? Stereo WAV to AC3 without AC3ENC.DLL ?

[marsoupilami]

Hi to all!

Due to problems with an 2channel-AC3 i tried to find a different program...
BeSweet and Ac3Machine also do use this DLL!

Any ideas

Many thank's in advance

[DJRumpy]

The DLL is freely available online. You can find it at www.doom9.org in the Downloads section.

[marsoupilami]

@DJRumpy
Sorry if my request was not clear enough...

I have this DLL and i am looking for alternatives!

The AC3ENC.DLL encoded files seem to have a lot of errors:
Decoded back with 'PX3x->WAV Converter' there are small gaps in the WAV.
My standalone (JVC) skips parts of (both audio and video) streams when switching to the AC3ENC-generated language track.

[DJRumpy]

I use BeSweet, and AC3 Machine on a regular basis. I migh suggest you first ensure you have the latest version of both. AC3 Machine relies on BeSweet.exe, and if the besweet.exe is older, you may not get an error, but you can end up with strange results. Upgrade both your BESWEET.EXE, your AC3ENC.DLL, and your AC3 Machine versions.

Try just an AC3 encode using BeSweet to see if the problem is specific to BeSweet/AC3ENC.DLL, or if it's an AC3 Machine problem.

[marsoupilami]

In my opinion the errors are caused by that part which really does the encoding (ac3enc.dll)
I downloaded all programs one ore two weeks ago:
Besweet 1.4 / BSGUI v0.6 b77 / Ac3machine 0.41

...but surfing around here it seems to me that i am not the only one with such problems:
E.g. 'Pioneer standalone picture freeze with specific ac3...'
'problems with ifoedit' (but don't ask me where i have read that)

[DJRumpy]

A few quick tests. Try the disk in another player. If you don't have one, take it to your local electronics store. They will usually let you test a disc without issue.

The AC3ENC.DLL encoded files seem to have a lot of errors:
Decoded back with 'PX3x->WAV Converter' there are small gaps in the WAV.

Also, can you describe your conversion process for the audio. How did you get the WAV in the first place?

[marsoupilami]

Hi DJRumpy!

Thanks for Your efforts!
For me it's absolutely clear that the conversion from 48kHz.WAV to AC3 fails:
The input WAV is ok!

As i stated above the conversion back to WAV shows the erroneous gaps!

The different behavior of different standalone and software players are caused only by more or less restrictive error handling:
.) PowerDVD, WinDVD and 'low cost standalone' prduce negligible gaps
.) My JVC standalone skips mentionable parts/frames (both audio and video)
!! switching to a different ac3 track the DVD plays ok !!

...that's why i'm searching for a different converter!

[VCDWotcha]

Your lucky to get anything. When I generate Ac3 files from a 48Khz Stereo WAV the AC3 file produced has no audio. Silence throughout.

Something majorly wrong with BeSweet.

[vhelp]

Hi all

Does anyone have a scrip for either one of these apps, so I can test a few
of my DV captures (48k wav) to AC3.

I mean, the "command-line script", thanks.

I'm curious what you guys are talking about here

Thanks.
-vhelp

[marsoupilami]

Hi - thank's to everyone!

I just discovered that my JVC-DVD-player accepts mp2 format (both 44.1 and 48kHz)
Ac3enc.dll seems to be a little buggy while ifoedit is ok !

!! problem solved - thank's again !!

[VCDWotcha]

vhelp, if you can get it to work then let me know how you did it !

I'm considering going back to the non beta besweet as the latest version converts my 48khz wavs to silent ac3s which my dvd player does not recognise.

[DJRumpy]

Make sure that if your using the BeSweet GUI, that you have the latest version of BeSweet.EXE (at least version 1.4). Also make sure you have the latest version of the GUI. You also need to ensure you convert your audio one step at a time. If you drop in an MP2 or AC3, click a few conversion options, to change the framerate, sample frequency, etc, and then set the output format to AC3/MP2, etc, I find it often causes problems. To get around them, convert your audio manually through each step. For example, if your converting from PAL to NTSC, and your source is MP2, first convert your MP2 to WAV. Convert the FPS of your WAV from PAL to NTSC, then convert the NTSC WAV to your destination format. When you use BeSweet this way, it typically works without issue. I should say that the issue appears to be more with the BeSweet GUI, than with BeSweet itself.

For all of my AC3 work, I just use AC3 Machine. It's GUI appears to work without issue.

Hi DJRumpy!

Thanks for Your efforts!
For me it's absolutely clear that the conversion from 48kHz.WAV to AC3 fails:
The input WAV is ok!

As i stated above the conversion back to WAV shows the erroneous gaps!

Can you describe your steps for processing your audio? Describe your input AC3 (ie. 2channel, 5.1 channel, dts, etc), what you extracted it from (i.e Divx/XviD/MPEG), and the sample rate. Also describe each step you took to convert it to your desired output format, the versions of the tools involved (ie. Besweet.exe, Ac3machine, besweet gui, etc. You get the idea), and how it was multiplexed back into your video. Maybe there is something simple we're missing here.

