Audio Too Low

[phenixdragon]

About every DVD I rip and Encode to Divx with 5.1 (and of course using AutoGK) has the volume too low. Music in a movie sounds normal but the actual talking in a movie is very quiet and sometimes so quiet you can't even hear it.

Is there something that I could do to fix this?

[unskinnyboy]

What is the audio format you used? MP3 or AC3?

[phenixdragon]

5.1 which is AC3. I am right now trying a copy in MP3 to see what happens but I do want everything in 5.1 (AC3) instead of just 2 speakers.

[phenixdragon]

I also did try Nero and the sound came out perfectly.

[phenixdragon]

I should also mention that sound affects also come out fine in AutoGK. So it looks like it is just when there is talking it is very very low while music and sounds affects come out fine. I have tried many movies and it has happened to all.

But right now I am encoding with xvid to see how that comes out too and then once thats done I will have it encode with Divx and MP3.

[niamh]

it's the old AC3 filter decoder issue
I think it's even in the FAQ, it's asked so often :)

[phenixdragon]

OK thanks. I think thats wwhat will fix it. I just need to use AC3Filter and turn it up. So does this work with WMP? Doesnt seem to work for me.

Also, I did want to rip the DVDs and play them on a Divx DVD player but if the sound is too low then wont that be the same on a Divx DVD player? Does anyone know?

[jggimi]

Dolby Digital (.ac3) soundtrack streams are not altered in any way, if left in .ac3 format. They go into the .avi file unchanged.

If your standalone supports .ac3 soundtracks within .avi files, then it will use the unaltered stream.

[phenixdragon]

So why is only the talking lowered?

And with it unchanged, then would a Divx player know to mix the sound at a higher volume?

[jggimi]

So why is only the talking lowered?

Perhaps you are missing the center channel?

You are either having trouble with AC3Filter, which is PC Software, or trouble with your soundcard, which is PC Hardware, or trouble with your speaker(s). Whatever the root cause -- software bug, driver problem, hardware problem, or operator error -- it has nothing to do with AGK at all. Should you play back one of your .ac3 files, you will see that this soundtrack plays exactly the same. All AGK does is mux the video it creates with the audio demuxed from the VOB set.

From the AGK FAQ (highlights mine):2.13 Audio level of resulting AVI is too low. What can I do?
- if its MP3 sound track then there is nothing more you can do as considerable level of boosting is already applied during encoding process. If its AC3/DTS then make sure you maximized boosting inside AC3Filter during playback (as AC3/DTS tracks are original DVD tracks and cannot be boosted).And with it unchanged, then would a Divx player know to mix the sound at a higher volume?

If your DivX player has either a fiber optic or coaxial SPDIF connection, then it could send the digital stream -- again, unaltered -- to your Dolby Digital sound system for decoding.

You may want to read through the AC3 FAQ (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68300#post424067), it has a section on playback that may be of special interest to you.

If you get closer to determining the root cause (speakers, speaker cable, soundcard, AC3Filter or other decoder), let me know and I can move this to the appropriate forum.

[phenixdragon]

Thanks for the info. I am not sure what you would say is a root cause because from what I am reading there is no cause that this is happening because the sound is pure from the DVD. In which it is playing exactly how it is on the DVD, unless I am incorrect here.

in which is why AC3Filter is needed so it can boost the voice on the sound.

But as with a DVD player that can play DivX I am assuming it would also boost the sound like it does with a normal DVD. Am I incorrect here? I do not have one to test with until next week sometime.

But what I am running into now since installing AC3Filter is the files will not play in WMP (Windows Media Player) and is coming up with a CODEC error because of AC3Filter. I do not see anything needed for it to play but is there something special needed to play in it?

[niamh]

You can use Media Player Classic, it's failsafe, though it will use its own decoder too and the sound will be fine. You probably use power DVD to play back dvds and it has its own ac3 filter too :)

Your voices are missing, so you have a downmix issue most probably. Set up the filter to stereo or 3 fronts or whatever your speaker setup is, as well as preset loud. A simple reinstall of the filter(on top is fine) can solve it too. I've had it recently refusing to downmix myself :)

[phenixdragon]

Well I tried one of the other players out there and it seemed to have played fine. I guess my main question is that does anyone know if I picked up a Divx DVD player if it would also play fine w/o the voices being lowered?

