MKV - DTS to AC3 nightmare

[aaron1104]

Hi all! new to this site and i hope someone can help me... ok my TV plays MKV formats via usb, but it wont do the whole DTS audio so i need to convert the audio to AC3... problem is I've tried everything and im super lost here - for some reason i cant install that pocorn program because i have vista 64... anyways i;m really lost and if someone could let me know the easited way to convert the MKV file i already have to MKV AC3 i will be great full ... im new at this so please help!!! Ive got all these great movies and i cant hear them....

Thanks

Aaron

[Baldrick]

Extract the audio using mkvextractgui.
Convert the dts to ac3 using eac3togui.
Add the new ac3 to the mkv using mkvmerge.

[mail2tom]

You can also try PopCorn MKV AudioConverter. I have the same problem with DTS audio and found this worked for me.

[FulciLives]

I use XVID4PSP to do DTS to AC-3 when I have a MKV with DTS audio. You simply set it to AUDIO only mode then load the MKV and I set it to 640 AC-3 and it will spit out just an AC-3 audio file.

I do this because afterwards I use tsMuxeR to create a M2TS file which has the video from the MKV with my new 640 AC-3 audio track. Thus I can play the file on my PS3.

You can also use 448 AC-3 if you prefer (that is what DVD uses for 5.1 audio but devices like the PS3 can handle the higher 640 bitrate).

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Samas]

Extract the audio using mkvextractgui.
Convert the dts to ac3 using eac3togui.
Add the new ac3 to the mkv using mkvmerge.

Same starting point for me. I need to change DTS to AC3 and I already used mkvextract and megui to create an AC3-file of the DTS one. But when I wanna use mkvmerge to include the ac3 file to the mkv-container I get ERROR-Code 2 with the message

"Error: The source file '--ui-language' could not be opened successfully, or retrieving its size by seeking to the end did not work."

Always exactly this one, independently what file I deal with, even if I don't change anything within the container.

Firstly I thought its a mistake with the language-file of mkv-merge, but neither changing to another mkv-merge-version (2.9.8 to 2.9.7) nor changing the language of the GUI is working...

Samas

[jman98]

@aaron1104 - If you're going to have to do this all the time, maybe it would be better to just bite the bullet and buy something that supports DTS audio like the Western Digital media players. Here's a recent thread on the new version they just released:
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic374280.html

No need to convert DTS audio when you use this player.

[Poseidon69]

Dear all,
I'm not usually using forums but this time after too long time consumed to understand the problem I finally solve it.
To convert the DTS to AC3 you can simply use the following 2 applications:
> MKVToolnix (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Video/Other-VIDEO-Tools/MKVToolnix.shtml)
> WAV to MP3 (http://wavtomp3converter.com)...for this last you can find a lot of freeware alternatives

The steps:
1) use MKVmergeGUI application (included the MKVToolnix package) to open the MKV video file.
2) check in the Input tab (Tracks, chapters and tags), the DTS file(s) only! (rest must be left unchecked)
3) Press "Start muxing" and so you will create MKA audio file(s) out of the MKV
4) use WAV to PM3 application (or other) to convert the MKA to AC3
5) open MKVmergeGUI again, Drag and drop (or by "ADD" button) the original MKV file and the newly AC3 as well.
6) Check only the boxes related to the video file and the AC3 file (and any file you consider to have in addition but except the DTS file which should no more be included).
7) Start muxing this last set of files and the result is the MKV file with the AC3 audio.

This is quite easy method and you should have no problem by following these steps.
Hope I could help!

[nateo200]

Anyone have a way to convert DTS to Dolby 5.1 on Mac OS X? I can export an mka using mkvtoolnix and I can even load it in audacity but audacity cuts it short to like 45 minutes which is not useful if you have a 2.5 hour movie :O If only Compressor supported Mkv!

[poisondeathray]

Anyone have a way to convert DTS to Dolby 5.1 on Mac OS X? I can export an mka using mkvtoolnix and I can even load it in audacity but audacity cuts it short to like 45 minutes which is not useful if you have a 2.5 hour movie :O If only Compressor supported Mkv!

