audio problems with burned dvds and older versions of Windows

[bhall96992]

I've been informed that the dvd's I make have audio issues. When watching them in Windows 8, they sound fine, but as you play them back in older versions, the audio level of the dvd decreases. Playback in 7 isn't as loud as it is in 8, and when playing these dvd's in XP, there's no sound at all. I've never heard of this issue. Is there anything I can do other than check sound card drivers to minimize this problem? Any help is appreciated.

[yoda313]

What media players are being used?

I recommend using vlc or mpchc as they have internal codecs.

Also when you say dvds are these regular dvds ie video_ts folders and all that? Or are these dvds with video files like h264 in a mkv file type videos?

Either way there should be some sound if it plays in one windows version.

[bhall96992]

The disk I just checked does have both folders.

[redwudz]

The AUDIO_TS folder is rarely used and you can leave it out most times as it's empty. The audio is in the VOBs in the VIDEO_TS folder.

In order to be DVD complaint, you have to adhere to the DVD specifications. You can see them to the top left of this page in 'WHAT IS' DVD. Basically, this is what it says about audio:

Audio:

48000 Hz 32 - 1536 Kbit/s Up to 8 audio tracks containing DD (Dolby Digital/AC3),
DTS, PCM(uncompressed audio), MPEG-1 Layer2. One audio track must have DD or PCM Audio.

What I would check is what format your sound is. Open one of the VOBs on one of your DVDs with Mediainfo, Tree view and post the results here.
XP didn't come with a MPEG player for DVDs. It would have been added on. Vista and W7 have one built in. W8, for some unknown reason, doesn't have one either, if I recall correctly.

I would recommend if you want to playback on most PCs is that you just include a copy of VLC Portable player on your discs. It doesn't install on their PCs and it plays most anything: http://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/vlc_portable

And welcome to our forums.

[bhall96992]

I don't have one of the dvd's currently available, but I used Mediainfo to analyze the source file I used last week. Here's what it says on the audio portion (if this helps):
Audio

ID :4352 (0x1100)
Menu ID :1 (0x1)
Format :AC-3Format/Info :Audio Coding 3
Mode extension :CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness :BigCodec ID :129
Duration :16mn 22s
Bit rate mode :ConstantBit rate :256 Kbps
Channel(s) :2 channels
Channel positions :Front: L R
Sampling rate :48.0 KHz
Bit depth :16 bits
Compression mode :Lossy
Delay relative to video :-84ms
Stream size :30.0 MiB (2%)
When I make another one, I will post that one here, too.

[Kerry56]

^That's bog standard AC3 stereo audio, which should be acceptable in any dvd player.

What did you use to make the dvd-video?

[bhall96992]

I'm currently looking around for a new program that's easy to use. I'm using Power Producer 11 right now, but I've used Nero 7, 9, 12, Pinnacle Studio 11, Visual Studio x6, and several that wouldn't run, were too difficult to use, or would watermark because it was a trial version. I am open to suggestions.

[NoBuddy]

Windows XP doesn't have a native ac3 decoder, maybe that's why there's no sound. Use the players, yoda313 in post #2 recommended.
Loudness depends of how the decoder is set. In Windows Media Player check the settings (loud ambient, theater, noisy ... can't remember all)

[Bjs]

"but as you play them back in older versions, the audio level of the dvd decreases"

If this comparison is about different os's not running on the exact same hardware then your comparing tomato with potato.

Not all systems audio chipset's and there drivers are equal ... and that includes speakers used ... some just perform better than others.

For xp install ac3filters to solve the no audio issue.