Welcome to Doom9's Forum, THE in-place to be for everyone interested in DVD conversion.

Before you start posting please read the forum rules. By posting to this forum you agree to abide by the rules.

 

Go Back   Doom9's Forum > (HD) DVD, Blu-ray & (S)VCD > (HD) DVD & Blu-ray authoring

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 7th February 2002, 01:48   #1  |  Link
jfmartins
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Portugal
Posts: 23
Surcode DVD Pro DTS encoder

Hi, is anyone in this forum aware of this software?ever tryed it?I could use some info on this one.BTW if you can suggest DTS or 5.1 software encoders please fell free to put your suggestions.

Thanks in advance for the help and fell free to email me.

PS:I think (like everyone on this forum) a big THANKS is on debt to Derrow and all the guys who work so hard just to satisfy us: THANKS GUYS!
__________________
All the best from Portugal
jfmartins is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7th February 2002, 02:09   #2  |  Link
jfmartins
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Portugal
Posts: 23
Sorry forgot a link to the site of the softw prog so here it is:

http://www.minnetonkaaudio.com/SurCode_DVD_Pro_3.htm
__________________
All the best from Portugal
jfmartins is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7th February 2002, 02:34   #3  |  Link
SiC
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 189
I prefer using Sonci Foundry Soft Encode to make 5.1 Dolby Digital files. DTS takes too much space but yet you can barely tell a difference in sound..... the file size is twice as big but the sound quality isn't twice as good.
SiC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7th February 2002, 03:08   #4  |  Link
talman
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 38


"the file size is twice as big but the sound quality isn't twice as good."


Ah..the debate that has been raging for years! I tend to side with you Sic on this one. DD 5.1 is just fine for my ears!!
talman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7th February 2002, 03:56   #5  |  Link
jfmartins
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Portugal
Posts: 23
Thanks for the replies!
And just to straight some ideas of to much reading in forum:

since i´m new in authoring dvd i´ve read in a post that some authoring progs you cant put 5.1 DD audio you just get 2 audio channels.is it correct ? if so wich auth progs can handle 5.1 channels ?

Thanks again for your help.
__________________
All the best from Portugal
jfmartins is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7th February 2002, 04:17   #6  |  Link
talman
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 38
The ones that can handle 5.1 sound are few and far between (and very very expensive). DVDMaestro, Scenarist are the two I'm sure of---there are probably others as well.
talman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7th February 2002, 17:57   #7  |  Link
jdobbs
Moderator
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 20,973
SpruceUp and ReelDVD are two more that can handle DD 5.1
jdobbs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7th February 2002, 18:45   #8  |  Link
talman
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 38
jdobbs:

are you sure ReelDVD can handle 5.1 ac3? I'm pretty sure it can only do 2 channel ac3. I'll buy it in an instant if it will accept a 5.1 encoded ac3 file.
talman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7th February 2002, 22:44   #9  |  Link
jdobbs
Moderator
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 20,973
talman,

ReelDVD will support DD 5.1 for authoring, but it's internal ENCODER is limited to DD 2/0. As long as you generate the .AC3 outside of ReelDVD it will work (I just did a short sequence titleset to prove it to myself). So it is fine for backing up DVDs (where the sound is already 5.1 encoded) or when using an external encoder (like SoftEncode) to generate your DD 5.1 stream.
jdobbs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 7th February 2002, 23:10   #10  |  Link
talman
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 38
Thanks jdobbs!!

Guess I might have to get it---now if I can just get over the 1 VTS limitation...
talman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8th February 2002, 01:09   #11  |  Link
jfmartins
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Portugal
Posts: 23
Thanks for the help guys!

So i presume nobody in the forum ever used this software so i will try to get softencode to work.....BTW does anyone haves a How to guide for that prog?or do you have a link for a help guide ?
if so thanks in advance .
__________________
All the best from Portugal
jfmartins is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8th February 2002, 02:53   #12  |  Link
jeffnoone
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 87
not sure if there is a guide, but the main points are:

File open: load your wav file (48kHZ - use SoundForge or equivalnet to change if necessary), I dont think 44kHZ will work properly for DVD intent)
You can also load a .ac3 file but beware it will decode all 6 channels into 6 different uncompressed wav files as an interim and slow step - you must have 10-12 GB free on HD to do this.
Why would you want to open an .ac3? - in this context to reduce to 224kbps from the DVD standard 448 - this saves space with reasonble quality - this procedure was in vogue when using ReMPEG to transcode onto 2-3 CD's. I would just use the 448 ac3 you rip from DVD and not bother with this. You could also downmix a 5:1 AC3 to a 2:0 AC3 if you wished

