GUIDE: Using Adobe Audition 1.5 or 2.0 to create 5.1 files

[ursamtl]

This is a basic guide for creating 5.1 files in Adobe Audition 1.5-2.0. It uses the V.I Suite plugins but the basic method would be the same if you used non-V.I plugins.

The guide is just text for now. I'll add some graphics or a PDF version once I have more time. This will not teach you how to use Adobe Audition. It assumes you already know that. If not, learn at least the basics first!

To start with, download and install the following:

V.I Suite 1.1 Installer ( http://stevethomson.ca/audio/guides/VI_Setup.exe) or as a zip file V.I Suite 1.1 Zip file ( http://stevethomson.ca/audio/guides/VI_Setup.zip) (3MB)

Classic Master Limiter (http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/classic-master-limiter.php)


Adobe Audition does not support the 2-in/6-out V.I plugin, but it does support the 2-in/2-out fLfR, CLFE, and sLsR plugins. Using Adobe Audition's Multitrack , it's possible to create 6 channels that you can then encode to surround sound using AC3, DTS or other 5.1 encoders.

Important: Before starting this guide, be sure to point Audition to your VST Plugins folder. To do so, choose Add/Remove VST Directory from the Effects menu when in Audition's Edit view. When Audition opens, choose File > Import to import your stereo source file.
Double-click on the file list at left to open the file in Edit view.
Choose Edit > Convert Sample Type.
Select 32 bit from the list at the right of the dialog box and click OK.
If your final destination for the conversion is to be DVD, select 48000 from the sample rate list and move the slider towards "High Quality." (leave it at 44100 for a surround CD). Leave the Channels and Dither settings as is. Click OK.
Select entire wave file (Ctrl+A or right click and choose Select Entire Wave).
Choose Effects > Amplitude > Amplify/Fade.
When Amplify/Fade opens, select the Center Wave preset from the list at the right. Uncheck the box to the left of Lock Left/Right. Check the box next to DC Bias, select Differential and then click the Find Zero Now button. The program scans the file and updates the DC Bias values if it finds an offset. Click OK to remove this offset.
While still in Edit View, Press Ctrl+M three times to copy the file into the first three multitrack slots.
Switch to Multitrack view by clicking on the tab or pressing the 9 key.
Click the FX button for Track 1 in Multitrack view.
Find fLfR in the Installed Real-Time Effects tree on the left under VST and click the Add button to add fLfR to the Current Effects Rack list on the right.
Add a limiter. This can be the Kjaerhus Audio Classic Master Limiter, or others such as Audition’s own Hard Limiter.
Click the Properties buttons to display the plugin interfaces. Make adjustments to each as required. Be sure to leave the Mixer tab settings in Series mode.
Click the FX button for Track 2 in Multitrack view. This time, add CLFE and a limiter to the effects rack.
Click the FX button for Track 3 in Multitrack view. This time, add sLsR and a limiter to the effects rack. Some might want to add a reverb plugin or impulse response convolution plugin in this track as well.
For each of the three tracks listed in the Track List, select each track and then set the Panning Assignment list on the right as follows:Track 1: FL+FR, stereo (Audition 1.5) or L + R, stereo (Audition 2.0)
Track 2: Center+LFE, stereo (1.5 & 2.0)
Track 3: Ls+Rs, stereo (1.5 & 2.0)
Click the Play All button to preview your output. If you have a multichannel soundcard that is properly configured in Audition, you'll be able to hear the 5.1 channel mix correctly. Check your output levels with the meter across the bottom to make sure there is no sound going past 0dB.
When ready, click the Export button and choose to export 6 mono wave files, one interleaved 6-channel wave file or even a Windows Media Audio Pro 6-channel file. Note: If you choose one interleaved 6-channel wave file, avoid the top choice ("type 3") in the Format options dropdown list. There can be problems with this setting. The "32-bit, 4-byte integer (type 1)", the 24-bit or 16 bit settings should be fine (Just be sure to use dithering if you go for 16-bit output). This guide is just a basic starting point. If you're familiar with Audition or are an expert, I'm sure you'll come up with variations that work for you. For example, you may want to split one or more of the stereo tracks to six mono tracks and then apply effects as required. Certainly some compression on the LFE track can add some extra bottom end where required. You could add reverb to the rear channels by adding additional effects to that channel's effects rack with a reverb plugin. Always remember to use a limiter plugin AFTER all the others. Experiment. Try feeding sLsR with a reverb plugin. Reverse their order and see what the result sounds like. You could also use other plugins instead of the V.I Suite or in combination with them. For example, Audition has a very powerful Center Channel Extractor plugin that some find effective. This or similar 3rd-party plugins can producing warbling artifacts, so you have to play with their settings to get good results. Anyway, the only limit is your imagination.