Try ffmpeg or ffmpegx

[endofleg]

Is there an all-in-one package that's simple to use (even a paid app will be fine). Want to be able to show my wife how to do it so it needs to be a sensible gui and not several different apps to arrive at the outcome required. Surely there must be an app somewhere that lets you input an MKV file with DTS and let you output an MKV file with AC3 (or whatever).

Cheers

[_Al_]

Is there an all-in-one package that's simple to use (even a paid app will be fine). Want to be able to show my wife how to do it so it needs to be a sensible gui and not several different apps to arrive at the outcome required. Surely there must be an app somewhere that lets you input an MKV file with DTS and let you output an MKV file with AC3 (or whatever).

Cheers

#3 answer in this thread

[KushSmoka420]

Hi, I also just ran into a problem with this. First happend to me when trying to convert DTS to AC3 for AVATAR, never had to do this before (remux) so I searched yahoo and eventually came across a post here (this site is really informitive, love it) anyways... from that post, I saw some suggestions and decided to use popcorn. I downloaded it, got it all setup and it worked perfectly fine for 2 MKV's now I tried it with a third one and it didn't work. I got an "error 1" (from popcorn) I can't remember all the exact info but something about libav. The thing is I also got a similar/same message for the second MKV and it still worked fine, But for this one, it didn't???? Can anyone help me out? Attached MKV info as text (didn't wanna have this huge post that is like a whole page long... can't stand when people do that)

Edit: I tried doing the steps manually. I used mkvextract gui, extracted the DTS file, then tried using eac3to (EAC3toGUI_v2.00) and this is the message I got:


Anyone Know a different decoder that will work?

[Aquarious]

I have a problem with MKV2AC3 version 1.03.03. The audio in my movies stops playing during the last quarter of the film.....The source file works perfectly. anyone can suggest something?

[Moontrash]

Use MKVcleaver or MKVtoolnix to demux the audio

load the DTS track in XVID4PSP and choose what settings you want it at

remux the track with mkvtoolnix

done

super simple

*gone to eat lunch

[Aquarious]

thank you it worked on the first movie i tried......So you recon that MKV2AC3 has a time limit for encoding?

[transporterfan]

thank you it worked on the first movie i tried......So you recon that MKV2AC3 has a time limit for encoding?

Just converted Robin Hood blu-ray (Russell Crowe) soundtrack - DTS to AC3 using MKV2AC3 (x64 ver 133)
Admittedly I played around with MKV2AC3 and made both it and eac3to portable and combined the two in a single package. [Purely for my own convenience]

Point is, that movie is 2hr 35mins 50sec long and it converted the DTS just fine. No hiccups whatsoever.

I remuxed the AC3 audio with the MKV. Again, no problems or sync error.

I did nothing to the programs themselves, so I have to assume the x64 version works just fine.
Can't vouch for 32 bit version.

[Johnno08]

Hi to all in this Forum like many others i am having problems with MKV files But only since i spent over £1000 on a LG 3d tv the sound is out of sinc i have a sumvision HD2 media player this worked fine on my other LG tv but currys and LG say there is nothing wrong with the tv??? i can get the sound in sync when i change the setting on the sumvision from hdmi auto to PAL but the quality of the picture detiroates some and becomes jerky

i seek some advice from the lords

thanks in advance

[JetrellFo69]

Hi to all in this Forum like many others i am having problems with MKV files But only since i spent over £1000 on a LG 3d tv the sound is out of sinc i have a sumvision HD2 media player this worked fine on my other LG tv but currys and LG say there is nothing wrong with the tv??? i can get the sound in sync when i change the setting on the sumvision from hdmi auto to PAL but the quality of the picture detiroates some and becomes jerky

i seek some advice from the lords

thanks in advance

First off, knowing what kind of LG T.V. you are referring to could help immensely.

Secondly..... MKV is a container for video just like FLAC is for audio. If problems are being had I'd bet that whatever hardware you are trying to use just may not support it or it's not being used properly. There are a lot of good solutions in this thread above. Google is also a good way to find out if your hardware supports the formats you want to use and/or can tell you how to use them properly.