Encode settings: the main settings here are data rate (448 is standard, but 224 accepted in DVDMaestro)
The audio coding mode would be set based on how many wav input files you have - a standard wav file will be split by the program into right and left stereo, so I would select 2/0 L/R here
If you only have 2 inputs (one standardstereo wav file), forcnig it to produce 3/2 AC3 either won't work, or won't give you true directional 5:1

Dolby Surround Mode: I change this to Dolby Surround Encoded

Other settings I leave at default. Sample rate must be 48 for DVD

Then you press the red round button to encode, red triangle to preview
Pick a output name, and sit back for a while (CPU intensive)

MAke sure you set temp directory under 'Preferences" to a drive with lots of space
Jeff
jeffnoone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 9th February 2002, 14:09   #13  |  Link
jfmartins
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Portugal
Posts: 23
Great!Thanks for the help jeffnoone!
__________________
All the best from Portugal
jfmartins is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 9th February 2002, 17:35   #14  |  Link
Clixo
zombie
 
Clixo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Portugal
Posts: 247
@jfmartins
Qual e o teu objectivo ? som em dvd ou apenas fazer um cd de musica em dts ?
uso esse soft apenas para fazer cds de musica mas com qualidade de som digital 5.1 para ouvir com o meu dvd player, em relacao ao manual esta integrado com o soft, espero que ajude.
ja agora aqui vai o manual.:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Overview
This version of SurCode converts your 5.1 Surround Sound files to DTS format.

SurCode can accept the 6 master soundfiles in either a .WAV or .AIFF format. SurCode outputs a .WAV file that can be used by any CD-burning software that makes audio CDs.

There is a large and rapidly growing base of DTS decoders in home theater systems. Placing your recording on a DTS-encoded CD makes it possible to distribute your recordings to the installed base of home Surround Sound systems.

2 The SurCode main screen
Figure 2-1 shows the SurCode main screen.


Figure 2-1 The SurCode main screen
2.1 Encoding procedure
1) Tell SurCode where to find the 6 soundfiles of your Surround Sound master.

2) Tell SurCode where to place the encoded soundfile.

3) Hit the "Encode" button.

This is the entire procedure for most recordings that you will encode. Options are - - you can monitor the pre-encoded and post-encoded soundfiles (see See Monitoring.), and you can set different start and end times (see See Encoding.).

2.2 Selecting the soundfiles to be encoded
It is necessary to specify 6 soundfiles for encoding (see Figure 2-2).


Figure 2-2
To select a soundfile for one of the 6 channels, click on the button on the left that corresponds to the channel you want to load. This will bring up a browse window (see Figure 2-3).


Figure 2-3
Navigate to the directory that has your soundfiles, and double-click on the soundfile that you've chosen for that channel. The filename that you've chosen will now appear to the right of the browse button.

You will usually specify soundfiles for all 6 channels. If you don't specify a filename for a channel, SurCode will encode silence into that channel.

2.3 Selecting an output file for encoded sound
You must tell SurCode where to put the encoded file when encoding is complete (see Figure 2-4).


Figure 2-4
First, click on the button labeled "Destination". This brings up the browse window (see Figure 2-5).


Figure 2-5
Browse to the directory you want to save the encoded file in (shown in the window at the top labeled "Save in:", and type a filename into the window labeled "File name:". Then hit the "Save" button. The directory pathname and filename will now appear in the SurCode window next to the "Destination" button.

2.4 Encoding
When the six input files and the output (Destination) file have been selected, you are now ready to encode.

Just click on the "Encode" button (see Figure 2-6).


Figure 2-6
A progress meter will tell you when the process has completed.

You can cancel the encoding process at any time by clicking on the "Stop" button.

It is not necessary to encode the entire input surround master. For instance, you may want to trim a few seconds of silence off the beginning. You can use the "Start" and "End" windows to trim the soundfile before encoding (see See Using the transport to trim an encoded file.).

2.5 Monitoring
You can monitor both the input files and the encoded output file using SurCode.

Figure 2-7 shows the recommended setup for monitoring.


Figure 2-7
The analog outputs from the computer allow you to monitor the input soundfiles, and the S/PDIF output allows you to monitor the DTS-encoded soundfile.

