TDA AC3 Plug-in

[wwjd]

Is anyone using the TDA AC3 plug-in? If so what do you think of it?

Most of the DVD compliant mpeg files I put into TDA have mp2 audio and I was considering converting it to AC3. The real question I have is whether TDA will completely re-encode the file if I ask it to convert the audio from mp2 to AC3?

[Bodyslide]

I have used it a few times, I believe it only re-encodes the audio only. It also makes the files alittle smaller.

[yoda313]

Hello,

MP2 IS dvd compliant as long as it's 48khz. You don't need to convert them to ac3. The plug in is for other sources alredy in ac3 format. You can actually make a dvd with menu that has 5.1 audio you just can't edit it with tda without the plugin (which if I understand correctly will convert it to 2.0 because it won't do all 6 channels?????? Anyone know that part??).

Kevin

[Bodyslide]

Correct only AC3 2.0 only.

[johns0]

Mp2 isnt compliant in north america,ac3 is,the plugin will convert mp2 and wave to ac3.

[wwjd]

Thanks for the replies.

[yoda313]

Mp2 isnt compliant in north america,ac3 is,the plugin will convert mp2 and wave to ac3.

Hello,

I'm sorry but that isn't entirely accurate. I use the hauppauge wintv pvr250 card and it only records in mp2 and it plays in every dvd player I use and I'm in Michigan

It may not be 100% spec compatible but it DOES work (99.999% of the time apparently).

Kevin

[johns0]

It is accurate,most dvd players will play mp2 in north america but its not supported so a few players wont play mp2.Dvd compliant means it part of the standards which mp2 isnt.

[yoda313]

It is accurate,most dvd players will play mp2 in north america but its not supported so a few players wont play mp2.Dvd compliant means it part of the standards which mp2 isnt.

Hello,

Ok just so long as nobody thinks that it will NEVER work. Because it will.

Yes ac3 and pcm are the main specs

Just wanted to throw that tidbit in

Kevin

[DereX888]

NTSC (R1) DVD-Video standard calls for AC3 or PCM. But it doesnt mean such dvd player won't play discs with MP2 audio. Majority will. Rule of thumb: if player can play other region discs, it must be ablee to play MP2 audio as well obviously.

PAL (other R) has same as above, plus MPEG-1 Layer I and MPEG-1 Layer II (IIRC).

And lets not forget the best multichannel audio compression out there for both PAL and NTSC - mighty DTS

[codecpage]

You can author sources that are already AC3 without this plugin.
The only flaw is that you don't hear the sound during editing.
With NTSC DVDs they 'forgot' to standardize MP2 as a sound format, but if you find any DVD player not taking it, dump it and get a real one.
The AC3 plugin is only useful if you want to mix your own surround sound.
However the company also has equipped it with a mechanism that requires repeated online "licence validation" activation from time to time. I consider this a weird idea and an insult. If they go bust or there is no online connection, it will stop working after some time. Apparently they consider securing their revenues more important than giving their (probably professional) customers a reliable tool.
If a professional however gets a problem due to the activation stuff, it may cost him much more than the software itself, so he will twice consider buying it. The only guys not affected at all will probably be those using cracked versions. Congratulations.
I'm glad that I don't need it.
Cheers

[greymalkin]

well in this case the ac3 plugin isn't useful for surround sound since it's only a 2.0 encoder. My dvd player will play the mp2 but only if I switch over to the analog rca out instead of the digital coax or optical. So it technically works but not with my "standard" setup. So unless there are 10,000 different dvd player models and only mine has an "issue" then the 99.999% is a bit high Comments like that are dangerous to make :P

I prefer encoding everything to DD because it is 100% compatible. When 99.999% just isn't good enough