*BL|FR < 1.0*FR + 0.707*FC + 0.707*BR"

[Anonymous543]

now my question is with
-af "channelmap=channel_layout=5.1" this code why sound qaulity bad

32k isn't enough bitrate for six audio channels. Add -ac 1 to mix it down to one channel.

ffmpeg -i input.ac3 -af "channelmap=channel_layout=5.1" -ac 1 -c:a libopus -b:a 32k output.opus

-ac 1 will make my audio mono?

And -af="channelmap=channel_layout=5.1" is it necessary to write?..i mean what if i only use -ac 1 code and skip -af code is it ok?

[ProWo]

Use clever Ffmpeg-GUI.
Load your video, click main, click convert audio, select your ac3 5.1 track, click continue, set channels to the special 5.1 to 2 setting (it's an improved downmix algorythm), click convert, done.


[Attachment 62719 - Click to enlarge]

[Anonymous543]

For audio video conversion encoding i like cli better then gui because -
Cli = can do everything
Gui = can do limited things

[ProWo]

For audio video conversion encoding i like cli better then gui because -
Cli = can do everything
Gui = can do limited things

Then convert your ac3 5.1 with your client to stereo.

[Anonymous543]

For audio video conversion encoding i like cli better then gui because -
Cli = can do everything
Gui = can do limited things

Then convert your ac3 5.1 with your client to stereo.

Yea I did it with this code but not sure it's perfect or not

ffmpeg -i -input.ac3 -ac 2 output.ac3

[sageone]

When you do the mix down to 2 channel stereo, be sure to also include Dynamic Range Compression otherwise the audio from the satellite speakers will drown out the main central speaker. This happens alot on youtube where people directly upload their dvdrips and just leave it to be auto processed by the youtube software - the result is that the background music drowns out segments of narration and where people speak to each other.

[jagabo]

I did it with this code but not sure it's perfect or not

ffmpeg -i -input.ac3 -ac 2 output.ac3

There is no perfect, just choices. If you don't like the standard downmix (see post #17) you can specify the parameters yourself.

https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-filters.html#pan-1

A lot of people like to boost the center channel (as suggested by sageone) for more prominent dialog.

[Axel Slingerland]

2 channels = stereo

Based on the dictionary description, yes. But if you ask a musician they will say it's not stereo. We say that if a track was mono to begin with, giving it two channels doesn't necessarily make it stereo. In that case it's two channel mono. Who is right? It all depends on your opinion, I suppose. Musicians believe that if the audio signal is duplicated in both Left and Right channels, then it the output is two channel mono. Stereo is two different unique audio signals in the Left and Right channels. As an example, would Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon be as enjoyable to listen to in two channel mono as it is in stereo? Or more importantly, would you buy a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system if all speakers had the exact same sound? I wouldn't. You would have 6 or 8 speakers that all sound the same, with no bass, no sweeping sound effects, and as such not worth the big bucks a set of speakers like that cost. This is just my musician's opinion...

[jagabo]

For the purposes described here, downmixing a 5.1 source with the given ffmpeg command, 2 channels = stereo. Unless of course the 5.1 source is mono.

[Axel Slingerland]

I did say IF a source was mono...

[Anonymous543]

My source audio 5.1 has 6 channels and all channel has different signals.....
So if i downmix to 2 channel then I'll get left and right channel with same signals or both will have different signals??

[jagabo]

My source audio 5.1 has 6 channels and all channel has different signals.....
So if i downmix to 2 channel then I'll get left and right channel with same signals or both will have different signals??

You've already been told what the default downmix is in post #17. You could just read the documentation:

https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-filters.html#pan-1
https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/AudioChannelManipulation

Or you could just try it and find out for yourself.

Axel Slingerland should never have brought this up. All it's doing is confusing you.

[Axel Slingerland]

I was just making friendly conversation. But your response isn't. So never mind.