Finally, share your results with us here on the forum. Tell us what worked for you. Others will benefit from this community exchanging information.

Enjoy!
Steve.

[shon3i]

Nice but i making some movie and finished. I make 30min move with stereo sound. But i using Premiere Pro 1.5 now 2.0 and there is no surround option like vegas 6. I now use vegas 6 to make surround sound and mix with film. How i that make with premiere with preview. I needed to put samples in all chanels like vegas. Help. Gudie is cool. were i can download more vst plugins.

[ursamtl]

Does Vegas support VST plugins? If so, you might try V.I or it's 2-channel companion plugins. You can download these from the links mentioned above. As for downloading more VST plugins, one of the best resources for this kind of information is www.kvraudio.com.

Regards,
Steve.

[shon3i]

You dont understand me i asking how to mux video with 5.1 audio like vegas 6 in premier 1.5/2.0 or audition.

[ursamtl]

Sorry but this is a guide on using Adobe Audition to create 5.1 audio. Perhaps you should post the question as a new thread. You will probably get a faster answer that way. As I understand it, Audition allows you to work with video but not in 5.1 surround. The only way to get Audition 5.1 sound out of the program is as 6 mono wave files, one six-channel wave file, or one six-channel Windows Media Pro file.

[raquete]

Thank you and congratulations ursamtl!
i have now one music with 6 separated channels(fl,fr,c,lfe,sl&sr) and one interleavd 6-channel wave file with very cool results in pc.
a newby doubt: how i burn(as?) in dvd-rw to test in my standalone?
:thanks:

[ursamtl]

First you have to encode your file either as an AC3 (Dolby Digital) file or a DTs file. If you don't have an AC3 or DTS decoding software package, there are a couple of free AC3 encoding programs around. Do a search on this forum for tips. There are lots of discussions about this.

If your file is at a sample rate of 48kHz, then you have to make it the soundtrack in a DVD-Video and then add either video footage or still pictures for the video part of it. You can use a variety of programs to do this. Guides are available on Doom9, videohelp.com or other spots on the internet.

If your file is at a sample rate of 44.1kHz, then you can burn a surround sound CD using a regular CDR. You have to encode your AC3 or DTS file as a AC3wave or DTSwave. This tricks CD burning programs such as Nero into thinking the file is a regular audio wave file. Then you burn this "wave" file (or files) to a regular CDR as if it were a regular audio CD. Once you play it back on a DVD player through the digital connection to your receiver (this is very important), it tricks your receiver into thinking the audio coming through the digital connection is from a 5.1 DVD and the 5.1 audio plays back correctly. It's actually very cool! :)

I would recommend practicing a bit. I found that rewritable CDs and DVDs helped me a lot as it took a few tries before I got the process right. It was worth it!

One other thing, if you're doing DTS surround CD's of music, it's usually good to have one long file with a cue sheet instead of a
series of individual files. This is because there are problems with some DTS decoders in home theatre receivers. When they encounter breaks in the data stream, the decoders switch off and then back on after a new stream has started. It cuts off the beginning of songs and can be quite annoying!

Do some reading on here because almost every question you will have has already been answered somewhere in these threads. This forum is a gold mine!

Good luck!
Steve.

[fat0n3s]

Very nice guide!

I have one problem though. When I am in the surround encoder screen, and I click on Audio Driver button, I only have two channels showing up. Under output channel mapping, I can only select two out of my six channels for playback.

I have checked the adobe help file, and it tells me I might need a directSound interleaved driver. I have done some searching on doom9, along with google without luck.