I would be able to test myself at a friend's but I am out of town for the week on vacation so I don't have access to one. But I am ripping DVDs and don't want to waste the time onripping them if I have to rerip them again.

Sorry about all the questions. I am new at this and am only pulling up bits and peices of things form searching the forums but have learned a lot i nthe past day. I really do appreciate all the help here.

[jggimi]

I'll try and net this out for you as best I can. Please let me know if this is a sufficient "level-set" for you:[list=1] The Dolby Digital soundtrack(s) on a commercial DVD were produced by the DVD"s production company.

The sound sources may have been from a variety of original content, from analog to digital, with any number of tracks.

A DD soundtrack -- regardless the number of original tracks -- can be anywhere from mono (DD 1.0ch) thru 5 channels plus Low Frequency Enhancement -- LFE -- (DD5.1ch).

Think of a DD soundtrack as nothing more than a digital file. On your PC, its an .ac3 file.

That digital file is compressed -- DD is a codec -- and has a fixed bitrate.[/list=a]In order to get a DD soundtrack to your ears, it has to get decompressed, converted to analog, amplified, and sent out to anywhere from one to six speakers. That can happen in different ways:[list=a] A standalone DVD player may have one or more SPDIF connectors: coax, fiber optic, or both. The purpose of this connector is to send this digital file to a "digital surround sound system" that does this decompression, conversion, and amplification.

Standalone DVD players may also have analog outs. If so, these are typically RCA connectors, designed to be used with an analog amplifier: two connectors for stereo; or six, for 5.1 surround sound. In this case, the player must do the decompression and conversion to analog.

PCs can have the decompression done in a software program (e.g.: AC3Filter).

They could also have it done by a DD-capable soundcard.

If the soundcard has an SPDIF connector, then the PC can send the digital file to an external surround sound system.[/list=a]
This may be an oversimplification. But, I hope it explains why I think your problem is restricted to your PC, and is likely either your use/configuration of the software, or a software bug.

To better help you, I am moving this thread to the Audio Encoding forum. That particular Doom9 community is much more focused on digital soundtracks and their uses. Most importantly, they most certainly will correct any misstatements I've made here.

[phenixdragon]

Thanks. I think that basically explains what I was asking.

Also I did reinstall AC3Filter and once I did that WMP works fine and the sound is perfect since I am running this on my notebook so I only have 2 speakers.

Thanks again for all the help!

[ukb008]

Hi phenixdragon.

DVD sounds have a Dynamic Range that appears too low except in high-end sound system and quieter ambience. If your encodes are in mp3, them you can increase the gain of the file with mp3gain (http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/mp3gain/mp3gain-win-full-1_2_5.exe?download) and then mux it with your video.

I feel that increasing gain is a required procedure for most transcodes. Often the program does that automatically, but I have found out that some more augmentation is commonly needed.

This (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93173) thread has more discussions of similar nature.

Regards.

[lx84]

well... sorry for this, but i have the same problem..
all my DVDs with 6ch audio, when converted, the voices are way too low, so i guess that's because the center speaker is not here...

when playing the raw DVD files (encrypted with DVD decrypter), the sound is loud and clear enough (i have a stereo audio system, no sourround). but as soon as i convert the DVD with autoGK (CBR MP3 128), i just hear the music, voices are veeery low..
so if i would just turn up the gain, the background music will still be way too loud!!
i jsut want to get the center noise onto the left and right channel..
how to solve this?

i don't care about DTS, jsut want to hear 2 channels fine... (since i don't have a dolby system yet)

[lx84]

anyone to help me out??

[gnr]

download matrix mixer and install it then play the file with media player classic, right click on it and goto filters>matrix mixer and then increase the master volume from there.

[lx84]

download matrix mixer and install it then play the file with media player classic, right click on it and goto filters>matrix mixer and then increase the master volume from there.
does this jsut change the output level while playing, or does it actually change the video's volume permanently?
cause i'd like to put the video on my external disk, so i can show it to people on another computer, without installing any tools...

[gnr]

does this jsut change the output level while playing, or does it actually change the video's volume permanently?
cause i'd like to put the video on my external disk, so i can show it to people on another computer, without installing any tools...
no it doesnt change the videoes volume permanently, it will just incease the level of volume after installing.....very small program and free, available on sourceforge.net.