Burning Sky+ with Dolby 5.1 to DVD

Anomar

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I have seen this question posted previously, but in all honesty, the replies were too technical for me to follow, and the earliest similar question I saw was over 9 months ago -- hopefully some new software has come out since then.....

Anyway, I have Sky+, and recently bought both a Sweetspot video card for Component capture (the Sky+ box RGB Scart goes through a JS YUV converter), and a Terratec 7.1 Space, for Opt. Digital In. In my ignorance, I thought this would allow for pretty high quality DVD recordings. What I did not realise is that the audio stream out of Sky comes in completely raw (for 5.1), and the Terratec card does not decode the signal. So, everything I capture just sounds like a lot of static and pops.

After pouring through all the posts here, I have looked at several pieces of software hoping for a solution (e.g. Nero, TMPGenc, VirtualDub, dScaler, Showshifter, etc.) None seem to capture AND decode the signal -- or at least I can't figure out how, if they do.

I've also downloaded Dolby Digital Recorder. That does decode the signal, but God help me if I know what to do with the recording. If I had any hair left, I'd be pulling it out by now.

Is there any (reasonably priced) software that will capture a component video signal and a dolby 5.1 audio signal? I have looked at things like Video Vegas, which would seem to do what I want, but the price is more than I'm currently willing to spend.

Alternatively, can I capture the video and audio separately and splice them together? Again, in a 'DVD Authoring for Dummies' approach? I tried doing this with TMPGenc, but it didn't like the format of the AC3 file that DDR was producing -- not a valid mpeg format or something like that.

Any new solutions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks, and sorry for the long-winded post.

John
 
not the answer u are looking for but its probably easier/cheaper to buy them on dvd! i looked into it awhile ago and it was good quality but not comparable to dvd quality :(
though u should be able to find vegas on bittorrent sites though ;)
 
Originally posted by pj
not the answer u are looking for but its probably easier/cheaper to buy them on dvd! i looked into it awhile ago and it was good quality but not comparable to dvd quality :(
though u should be able to find vegas on bittorrent sites though ;)

Geez.. is that best you can do? Not to be rude but seriously.. telling the original poster to buy it on DVD or pirate a piece of software.. :smashin:

To the original poster.. this seems to be an issue for a number of people and not having direct experience I'm not so well informed, something that may be of help...

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=190946
 
Thanks, Stlic!

It took a while to muddle through it all, but that thread did get me about 95% of the way there.

Here's the steps I followed, for anyone else interested in this:

1. Captured video/audio to an AVI file (I used the Showshifter package which came with the Sweetspot card).

2. Used VirtualDub to split out the audio stream into a .WAV file.

3. Used BeSplit on the .WAV file to create a true .AC3 (in DD5.1) file.

4. Used TMPGEen on the original AVI file to create a video only file (.m1v).

5. Used TMPGEen (Tools in the file menu) and chose the 'Multiplex' tab. From there, I used the .m1v as the video input, and the .ac3 as the audio input. The output it created is an MPEG file with true Dolby 5.1 -- Both picture and sound quality are quite good.

Here's the stumbling block, though....

I've tried both InterVideo DVD Creator and Nero Express 2. With Intervideo, I get absolutely no sound at all. With Nero, I do get sound, but it's only in Stereo -- no 5.1.

Hopefully, that helps some others. So, anyone have a suggestion for the final piece?

John
 
I'm pretty sure Nero (even the latest "suite") won't allow you to burn the 5.1 audio. Last time I checked it, it had loads of nice menu/chapter creation but didn't support 5.1 (while creating a DVD).

Probably a codec/plugin needed somewhere & if you can't find the info on dvdrhelp, I doubt you'll find it at all.

Best of luck though & congrats for getting this far ;)
 
Spruce DVD Maestro will mux the m1v and ac3 files directly and create a VIDEO_TS folder for you ready for burning with whatever software you choose......
...BUT it's no longer commercially available. If you can find it (draw your own conclusions) then it'll do it for you.

Such as it is, hope this helps.

dr_m
 
Most budget authoring programs that allow ac3 audio don't alllow 5.1 ac3.

Further to other post , cheapest you will find that does is probably DVDlab (other than that ReelDVD or Pinnacle's DVD Impression Pro)

Most higher end authoring programs want you to bring the audio & video files in seperately , not multiplexed.
 
Is there any software that decodes a dolby digital s/pdif stream (from Sky+) in real time yet?

Thanks,

Steve
 
Only a few films from Sky are even broadcast in 5.1

Are you sure your source is definateley broadcasting in 5.1

I think only Premier 1 has 5.1
 
Madders and Morphman,

The 1st three Sky Movies channels are in Dolby Digital. Depends on the movie itself whether it is 2.0 or 5.1.

On another note -- SUCCESS!!!

Thanks for the tip, Vanhosen. I downloaded DVD-lab (didn't cost anything, so I'm guessing it's a 30 day trial or something).

Anyway, I had to slightly modify the steps I listed above.

4. Used TMPGEen to create a .m2v video file, rather than .m1v (DVD-Lab seems to like that better for some reason).

5. Did the multiplexing and authoring in DVD-Lab. They have a link on their site with a 6-page tutorial that was very straightforward.

