View Full Version : Ask- How to make audio 5.1 ?


Sunarto Sosrosaputro
October 26th, 2003, 10:21 AM
How to make audio 5.1 ???
Can I make audio 5.1 from mp3 file ???
What program, I must used ???

Thanks

Peter Sieben
October 28th, 2003, 09:49 AM
First, you have to mix in 5.1 surround, using audio or videoediting programs like Cubase, Nuendo or Vegas etc. All these programs can produce multiple WAV files as outputfiles for all the 6 speakers in a 5.1 setup.

Most of these programs hardly give you the possibility to monitor in 5.1 surround mode via the digital output of a cheap soundcard during your editing or mixing. But if you have a soundcard with 6 separate outputs and you plug all these outputs into a Surround mixer or amplifier/receiver you are able to monitor the surround mixing. Otherwise, you'll hear everything over 2 speakers (L+R).

The next step is to combine these 6 audiofiles to an AC3 (Dolby Digital) surroundfile. In Vegas you can get the AC3 encoder as a separate package or as part of the DVD-Architect program, which allows you to render directly to an AC3 file from the editing timeline.

Regarding the monitoring: I use Vegas/DVD-A and mix in 5.1 surround. You learn how to use the speakers behind you after you have listened to rendered AC3 files a couple of times. It's not so easy as you might expect. Check the Dolby website for tips on surround mixing.

Peter Sieben