Lastly.....if the files you have are downloaded and not created by you, there well might be something wrong with the files themselves. At this point, without more detailed information, helping you to find a solution could be difficult.

[Johnno08]

thanks for replying JetrellFo69
ok the TV is a LG 47LM76T 3D tv the main problem is lip sync issues
the media player is a sumvision cyclone hd2 i have had this box for around 2 yrs no issues until i brought this tv??
speaking with LG they say this tv does not support DTS only dolby digital ??? i think most MKV fils have the DTS audio im sure you will correct me if in wrong
but no matter as i have my surround sound !!! but i have tried all the different setting on the hd2 box from raw audio to LPCM dual ch
and also using the SPDIF output i get audio lag
BUT if i change the video setting on the sum vision from HDMI auto to PAL the sound is back in sync but doing that i get a loss in picture quality and when a scene pans acros a visa it becomes jerky ??? is this something to do with the frame rate between NTSC and PAL?
what i find annoying is that i never had the problem with my other LG TV that was a standard 42" 2d i thought it was the TV and took it back to the shop i said could i try my box on another tv ... samsung DAM i got audio lag on that

so....................... at the mo to recap i get audio picture in sync when set to PAL but the picture is somewhat jerky and some loss of quality

any advise again grately received

[JetrellFo69]

http://www.lg.com/us/tvs/lg-47LM7600-led-tv

If this is your TV then you may need to consider converting the audio of your MKV ..... if you use the TV to process your audio. If you are using a receiver to process your audio it could well be that it's using the DTS core and then the TV is downsampling that which may well give you the lag you're speaking of.

MKV files will use different types of audio/video .... maybe your T.V. doesn't like the MKV video .... If the video itself is PAL based you may be better off using your T.V. in like a PC/monitor mode, if it does it, it might be a better way to watch it. The other possible issue might be that the Sumvision Cyclone HD2 isn't as compatible with this TV as it was with the other one ......

You should check and see if your Sumvision Cyclone HD2 has any firmware updates available ..... it might help with compatibility issues with newer TV products.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/portable-dvd-media-players-recorders/1300998-sumvision-...-firmware.html

^^^Found this online .... it might help some.

Another link that might help......

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1399636/official-lg-xxlm7600-owners-thread

[dorinctin]

Hello there,

I have recently lived this nightmare while trying to get the right sound of some mkv movies for my Samsung TV. Fortunately, everything went well, I've used the PopCorn MKV Audioconverter. BUT, there is one problem: the human voices in the movie are clogged while all the other sounds are correct. I note here that I have chosen to convert to Dlby Digital with a bitrate of 384kbit/sek.

Thanks in advance for your support.

[Selur]

you are probably not adding drc infos to you stream but keep the -31db dialog normalization,... (sorry, no clue about the PopCorn MKV Audioconverter, this is the 1st time I hear of it )

[jekyll]

thank you it worked on the first movie i tried......So you recon that MKV2AC3 has a time limit for encoding?

Just converted Robin Hood blu-ray (Russell Crowe) soundtrack - DTS to AC3 using MKV2AC3 (x64 ver 133)
Admittedly I played around with MKV2AC3 and made both it and eac3to portable and combined the two in a single package. [Purely for my own convenience]

Point is, that movie is 2hr 35mins 50sec long and it converted the DTS just fine. No hiccups whatsoever.

I remuxed the AC3 audio with the MKV. Again, no problems or sync error.

I did nothing to the programs themselves, so I have to assume the x64 version works just fine.
Can't vouch for 32 bit version.

I subscribe it, mkv2ac3 32/64bits version (32 SO/ 64 SO) is the best tool i have tested. It generates a new .mkv identical, but with all the audio tracks in .ac3 format.
After, i use mkvmerge GUI(mkvtoolnix) to choose the by default audio and subtitles track and the order of the audio and subtitles tracks.

[rak3n]

dumb question... do i still need to use mkvmerge after converting the mkv file in mkv2ac3?

