Dolby Digital 5.1???

xtcboi765 · 30th July 2002, 09:00

Ok, after doing alot of looking around on the net and WinAmp's website I have to admit I'm kinda stumped by something. Dolby Digital 5.1 is an audio standard that has been out for quite a long time now and although you can find .wma, .wav, and .mp3 players all over the interenet and a wide variety of enhancement plugins for WinAmp I still haven't been able to find any plugin the will at least simulate dolby digital 5.1 playback of an audio file. Likewise After all my searching I still can't find a single software or plugin for any of the WinAmp encoders that will allow you to encode a .wav or .mp3 file in 5.1....I honestly have to say this has me really stumped. Are encoding files in digital 5.1 that difficult to actually do? It's been my experience even played through a reciever with Dolby Pro Logic 2 which somewhat emulates Dolby Digital playback from stereo recordings, and even when recording an mp3 at the highest possible quality...something is still lacking and missing out....Just listening to any DVD movie or DVD music disk with Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding on the sound files and you can tell an amazing difference and a bit improvement over the much lame boring standard stereo recordings that have existed for far too many years to count...My question is, are there any plugins for WinAmp or any other software out there that will allow you to encode a mp3 file in Dolby digital 5.1? If not, is there anyone working on making one? Afterall to a true audiophile regardless of what DSP effects you can find to add to music, regardless of what filters, and faders, and equalizers you can add to your music on a software level with WinAmp or other programs...it's still lacking by far from the overall quality of Dolby Digital 5.1 recordings...Any assistance on this matter would be much appreciated. Thanks for any help/advice anyone can give.

xtcboi765

rm' · 30th July 2002, 09:20

Firstly, music is not designed to be played in more then 2 channels. Simply due to the way Rock is played, it sounds best coming out of 2 speakers. Because the recording industry grew from Rock, all other genres ended up being recorded the same way. Virtually no recordings exist in 5.1... 5.1 is mainly for movies. But that doesn't stop audio files from trying. AAC supports 5.1 channels.

Twilightseer · 30th July 2002, 10:31

I think Ogg also supports 5.1 sound.

Besweet can create 5.1 wave files.
Never tried it though.

apollos · 30th July 2002, 13:55

DTS whoops Dolby Digital 5.1 any time of the day

Whats the point in 5.1 when you have a good 4.1 system? ur ears hear in Stereo anyways

DTS, 5.1 are just a lil too exentric

GaryC_123 · 4th August 2002, 16:56

PowerDVD will play MP3 files and will simulate 5.1. Not a very good MP3 player but it will do it. I also would like a plug-in that would let Winamp play out of all 5 speakers but it does not look like it's gonna happen any time soon.

Curi0us_George · 4th August 2002, 18:03

I don't know about getting Winamp to output to all the speakers. I thought directsound out could do that. Otherwise, I have no idea.

CDs and tapes come in stereo, so actually encoding them as surround would just be a gigantic waste of space. WAV supports arbitrary numbers of channels. MP3 supports only stereo and mono.

rm' is wrong.

Music would sounnd fine with more channels, but the music industry doesn't seem to care about it. But then, the music industry can't even agree on a standard recording-studio setup. (Ever notice how movies always sound good once you get your system set up, but with music, it's quite common to have to play with the equalizer and whatnot for each CD?)

s0be · 4th August 2002, 19:57

I use winamp 3 with direct sound out enabled. I have an sblive x-gamer and I have a coax cable plugged into the digital out then into the coax in on my 5.1 decoder and it comes out of all the speakers. The decoder even upsamples it to using the middle channel.

/*
S0Be
*/

GaryC_123 · 5th August 2002, 04:34

s0bellzard,
I also have a SBLive! GamerX sound card and am using the digital output of my sound card. I am using the Megaworks 510D 5.1 speakers from Cambridge and have Winamp 2.8. Do you know what I need to do to get sound from all of my speakers or do I need to go to the 3.0 beta to do this?
Thanks

s0be · 5th August 2002, 05:58

I've got it hooked up to my sony surround sound decoder. If you have direct sound output enabled in winamp, it should work. It does for me. I'm not sure about the cambridge system. The only thing I can think of, is that my sony decoder does an expansion from stereo channels for me. Should gone with a component system. Component systems are a safe bet.

