Aften 0.0.8 is out

[wisodev]

Multiple input file support is now part of Aften SVN. Below is a snippet from the commandline help that shows how to use the new options.


[-ch_X file] Add a mono file to the input list as the channel specified
These parameters are used to specify multiple mono
source files instead of a single multi-channel source
file. Only valid AC-3 combinations are allow. The
acmod, lfe, chconfig, and chmap parameters are all
ignored if multi-mono inputs are used.
ch_fl = Front Left
ch_fc = Front Center
ch_fr = Front Right
ch_sl = Surround Left
ch_s = Surround
ch_sr = Surround Right
ch_m1 = Dual Mono Channel 1
ch_m2 = Dual Mono Channel 2
ch_lfe = LFE


Updated Aften binaries (revision 683) are available for download here (http://win32builds.sourceforge.net/aften/index.html) or here (https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=183195&package_id=212610&release_id=558171).

[Yobbo]

Wisodev, thank you for your ongoing development!

[MacAddict]

Outstanding job on Aften and the GUI guys. Many thanks to all of you. It's amazing how fast it is on my Opteron using 2 threads!

[G_M_C]

It there an ETA for the new GUI; Especially the one with support for 6 seperate WAV's as input (" Multiple input file support ") ?

/me has a project waiting :)

[wisodev]

It there an ETA for the new GUI; Especially the one with support for 6 seperate WAV's as input (" Multiple input file support ") ?

/me has a project waiting :)

Pretty soon but I have made so many changes in the code of EncWAVtoEC3 so I need to do lot of testing. So please be patient and in few days will be released new version.

Thanks,
wisodev

[jruggle]

I need someone with better ears than me to test Aften r699 to hear for any quality changes. The audio should theoretically sound better now for the same bitrate, but my ears can't tell the difference. By the same token, VBR should theoretically give a lower bitrate and have the same quality when using the same "-q" value as compared with previous versions.

Edit: I found a sample where I can tell a slight difference. I still want lots of feedback though. :)

[G_M_C]

Im a bit confused;
When encoding DVD for DVD's, and keeping to the "official" standards; 448kbps should be max as i remember. But what bitdepth was that again ? Atm i use these settings as my rule-of-thumb;

192: 2-channel, 16 bits / 48 khz
224: 2-channel, 20 bits /48 khz
384: 5.1-channels, 16 bits / 48 khz
448: 5.1 channels, 20 bits / 48 khz

640 is also possible, although my version of DVD-lab pro doesnt seem to "work with it". I would encode that as 24 bits / 48 khz.

Are there "standards" somewhat ok ?

[nautilus7]

AC-3 doesn't understand bitdepth. These values you 're talking about don't have any meaning for it. Only bitrate and i think sample rate have a meaning.

[G_M_C]

AC-3 doesn't understand bitdepth. These values you 're talking about don't have any meaning for it. Only bitrate and i think sample rate have a meaning.

:p

That would explain why i didnt find anything about that ;)

[LigH]

Extremely simplified:

The AC-3 encoder converts the incoming samples (similar to MP3) into a frequency spectrum, and stores the (according to the psychoacustic model) most important frequency factors as floating-point values.

The less bitrate you allow, the less frequency factors can be kept as "important". A too low bitrate results in an incompletely restored frequency spectrum while decoding - so the result is rather a less accurate sound/tone (spectrum related) than a less accurate sample value (volume related).

If you allow enough bitrate, AC-3 has the potential to store even a higher resolution and dynamic than dts (in some more or less academic cases); do not expect to exhaust the AC-3 technology with integer PCM audio sources, professional audio studios are able to feed floating-point sample data.
__

The AC-3 (A/52) standard allows 640 kbps AC3. But the DVD-Video standard limits it to 448 kbps for DVD audio streams. Therefore, even some AC-3 decoders in cheap DVD players or homecinema sets are not able to decode AC-3 audio beyond 448 kbps.

[xbox360]

I AM AT A CYBER CAFE & WAITING FOR HELP, ASAP, READ ON !

Multiple input file support is now part of Aften SVN. Below is a snippet from the commandline help that shows how to use the new options.


