AC3 and TMPEG

[reman]

I use BeSweet to encode WAV to AC3. SFAIK, this uses the same AC3 encoder as ffmpgui. No synch issues, playback tested in Apex, Cyberhome, Toshiba, PS2, and a couple more. Apparently some standalones have trouble with the AC3 from BeSweet.

I mux with TmpGenc and burn with Sonic, no major authoring. A simple script file does the whole process in an hour or so, hands-free. Also all free software. I think you can put $450 to a whole bunch of better purposes than authoring software.

For maximum compatibility, LPCM would be your best choice outside of a professional encoder.

How did you mux the mpeg 2 video with the AC3 file in Tmpgenc?

NEVER MIND

[fritzi93]

I've never yet run across a player that won't accept mp2, and since I only use dvdauthorGUI, I'm limited to that. Not a hell of a lot of difference in filesize compared with ac3, and never had sync issues using ffmpeggui. Any particular reason you won't do a test using mp2?

As for a source with ac3, you can use Ciler's ac3tool to normalize and extract to wav, then use ffmpeggui. This produces satisfactory output without the low audio problem. All freeware.

[cdcox]

I've never yet run across a player that won't accept mp2, and since I only use dvdauthorGUI, I'm limited to that. Not a hell of a lot of difference in filesize compared with ac3, and never had sync issues using ffmpeggui. Any particular reason you won't do a test using mp2?

I have always used mp2 in the past without problems, all 3 of my table top players will play it. However, I did a wedding for a friend and when I took him a disc for him and his bride to be to watch, it played the video flawlessly but had no sound at all. I then gave him a second disc with a different video on it authored with the same software, encoded with tmpegenc+ on the same brand of media, but used LPCM audio, and the disc played both video and audio perfectly. I do not want to give them a DVD of their wedding and not have the sound play. They do have an older DVD player, so when I am finished editing their wedding, I will use LPCM so they can watch it. I have just heard that LPCM and AC3 are the 2 most compatible sound files to use and from what I have experienced with this DVD player, I will always from this point on, use LPCM if the video is 1 hour or less. If I get upwards of 1.5 hrs then I will want lto use the ac3 for the compatibably issue. The last thing I want is to do a job and charge someone and the video not play properly on their player.

[fritzi93]

Too bad, and sorry you had to answer that question twice- didn't read closely enough.

Maybe best to just get TDA (or some other authoring prog) with the plugin and save your time, especially if this is your business. (How necessary is it to have menus on this particular project?)

So Pinnacle acquired Dazzle, and also therefore DVD Complete? You have my condolences, no ac3 support will be forthcoming, ever.

[dwiesel]

I've tried using both MP2 and AC3 audio…I agree, MP2 has no sync issues (AC3 does for me)…the problem is, I've tried two different methods (TMPGenc which I know is crappy, and Pinnacle) and both sound inferior if listened to through headphones or if you up the volume on a quiet passage. Does anyone know of or can recommend a software that does QUALITY MP2 conversion from .WAV?

Aside from the sync issue, my AC3 has low volume (not to mention all the steps involved). I use VirtualDub to create a WAV from my AVI, FFMPEGUI to create the AC3 from the WAV, mux the AC3 with the MPG using TMPGenc+, then render using TMPenc Author (though I could just skip the muxing step and do it in Author, but not sure what other pros/cons may be involved as far as quality or sync issues).

In order to compensate for the low AC3 volume and sync issue, I have to up the volume in VirtualDub to 187% when creating my WAV (using this % matches the original AVI volume, and use an offset of -110ms to correct sync. I don't like increasing the volume that much because it may become distorted, but don't know of a better work around. I'm curious if anyone else has had similar and can maybe recommend some ideas. Thanks.

[reman]

In order to compensate for the low AC3 volume and sync issue, I have to up the volume in VirtualDub to 187% when creating my WAV (using this % matches the original AVI volume, and use an offset of -110ms to correct sync. I don't like increasing the volume that much because it may become distorted, but don't know of a better work around. I'm curious if anyone else has had similar and can maybe recommend some ideas. Thanks.

Interesting points! I thought the offset is -101ms???

YES! The volume is much lower. Sucks. BeSweet's latest version (and the underlying software) DOES make the proper AC3 files now. You have the choice of BIG or Little encoding. BIG is correct for DVD specs...right??

I usually use an MP2 file. I recently tried the AC3 encoding and find nothing special about it.

[dwiesel]

Reman…thanks for the response….guess I'm not alone! You mention -101ms…please, where does this number come from?…it's likely correct if it's some standard. I came up with -110ms based solely on my own trials/errors…but after so many tests, trying to SEE that small of a difference, say between -100ms and -110ms, and verifying that it does in fact match the original AVI is nearly impossible. Again, I'm curious how -101ms was determined, or how standard it is.

I never could get BeSweet to work…and I hated its difficult functionality and GUI.

Though you say you see nothing special about AC3, I think it bears repeating that if you compare MPG-2 to AC3, you'll likely hear a slight hiss on MPG-2 (maybe only noticeable through headphones). I defended MPG-2 for a while but changed my mind recently after a back-to-back sound test.

[reman]

Reman…thanks for the response….guess I'm not alone! You mention -101ms…please, where does this number come from?…it's likely correct if it's some standard. I came up with -110ms based solely on my own trials/errors…but after so many tests, trying to SEE that small of a difference, say between -100ms and -110ms, and verifying that it does in fact match the original AVI is nearly impossible. Again, I'm curious how -101ms was determined, or how standard it is.

I never could get BeSweet to work…and I hated its difficult functionality and GUI.

Though you say you see nothing special about AC3, I think it bears repeating that if you compare MPG-2 to AC3, you'll likely hear a slight hiss on MPG-2 (maybe only noticeable through headphones). I defended MPG-2 for a while but changed my mind recently after a back-to-back sound test.

I swear I saw that -101 was a std???? for sync AC3. Ya, BeSweet is a really bad GUI. I know what they are trying to do but it is very hard to work through.

What MP2 encoder are you using?

[dwiesel]

Marc...the only MP2 software I used were TMPGenc (which is lousy), and Pinnacle's (which was lousy)...do you recommend one??

[reman]

Marc...the only MP2 software I used were TMPGenc (which is lousy), and Pinnacle's (which was lousy)...do you recommend one??

Well...I use TMPGEnc also BUT and a very BIG but is that I do not use the built in encoder. Here is what I use:

MP2 = tooLame (latest versions are great and fast)
MP3 = lame
Freq Converter (48>44 or 44>48 ) = SSRC

GOTO menu: Options | Environmental Settings | Audio Engine tab

Make sure that the 3 sections are using the above. Then make sure that you have the latest versions of each.

Many of the programs out there use these including BeSweet, etc.

[dwiesel]

Great Marc, thanks, can't wait to try it!!!

[christaltips]

So the TMPGEnc AC-3 Plugin, is it just used to encode any audio file into AC-3 6 channel sound? Or does it only encode certain audio files into 2 channel sound? I'm thinkin about investing myself...

[MOVIEGEEK]

So the TMPGEnc AC-3 Plugin, is it just used to encode any audio file into AC-3 6 channel sound? Or does it only encode certain audio files into 2 channel sound? I'm thinkin about investing myself...

Only 2ch AC3.