/*
S0Be
*/

30th July 2002, 09:00	#1
xtcboi765 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Indiana Posts: 4	Dolby Digital 5.1??? Ok, after doing alot of looking around on the net and WinAmp's website I have to admit I'm kinda stumped by something. Dolby Digital 5.1 is an audio standard that has been out for quite a long time now and although you can find .wma, .wav, and .mp3 players all over the interenet and a wide variety of enhancement plugins for WinAmp I still haven't been able to find any plugin the will at least simulate dolby digital 5.1 playback of an audio file. Likewise After all my searching I still can't find a single software or plugin for any of the WinAmp encoders that will allow you to encode a .wav or .mp3 file in 5.1....I honestly have to say this has me really stumped. Are encoding files in digital 5.1 that difficult to actually do? It's been my experience even played through a reciever with Dolby Pro Logic 2 which somewhat emulates Dolby Digital playback from stereo recordings, and even when recording an mp3 at the highest possible quality...something is still lacking and missing out....Just listening to any DVD movie or DVD music disk with Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding on the sound files and you can tell an amazing difference and a bit improvement over the much lame boring standard stereo recordings that have existed for far too many years to count...My question is, are there any plugins for WinAmp or any other software out there that will allow you to encode a mp3 file in Dolby digital 5.1? If not, is there anyone working on making one? Afterall to a true audiophile regardless of what DSP effects you can find to add to music, regardless of what filters, and faders, and equalizers you can add to your music on a software level with WinAmp or other programs...it's still lacking by far from the overall quality of Dolby Digital 5.1 recordings...Any assistance on this matter would be much appreciated. Thanks for any help/advice anyone can give. xtcboi765

4th August 2002, 18:03	#6
Curi0us_George Forum King Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Oxford, MS Posts: -1 Posts: 5,179	I don't know about getting Winamp to output to all the speakers. I thought directsound out could do that. Otherwise, I have no idea. CDs and tapes come in stereo, so actually encoding them as surround would just be a gigantic waste of space. WAV supports arbitrary numbers of channels. MP3 supports only stereo and mono. rm' is wrong. Music would sounnd fine with more channels, but the music industry doesn't seem to care about it. But then, the music industry can't even agree on a standard recording-studio setup. (Ever notice how movies always sound good once you get your system set up, but with music, it's quite common to have to play with the equalizer and whatnot for each CD?) For the freedom to express myself in my own way without fear of being censored or banned. 47 65 6C 61 65 64 2E 63 6F 6D 00

4th August 2002, 19:57	#7
s0be Major Dude Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: melbourne Posts: First Posts: 1,313	I use winamp 3 with direct sound out enabled. I have an sblive x-gamer and I have a coax cable plugged into the digital out then into the coax in on my 5.1 decoder and it comes out of all the speakers. The decoder even upsamples it to using the middle channel. /* S0Be */ And On that day, the Lords of the land said unto their Master Architect, "The temple you have made to the gods of Wasabi and Maki has brought us no great prosperity" and they sent out him into the lands. As he traveled to a far off land, he found he wasn't traveling alone, but that he had gained companions, and when they found their new land, they started work on a new temple, one that would be OPEN to all who wanted to worship. from The Book of Wasabi C 12 Vs 09 (pg 2003)

5th August 2002, 05:58	#9
s0be Major Dude Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: melbourne Posts: First Posts: 1,313	I've got it hooked up to my sony surround sound decoder. If you have direct sound output enabled in winamp, it should work. It does for me. I'm not sure about the cambridge system. The only thing I can think of, is that my sony decoder does an expansion from stereo channels for me. Should gone with a component system. Component systems are a safe bet. /* S0Be */ And On that day, the Lords of the land said unto their Master Architect, "The temple you have made to the gods of Wasabi and Maki has brought us no great prosperity" and they sent out him into the lands. As he traveled to a far off land, he found he wasn't traveling alone, but that he had gained companions, and when they found their new land, they started work on a new temple, one that would be OPEN to all who wanted to worship. from The Book of Wasabi C 12 Vs 09 (pg 2003)

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

30th July 2002, 09:20	#2
rm' Banned Join Date: Jul 2000 Posts: 11,361	Firstly, music is not designed to be played in more then 2 channels. Simply due to the way Rock is played, it sounds best coming out of 2 speakers. Because the recording industry grew from Rock, all other genres ended up being recorded the same way. Virtually no recordings exist in 5.1... 5.1 is mainly for movies. But that doesn't stop audio files from trying. AAC supports 5.1 channels.

30th July 2002, 10:31	#3
Twilightseer Frenchoderator Join Date: May 2000 Location: Lavabo, fond du couloir, 3è porte à droite Posts: 6,309	I think Ogg also supports 5.1 sound. Besweet can create 5.1 wave files. Never tried it though.

30th July 2002, 13:55	#4
apollos Forum King Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Canterbury & Plymouth Posts: 4,176	DTS whoops Dolby Digital 5.1 any time of the day Whats the point in 5.1 when you have a good 4.1 system? ur ears hear in Stereo anyways DTS, 5.1 are just a lil too exentric

4th August 2002, 16:56	#5
GaryC_123 Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2	PowerDVD will play MP3 files and will simulate 5.1. Not a very good MP3 player but it will do it. I also would like a plug-in that would let Winamp play out of all 5 speakers but it does not look like it's gonna happen any time soon.

5th August 2002, 04:34	#8
GaryC_123 Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2	s0bellzard, I also have a SBLive! GamerX sound card and am using the digital output of my sound card. I am using the Megaworks 510D 5.1 speakers from Cambridge and have Winamp 2.8. Do you know what I need to do to get sound from all of my speakers or do I need to go to the 3.0 beta to do this? Thanks