[-ch_X file] Add a mono file to the input list as the channel specified
These parameters are used to specify multiple mono
source files instead of a single multi-channel source
file. Only valid AC-3 combinations are allow. The
acmod, lfe, chconfig, and chmap parameters are all
ignored if multi-mono inputs are used.
ch_fl = Front Left
ch_fc = Front Center
ch_fr = Front Right
ch_sl = Surround Left
ch_s = Surround
ch_sr = Surround Right
ch_m1 = Dual Mono Channel 1
ch_m2 = Dual Mono Channel 2
ch_lfe = LFE


Anyone & Everyone help me !

Can you provide a full working syntax sample for 6 mono wav's to 5.1 ac3 with EX mode enabled please, because I have created a working GUI called Aften Mono GUI. But I cant seem to workout the syntax for 6 mono wav's to 5.1 ac3.
PLEASE HELP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE !!!!!!!!

BELOW IS MY GUI SCREENSHOTS (I SWEAR & PROMISE IF YOU GUYS CAN HELP ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE on THE SYNTAX SAMPLE, I WILL SHARE THE GUI Named Aften Mono GUI WHITH EVERYONE ON THIS PLANET EARTH !)

Stereo AC3
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p229/MartinJunior/StereoAC3.jpg

5.1ch AC3
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p229/MartinJunior/51chAC3.jpg

6.1 AC3
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p229/MartinJunior/61chAC3.jpg

[tebasuna51]

Can you provide a full working syntax sample for 6 mono wav's to 5.1 ac3 with EX mode enabled please, because I have created a working GUI called Aften Mono GUI. But I cant seem to workout the syntax for 6 mono wav's to 5.1 ac3.

With Wisodev aften rev683 this work for me:
aften -xbsi2 1 -dsurexmod 2 -ch_fl e:\FL.wav -ch_fr e:\FR.wav -ch_fc e:\C.wav -ch_lfe e:\LFE.wav -ch_sl e:\BL.wav -ch_sr e:\BR.wav e:\outEX.ac3

[xbox360]

With Wisodev aften rev683 this work for me:
aften -xbsi2 1 -dsurexmod 2 -ch_fl e:\FL.wav -ch_fr e:\FR.wav -ch_fc e:\C.wav -ch_lfe e:\LFE.wav -ch_sl e:\BL.wav -ch_sr e:\BR.wav e:\outEX.ac3

Is the above same as below ?

aften -xbsi2 1 -dsurexmod 2 -ch_fl D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_0.wav -ch_fc D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_2.wav -ch_fr D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_1.wav -ch_sl D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_4.wav -ch_sr D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_5.wav -ch_lfe
D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_3.wav D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\dds.ac3

Because when I use the below I get this error:

cannot mix single-input syntax and multi-input syntax

:(

[Chumbo]

Is the above same as below ?

aften -xbsi2 1 -dsurexmod 2 -ch_fl D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_0.wav -ch_fc D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_2.wav -ch_fr D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_1.wav -ch_sl D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_4.wav -ch_sr D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_5.wav -ch_lfe
D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_3.wav D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\dds.ac3

Because when I use the below I get this error:

cannot mix single-input syntax and multi-input syntax

:(
You have spaces in the path of the files. Any time the path and/or file name contains spaces, you have to put it in quotes, i.e., "D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_0.wav" rather than just D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_0.wav since the space is a command line delimiter.

I bet using this would work fine:
aften -xbsi2 1 -dsurexmod 2 -ch_fl "D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_0.wav" -ch_fc "D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_2.wav" -ch_fr "D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_1.wav" -ch_sl "D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_4.wav" -ch_sr "D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_5.wav" -ch_lfe
"D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\New Folder\audi_3.wav" "D:\EncodingStuff\Audio Stuff\dds.ac3"

[G_M_C]

Extremely simplified:

The AC-3 encoder converts the incoming samples (similar to MP3) into a frequency spectrum, and stores the (according to the psychoacustic model) most important frequency factors as floating-point values.

The less bitrate you allow, the less frequency factors can be kept as "important". A too low bitrate results in an incompletely restored frequency spectrum while decoding - so the result is rather a less accurate sound/tone (spectrum related) than a less accurate sample value (volume related).

