AC3 Surround with VCD. Is it possible?

[SMoKe MaN]

I'm Sure this question has been answered a few times, but I still didn't find the answer for sure... I understood that it is posibble to create a SVCD + AC3, but what about VCD + AC3? i didn't find a guide or any article that claim it is posibble for certain. so can u tell me once and for all is that posibble???

sorry for my lousy English. :P

[Dragonsf]

How do you make a SVCD with AC3? IMHO, this sort of mpeg-2 stream is not defined.

[mats.hogberg]

No, it's not possible. Well, you can make'em (just like a SVCD) but i doubt if anything would play it (just like a AC3 SVCD). Some specific make/model might, but ...

/Mats

[offline]

posibble to create a SVCD + AC3

No.. that makes an xVCD xSVCD or MiniDVD - hybrids that only work on
some DVD players.

what about VCD + AC3?

No.

[SMoKe MaN]

10X for the answer, but I saw a few posts of pepole that claim they realy succeeded on making a vcd with the 5.1 multichannel audio and it iven worked well on their player .
basicly I guess it can be done but it all depends on the player Compatibility...

BTW

How do you make a SVCD with AC3? IMHO, this sort of mpeg-2 stream is not defined.

I meant a XSVCD that contains ac3 audio stream...

[offline]

basicly I guess it can be done but it all depends on the player Compatibility...

Not with a VCD. You can with a xSVCD. I think those people who claim Dolby Digital with a VCD may be confusing VCD with xVCD or another hybrid. It is not possible to mux a mpeg1 stream with AC3 and have it play on anything IMHO.

Here is how you can do it with a xVCD.

1) Use encoder to create a VCD with all settings for VCD as normal except two - change output from mpeg1 to mpeg2, and output to video only (no audio)

2) Use encoder to mux the resulting video stream with the original .AC3

3) Burn as either a datafile .mpg or .rename it as vob on a standard iso9660 format on a CDR.

4) With DVD player, insert CD and when root menu appears, highlight mpg or vob file and press enter/run. This only works on some players that read cd directories.

[Cornucopia]

2 areas of concern--Can it be created? and Can it be played?

Creation:

(x)SVCD = can be created. I have verified this.
(x)VCD = unless I'm very wrong, this CAN'T be created. Reason: Mpeg1 muxers don't support anything but Mpeg1 (Layers 1-3) audio streams. This removes support for Mpeg2 (Layers 1-3) and 2.5 (5.1 and NBC aka AAC extensions), AC3 and PCM.

Playback:

(x)SVCD = On computers, is probably workable depending on the application. On settops, I would say EXTREMELY rare, if at all. (The XSVCD that I created would play on some apps on the computer, but wouldn't play with any sound on any of the 4 settops that I tried.)

Just trying to clarify.

Scott

P.S.
SMoKe MaN- please list those threads/posts you're referring to. I think many of us would be interested, if only to have more knowledge in the matter.

[wulf109]

VCD,SVCD,xVCD,or xSVCD it doesn't matter. AC3 is not part of the industry spec for VCD/SVCD and no DVD player will play one. You can make a video cd with ac3 sound,just multiplex the video stream with ac3 stream with TMPEG,it will play on PowerDVD,but not on a standalone.

[adam]

SMoKe MaN

You must have been thinking of SVCD. AC3 is not supported but 5.1 multichannel audio is (actually it supports up to 7.1 channels.) The quality is equal to 5.1 Dolby Digital and it is fully supported in the spec, the problem is that very few DVD players and very few receivers support it, so really almost no one bothers to use it. If you do some forum searches on doom9.net you will find a thread where different people listed the hardware that supports it. For the most part, you are only going to get it to work if you have a Philips DVD player and the mulitchannel mpeg audio logo on your receiver.

As for VCD, you are limited to dolby surround which can at best be played back in some form of Prologic.

To make a multichannel mpeg audio SVCD you can use Philip's audio encoder. DVD2SVCD works as a front end for this too BTW.

[Paul Simmel]

Dragonsf Posted: Feb 06, 2004 00:26

How do you make a SVCD with AC3? IMHO, this sort of mpeg-2 stream is not defined.



Politically Correct Answer:

Might you possibly consider an AC3 capable device/software (DVD stuff)?

My Answer to you and all who wish to respond:

Just curious, with the cost of DVD burners/media coming way down now, why would you want to do this VCD thing? I'm not being sarcastic. I'm just really curious in general why you (and so many other people I've read here, who want to spend so much time, use so many different programs, then post so many questions) to do something that is easy with the right hardware and some decent editing software?

Seriously. Before I got my DVD burner not too long ago, I was doing vcds and svsds and xvcds, all with the intent of learning whatever I could in order to gain knowledge which could later be used for DVD Authoring/Burning. I was expecting the learning curve at that time. And I learned. But I right now, with the technology expanding as it is, and prices getting so low/getting lower, why screw around with trying to put AC3 into a VCD!

