Getting 5.1 mix to DVD?

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Getting 5.1 mix to DVD?
by nfrankchase on Jan 21, 2006 at 8:33:09 pm

Any insight is helpful and thanks in advance!
I've created a 5.1 surround sound mix which I mean to burn to DVD: I've got all the tracks in the right order, I've compressed them to an .ac3 file using the Apple Compressor utility that comes with DVD Studio Pro (using version 4.0.2, Compressor version 2.0.1) and when I burn the DVD - what I get is the INVERSE of what I intend - all 6 channels coming through the Center speaker only!

What am I doing wrong? I know the mix itself is right, I've tested it striaght out of the sound editor I created it in (Cubase SX with an external firewire card routed through my 6.1 channel receiver to my home surround system). I tried mixing everything down to a single multichannel .aif then compressing it in Compressor that way: no go.

Trying as I write to do it the 'long way' - that is, importing each individual track into Compressor and routing it with Compressor's routing tool then creating my compressed .ac3 file - hopefully this will fix it, but I can't help but think I'm missing some vital step between that and formatting/burning my DVD. I know my DVD home surround system is working because I've tried commercial DVDs on it.

help what am I doing wrong??

Nicholas Chase
http://www.nicholaschase.net

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Re: Getting 5.1 mix to DVD?
by nfrankchase on Jan 22, 2006 at 5:17:45 am

For anyone experiencing similar issues, I'm not certain what fixed my problem, but here's what I did to get it all working:

I created .ac3 files from .aifs - the 5.1 i used 5 discrete channels and assigned them in Compressor.

In DVD SP, I created two separate tracks, one for listening in stereo, one for listening in 5.1 surround. The first track used the stereo audio in stream one. The second track is identical to track 1, but uses audio stream no. 2.

I should mention that this is a high-res music DVD, not a film w/soundtrack DVD, so the purpose is slightly different. This format is becoming very popular for both concert recordings and particularly for electronic works because it allows better sound quality as well as a more immersive experience of the music. In some cases the piece of music was composed for descrete multi-channel systems usually available in electronic music labs and the occassional concert hall.

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