Problem with AC3 playback but in avi only...

[nimbus]

Hi this is my problem. I can play back the ac3 audio file when it stands alone however when I have the completed movie (using the original ac3 file) I can no longer get audio. I just bought a creative soundblaster live 5.1 so I should be covered. I don't use an external dt decoder or receiver, just my 5.1 speaker system. Any suggestions? I have windvd 3.0 dts as well as powerdvd 4.0. There must be an easy solution to this... :)

[maago]

you need to install the ac3 filters to play ac3 soundtracks from an .avi file which can be found under the audio downloads. just extract to some folder in say Program Files (since the filters need to stay there permanent for them to work) and then register them. beware though its very difficult to play ac3 audio directly from a cd without it skipping, youll probably have to copy the avi to your hard drive first. thats why mp3 may be better. ok good luck hope this works.

[nimbus]

I downloaded the filter called ac3dec.. then registered it but I still get nothing.. is there some settings I have to input? Perhaps you could answer another question as well... is it possible to have mp3 and have multichannel surround?

[nimbus]

hey i downloaded powerdivx and I am all set.. thx

[pdontthink]

not sure why downloading a player solved
your problem, but for good measure, this
is the link for those filters:

http://www.doom9.org/Soft21/Files/Audio/audiofilters.zip

cheers!

[ChristianHJW]

Originally posted by nimbus
hey i downloaded powerdivx and I am all set.. thx Hmmmmm ..... :confused: :confused: ....... strange, there should be no AC3 filter coming with PowerDivX right now ( licensing issues ) ... you maybe had the right filter installed and your other players didnt use it for some reason ?
What is your AC3 out set to ? 'Default Wave Out' ? Will ask BlackSun about the filter ....

[nimbus]

yes I did use those filters and didn't relate the two at first. :) I have now figured out that I don't need those filters at all, just run s/pdif from my software players and my soundcard (live! 5.1) set to 5.1 and I am set. Still using powerdivx for divx and windvd 3.0 dts for dvd... because for some reason windvd doesn't like ac3 in combination with avi with the s/pdif setting. I have been reading about this setting but this is the first time it has worked for me. Thx for the clarification.

[nimbus]

and also just a side note... on cd my ac3 audio is flawless and never skips... just wanted to let those who read this post and may be detered to try it out and see how their system handles it. Here are my specs

Athlon 900 (@ 900)
MSI KT133A Turbo LE
512 mb SDRAM
VisionTek XTASY 5564 (Geforce 2MX 400 64mb)
Soundblaster Live! 5.1
20 gig samsung harddrive
16x DVD Drive
24x 10x x40 Aopen CD writer

Windows ME (at the moment)
no extra audio filters installed, just go to speaker setup in audioHQ set it to 5.1 (provided you have the proper set of speakers) then run your software divx or dvd player (for me powerdivx and windvd) and set them to s/pdif then the soundcard will do the decoding for you. Good luck and have fun! I noticed my dvd's are quite a bit louder from this... they were always quiet in the past with the player doing the decoding.

[Tes]

Just in case you were wondering about this, you had the correct filters installed all along. WinDVD 3.0 comes with all the filters you need to playback AC3 using Powerdivx.

[nimbus]

You might think so but I couldnt get audio with the 5.1 setting within windvd or powerdivx unless I installed the filters from this site. Spdif seems to give better sound (without the need for the filters) anyways tho :) (spdif sends the digital audio to the soundcard for decoding instead of using software does it not?)

[ChristianHJW]

No. SPDIF will send the decoded AC3 to a digital output if the soundcard has one. If your soundcard can handle AC3 decoding there must be an AC3 'decoder' filter ( being no decoder but just a streamserver filter ) coming with your soundcard drivers.

But maybe your soundcard 'decided' to use its internal AC3 decoder chip before sending the signal out through the SPDIF ? God bless America and Creative .... :D