BTW, I have a Realtek sound card that is 5.1 compatable. If I encode the file in windows media audio pro 6 channel file, it plays correctly on my 5.1 computer system with media player. I just can't play it in 6 channels with adobe audition.

Any help or ideas would be great. Thanks.

[ursamtl]

I would recommend installing ASIO4ALL. This is a tremendous free driver that sit on top of your Windows driver and provides whatever maximum IO capability your hardware has. Audition works with it.

[fat0n3s]

Many many thanks!

Downloading it now.


EDIT: Worked like a charm. Now I can hear what is doing what.

Thanks again!

[raquete]

If your file is at a sample rate of 44.1kHz, then you can burn a surround sound CD using a regular CDR. You have to encode your AC3 or DTS file as a AC3wave or DTSwave. This tricks CD burning programs such as Nero into thinking the file is a regular audio wave file. Then you burn this "wave" file (or files) to a regular CDR as if it were a regular audio CD. Once you play it back on a DVD player through the digital connection to your receiver (this is very important), it tricks your receiver into thinking the audio coming through the digital connection is from a 5.1 DVD and the 5.1 audio plays back correctly. It's actually very cool! :)

I would recommend practicing a bit. I found that rewritable CDs and DVDs helped me a lot as it took a few tries before I got the process right. It was worth it!

Good luck!
Steve. thanks for your cool hints Steve!:)
i don't knew that tricks to burn in normal cdrs,see what i did and correct me please if something is wrong:
in step 19 was choosed export as one interleaved,6 channel wave file and in format options as windows pcm waveform audio - 16-bit,2-byte packed integer.
i burn this wave in nero as regular audio cd (cdr-w for test).
for my surprise in normal cd players works as stereo and in
a DVD player through the digital connection to receiver give me 5.1 !:eek: wow!!!
well....is working but it is correct?!?

:thanks:

[ursamtl]

Hmm, this is interesting. I've known for a couple of years about the surround CD in a DVD player trick, but I wasn't aware that it could play back in stereo on a CD player. Has anyone else tried this?

[daphy]

Dpl2?

[ursamtl]

Dpl2?

The CD player must have some built-in digital decoding, possibly DPLII. Normally, a CD player reads the digital data and thinks it's simply PCM data needs to be converted to analog. The result is noise.

[raquete]

ursamtl,
as you wrote in the guide Always remember to use a limiter plugin AFTER all the others.i have doubt about the ideal LFE channel volume.
i'm using classic master limiter for C channel and round -15/-14dB for LFE.
how much i have to adjust for LFE?

:thanks: very much!

[ursamtl]

About -15dB seems about right. This is always a tricky subject. You might adjust the LFE until it seems right on one system but then if you listen to the results on another, there will be way too much bass!

Put it this way, you are better off with too little than too much. If you're using the CLFE plugin as described in the Audition guide, then you don't need any LFE because the full range is going through the 5.0 channels and then the bass management system on any playback device will redirect the appropriate low frequencies to the subwoofer. Therefore, you don't actually need to put anything in the LFE channel unless your source stereo recording is deficient in really deep punchy bass.

I added the LFE channel to the V.I and CLFE plugins as a way of reinforcing bass a bit for older recordings that were missing this deep bass. It does not redirect bass frequencies from the other channels but instead takes a small amount of bass frequencies below 60Hz and adds it to what's already there. With just the right level adjustment, it can really add some bottom to your 5.1 mix.

The Classic Master Limiter actually has two functions when used with CLFE or V.I. It limits peaks to prevent them from overloading and when the threshold is turned down, it compresses the LFE and/or center to bring their apparent loudness up without overloading. Of course if you push it too much, the level will overload the plugin, which results in distortion too.

So, a little goes a long way. Try some settings and burn them to a CDRW or DVDRW (depending on your intended target). If possible, see what the results sound like on different systems. You might even bring your disc along to a stereo shop and pretend you're in the market for a new 5.1 system and tell them you want to try your own disc (Try it first in your own system to make sure it doesn't sound really bad!!!)

Come back and tell us what worked for you! The more knowledge we share here, the better all our results will be.

