Will Mpeg Layer-2 audio play back fine on stand alone players?

[catback]

Hi,

I had originally thought that audio encoded in MPEG-1 layer-2 was a standard for NTSC DVDs. Recently, I've read a couple places that say only LPCM and AC3 are standards for the NTSC format.

Has anyone had problems playing DVDs made with MPEG layer-2 audio in standalone players?

[slk001]

MPEG 1 - LAYER II is a standard for NTSC DVDs. The one that isn't part of the NTSC standard is MPEG 2 audio (but it is for PAL).

I use to use MPEG1 - L2 audio on my DVDs, before I converted to .AC3. I never experienced any problems.

[catback]

Thanks for the reply.

Is there a standard bit rate for MPEG1 Layer2 audio? I've seen both 224 and 384 used.

How does AC3 compare to the above as far as sound quality and file size?

[slk001]

192ksps for standard quality stereo, 96 - 124ksps for standard mono, 224 up to 448ksps for higher quality stereo.

AC3 has better playback codecs for the computer (random access was a problem for PowerDVD sometimes). Compression is about the same for both as is sound quality for same bitrates (to me, anyway).