AC3 to DVD-audio

[fishman12345]

I am trying to take a 6 channel AC3 file that I ripped from one of my DVDs and convert it to DVD audio. I know there is a way to create either a DTS-CD or a Dolby 5.1 CD based on the AC3 file but I am not sure how.

I am also trying to do it with shareware if at all possible but if I need to purchase something I don't even know what it is yet.

Any ideas on a good step-by-step guide? I found one for converting a 2 channel DVD AC3 file to WAV but that's about it.

THANKS!

[Capmaster]

Did you look through the audio tools section here?

[fishman12345]

To be honest, there's so much here anymore I can't find exactly what I need which is why I posted the question in the general forum. Also, specifically looking for shareware and am half way there by getting my AC3 file.

[FOO]

It came from a DVD , Why do you need to change it ?
It obviously IS DVD audio

[fishman12345]

Does it matter to you?

But if it does...here it goes:

My new car has a DVD-Audio player. If you are unfamiliar with the technology, it's 5.1 surround audio only.

You can't play video DVDs in it, but if you're crafty enough (which I am not quite yet or I wouldn't be asking for help) you can STrip the audio off of a 5.1 channel DVD, convert it to DTS-DVD audio and then play it on a DVD-Audio player like mine.

Voila, there you have it.

Now if anyone has advice, I'd welcome it. Only replies I seem to be getting are more questions UGH!!!

[noki]

fishman12345
there's a prog named DVD+Audio Creator (developed by the person that created DVD2One). that makes DVD Audio dvdrs.
first you convert the audio (either from CD Audio or DVD Movie) to WAV, then input into the prog to creator the DVD Audio. good luck.

[FOO]

I am trying to take a 6 channel AC3 file that I ripped from one of my DVDs and convert it to DVD audio

Read that carefully and see if it looks like a sensible question at first glance.

People aren't used to audio in the AUDIO_TS folder yet
the only tools are very expensive , so I hear

[fishman12345]

I don't havt to read it...I wrote it. It's perfectly sensible.

[freestyler]

Please note : DVD+Audio should not be confused with DVD-Audio, for which you need a special player and discs!

[fishman12345]

Good question. Is chili-dog hyphenated like I wrote or one word? Does that matter?

[ada2001]

I was always under the impression that a Dolby 5.1 AC3 is a 6 channel AC3 file...the reason being that if I select (in the BeSweetGUI - check BeSweet it's a pretty good tool and may have what you need) make a Dolby 5.1 file, it adds this parameter to the command line: -6ch

So maybe you can just put the AC3 in the AUDIO_TS folder? (just a guess).

g'luck

[noki]

fishman12345
there's a prog named DVD+Audio Creator (developed by the person that created DVD2One). that makes DVD Audio dvdrs.
first you convert the audio (either from CD Audio or DVD Movie) to WAV, then input into the prog to creator the DVD Audio.

after further consideration i do not think this program will work for your situation. it will create a + type dvdr which is meant to be played in a standard DVD player, but probably will not in a dedicated DVD Audio Player.

[muskgrave]

ok lots of flawed logic going on here..

1) AC3 is dolby digital..AKA..approx. cd quality..cd quality being
16-bit,44.1khz

2) DVD-Audio is 24-bit, 96khz in 5.1. HOWEVER, it is not 5.1 only..it is actually of higher quality in stereo: 24-bit, 192khz.

Which leads to the all important question..WHY are you wanting to take a dolby digital stream and upsample it to a DVD-Audio stream? The sound quality will not improve..in fact it will probably worsen in the conversion. On top of that you will have an incredibly bloated cd-quality file. I would instead look to guides on making just DVD's with just DD 5.1 audio on them. If you have standalone dvd-audio player then it should at least be able to dump the digital stream to your A/V receiver which would then decode the DD 5.1

Just a thought...
at least it's not another "how do i convert stereo to 5.1?" post :P

[muskgrave]

WHOOPS!

is there a foot in mouth emoticon?

I missed that bit about the car dvd-audio player...BUT the facts remain! it probably will not sound good. You might be better off just converting to a stereo cd.