Regards,
Steve.

[raquete]

thanks for clear explanations.:cool:

The more knowledge we share here, the better all our results will be. right.
in multichannel export options choosing 32-bit,normalize float (type3) give some strange noises(fast scratches/distortions).try to open one single file(l,r,c..etc) from audition in winamp to hear it.
the same happen using the receiver(prologic)after encode the waves as AC3.
then,reading the audition help:
32-bit Normalized Float (type 3) - Default is the internal format for Adobe Audition and the standard floating point format for type 3 .wav files. Values are normalized to the range of +/-1.0, and although values beyond this range are saved, clipping may occur in some programs that read them back in. (Adobe Audition won't clip audio but will instead read the same value back if it's beyond this range.)

my alternative was change to 32-bit, 4 byte integer (type1) or other option(24 or 16 bit) and the "noises" gone form the 6 waves saved and in AC3.

:thanks:

[ursamtl]

@raquete:

Thanks for the tip. I've added it to the guide.

Happying surrounding!
Steve.

[shon3i]

I finally try this gudie,and everything is fine and i can't export 6ch wav or wma or ogg, how to export, i use file->export, why to do, i using Audition 2.0.

[ursamtl]

Are you trying to export using the button in the Surround Encoder window or from the File menu? If from the File menu, it won't work, you need to use the Export button in the bottom right corner of the Surround Encoder window. This displays a dialog box called Multichannel Export Options, which allows you to save as 6 individual waves, one 6-channel interleaved wave file or one 6-channel Windows Media Audio Pro (compressed or lossless). This Encoder window is accesible when in Multitrack mode.

[shon3i]

Thank you but i don't see any of this options. Can you post some pictures.

[ursamtl]

Ok, I'll try to do so in the coming days. In the meantime, reread the guide. If you follow the steps exactly as written, you should be able to succeed. The Surround Encoder is only available when you are in Multitrack mode, not in Edit mode. If you were able to follow the guide to the point where you have the effects loaded in multitrack view, then all you have to do is press Ctrl+E or select "Surround Encoder" from the "View" menu. If it's not in the View menu, then you are not in the right mode. In such a case, choose "Multitrack" from the View menu.

[shon3i]

you are in Multitrack mode, not in Edit modeYes i am always in multitrack mode, Thank you works.

[raquete]

@ ursamtl

i'm getting wonderful results with your guide! :D

two question,i can't find the answer anywhere:
1- i extracted some ac3 files from dvds,they are 48000-448k(5.1).
how and where can i know how many bits(16,24 or 32) this tracks have?
2- if i encode the ac3 at 448k,means that each channel have
74,666k? (448/6=74,666)

thank you so much!

[ursamtl]

Thanks for the positive feedback on the guide. I'm glad to hear it's working for you. Most AC3s I've encountered have 16-bit resolution. I believer 24-bit AC3s are possible, but not 32. As for finding out, I'm not sure, perhaps Foobar 2000 will tell you. I know it does for wave files. I'm not sure whether the AC3 spec divides its bandwidth equally among the 6 channels. You'd have to check through the technical literature over at www.dolby.com or perhaps someone here will know. I'm by no means an expert.

Regards,
Steve.

[raquete]

hy Steve,..this is the best answer that i could find:

'The central philosophy behind AC-3 is that all channels should be compressed together as an ensemble, where the total bits that can be accommodated by the media (which in this case is film) is distributed among the channels. The input to the AC-3 encoder is six-channel PCM audio (16 to 24-bit resolution and 48kHz sampling rate). The first step is to transform each of the channels from the time to the frequency domain, using Time Domain Aliasing Cancellation (TDAC). Blocks of 512 samples, or 10.7ms of audio, are normally used to yield 256 spectral coefficients. However, when a transient signal is detected, the block size is reduced to 5.4ms duration to minimize pre-echo.'

