Easy 5.1 audio editor ?

[AlexAlex]

Please, Help me !
I need an easy and simple (Not a pro) audio editor to create 5.1 files.
I want to mix and edit different MP3 or WAV in multi-channels and then burn it on DVD to play it in any Home Theatre.
Better if it's freeware.

Thanks a lot.

[Cornucopia]

ALL editors that work with 5.1 files would qualify as "Pro" editors. Just the fact that one's working with multichannel sound (which is much more complicated than mono/stereo sound) almost automatically puts it into the pro category.

Only freeware app might be Plogue Bidule (early beta/prerelease version). Warning: this would qualify as an "experimenter's" app as it uses "Modules" much like GraphEdit uses filter modules!

Not cheap ($674US), and not super-easy (but not too hard either) is the Vegas+DVD bundle, which should allow you to do all you wanted.

Scott

[mikiem]

Audacity will work with multi-channel, and do quite a bit. For general audio work if you can run win98 the free version of Pro Tools is kind of nice. Sony Acid can work with multi channel as mono files I think, though with several versions don't know where in the product line this kicks in.

Files that aren't natively 5.1 were/are discussed in another thread or 3. Vegas is nice in that it allows a bit more panning control. As posted, you need either the plugin or DVDA to encode to ac3 within Vegas or Acid -- can output mono files and encode elsewhere.

[Cornucopia]

ProTools Free (which is buggy anyway, and hasn't been updated for 2k/XP ) only works with mono or stereo files natively. Also, IIRC, if it conforms to the method that other versions of PT work with files, then when it says "stereo", it REALLY means multiple-mono files ganged together (in the program). This has been a purposeful choice by Digidesign that I have never agreed with, even though I love the program's editing fluidity.

You can work with many apps that do "multi-track" stereo, but you'll have to do a number of workarounds, e.g. multiple passes of outputing in pairs and then recombining separately, to be able to work with 5.1 (or other) surround. Plus, you don't have the intuitive "Surround Panner" controls.

Like I said, it's not really for newbies.

Scott

[3delite]

You can try my multichannel audio editor with support for matrix mixing, that is you can re-mix or re-order channels very easily. Basically unlimited channels are supported.