[OmegaSupreme]

You should be able to accomplish your task with the following program. http://www.discwelder.com/news.htm

[steptoe]

Try looking at a tool I use for DVD audio conversion, it 'may' have something you could use, as it can convert an AC3/WAV file to quite a few different audio types

I personally use it to convert an AC3 to either stereo or suuround stereo

It can also do dolby, dolby 5.1, plus normalize, and a few other nifty things to boost your final out

It can also output AC3 directly to WAV or MP3, downmix to different audio types as above


Its free as well, and pretty fast, the GUI if not very nice when its performing the conversion, and a tiny bit confusing the first time you use it, but dead simple to use, and again is totally free

Personally I now use it over the ac3decoder I was using before, which I paid for, but found the results not very good, and it couldn't do as much as Ac3tool


http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/downloads/ac3tool.html

[Ste]

I think DVD-Audio discs have to be encoded in MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) format. The only thing I've seen that can encode this is SurCode MLP by Minnetonka, and it's ridiculously expensive - $2,500

http://www.surcode.com

It seems like a lot of you are confusing 'DVD-Video containing AC3 audio' and just special 'DVD-Audio' discs.

[OmegaSupreme]

I think DVD-Audio discs have to be encoded in MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) format. The only thing I've seen that can encode this is SurCode MLP by Minnetonka, and it's ridiculously expensive - $2,500

http://www.surcode.com

It seems like a lot of you are confusing 'DVD-Video containing AC3 audio' and just special 'DVD-Audio' discs.

I previously provided a link for discWelder BRONZE which does encode and burn DVD-Audio discs and it costs $99.

[Ste]

whoops.

[FOO]

So what will play this stuff (besides Fishman's Rolls Royce )
Regular DVD players ?

[Ste]

You need a special DVD player that can decode the data on a DVD-Audio disc. I have this one which does both DVD-Audio and SACD (Super Audio CD):

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1055388006567&skuId=5585379&type=product

Usually higher end DVD players can decode DVD-Audio and, like stated earlier, some newer car decks come equipped with DVD-Audio decoding.

The thing is, the decoding is done within the player itself so you have to send all 6 channels to your surround sound receiver seperately through 6 RCA cables. That's mainly what those '6 channel input' things on most new receivers and pre-amps are for. You cannot send a DVD-Audio signal through the Fiber Optic or Digital Coaxial SPDIF outputs....though I think I've seen a Pioneer Elite DVD player and receiver that can be hooked up together with IEEE 1394 for DVD-Audio (maybe it was a dream, who knows).

[freestyler]

discWelder BRONZE which does encode and burn DVD-Audio discs and it costs $99.

Doesn't "encode" anything - it's strictly an authoring package for basic dvd-audio discs.

Audio must be encoded to MLP using $urcodes standalone encoder as previously mentioned.

[fishman12345]

So what will play this stuff (besides Fishman's Rolls Royce )
Regular DVD players ?

Actually, it's an acura TL. But in 2005, there will be at least 5 makes of cars coming out with the technology. The 5.1 sound is amazing compared to normal CDs which is why I am trying to create the 5.1 CD which will play in a DVD-A player but not on a normal CD player.

[Ste]

I say stop trying to make a true DVD-Audio disc for 2 reasons:

1.) It'll cost too much money and it'll be a big pain to do.

2.) The same reason 'muskgrave' gave earlier:

1) AC3 is dolby digital..AKA..approx. cd quality..cd quality being
16-bit,44.1khz

2) DVD-Audio is 24-bit, 96khz in 5.1. HOWEVER, it is not 5.1 only..it is actually of higher quality in stereo: 24-bit, 192khz.

Which leads to the all important question..WHY are you wanting to take a dolby digital stream and upsample it to a DVD-Audio stream? The sound quality will not improve..in fact it will probably worsen in the conversion. On top of that you will have an incredibly bloated cd-quality file.

Sure, it'll be in 5.1 surround, but it won't sound nearly as good as a REAL DVD-Audio disc.

So, here's what I suggest. Find out if you car deck can decode Dolby Digital and/or DTS. Try looking for the respectable logos on the front of the unit, or look in the owner's manual. If it can, that's great, just follow this guide: http://www.doom9.org/BeSure.html

If not, just make a normal stereo audio CD or scrap the whole project. Though there is something else you might want to try... If that car deck can decode Dolby Pro Logic, then you might want to try using Azid (or BeSweet) to downmix that 5.1 AC3 file of yours to a Pro Logic or Pro Logic II stereo PCM WAV file and then burn it onto a standard audio CD. If you don't know if it can, I say burn a normal stereo audio CD and a Pro Logic encoded stereo CD and test them in your car's sound system to hear if there is a difference. In the case of Pro Logic, the decoder will re-separate the stereo signal you downmixed back into surround sound, but this is only if the car deck is capable of this. I don't know much about car audio, so this whole thing about car decks being able to decode Pro Logic is most likely false. If you don't understand this whole crazy situation, don't worry about it because it's quite far-fetched anyway. But if you do understand, then I think it's worth a shot. A blank CD costs what...a couple cents nowadays?

Also, remember to convert anything going onto a CD to 44.1 kHz