If you allow enough bitrate, AC-3 has the potential to store even a higher resolution and dynamic than dts (in some more or less academic cases); do not expect to exhaust the AC-3 technology with integer PCM audio sources, professional audio studios are able to feed floating-point sample data.
__

The AC-3 (A/52) standard allows 640 kbps AC3. But the DVD-Video standard limits it to 448 kbps for DVD audio streams. Therefore, even some AC-3 decoders in cheap DVD players or homecinema sets are not able to decode AC-3 audio beyond 448 kbps.

:)

Thx for this abriviated explination, i understand it better now. And coming back to my original posting; I understand where these rules-of-thumb came from, it is based on the amount of info you feed the encoder related to the final bitrate.

(feed the encoder less info/less audio-detail for a lower bitrate by adapting the bitrate of the original PCM).

[G_M_C]

I get an error when using the multi-mono input;

I've used EAC3To to demux a DTS track into separate WAV's. Then i try to input those with the following commandline;

aften.exe -threads 2 -b 4 -dynrng 1 -ch_fl "d:\howl.L.wav" -ch_fc "d:\howl.C.wav" -ch_fr "d:\howl.R.wav" -ch_sl "d:\howl.SL.wav" -ch_sr "d:\howl.SR.wav" -ch_lfe "d:\howl.LFE.wav" "D:\Howl_384[PAL].AC3"

Then i get this;Aften: A/52 audio encoder
Version SVN
(c) 2006-2007 Justin Ruggles, Prakash Punnoor, et al.

input format:
WAVE Signed 24-bit little-endian 48000 Hz mono
WAVE Signed 24-bit little-endian 48000 Hz mono
WAVE Signed 24-bit little-endian 48000 Hz mono
WAVE Signed 24-bit little-endian 48000 Hz mono
WAVE Signed 24-bit little-endian 48000 Hz mono
WAVE Signed 24-bit little-endian 48000 Hz mono
output format: 48000 Hz 3/2 + LFE

invalid bitrate
error initializing encoder

I changed my commandline, and added "-raw_fmt s24_le" to it, to compensate for the bitrate;

Then i got this error;
Aften: A/52 audio encoder
Version SVN
(c) 2006-2007 Justin Ruggles, Prakash Punnoor, et al.

all files must be mono when using multiple input files
invalid input file(s)

And the last error isn't correct; All files are in fact mono (as Aften recognised at the first commandline.

What have I done wrong :confused:

[madshi]

I've used EAC3To to demux a DTS track into separate WAV's. Then i try to input those with the following commandline
Just wondering: If you're already using eac3to, why don't you let eac3to do the Aften encoding for you? If you want to use the latest Aften build, you can replace the "libaften.dll" that ships with eac3to with the latest version.

[DarkAvenger]

-b 4


4kps/ch is a bit too little...

[G_M_C]

4kps/ch is a bit too little...

As i understand from the long help; -b 4 means: Encode @ 384 kbps.

And why i want to use aften is that i want to verify EAC3To does the transcoding correctly; DVDLab reports an average of 383 kpbs (and not 384), and i'm under the impression that the surround mix levels are off with EAC3To (too loud, no -3 db applied i think, especially noticable when the DVD is played on a system where a downmix to stereo is needed: The center-channel/voices get mixed to faint and get " lost "). And as i said; I want to verify that by using aften directly.

[madshi]

And why i want to use aften is that i want to verify EAC3To does the transcoding correctly; DVDLab reports an average of 383 kpbs (and not 384), and i'm under the impression that the surround mix levels are off with EAC3To (too loud, no -3 db applied i think, especially noticable when the DVD is played on a system where a downmix to stereo is needed: The center-channel/voices get mixed to faint and get " lost "). And as i said; I want to verify that by using aften directly.
Oh, that's a welcome test. Please let me know if you find out that eac3to is doing something wrong. Thanks... :)

[G_M_C]

Oh, that's a welcome test. Please let me know if you find out that eac3to is doing something wrong. Thanks... :)

np i'll do that (after i get Aften to work offcourse ;) )

[wisodev]

WAV to AC3 Encoder version 1.1 is avaibale for download. (http://www.thefrontend.net/EncWAVtoAC3/index.html)