http://www.surroundmusic.net/articles/media/articlepix/38figure4.gif

'A block diagram summarizing the processes for AC-3 is shown in Figure 4. Input is six-channel PCM (solid black arrows), which is then transformed into the frequency domain (F), with block size determined by the transient detector (T). The binary number spectral coefficients are converted to floating-point and coded (C) by expressing exponents (gray dotted arrows) with the lowest bit resolution necessary and re-quantizing mantissas (Q; black dotted arrows) via bit allocation (A). The output compressed data stream (black dashed arrow) consists of the mantissa and exponent information from all of the channels, plus auxiliary data for exponent coding, coupling coefficients (gray dashed arrow), bit allocation, etc. It should be noted that several other coding strategies than those just described are implemented to achieve low data rates; AC-3 is by far the most complex of the three codecs used in digital film sound. The steps for decoding the data are essentially the reverse of those for encoding, requiring the auxiliary data for parameters and information on reconstructing the original channels.'

http://www.surroundmusic.net/articles/packing2.html

maybe KpeX can write better expanations with more details about the distribuition of bitrates in ac3 inside audio faqs(i will).

thanks!

[raquete]

If your file is at a sample rate of 44.1kHz, then you can burn a surround sound CD using a regular CDR. You have to encode your AC3 or DTS file as a AC3wave or DTSwave. This tricks CD burning programs such as Nero into thinking the file is a regular audio wave file. Then you burn this "wave" file (or files) to a regular CDR as if it were a regular audio CD. Once you play it back on a DVD player through the digital connection to your receiver (this is very important), it tricks your receiver into thinking the audio coming through the digital connection is from a 5.1 DVD and the 5.1 audio plays back correctly. It's actually very cool! :)

I would recommend practicing a bit. I found that rewritable CDs and DVDs helped me a lot as it took a few tries before I got the process right. It was worth it!

Do some reading on here because almost every question you will have has already been answered somewhere in these threads. This forum is a gold mine!

Good luck!
Steve.
[edit]found solution http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=479078&postcount=7

hi Steve.
i did this some time ago but trust me, i forgot how i did and lose my backup.
now with a new decoder i want to test in cdrw but i don't know and can't find about AC3wave or DTSwave.

can you tell me please what program i use to encode as AC3Wave or where i can read about it?

thanks in advance!

[sfalcon]

I made a DTS CD and it sounds great! No complaint at all. But now I tried to work with a video file (MPEG 2) and I edited the audio according to your guide (the sound is fine, DTS), but when the program renders audio+video to prepare for the DVD files, the sound is always played as a long hiss. If I put just audio into the program (Architect), the DVD plays fine. It seems that when the program (Vegas) renders the Mpeg file with the audio file, it messes the dts audio file.
Can you pls give me some idea of how could I work around this?
tks
sfalcon

[ursamtl]

What program are you using to play back the rendered Mpeg file?

[sfalcon]

I just burned a DVD and palyed it on a stand alone DVD player (Pioneer Elite). What I am trying to do is editing the audio of an mpeg 2 file (or just any DVD file), to convert it into a 5.1 wav file following Steve's guide and then put it back in a DVD disc. I succeeded to do so, but with wav files only. When I try to edit an mpeg 2 file, the rendering seems to mess it up... and the sound becomes a long hiss, instead.
thank you for yr trying to help.
sds
sfalcon

[ursamtl]

Is your DVD player hooked up through a digital connection to your receiver (SPDIF or Toslink optical)? In order for the receiver's dts decoding to work, it needs to receive the signal digitally. If the player converts the signal to analog, all you'll get is loud hiss.

[sfalcon]

Yes, my DVD player is attached to my AVReceiver thru a digital connection and also thru an HDMI link. I'm not sure, but I think that the hiss appeared after the mixed wav file was joined to the video part (rendering). If there is no rendering (like putting a background sound in a menu), the mixed wav file plays a beautiful DTS sound.

sfalcon

[ursamtl]

I'm afraid I don't know what could be doing it. The problem must be related to something you're doing or not doing in the software.

[sfalcon]

By the way you said it, it seems to me that you have experience on this much. So, have you ever replaced the original sound of an MPEG 2 or VOB file with a DTS wav file delivered by SURCODE? If positive, did you play the DVD on a stand alone player and heard the DTS output normally?
This is exactly what I'm trying to do, but no success so far...
tks

sfalcon

[raquete]

i never saw dvds with DTS tracks only.
for compatibility/compliance,audio1 have to be AC3(stereo is fine) or LPCM(stereo) and audio2 DTS.
regards!