[manono]

dumb question... do i still need to use mkvmerge after converting the mkv file in mkv2ac3?

No.

[rak3n]

thanks for the reply..

definitely will try popcornhour and mkv2ac3 first to benchmark

looking for the easiest/quickest yet gives good results

[hogger129]

Could you just do a really fast encode in Handbrake and have it output the audio as AC3? Then demux/remux with MKVMergeGUI.

[fritzi93]

Could you just do a really fast encode in Handbrake and have it output the audio as AC3? Then demux/remux with MKVMergeGUI.

What, re-encode the video? Not necessary.

MKV2AC3 works fine. Choose either Aften or eac3to as the audio encoder. I've seen it bomb out using Aften, probably something not quite right with the stream. But switching to eac3to worked in that case.

[rforgaard]

I just want to echo FulciLives and Moontrash that XviD4PSP did the trick for me. Shareware. Converts multi-channel DTS-HD to 5.1 Dolby Digital (AC3) while leaving video track unchanged. Removes whichever audio tracks you don’t want. Works with many video formats (.MKV, .M2TS, etc.) and Blu-ray rips. Have only been using a few days, but seems to be a good general video converter. Runs fast. Allows me to now edit the video in Premiere Pro.

NOTE: I did some tests. PopCorn MKV AudioConverter is good for converting MKV files, and preserving the non-DTS audio tracks in the video file. My situation was different. I was looking for a (hopefully) single-step solution that converts a .M2TS file with DTS-HD audio (from a Blu-ray rip) into a .MKV or .M2TS file with AC3 (Dolby Digital) audio and with the non-DTS audio tracks removed, for easy compatibility with Premiere Pro.

I know this thread is ancient but there have been recent posts. I found this thread when trying to solve this problem, and I bet other folks will, too.

UI of XviD4PSP is slightly quirky (and the name of the program is strange). If helpful, see detailed steps for using XviD4PSP to convert DTS-HD video to AC3 video in my post on this other thread here at VideoHelp.

NOTE: Even if original DTS-HD audio track has 7.1 channels, XviD4PSP only exports 5.1 channels, so the resulting file is still 5.1, even if you specify EAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus, which supports 7.1 channels) as the audio output format. Which is fine for most purposes - 5.1 audio is still surround sound, and most people won't miss those extra two channels that would make it full 7.1 audio. Also, XviD4PSP reads DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) or DTS-HD HRA (High Resolution Audio), doesn’t matter.

[EnochLight]

You can also try PopCorn MKV AudioConverter. I have the same problem with DTS audio and found this worked for me.

NOTE: I did some tests. PopCorn MKV AudioConverter is good for converting MKV files, and preserving the non-DTS audio tracks in the video file. My situation was different. I was looking for a (hopefully) single-step solution that converts a .M2TS file with DTS-HD audio (from a Blu-ray rip) into a .MKV or .M2TS file with AC3 (Dolby Digital) audio and with the non-DTS audio tracks removed, for easy compatibility with Premiere Pro.

I know this thread is ancient but there have been recent posts. I found this thread when trying to solve this problem, and I bet other folks will, too.

UI of XviD4PSP is slightly quirky (and the name of the program is strange). If helpful, see detailed steps for using XviD4PSP to convert DTS-HD video to AC3 video in my post on this other thread here at VideoHelp.

NOTE: Even if original DTS-HD audio track has 7.1 channels, XviD4PSP only exports 5.1 channels, so the resulting file is still 5.1, even if you specify EAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus, which supports 7.1 channels) as the audio output format. Which is fine for most purposes - 5.1 audio is still surround sound, and most people won't miss those extra two channels that would make it full 7.1 audio. Also, XviD4PSP reads DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) or DTS-HD HRA (High Resolution Audio), doesn’t matter.

I literally just created an account to show my appreciation for the recommendation of PopCorn MKV to convert DTS to AC3 DD 5.1. While I still have to use MakeMKV as the first step, I find MakeMKV + PopCorn MKV the easiest and best option for my needs.