And, Viola! -- A DD5.1 DVD created from Sky+. Nice quality, but just hope you have a good amount of HD space, processing power, and patience to do a whole lot of copying.

John
 
.m1v is MPEG-1 elementary video file (VCD format - lower res & bitrate)
.m2v is MPEG-2 elementary video file (DVD format - higher res & bitrate)

Go with .m2v :smashin:
 
I have also taken this route of burning dvds like yourself and was wondereing if you could elaborate a bit more if you can.Heres how i am doing
1)capture from sky + to my capture card (usb kworld dvd maker) not a avi file but either MPEG 2 or DVD PAL which uses less mbs
2)Audio is through Soundblaster MP3 + ( usb type)
3)The audio captured via toslink (spdif in) As the stream is raw 5.1 i get the same sound as you.I dont think i need to use Virtual Dub to split the file as its already created in MPEG (correct me if i am wrong)
My question is do you change on the sky + audio setting to normal rather than dd to get 2.0 and then create it to 5.1 using Besweet.

Sorry for the long post but any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
 
Hi MPS,

No, please leave the Sky+ box on the DD settings. Unfortunately, you do have to go the extra step of splitting out the audio from the MPEG video. You can create a .wav file in VirtualDub (or probably any other de-muxing programme). This .wav file is then converted to a proper .ac3 file by BeSweet. You then need to re-mux this .ac3 file with the video to get a true 5.1 recording. If you don't (and I learned this the hard way be experience), whatever software you use will treat all the static and pops as if that was the actual sound you wanted to record.

Hope that clarifies things.

John
 
Thanks Anomar,Will follow your route and post any problems i encounter.


Cheers.
 
Hey good going Anomar. It really does seem like a long process though..:/
 
Hi Anomar,
Hope you can help me,I have just split the audio in virtual dub. When it asks you for file information do you get 5 channels or just 2 (stereo) on your screen.Cause mine just says 2.Perhaps its to do with my soundcard?Also in Besplit do you have to use Wbias vo81 software to create a true 5.1 file.

Thanks.
 
Hi mps,

There may be another way to go about this, but once I've opened the video file in V-Dub, I go to 'File/Save .WAV' command. I am not prompted to provide further information.

Let's say you name your file TEST.WAV, and that it is located in the c:\ac3 folder.

In BeSweet, this is the command you would enter (in DOS prompt mode):

BeSplit -core( -input c:\ac3\test.wav -prefix c:\ac3\track - type ddwav -fix)

That should (at least has for me) create the proper .ac3 file - whether it be 5.1 or 2.0

John
 
Hi mps,

There may be another way to go about this, but once I've opened the video file in V-Dub, I go to 'File/Save .WAV' command. I am not prompted to provide further information.

Let's say you name your file TEST.WAV, and that it is located in the c:\ac3 folder.

In BeSweet, this is the command you would enter (in DOS prompt mode):

BeSplit -core( -input c:\ac3\test.wav -prefix c:\ac3\track - type ddwav -fix)

That should (at least has for me) create the proper .ac3 file - whether it be 5.1 or 2.0

John
 
Thanks for your advice Anomar,What i meant was do you have Gspot installed to tell you whether the file recorded was 2 channel stereo or how can you tell it was 5.1

Cheers.
 
No, I don't have G-spot. I actually just rely on my hardware to tell me the audio disposition. Both my amp/receiver and DVD player have displays which show graphically whether the sound is 2 or 5 channels.

I believe this also shows in IFOEdit when using the DVD Authoring function of that software.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

John
 
Thanks Anomar.One last question,When you start Virtual Dub to split your AVI file when you click open avi file further down the menu you have file info,In there what does it tell you Is it 2 channel stereo or 5.1.

Thanks for all your help.

P.S. What version of besplit are you using and Besweet.
 
You might find having the .ac3 file the same name as the MPEG2 .mpg file might cause a DVD authoring package to automatically use the ac3 soundtrack over what's in the MPEG2 file. This would save de-muxing the video or transcoding it.
e.g.
filmA.mpg
filmA.ac3

This was certainly the case with the Spruce-Up and Tmpg Author trials I tried, it just mux'd then on-the-fly at write time.

regards,
Rob.
 
Hi,

this thread was posted to me.

Sky broadcasts are increasing being broadcast in Dolby Digital and I wanted to capture the same on my PC.

I couldn't why, not soundcard Creative Audigy 2 Platinum - will decode AC3, then TV card - Medion/Phillips 7134 - this was my problem.

I changed to a Hauppauge WinTV Theater PCI card and now I can record what I watch and see.
 
Originally posted by bit_80
Sky broadcasts are increasing being broadcast in Dolby Digital and I wanted to capture the same on my PC.

I couldn't why, not soundcard Creative Audigy 2 Platinum - will decode AC3, then TV card - Medion/Phillips 7134 - this was my problem.

I changed to a Hauppauge WinTV Theater PCI card and now I can record what I watch and see.

Hi bit_80,
Would it be possible for you to re-post. I think you are making a good point, but it's hard to understand it the way you've written it.

regards,
Rob.
 

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