Figure 2-8 shows the monitoring section of the SurCode interface.


Figure 2-8
The monitor section has a 5-button transport control. When you click on the play button, playback begins at the time location shown in the time dispay window. The time display keeps a running indication of where you are in the soundfile.

You can play the 6 input soundfiles, or you can play the encoded file (after the encoding process has been completed). When you play the 6 source (unencoded) files, the outputs are routed to 3 Windows .wav stereo output devices, typically analog outputs of a soundcard. When you play the destination (DTS-encoded) soundfile, it's output is routed to a Windows .wav digital output device, usually an S/PDIF output. Most decoders accept both the 6 analog inputs, as well as S/PDIF coax or optical. Usually the decoder will automatically sense when DTS-encoded material is present, and switch between the encoded and unencoded inputs.

When you are playing from the 6 input soundfiles, you can solo or mute any of the 6 channels. The solo/mute buttons are to the left of the input channel browse buttons (see Figure 2-9).


Figure 2-9
It is necessary for you to tell SurCode what soundcard outputs you want to play through (see See Device options.).

Using the transport to trim an encoded file
The monitoring section makes it easy to trim up a file for encoding.

The start and stop times for the encoder default to the beginning and end of the soundfile. To trim a file, you will want to change these times.

There are two buttons next to the start time, and also next to the stop time. These buttons are labeled "S" and "R" (see Figure 2-10).


Figure 2-10
When you click on "S", the time that is showing in the monitor time display is copied into the encoder time window next to the button. When you hit the "R", the time is reset to the default (which is zero for the Start time, and is the end-of-recording time for the End time).

Say that there is some unnecessary silence at the end of the recording. You can listen to the recording, and hit the "S" button on the End time when you hear the recording ending. The time can transfer either on-the-fly or with the transport stopped. The encoder will now trim the recording to the new end point, eliminating the unnecessary silence on the end.

2.6 Device options
The "Device Options" window can be accessed through the Options menu. This is where you tell SurCode which soundcard outputs to use for monitoring (see Figure 2-11).


Figure 2-11
Windows wave devices work in stereo pairs. So you will need to assign 3 wave drivers to have 6 outputs to monitor your original 5.1 surround master. Usually you will connect these to analog outputs, although you might also connected them to ADAT, TDIF, or other digital outs.

If less than 3 wave drivers are specified, SurCode will mix the source files to the available wave drivers for playback.

The last item in the dialog is for assigning an output to play the encoded soundfile. This should be assigned to a S/PDIF output to feed to a decoder.

To assign an output, click on the down-arrow at the right side of the window. A drop-down menu will list the outputs available in your system. Just click on the output that you want, and it will be assigned.

2.7 Burning a CD
Once you have encoded your soundfiles, you can burn them to CD using any program that can create an audio CD. Here, we will use the very popular program "Adaptek Easy CD Creator" as an example (see Figure 2-12).


Figure 2-12
This is the main screen. This is where you tell the program that you are making an audio CD (rather than a data CD) by selecting the tab labeled "Audio CD Layout". Next, go to the upper-left window and select the folder that contains your soundfiles. The list of soundfiles in the folder will appear in the upper-right window.

Next we will select the soundfiles to burn onto the CD (see Figure 2-13).


Figure 2-13
You select the soundfiles by dragging them from the upper-right window and dropping them into the bottom window. PLEASE NOTE: The order inwhich they appear on the list is the order inwhich they will play on the CD. For instance, when this CD is playing "EASY JAZZ", the CD player will be showing "02" on it's track indicator.

When you have completed your list, you are ready to burn the CD (see Figure 2-14).


Figure 2-14
Just click on the button with the big red dot, above the "Audio CD Layout" tab. This brings up the record properties dialog (see Figure 2-15).


Figure 2-15
Click on "Test and Create", and then click on "OK". Easy CD Creator will now burn the CD. When it is done, it will pop up this window (see Figure 2-16).


Figure 2-16
You now have a Surround Sound CD that you can play!

2.8 Playing a DTS Surround Sound CD
To listen to encoded CD's, you will need a decoder, or a receiver with a built-in DTS decoder. It is possible to buy a consumer decoder that includes DTS for street prices starting around $250.

To use the decoder, connect the Digital Out of you CD player to the Digital In of the decoder. You can use either RCA coax or optical, depending on what outputs you have on your CD player (see Figure 2-17).


