5.1ch -> 7.1ch (If not an automatic, then maybe a manual method?)

[Ditto666]

I know that this has been asked a lot but from everything I've searched, nothing fortified my thoughts completely.

To start out with the cliche, is there any software along the lines of AC3Filter which could upmix stereo and/or 5.1ch audio to 7.1? Doesn't necessarily have to be freeware...

I have the ONKYO HT-S6100 7.1 system, connected to my laptop through HDMI. The receiver of this system has DPL IIx and Neo:6 but that doesn't do what I want. It doesn't maintain the channels' original direction. I even prefer AC3Filter's 5.1 upmixture of stereo audio over the method used in DPL IIx.

My idea originally was just to merge 66.6% of the audio sent to the back channels with 33.3% of the audio sent to the front channels and play it back at 75% the loudness, directed at the side speakers. Is there maybe any way to manually accomplish this? Thanks for any feedback.

[tebasuna51]

Can you send 7.1 channels through HDMI to your ONKYO HT-S6100 7.1 system?

Many HDMI, in laptop or PC, only can output audio like SPDIF: AC3/DTS 5.1 and PCM stéreo.

Ac3Filter or ffdshow have a matrix mixer to do anything you want.

[Ditto666]

Can you send 7.1 channels through HDMI to your ONKYO HT-S6100 7.1 system?

Many HDMI, in laptop or PC, only can output audio like SPDIF: AC3/DTS 5.1 and PCM stéreo.

Ac3Filter or ffdshow have a matrix mixer to do anything you want.

Yes, I can send a 7.1 channel signal to my receiver from my laptop. And, I don't know about FFDShow but AC3Filter's Matrix Mixer is only 6 channels, not 8.

[tebasuna51]

I use ffdshow and have a 9 channels matrix (Back Center included)

Edit: I can't recommend you use front signal to mix to Side channels.
When you have a 5.1 signal the Surround speakers must be at 120º (from front center), if you have a 7.1 speakers system you must have the Side speakers at 90º and Back at 150º. The best option, for me, is send the Surround channels (from 5.1) to both Side and Back speakers at 71%

[Ditto666]

I use ffdshow and have a 9 channels matrix (Back Center included)

Hmm.. Well, I like the way AC3Filter works best and I don't think it'd be worth using FFDShow instead just for being able to do a manual 7.1 upmixture, for the same reason I don't want to use DPL IIx.

I was thinking that maybe there was some Matrix Mixer that can go in the decoding chain right after AC3Filter where it'd take what AC3Filter has processed and work from there. Umm... is there?.....

[Snowknight26]

Yea, it's called ffdshow, and it'd be redundant to have both ffdshow and AC3Filter.

[Ditto666]

Yea, it's called ffdshow, and it'd be redundant to have both ffdshow and AC3Filter.

You can't just separately use FFDShow's Matrix Mixer so no, FFDShow would not be an answer to my previous question... And plus, I don't even think it's possible to use both at the same time - it's always one or the other.

I actually just finished trying FFDShow Audio and I set up the 7.1 configuration. I like it :D BUT, there are a few problems and maybe a bias that I need to clear up...

There is no way to save the Matrix Mixer preset that I created. And even if there was, it'd still be annoying to have to go into the settings and choose between the stereo and 5.1ch presets that I'd have. I know that I CAN save all the settings overall but going about it that way wouldn't be efficient or too effortless either. As it stands now anyway, I'd have to manually change the configuration each time I decided to switch between different listening sources, stereo and 5.1...

Also, I think I might've just had a bias towards FFDShow Audio because I initially (long ago) couldn't find how to output audio in 5.1 but was able to in AC3Filter instantly after I installed it. I grew to like AC3Filter in every aspect. One of those aspects was always just the way it upmixed stereo audio. Now that I dealt with the Matrix Mixer though, I realized that this upmixture is nothing special and that nothing past the use of the mixer is happening. The default settings in FFDShow and AC3Filter are exactly the same in the mixer. So finally, that being said, is there actually any difference in the decoding of MP3, AAC, AC3, and DTS audio (in terms of anything - quality, stereo upmixing, sound redirection maybe, etc...)? If so, what are the actual technical differences, which decoder do you prefer, and why? Just uh, please don't answer something along the lines of, "FFDShow PWNS! AC3Filter FTL!".. yeah...

Didn't realize I'd have this much to ask.. Big box of virtual cookies to anybody that takes the time to answer this :D But seriously, thanks very much.

[Ditto666]

Should I post the above in a new thread? Because, it's kinda unrelated to this one. I don't think there are any other answers to the whole 7.1 upmixing so this one is probably done. IT WOULD be very nice for a better solution than FFDShow though, because of the things I described..