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need help with some ac3's
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deepfried
Newbie
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13. January 2005 @ 14:22 |
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hi, i recently downloaded some ac3 format tracks. i was wondering if there was any way possible of burning to a disk so that i could listen to the tracks with their true 5.1 characteristics intact, to allow for playback via a 5.1 system (dvd player).
any suggerstions, thanks.
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diabolos
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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15. January 2005 @ 13:30 |
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The DVD would be your best bet. All DVD players have an AC3 codec installed but I have no idea if they will recognize AC3 files that are outside of the .VOB / MPEG-2 container.
===============================================
(Later that day)
Just to answer your question, (cause I thought it was an intresting one!) I ripped "Numb / Encore" from my Mtv smash-up DVD which has a Dolby Digital 5.1 (6 channle AC3) audio layer and burned it (the demux and decrypted AC3 file) to a CD-R as data. I can gladly say that both my "Kick-Ass" Philips DVP642 /37 and my Apex DVD players can play the 6CH AC3 files from a CD-R (I assume they can from a DVD-/+R/RW too but I don't have a DVD burner on me to confirm it... ). I ripped the audio stream using DVD Decrypter.
Good luck,
Ced
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15. January 2005 @ 20:45
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deepfried
Newbie
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16. January 2005 @ 20:51 |
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cool. thanks for the info. i already have the ripped content as it was downloads. i dont have a dvd burner either so that was my main reason to the point in question. your answer kinda leads me to another question tho : as i know Nero and and other burning sotwares have plugins and suchlike, (im assuming you just did a drag and drop of the AC3 files onto an audio cd and burned), im curious as to whether you have burned a cd full of true 5.1 content, or a cd which has been prepared for stereo by an AC3 plugin in Nero or alike.
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diabolos
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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16. January 2005 @ 21:05 |
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Nope, I just burned the actual AC3 file to the CD-R as data (creating a Data-CD)! There was no need to make an Audio-CD. If I could make an Audio-CD from the AC3 files I would have lost the 5.1 surround effects because the burning app would have had to convert the AC3 file data to PCM (2.0 channel, 44.1 KHz, analog stereo) format before it could be burned (to make an Audio-CD).
Ced
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 16. January 2005 @ 21:12
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ripdox
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17. January 2005 @ 17:53 |
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...
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12. September 2007 @ 18:40
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deepfried
Newbie
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18. January 2005 @ 09:36 |
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yeah i tried the same as diabolos suggested with no avail.
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Staff Member
2 product reviews
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18. January 2005 @ 10:11 |
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If your player won't play a regular .AC3 file (and I have no idea how many will but it's probably mostly newer players) you have 2 options. You can either author a DVD with "blank" video (not really blank but plain black frames) and use the AC3 file for your audio or you can create a Dolby Digital audio CD. Either should be possible with free tools.
For making a DVD with just a black picture I'd use AviSynth to create the video and TMPGEnc's free encoder to encode it to MPEG-1 (keeps it free and as small as possible). You can produce a blank video file with AviSynth by making a text file with .AVS for the extension (with AviSynth installed of course) and just this line in it:
BlankClip(length=S*F,width=352,height=240,fps=29.97).KillAudio()
Replace 29.97 with 25 and 240 with 288 for PAL and replace S*F with the number of seconds of audio multiplied by the number used for fps at the end of the line (ie 29.97 for NTSC or 25 for PAL).
Encode the AVS file with the lowest bitrate CBR MPEG-1 file you can in TMPGEnc and you'll have the smallest possible DVD compliant video file to author with your AC3. There are various programs that can author the video and audio files into a DVD. For simple (free) authoring with no menus I recommend using Rejig. Depending on the size and length of the AC3 you may be able to fit the DVD files on a CD, but you'll need to make sure your player supports miniDVD (DVD files on CD). If it doesn't support miniDVD you'll need to author to DVD media.
For making a Dolby Digital audio CD I recommend reading this guide:
http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/BeSure.html
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. January 2005 @ 10:14
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diabolos
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18. January 2005 @ 15:43 |
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Quote:
If your player won't play a regular .AC3 file (and I have no idea how many will but it's probably mostly newer players)...
It depends on your DVD player (Thats why I mentioned my DVD players manufacturer and model number!). The philips is brand new but the Apex is two years old. Plus, my Philips DVD player is divx (3.11, 4.x, and 5.x) certified and can play everything I have thrown at it so far (including Xvid files). Apex and Cyber Home make cheap yet feature rich DVD players that should be able to play AC3 files on CD-Rs.
I would say that if your DVD player can play MP3s and VCD/SVCDs it should be able to play AC3 files too.
Can you guys play the AC3 files you have downloaded and converted on your PCs?
Ced
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. January 2005 @ 15:46
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ripdox
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18. January 2005 @ 17:54 |
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...
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12. September 2007 @ 18:41
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diabolos
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18. January 2005 @ 18:54 |
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See the thing about that is, I just burned the (lossy) .AC3 files to my CD-R after ripping it straight from a DVD using DVD Decrypter. My AC3 files where not AC3-Wave file and my DVD players still recognized them as Dolby files. The only time I have seen someone need to turn an AC3 file into an AC3-Wave file was so that they could edit the music while mantaining all 6 audio channels (instead of PCM-Wave's 2 stereo channels).
For a DVD player that plays DVD-Audio content and Mp3's you would think it would be able to recognize a standard Dolby Digital file? This goes back to my original assumptions about different DVD players being or not being able to recognize AC3 audio streams outside of the typical .VOB/MPEG-2 container (thats what vurbal's first pharagraph addressed). Mine can :)!
Ced
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. January 2005 @ 19:11
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Staff Member
2 product reviews
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18. January 2005 @ 21:39 |
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The real issue with players isn't what they're capable of playing so much as what their firmware is programmed to recognize. For example, since every DVD player has an MPEG-2 decoder they all have the hardware required to play VCDs and SVCDs, but not all of them will. When you insert a disc the player starts by checking the media type. Once it figures out what the media is it will start looking for files it's programmed to recognize on that media. If it doesn't check for .AC3 files it won't play them. This is also why some players will only play some files if they're on a DVD and others only when they're on a CD.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. January 2005 @ 21:44
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diabolos
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19. January 2005 @ 02:51 |
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Quote:
The real issue with players isn't what they're capable of playing so much as what their firmware is programmed to recognize.
Exactly the point I was trying to make!
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specialfx
Newbie
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19. January 2005 @ 13:42 |
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DVD-Forum also supports DVD-Audio disks that can contain music to be played in DVD-players (no video required). And at least Nero 6 can burn miniDVD's which means basicly a DVD that is burned on a recular CD. Of course again we encounter mediatype recognition wich ensures that miniDVDs are not supportet with all DVD-players... But with no DVD-burner available its worth a try.
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