WAV PCM & AC3 audio extraction from .avi

[Steve Mackay]

The long saga of getting my home movie onto DVD continues. I manage the conversion of the video from .avi to mpeg2 using the guide http://dvd-hq.info/Compression.html

I took his advise converted the .avi to mpeg2 independently of the sound because of compatibility issues with DVD players. Now I have an audio question.

From what I can gather WAV=PCM=AC3 the only difference is the file extension. Correct?

When I extract my audio from the .avi what program should I use?

Should I use PCM or AC3 file (extension?) for best compatibility with older DVD players.

What can I do to minimize syncing problems between the audio and video when I author my DVD?

I'm using (unsuccessfully) Encore for my Authoring but I downloaded the evaluation of DVD lab to join the two together. I'm hoping there will be no sync problems - any advice in advance would be helpful.

Thanks

Steve

[SaSi]

From what I can gather WAV=PCM=AC3 the only difference is the file extension. Correct?

Incorrect. WAV is an extension and in general used for uncompressed audio. PCM is a type of audio encoding that slightly compresses the audio while AC3 is an acronym for Dolby Digital audio encoding.

When I extract my audio from the .avi what program should I use?

Easiest way to load the AVI in VirtualDUB and select Save WAV

Should I use PCM or AC3 file (extension?) for best compatibility with older DVD players.

In Region 1 (NTSC) players, DVDs should have 1 AC3 or 1 LPCM audio track at least. In PAL players, LPCM is not neccecary. You can use either LPCM, or AC3 or MPEG audio. Most modern players however support all audio formats. LPCM is not really recommended as it's totally uncompressed and will eat away most of the space on the disk.
AC3 encoding can be done with besweet. MPEG2 encoding can be done with Tmpgenc or any other MPEG encoder. I use 160kbps MPEG audio for all my home made DVDs.

What can I do to minimize syncing problems between the audio and video when I author my DVD?

Provided you captured and edited the video files combining audio and video and didn't use a Variable bitrate audio codec,you shouldn't have any sync problems.

[jgandara]

the latest version of besweet won't convert to ac3. It gives you a lame message.

[Will Hay]

When I extract my audio from the .avi what program should I use?

Easiest way to load the AVI in VirtualDUB and select Save WAV

I'm familiar with Virtualdub, but never saw this option.
I shoot ten or fifteen minutes of my son each month and convert to DVD, but would like to record some of him singing and archive to CDr as a conventional CD.
Will the facility within Vdub to "save wav" work with DV avi (transferred to the PC via firewire), it's still an avi, right?
Will

[bugster]

Will the facility within Vdub to "save wav" work with DV avi (transferred to the PC via firewire), it's still an avi, right?
Will

Yes it will, provided you have a suitable codec installed. The panasonic DV codec is the one I sue to enable virtualdub to open DV-Avi. The standard MS one is no good for this.

[Baldrick]

the latest version of besweet won't convert to ac3. It gives you a lame message.

It is probably disabled because it doesn't create compliant ac3s.

[daamon]

Hi Steve Mackay,

I'm using (unsuccessfully) Encore for my Authoring but I downloaded the evaluation of DVD lab to join the two together. I'm hoping there will be no sync problems - any advice in advance would be helpful.

DVDLab, though powerful and more versatile, could be tricky to learn for those very reasons.

Check out the 30 day fully functional trial of TMPGEnc DVD Author. It's beginner friendly, and knocks out decent looking DVD's. Note: If you try TDA with AC3 audio, you won't here the audio when playing back during chapter selection - this is normal as TDA doesn't support AC3 playback - it just allows it to "pass through". However, once the DVD is burnt, the audio plays just fine.

AC3 encoding can be done with besweet

If you find BeSweet daunting or doesn't work properly (as I did), ffmpeggui does AC3 and MP2 encoding and is much easier to use.

Hope that helps. Good luck...

[Will Hay]

Will the facility within Vdub to "save wav" work with DV avi (transferred to the PC via firewire), it's still an avi, right?
Will

Yes it will, provided you have a suitable codec installed. The panasonic DV codec is the one I sue to enable virtualdub to open DV-Avi. The standard MS one is no good for this.

Thanks
W.


EDIT: 15 Jan 03
...
Works perfectly, just created a perfect test wav.
Thanks.
Will