AC-3 and Wave 5.1 frustration revisited...

[takearushfan]

The latest, good news -

I have all 6 channels working properly now, sort of. I'll clarify:

After encoding, using anything, I still get the same erroneous results as we've been discussing. However, the AC-3 only plays improperly when I use Winamp, VirtualDub, etc. to test the mix(es).

I did finally manage to get proper playback when listening to my authored mixes. I started with a simple voice test and, like usual, it didn't play right when trying Winamp, etc. Then I got a hunch: "What happens if I author the DVD and play it back in my software DVD player?". So, I took the vocal test, which supposedly didn't work, authored it and played the DVD in my software. The result: All channels proper. I thought that was too good to be true, so I quickly did a half-assed remaster of a Mono soundtrack from one of my DVDs (a commercial feature film). Again, it didn't work when "testing" on crappy applications, but after authoring it and playing my DVD, all was perfect. Finally, just to be 100% certain, I worked on a film trailer that a producer asked me to do. No, it didn't play right on the usual apps, but again, once I authored it and played the DVD, all was perfect. So, all seems great now... whoa!

Here are the exact steps I took to get the proper results:

1. Create my mix and make sure I have the six Mono files that I need to encode, of course.
2. I was lazy and used "BSMUXWIZ" to create a mux file.
3. I used BeSweet to input the mux file and create an AC-3. The settings were identical to those shown in the two screen-shots I posted earlier.
4. I opened DVD-lab PRO 2, imported the AC-3 (immediately displayed as Dolby 5.1!) and imported the VOB clip that corresponded to my audio mix. (I tested and all still work fine regardless of if you use a VOB, MPEG-2, etc.)
5. I created a crappy menu, just enough to have the user click a button to start the DVD's contents.
6. I authored the DVD, which obviously resulted in the creation of a "VIDEO_TS" folder, containing the authored VOBs.
7. I opened WinDVD 2010, clicked on my menu's crappy play button and started the DVD's film. Each channel worked exactly as they should.

So, I guess I was too stupid to not think of actually authoring my work. I was merely relying on Winamp, etc. to see if my mix was working... not a good idea.

I hope this helps a bit, or at least gives you the encouragement to know that the problem can be resolved.

Have a good one

[Nelson37]

Just got to breaking down the AC-3 in Vegas, which is supposed to have a Licensed, fully compatible encoder and test.

Yes, the playback software is often problematic. Many do not handle surround well, usually one of the dedicated DVD players will play it correctly.

One tidbit is that BeSweet etc do not correctly render indivicual WAV files, there is considerable overlap on the channels.

This has got me to re-check my sound system, I've apparently been getting a lot of Prologic simulated surround instead of real 5.1. Pretty close, but not quite the same.

[takearushfan]

Well, I must admit that after I achieved the desired results from BeSweet, I didn't bother to try encoding with any other app, except for Soft Encode. Now, here's irony for ya: Soft Encode was an expensive piece of software and takes a few minutes to process even 5 minute long pieces and it didn't work. However, BeSweet is not only freeware, but also very fast and it worked! ... kinda speaks volumes on the issue of "Does a more expensive product necessarily mean better performance?". Hm