VCD's are crap compared to a decent DVD. VCDs are less in quality than VHS. Why not spend your learning curve time on something which will pay off for you, and on which you can build your knowledge?

HighDefinition is the next (now) thing. DVD's at the very least will give you something to look at which is very good quality in terms of video and sound with your time/work.

I say to you, get a DVD burner and some decent media (check the "DVD Writer's" link to the left), get yourself some good (not for free) video editing software, and you will be in heaven compared to so many others here trying to squeeze something from nothing – and that’s what many are doing – trying to get something from nothing.

I love this site, it has been a great source of knowledge, but for the life of me I can’t understand why so many people in these days and times are wasting their time with bit-and-piece software, posting with bit-and-piece questions, for answers for questions that would never exist if had they updated low-priced hardware and, God forbid, a purchased piece of software!

I realize I might be going against the grain here, and I realize there are lots of people who can’t afford the “latest” hardware, and moreover I further realize there is benefit to the VCD-type questions/answers here on this site, but damn, can’t we also get real with our answers? Nine-Tenths of my (and others here) problems with video/sound went away when I/we got up to speed with some hardware upgrades and some good editing software.

If I’m wrong, tell me. If I’m right, tell me as well.

[offline]

AC3 is not part of the industry spec for VCD/SVCD and no DVD player will play one.

Of course it is not spec.. we are talking "x" here. As for playback, AC3 works fine with mpeg-2 streams in some players.

I have a stack of movies encoded at CVD resolution with muxed ac3 Dolby Digital 5.1 and they play perfectly in my Hitekker 700 and my Conia M series. The only reason I dropped the resolution is that I needed to run the video at no more than 2500kps to prevent freezing on my friends AD600A Hitekker player (and CVD res. runs well at that setting while DVD or SVCD res. looks blocky.)

If your player can play mpeg files stored as data on CDR then the chance
is that it might be able to play AC3 muxed mpeg-2 files as well. You can't use Dolby Digital burnt as a SVCD - you need either the above capability or MiniDVD playability.

[Paul Simmel]

But I'd rather have a bottle in front of me,
Than have to have a frontal lobotomy.
I might be drunk, but at least I'm not insane.

Love that!

[offline]

It is too easy to ask "why waste your time" and forget that this question could just as easily apply back in the early VCD days. Why convert a video tape onto a CDR? Why anything?

Answer: It is a hobby..it is something I want to do.

I only do DVD these days but if someone wants to play with VCD/SVCD then good on them in my book.

But I'd rather have a bottle in front of me,

Can't take the credit
It is a line quoted in a really weird but enjoyable film called Repo Man, comes orig. from a song:

Hanzlick Randy - Doctor Rock

I'd Rather Have A Bottle In Front Of Me, Than A Frontal Lobotomy

Jimmy and I were brothers.
We went down different paths.
Jimmy always listened to my mother,
And me, I never like to take a bath.

As we grew and tumbled through adulthood
The pressure caused emotional drain.
So now I'm slowly dying in the bottle
and Jimmy has to live with half a brain.

Yes, me, I've got a bottle in front of me,
And Jimmy has a frontal lobotomy.
Just different ways to kill the pain the same.

But I'd rather have a bottle in front of me,
Than have to have a frontal lobotomy.
I might be drunk, but at least I'm not insane.

Jimmy let his troubles drive him crazy.
He never tried to drown it in a drink.
I know that drinking makes my thinking hazy,
But at least I still have brains enough to think.

Jimmy's got a brain that isn't stable.
He doesn't have the sense to say his name.
I'm sorry that his doctor was unable
To remove the proper portion of his brain.

Yes, me, I've got a bottle in front of me,
And Jimmy has a frontal lobotomy.
Just different ways to kill the pain the same.

But I'd rather have a bottle in front of me,
Than have to have a frontal lobotomy.
I might be drunk, but at least I'm not insane.

Funny how the world works.
People can be real jerks.
Some prefer the tension over booze.

Either way it ends the same.
Hard to beat the living game.
Might as well enjoy it while you lose.

When I need a drink I start to shiver
And Jimmy always viewed it with concern.
But I'd rather have cirrhosis of the liver
Than an intellect that's second to a fern.

I wonder if old Jimmy's gonna hear it
When I tell him that his logic wasn't sound.
They'll dose him up on lots of evil spirits
When they take him to the psychiatric grounds.

Yes, me, I've got a bottle in front of me,
And Jimmy has a frontal lobotomy.
Just different ways to kill the pain the same.

But I'd rather have a bottle in front of me,
Than have to have a frontal lobotomy.
I might be drunk, but at least I'm not insane.
I might be drunk, but at least I'm not insane!

[Paul Simmel]

Answer: It is a hobby..it is something I want to do.

I only do DVD these days but if someone wants to play with VCD/SVCD then good on them in my book.

Very valid point! (Still love that quote -- yours or not!)

Have a great day/night.