Creating 4.0 DTS DVD

[STLJLC]

I am at one of those research junctures where I'm twisted up and discouraged. Hoping for some laser-cutting clear advice.

I've been buying quad vinyl, and decoding with audition for some time now, and making DTS CDs. Got it pretty much down. I'd like to try my hand at putting an album on a DVD, because it is a multi-album set, and won't fit on a CD. Want to take to a friend's house for a party next weekend. He does not have a DVD-A player. Am I crazy to think that I can make a 4.0 DVD (not DVD-A, but just an audio dvd), and that it shouldn't be that difficult? Here's what I have. Four, single track .wav files in 24/48 format. (Front Left, Surround Left, etc.). I guess my question is:

(1) whether pay or not, (preferably not, but oh well), is there an application that can just get the job done for me.

(2) bonus question: I'd prefer to keep it simple, but if I could create a menu for each song that would be great too.

 

[DKA]

Simple. AudioMuxer.

 

[STLJLC]

For AudioMuxer, I'll have to have SurCode DTS installed in order to convert the audio wavs to DTS before muxing? Or, do I use a DTS encoder to encode to DTS before muxing? I actually tried AudioMuxer and this is where I got turned around.

 

[mandrix]

You will need to encode to 48kHz or 96kHz DTS for DVD, load into AudioMuxer, click and go. Simple.
If you have multiple song files you can make a cue file and load which will give you your track points. If you have individual song files AudioMuxer can make a cue for you.
Pics can be added for each title.

 

[STLJLC]

It's amazing what a little sleep will do. And some help. Thanks guys. AudioMuxer was one of the first programs I'd tried, but now I can't even remember what my problem was at that time. (I think I thought AudioMuxer would invoke my encoding software and encode to DTS during the muxing process.) Then I tried other software, and then got frustrated. But got it to work this morning. Perfect. Sometimes all you need is a couple more experienced voices pointing you in the right direction... Thanks much.

 

[DKA]

It's amazing what a little sleep will do. And some help. Thanks guys. AudioMuxer was one of the first programs I'd tried, but now I can't even remember what my problem was at that time. (I think I thought AudioMuxer would invoke my encoding software and encode to DTS during the muxing process.) Then I tried other software, and then got frustrated. But got it to work this morning. Perfect. Sometimes all you need is a couple more experienced voices pointing you in the right direction... Thanks much.

I'm sure Ply4it on SBU would love to hear about your experience. This is a completely homebrew program developed by a hell of a nice guy.

 

[neil wilkes]

Does AudioMuxer decode DTS-HD MAs to 96kHz properly yet?
It does not work on my W7 64-bit system at all - all I get is core audio.

@STLJLC - the best app for you is DVD-Lab Pro. You'll get the DTS streams onto DVD (but you must use the DTS-DVD encoders, not DTS-CD or the sample rate will be wrong) and you can add screens as needed. Be careful with just DTS though, as such as disc might not be playable......

 

[DKA]

Does AudioMuxer decode DTS-HD MAs to 96kHz properly yet?
It does not work on my W7 64-bit system at all - all I get is core audio.

@STLJLC - the best app for you is DVD-Lab Pro. You'll get the DTS streams onto DVD (but you must use the DTS-DVD encoders, not DTS-CD or the sample rate will be wrong) and you can add screens as needed. Be careful with just DTS though, as such as disc might not be playable......

You need to have the ArcSoft DTS Decoder plugin installed on your PC to get the full 96khz stream, Neil. I almost punched three holes in the wall trying to figure that out myself until Ply4it saved the day.

 

[mandrix]

Does AudioMuxer decode DTS-HD MAs to 96kHz properly yet?
It does not work on my W7 64-bit system at all - all I get is core audio.

Neil, did you read the user guide? You need the ArcSoft decoder installed to decode DTS-HD, otherwise you will indeed only extract the lossy core.
A "free" solution is not available at this time, unfortunately.

 

[mandrix]

Whoops, you beat me to it DKA.

 

[neil wilkes]

Neil, did you read the user guide? You need the ArcSoft decoder installed to decode DTS-HD, otherwise you will indeed only extract the lossy core.
A "free" solution is not available at this time, unfortunately.

I've GOT the ArcSoft thing as part of TMT5.
Still does not work here, so I must be doing something wrong....TMT handles the DTS-HD MAS perfectly

I bought TMT as part of the BD authoring setup, as I do not like wasting hours burning test discs to find I screwed the pooch on a menu somewhere.

 

[grill]

Maybe eac3to used by and packed with AudioMuxer is not compatible with the latest ArcSoft DTS decoder. I'm sure that AudioMuxer or eac3to guys can help.