[ursamtl]

As far as I understand it, DTS is not part of the basic DVD specification but rather an additional audio format.

[ursamtl]

By the way you said it, it seems to me that you have experience on this much. So, have you ever replaced the original sound of an MPEG 2 or VOB file with a DTS wav file delivered by SURCODE? If positive, did you play the DVD on a stand alone player and heard the DTS output normally?
This is exactly what I'm trying to do, but no success so far...
tks

sfalcon

No unfortunately I don't have much experience with video soundtracks. My interest lies more in audio only DVDs and surround CDs. I've always intended to experiment more with video soundtracks but I haven't had time.

[DSP8000]

It seems that when the program (Vegas) renders the Mpeg file with the audio file, it messes the dts audio file.

Of course, Vegas is not capable of encoding to DTS or multiplexing the streams.Same aplies for DVD Architect.

Here's a workflow that will get you what you want:


Render your timeline to MPEG2 from Vegas
Make DTSWave file with SurCode (2.0 or 5.1)
Get a copy of DVDLab (trial version available)
In DVDLab import the assets
DVDLab will multiplex the streams for you
Author the DVD


NOTE: I've never done a DVD with DTSwave but I'm assuming that DVDLab will do the job for you.
DVDLab supports DVD authoring with DTS streams.

Hope this helps.

DSP8000

[sfalcon]

Hello guys!

Thank you for yr help! I found out what was wrong and now my DVD played with the DTS sound all right! Even using the Architect. The solution was to insert the wav file made by Surcode as a second audio, then Architect does not compress it and it plays fine tricking the AVReceiver decoder to think it's a real DTS source!

tks a lot!
sfalcon

[ursamtl]

I'm glad you figured it out. That's what I like about this forum. There's usually a resolution available. Now let's see what we can do about world peace. :)

[daphy]

OT:

Now let's see what we can do about world peace. :)


:p :D :p

[raquete]

Now let's see what we can do about world peace. :)
yes daphy,one really cool mind!

[old-hack]

Steve,

I just noticed that Audition adds several seconds of silence at the end of each track you export from the surround encoder. Do you know how to keep it from doing that?

Thx.

[raquete]

:confused:
i only use audition(1.5) and following this guide was done lots of dvds and mini-dvds and i never had problems or issues like you posted.

[ursamtl]

No, I've never seen this problem before either. Recheck your steps and see if there might be some reason for this. If you find it, by all means let us know.

Happy holidays to all!
Steve.

[ecoute106]

hello and thanks in advance for viewing my post. I followed the above steps using Adobe audition 2.0 and then put the 6produced wavs into surcode to produce the merged and encody dolby wav file or ac3 file and i also used besweet in an effort to do the same thing. With that said, however, after doing so the files ended up being a lot of fuzz almost like white noise. what do i have to do to fix it? i burnt it onto a dvd with the film and put it in the dvd player and no surround no dts only fuzz y? please help pwease i've been trying everything and looked at other ones and produced similar results. thanks again

p.s: to author my dvds i'm using adobe encore dvd

[ursamtl]

How did the files sound like in Audition before you encoded them? If they were ok then there's something going wrong either during the encoding or in the DVD authoring.

Basically, follow the steps backwards to where the files last sounded good and then you'll have likely found where the problem is happening.

[ecoute106]

the sounds were awesome but for some reason after i encoded them using either besweet or Surcode the files ended up sounding fuzzy and like hiss :( help pwease! sucks arse. what settings do you use in either besweet surcode...could you tell me your steps in either one and i'll follow it. thank you so much for your help!

[ursamtl]

You might check the different guides. For example, here's a link to a Besweet setting: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=713954#post713954. You might also try the new Aften AC3 encoder discussed here: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=113074. Don't give up. It will work!

[docajac]

Dear Steve,
I am a novice and your guide was excellent.I used Adode Audition 2 and have created the 6 ac3 files as you said.

Which program burns them to a DVD as a DVD-AUDIO with 5.1?

Can NERO 8 do it?