Changes:
- Updated Aften sources and libraries to svn revision 703.
- Added support for multi mono input.
- Added MUX Wizard for multi mono input.
- MUX Wizard can import *.mux and *.files file formats, Ansi and Unicode supported (*.files files fully support MUX format).
- MUX Wizard can export *.files files (Ansi or Unicode, depends on build type).
- MUX Wizard can export Ansi *.mux files using MUX file format.
- Added support read and write for *.mux files.
- Added command-line support.
- Changed presets configuration file format.
- Default and ignored preset values are not saved to file.
- Removed option to generate batch scripts.
- Ansi and Unicode configuration files are supported in all builds.

Screenshots:
http://www.thefrontend.net/EncWAVtoAC3/images/big/main_wnd-big.jpg

http://www.thefrontend.net/EncWAVtoAC3/images/big/mux_wnd-big.jpg

Thanks,
wisodev

[xbox360]

Alas wisodev releases it, wisodev showoff :angry:. What I ment was you could have released your app alot earlier you know !

[G_M_C]

WAV to AC3 Encoder version 1.1 is avaibale for download. (http://www.thefrontend.net/EncWAVtoAC3/index.html)

[...]

Thanks,
wisodev

Thx man, been waiting for this :)

Have to go to bed now, give it a try tomorrow. See if you app works on those demuxed tracks i have (posted about earlier).

[jruggle]

As i understand from the long help; -b 4 means: Encode @ 384 kbps.

I'll change the text to be a little more obvious, but if you read a little more closely you'll see that those are the defaults for different numbers of channels. If your source is 4 channels, the default bitrate will be 384 kbps.

[jruggle]

I changed my commandline, and added "-raw_fmt s24_le" to it, to compensate for the bitrate;

Then i got this error;
Aften: A/52 audio encoder
Version SVN
(c) 2006-2007 Justin Ruggles, Prakash Punnoor, et al.

all files must be mono when using multiple input files
invalid input file(s)

And the last error isn't correct; All files are in fact mono (as Aften recognised at the first commandline.

What have I done wrong :confused:

There are a couple things wrong. First of all, you should not specify that the input is raw if it is really wav. If you did indeed convert those files to raw, then you need to specify the raw channels and raw samplerate (if different from the default).

That said, I went ahead and changed the default number of channels for raw input to 1 instead of 2. I had been meaning to do this ever since raw input was enabled, but I just forgot about it.

[wisodev]

Alas wisodev releases it, wisodev showoff :angry:. What I ment was you could have released your app alot earlier you know !

Yes I know but it took more time to create this release because of changes I've made inside the program so I was stuck with release until now. I hope you did find my program a bit useful anyway ;)

[G_M_C]

I'll change the text to be a little more obvious, but if you read a little more closely you'll see that those are the defaults for different numbers of channels. If your source is 4 channels, the default bitrate will be 384 kbps.

I'm from Holland, so English isnt my native language. It is very much possible I havent understood the help the right way. A "more obvious" description could help out :)

[Elektra999]

Thanks for the WAVtoAC3 v1.1, Wisodev :) and for working so well.

Frank

[DarkAvenger]

I posted a highly experimental patch ("proof of concept") at aften ml which adds transcoding support to the lib. Beware that the exe has no support, yet, so it is not targeted at end-users.

[jruggle]

I have also posted a patch on aften-devel. :) It is for E-AC3 encoding. The start of the thread is here (http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_name=478AEC57.8080908%40bellsouth.net).

The latest patch can be found here (http://justin.ruggles.googlepages.com/aften_eac3_v2.diff)

[wisodev]

I have also posted a patch on aften-devel. :) It is for E-AC3 encoding. The start of the thread is here (http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_name=478AEC57.8080908%40bellsouth.net).

The latest patch can be found here (http://justin.ruggles.googlepages.com/aften_eac3_v2.diff)

Aften Win32 build using eac3_v2 patch can be found here (https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=183195&package_id=232924&release_id=568552).

[totya]

Aften Win32 build using eac3_v2 patch can be found here (https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=183195&package_id=232924&release_id=568552).

Sorry, shortly: What is "E-AC3"?