Figure 2-17
The decoder automatically detects DTS signals coming from a Surround CD, and decodes the Surround signal. If it is a stereo CD, the decoder automatically switches to stereo mode.

You can also play a CD from a DVD player. The only problem is that most DVD players WON'T play CD-R's. So, if you want to burn the CD's yourself, they are not likely to play in a DVD player. The one brand of DVD player that we have found to consistenly play CD-R's is Pioneer (as of the writing of this manual).


SHRINK WRAP LICENSE



PLEASE READ THIS LICENSE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THE SOFTWARE. BY USING THE SOFTWARE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE, PROMPTLY CONTACT MINNETONKA AUDIO SOFTWARE INC. ("HARDWARE VENDOR") FOR REMOVAL OR DEACTIVATION OF THE SOFTWARE.



1. License. The software ("Software") accompanying or to be provided under this Shrink Wrap License Agreement (hereinafter "License"), regardless of the media on which it is distributed, are licensed to you by Digital Theater Systems, Inc. ("DTS"). You own the medium on which the Software is recorded, but DTS retains all right title and interest in the Software and related documentation. You may:

use the Software only to produce the following Compact Disc ("CD") Master Material from which replications are made ("Master Material") for recording onto package media.

Package Media Type Bit Rate Sampling Rate Channel Format
CD 1.234Mb/s 44.1kHz 5.1 Channel
__________________
90 % of the things people ask in THIS forum have been already answered here ; here and here


use those links befoure you start any new thread ... please

happy convertions

clixo.
Clixo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10th February 2002, 05:45   #15  |  Link
thxman
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1
I have Surcode and SoftEncode and they work very much the same way. Enter each channel then press encode. Hard to believe this program cost about $2000. You don’t even get total rights to your own finished encoding. For 2K, you think you would. I would not really recommend DTS over DD anyway, like the others have said. The only real use for using this program would be for your own creations anyway. If you mix your channels right, than SoftEncode should work perfect for you. Well, just my opinion.
thxman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10th February 2002, 08:58   #16  |  Link
Sherlock Holmes
Banned
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Iran
Posts: 146
Hi Thxman
See you private message please
Sherlock Holmes is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11th February 2002, 01:56   #17  |  Link
grer
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 6
hey,

I might be a little of topic, but I was wondering if you can help me with one the programs.

I am trying to use SoftEncode to create the ac3 files for a dvd I'm creating from a DV tape.

The problem is, that when I put it into the dvd player, I cannot hear the audio through the digital-out cable. Only through the usual Red/White cable.

Do you know how to make the sound digital, so that it plays through the digital out? Is there an option that I didn't pick in the settings?

Thanks a lot for your help,

grer
grer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11th February 2002, 02:10   #18  |  Link
jeffnoone
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 87
If you used the SoftEncode and it made an AC3 file without announcing an error, then the .ac3 file is digital - presumably 2/0 (right and left channels)
So you got a ac3 file which an authoring program like DVDMaestro accepted?

If so, your problem sounds like it is in the settings of your set-top DVD player or your receiver/amplifier
Make sure that "digital out" is "on" in the the audio DVD menus
Make sure your receiver/amp is set to "auto decode" or "optical in" or "coaxial digital in"


What happens if you put a commercial DVD with AC3 in your DVD player now?

Jeff
jeffnoone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11th February 2002, 04:56   #19  |  Link
grer
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 6
SoftEncode does not give me any errors during processing.
Here is the steps I make to do the sound:
I capture the movie into one big file (usually about 20 gigs), then load it in Adobe Premiere, and save the audio as a .wav file.
Then I load the .wav file in Soft Encode and use the default options it picked.

After about 40 minutes of processing, I get an .ac3 file, which I then import into Scenarist without any problems.

But when I burn the dvd, I can't get it to work with digital out.

If I put a normal dvd in, it plays the sound through the digital out.
Also, if I use I-DVD (on a Mac), the sound it creates plays fine through the ditigal out.

Any ideas what could be wrong?

Thanks,

grer
grer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8th April 2019, 20:04   #20  |  Link
Xor
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 40
Please how to forced install of "rainbow sentinel" on Os WinServer 2019 X64?

I have installed suite "Minnetonka Surcode DTS Pro Encoder 1.0.29", successful installation, but after give me error : "rainbow sentinel" cannot installed. Encoder NOT work.

How to forced or install manually rainbow sentinel?

Or alternative free encoder support DTSHD encoding ?
Xor is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 06:35.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.