[VCDWotcha]

I am using the most simple process in the world ever. I take my AVI, strip out the audio to a 48Khz WAV using virtualdub. The WAV is fine. I open up besweet gui and use the default option to covert a 48Khz WAV to AC3 I hit convert. Nothing could be simpler. But I get silence.

I'll try it from the command line but I really don't see how it will make a difference as all the GUI does is create a command line.

[DJRumpy]

You have installed and configured the GUI to point to AC3ENC.DLL too right?

[yysie]

You may forgot to set the ssrc (sample converter) off... TMPGEnc didn't accept my files because they were 44 Khz

[VCDWotcha]

You have installed and configured the GUI to point to AC3ENC.DLL too right?

ahh.....

how do you do that ? I didn't see that in the readme !!

[DJRumpy]

I just re-read your post. Rather than using the BeSweet button in the GUI, try the "AC3 & OGG" button. I believe the Azidts.exe executable is optional. You may need to point that section of the GUI to BeSweet.exe again.

I would heavily suggest you give AC3 Machine a try. It uses the same Besweet.exe, but it's not cluttered with all of the other options you don't need.

[vcddude]

AC3Machine is not converting WAV file to AC3 when SSRC is selected for 48000Hz sampling rate. When I click "Give me AC3!" the BeSweet DOS window pops up and closes immediately with file creation. I have SSRC.exe in the same directory as AC3Machine.exe, BeSweet.exe, and ac3enc.dll.

Works fine without SSRC sampling selected. What am I doing wrong?

I'm trying AC3Machine as an alternative to the BeSweet GUI.

Thanks,
vcddude

[vcddude]

damn i meant to say above that no file is created when SSRC is selected.

vcddude

[DJRumpy]

That's a little clearer. You also need to configure SSRC in the BeSweet GUI. Click the SSRC button on the right, and point the GUI to the location of the SSRC.EXE file. If you want to see the error (your getting an error, which is why the DOS window closes immediately), you can either enable logging, or simply copy the Command to the clipboard (use the 'Copy Command to Clipboard' button ), and then open a dos prompt manually, and press the Alt-Space keys on your keyboard. From the popup menu, select EDIT | PASTE. When you hit enter, the window will stay open, and you can view the error directly.

[vcddude]

Hmmm, my point is that I am using the AC3Machine GUI, not the BeSweet GUI. How do I specify the location of SSRC.exe within AC3Machine?

Thanks,
Kevin

[vcddude]

Okay I cut-and-pasted the command line as you described (thanks for the tip!) and nothing happens at all. I just get the DOS prompt. I have ssrc.exe in the same directory as ac3machine.exe, besweet.exe, etc.

Pasting the command line without SSRC sampling works fine.

vcddude

[vcddude]

BeSweet, AC3Machine, etc. are all crap.

Sonic Foundry's Soft Encode fixed my problem. Now AC3 works perfectly (2.0 and 5.1) on all my DVD players. SE is the only way to go.

vcddude

[DJRumpy]

They are not all 'crap'. You simply have to configure them correctly. You should also remember that these software programs are written and given out as free. You get what you pay for

Okay I cut-and-pasted the command line as you described (thanks for the tip!) and nothing happens at all.

You have to have the command copied from the clipboard of the GUI before pasting it into the dos window. If you do not get a long series of commands pasted into your DOS window, that looks something like this:

"BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "Input.ac3" -output "Output.ac3" ) -azid( -L -3db -n1 -g max -c light ) -ssrc( --rate 48000 --att 0 ) -ota( -d 0 ) -ac3enc( -b 384 ) -profile( The AC3Machine v0.4 )

then your doing it wrong. You must click the 'copy to clipboard' button and then immediatly open the dos window, and do the edit/paste function. Having the executables in the same directory means nothing to any of these programs. You must point each GUI to the appropriate EXE file. Unfortunately, without the error message, there isn't much we can do for you. I did go back and look at the AC3 Machine GUI, and although it appears to support resampling the audio, I do NOT see any option to point it to the SSRC.EXE executable. This would tend to make me think it does yet fully support it. I always change my sampling rate in BeSweet, which may be why I've never run into the problem.

Just to get to the bottom of this, open AC3 Machine, and in the bottom right corner of the GUI, enable ALL three logging options:

Output To...
Append To...
PopUP Log...

It will report the error code.

[vcddude]

Yeah OK, calling them 'crap' wasn't quite appropriate. That's great if it works for others, but although I am pretty technically proficient, I could never get BeSweet or AC3Machine AC3 to work for me. I'm just glad I found a solution that does work.

Thanks for everyone's help especially DJRumpy.

vcddude

[vcddude]

FYI I just verified that ffmpeg AC3 doesn't work either on Pioneer DVD players. SoftEncode AC3 seems to be the only thing that does.

vcddude

[DJRumpy]

The problem may lie with your PC. I've owned the Pioneer A04, and I currently own the A05. I've had no issues using AC3 from both BeSweet, and AC3 Machine. It could also be something as simple as the authoring software. Too many variables.

[vcddude]

BeSweet AC3 doesn't work from either of my PCs. Both are Dells, so who knows what the problem. In any case, I'm glad I found a solution which is to not use BeSweet.

vcddude