[Arite]

E-AC3 is "Dolby Digital Plus" - it is slightly improved version of A52/AC3 "Dolby Digital" (used in DVDs), and is used in Blu-ray/HD-DVDs. It is the new default mandatory audio track for those formats.

For some more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital_Plus

Arite.

[tebasuna51]

Extended ac3 or Dolby Digital Plus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EAC3) (DD+ or E-AC-3)

- Coded bitrate: 0.032 to 6.144 Mbit/s
- Audio Channels: up to 13.1
- Sample rate: 32, 44.1, 48, or 96 kHz

[totya]

Thank you for everybody!

[Mc Onyx]

I have also posted a patch on aften-devel. :) It is for E-AC3 encoding. The start of the thread is here (http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_name=478AEC57.8080908%40bellsouth.net).

The latest patch can be found here (http://justin.ruggles.googlepages.com/aften_eac3_v2.diff)

Thanks you're the man, :) will try!
BTW Any ETA on the decoder being commited to the FFMPEG SVN?

[wisodev]

For anyone interested here are available for download (https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=183195&package_id=212610&release_id=583753) updated Aften (http://aften.sourceforge.net/) binaries at revision 762 and here is available for download (https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=158644&package_id=219726&release_id=583773) new release of WAV to AC3 Encoder (http://www.thefrontend.net/EncWAVtoAC3/index.html) at version 1.2 (includes Aften R762).

Thanks,
wisodev

[nautilus7]

Thanks. Is there a changelog somewhere?

[Chumbo]

Thank you wisodev.

[Dkruskie]

Thanks wisodev

[wisodev]

Thanks. Is there a changelog somewhere?

http://www.thefrontend.net/EncWAVtoAC3/download.html

Note: This is only for WAV to AC3 Encoder.

[Boulder]

wisodev,

would you mind adding a tooltip to WAVtoAC3's multiple mono input checkbox, it would be useful to tell the correct order for the wave files for various output channel configurations.

[wisodev]

wisodev,

would you mind adding a tooltip to WAVtoAC3's multiple mono input checkbox, it would be useful to tell the correct order for the wave files for various output channel configurations.

Not a problem (actually there is already some tooltip message, but very simple). It would be helpful if someone could post here the content of this desired tooltip :)

Anyway isn't easier to use builtin MUX Wizard to set correct channel order?

[Boulder]

Anyway isn't easier to use builtin MUX Wizard to set correct channel order?Duh..I didn't notice that there is a tool for creating a mux file to use:devil: No need for a tooltip then ;)

[wisodev]

Duh..I didn't notice that there is a tool for creating a mux file to use:devil: No need for a tooltip then ;)

Note that if you use MUX Wizard it will automatically add files is correct order to main window file list and also set proper settings for you :)

[Atak_Snajpera]

I think I've found a bug in Aften used with BePipe.
It does matter if I use DirectShowSource or NicAudio in script encoded audio always finishes at 14:07 instead of 15:36. I tried older builds and still nothing :( I used AC3-Fix to check for errors and nothing again. Conversion to AAC or OGG (via BePipe) works without problems so definitely it must be something wrong with Aften.
Source: http://www.mediafire.com/?tjmo3cyyreu

[tebasuna51]

I think I've found a bug in Aften used with BePipe.

No problem here using:
bepipe --script "NicAc3Source(^casino.ac3^)" | Aften - casino2.ac3

Tested with aften 2008-03-12 and 2007-11-30.
The source is clean.

[Atak_Snajpera]

My script:


#AudioSource
LoadPlugin("C:\Users\Dawidos\Documents\Delphi_Projects\RipBot264\tools\AviSynth plugins\NicAudio\NicAudio.dll")
audio=NicAC3Source("C:\Temp\RipBot264temp\job1\job1 T80 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY -192ms.ac3")
return audio


CMD line:
bepipe.exe --script "import(^job1.avs^)" | "aften.exe" -b 384 - "C:\Temp\RipBot264temp\audio.ac3"

[tebasuna51]

Without problem.
Maybe is a 'pipe' issue in your OS.

Try with wavi instead bepipe:
wavi.exe job1.avs - | "aften.exe" -b 384 - "C:\Temp\RipBot264temp\audio.ac3"