 

[Surround_Junk]

I've GOT the ArcSoft thing as part of TMT5.
Still does not work here, so I must be doing something wrong....TMT handles the DTS-HD MAS perfectly

I bought TMT as part of the BD authoring setup, as I do not like wasting hours burning test discs to find I screwed the pooch on a menu somewhere.

Did you also let AudioMuxer do a check for it first? Settings> DTS check, boxes should be checked after the test.

 

[DKA]

I've GOT the ArcSoft thing as part of TMT5.
Still does not work here, so I must be doing something wrong....TMT handles the DTS-HD MAS perfectly

I bought TMT as part of the BD authoring setup, as I do not like wasting hours burning test discs to find I screwed the pooch on a menu somewhere.

Try checking and unchecking "resample to" to make sure that button didn't get stuck.

 

[STLJLC]

You need to have the ArcSoft DTS Decoder plugin installed on your PC to get the full 96khz stream, Neil. I almost punched three holes in the wall trying to figure that out myself until Ply4it saved the day.

Does this mean that if the lossless 96khz stream is encoded to DTS with DTS-HD Master Audio Suite to a .cpt file (specifically for DVD), and then muxed with AudioMuxer, that I've got a problem? It seems to be working, and they'll play on my DVD player. But if I've got some problem, even if not audible, I'd like to fix it.

 

[STLJLC]

Also, I still don't understand why - when using only 4.0 channels - an audio DVD can't hold 24/96 LPCM audio. Most of the sources I've read say the same thing: "the DVD standard should allow it, but DVD players won't support it." That's screwy to me.

 

[neil wilkes]

Try checking and unchecking "resample to" to make sure that button didn't get stuck.

I'll recheck this today & let you know how it was......good idea though, had not checked this.

 

[neil wilkes]

Also, I still don't understand why - when using only 4.0 channels - an audio DVD can't hold 24/96 LPCM audio. Most of the sources I've read say the same thing: "the DVD standard should allow it, but DVD players won't support it." That's screwy to me.

Not strictly true.
Are you talking about DVD-Audio or an Audio-based DVD-Video disc? With DTS, I suspect the latter.
The DVD specifications for audio actually state that the support is LPCM audio at up to 24-bit 96kHz.
The only mandatory LPCM specification is actually 16/48, and 20-24 bits as well as 96kHz SR are all optionallly supported and some players will handle it, yet others will not.
Additionally, the published specs state that (again) up to 6 channels is supported with a maximum bitrate of 6144 kbps.
However, not a single player ever built has ever supported multichannel LPCM in Video_TS. You can use 24/96 stereo in some authoring tools, but the player is not required to pass this properly. Some will truncate the 24-bit wordlength down to 16 bits, others will resample the 96kHz down to 48kHz on the fly, and yet still others will do both.

24/96 4.0 LPCM can be used in DVD-Audio though - this allows for an audio bitrate of (again) up to 9600 kbps, and 4.0 LPCM will fit into this - there is a spreadsheet somewhere in this subsection of the forums that details what you can & cannot use for DVD-A discs, but you stand no chance at all of getting 4.0 LPCM into DVD-V discs as the bitrate would be 9220 kbps, which is well in excess of the allowed rates for audio in a Video_TS even without the DTS stream (at an additional 1536 kbps, same as for 2.0 LPCM at 16/48).

There is a huge difference between what is allowed in the specs and what is given mandatory support status - and it is even screwier with Blu-Ray, believe me!
The only part of the specs that actualy matters is the mandatory support - anything outside this is a lottery on playbackot authoring a DVD-A.

EDIT.
Getting back On Topic though, to get 4.0 DTS onto a DVD, you need to be in Video_TS, so no DVD-A specs matter here.
Also, I would strongly recommendthat the 4.0 DTS stream is not the first stream - that shall be (spec wording) either Dolby Digital or LPCM.

 

[DKA]

Does this mean that if the lossless 96khz stream is encoded to DTS with DTS-HD Master Audio Suite to a .cpt file (specifically for DVD), and then muxed with AudioMuxer, that I've got a problem? It seems to be working, and they'll play on my DVD player. But if I've got some problem, even if not audible, I'd like to fix it.

No. What it means is that, without the plugin, you can't EXTRACT the 24/96 stream from an existing .dtshd file, only the core 24/48 DTS. You can mux just fine at 24/96. I do so all the time as well.

 

[DKA]

I'll recheck this today & let you know how it was......good idea though, had not checked this.

One person had that issue. That's why I bring it up. I never had the issue, though.