Best AC3 Encoder

[Premjit V.P.]

Is there any difference between the various AC3 encoding softwares - I mean the softwares which are licensed by Dolby. Are these softwares allowed to tweak their (Dolby's) code and if so to what level. If there is difference in the quality (even if it is just 1%), which then is the best.

Better codecs in terms of quality and compression like mp4 have evolved, but still why does the DVD specification AND specification for High Definition still insist of an AC3 track. Dolby is only a private company and so does it not sound like an eternal patent.

Please note : I like AC3 very much and have no idea to harm their reputation and my post is only for the sake of curiosity.

thanks & bye

[guns1inger]

They insist on Dolby AC3 as a standard minimum because it does produce high quality in relatively small space, can down-mix to stereo and has relative low licensing costs. Dolby is already very well established in theatres, so there is less work in converting film audio for DVD release. They were also the first in the home surround market with Pro Logic, and everyone is very comfortable using them. As a format, I think DTS is slightly better if the track is specifically mixed for DTS.

The major difference between licensed encoders is the number of channels they support. Dolby won't license the name is the quality isn't there. I use Sony Vegas with the AC-3 plugin. I find it does a very good job of mixing, positioning and encoding across 5.1 channels (and suppports the EX flag to use the extra speakers). I have heard good things about surcode, but you have to have prepared your seperate mono channels first. Many other encoders support AC3 2.0, which is more than adequate for most home movie transfers.

[Premjit V.P.]

Thanks. But do you have any idea on which software the professionals rely.

bye

[lordsmurf]

Pros use hardware.

Whatever you use, make sure it's DOLBY CERTIFIED for best results.

But honestly, even BESWEET AC3ENC.DLL is fine on almost all players.
Pioneer (old models, years back) are the only troublemakers here.

[ChickenMan]

I find the AC3Enc program that comes in the Sonic Scenarist package to give the best playback compatability, but its expensive. ffMPEG is freeware and does an excellent job of converting WAV or MP2 to AC3 2ch only.

[Premjit V.P.]

Thank you very much. But one final question - Why do professionals use Hardware Encoders? In what aspect they are superior or in what aspect software encoders are inferior.

Bye and thanks a lot

[BJ_M]

hardware encoders are used because everything comes off tape or hardware locked playback , and not out of a pc generally as wave files .. also, its locked to the film (the audio playback) ...

they are also real time ...


not to say software encoders are never used - because they are ... in fact a lot more now .... but not for cinema film dvd's ....

For theater - hardware ONLY is used for encoding (same for DTS) ...



ChickenMan - the ac3 encoder in scenarist is no more or no less compatible than any other lic'd dolby encoder ... they just charge more for it ... They didnt even write the code for it (Dalkin that is - since that is where scenarist is from). In fact as far as encoders go - its pretty basic...



in fact - sonic quality wise, the encoder in Vegas is about the best because of its internal processing pre-encode.. also it has more features (EX) ..


Surcode is also a popular encoder ..

A.PACK by Apple is one of the most used software encoders - also does DTS ..

[Sillyname]

Thank you very much. But one final question - Why do professionals use Hardware Encoders? In what aspect they are superior or in what aspect software encoders are inferior.

Bye and thanks a lot

Hardware is not dependent upon an entire computer being in good working condition before it can work. It just works. No incompatabilities. Pros get paid too much money to blame the project being late on computer problems. So they rely on specialized hardware where available.

[BJ_M]

we get paid chickenshit - compared to the amount of hours..


get blamed anyway no mater what -- its never the artists or producers fault ....

[Sillyname]

we get paid chickenshit - compared to the amount of hours..


get blamed anyway no mater what -- its never the artists or producers fault ....

But isn't it better to blame it all on a single piece of hardware rather than going, "I think it was either my audio card, my firewire card or a bad hard drive that was causing corrupted encodes."

[BJ_M]

no one will care ......

[Sillyname]

no one will care ......

You're not your usual cheerful self.