Questions so basic that you'll laugh.. but please respond :)

[Veech]

I have just purchased a 5.1 speaker system, and am currently researching how to burn 5.1 CDs.

Is it true that 5.1 can only be played on DVD and burned on DVD-R due to encoding and decoding requirements? Or is there program allowing to play/brun on CD-R?

I have ripped a 5.1 soundtrack from DVD, converted to wav files and had fun editing the sessions with Cool Edit Pro. Now I'd like to burn these edited sessions (comprised of 6 wav files) back to a 5.1 audio disc. Is there a way to convert the 6 wav files needed for 5.1 to AC3 (or whatever format necessary) and burn a 5.1 mix without having to utilize something such as DTS encoding or Dolby Digital encoding (i.e SurCode) which requires purchasing software for hundreds of dollars?

In other words, is there a freeware (or cheapware) program for encoding and burning 5.1 CDs?

thanks for any response..

[Danzel]

Check the Guides section

BeSure guide - last updated 06/14/02
How to create DTS or Dolby Digital audio CDs from AC3 files

That sound like what your after?

Other than that I dont know anything on the subject.

hehe.

Danzel.

[KpeX]

Along with the guide that Danzel mentioned, you'll need a program as you said to encode to AC3. I don't know of a good format to encode for this purpose other than AC3. You'll also need a player or soundcard with a digital output capable of passing AC3 audio. Several payware programs can handle the encoding, as far as freeware goes, BeSweet (http://dspguru.doom9.net) can handle the AC3 encoding, make sure you download the latest beta, the latest ac3_enc.dll, and read up on the topic here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=55610) and on a bug and a workaround here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=49118). Hope this helps.

[Veech]

ok, i'm good with that, understanding that wav files have to be encoded back to AC3. Now my questions are: 1) will BeSweet encode six different mono wav files back into one 5.1 AC3 file and 2) can I burn that to a CD-R (CD media) or does it have to be burned on a DVD-R (DVD media)?

I have BeSweet and Besure, that's what I used along with SmartRipper to rip and convert the AC3s to wav files.

again, thank you for your responses :)

[dr.schanker]

you should end up with an *.ac3 file.
check your standalone-dvd-player; some (like my scott838) support playback of *.mp3 *.ac3 *.mpg and other files on a standard data-cd-rom (you can access these files with a mini-browser).

[tiki4]

Please read the threads completely that KpeX gave...

Apart from that, no you don't need necessarily DVD to play your files. In any case, if you follow the guides you should end up with .wav files which are either Dolby Digital (=AC3) wave files or with DTS-WAV (if using Surcode CD Pro DTS). All those files can get burned with a standard CD burning program as a totally normal audio CD (CDDA). To play such a CD you either need a standalone that can play the CD and passes the data to an external decoder or you use a software player like WinDVD which plays AC3 and DTS-CDs on my machine. I have attached a 5.1 analog speaker system. In case of a digital connection there might be other problems as it depends on your soundcard.

tiki4

[Veech]

Great! Thanks for the info, I'll dig into the guides right away. I have an Audigy Platinum Ex (with break-out box) so there should (hopefully) be no issue with compatability, it has analog and digital outs. I just bought a Logitech Z-680 system, will get it next week, and am really getting on to the world of both quad and 5.1.

Veech

[tiki4]

@Veech:

If you own an Audigy and a speaker set not manufactured by Creative then please check the internet about existing problems. I can't give you exact starting points but maybe you try at hydrogenaudio.org (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org) and in the Creative forums. If I remember correctly ther was a problem with too high voltage on the outgoing connections of the Audigy. Before you destroy your expensive speakers...

Sorry, don't know more about as I own Audigy Player with Creative Inspire 5300 analog speaker set.

Regards,

tiki4

[Veech]

Thank you Tiki4, I've heard that the Logitechs work fine with the Audigy2, but never thought there would be a problem with the Audigy. I'll definitely check it out.

I'm getting excited about entering the world of surround sound, especially editing and creating 5.1 mixes. I spoke to the folks at Minnetonka last week, one guy said to look for a program they're releasing at the end of the year that will synthetically decode a stereo source to 5.1. He said also it won't cost an arm and a leg since it's their own code, they won't have to pay licensing fees to anyone (i.e. Dolby, DTS, etc).