some of you may run into the problem of having a DTS track that you need converted to AC3 when converting your MKV files to WMV. some one click solutions were suggested in the MKV to WMV thread, i haven't tried any of them. however, i did see it mentioned in a post that none of them worked. so, i'll put up this method (which does work) and then you can use whichever method you choose.

first and fore most, i take no credit for pioneering this. i've merely regurgitated, in a somewhat condensed form, what i read here . also, all the programs used are freeware and i will give the links to where you can obtain them for yourself or you can simply download the .rar file i uploaded containing all that you will need to do this simple procedure. (if the redistribution of the files in the .rar is going against a rule somehow, then delete the link and i apologize)


lets get started :-)

apps you will need:
MKVtoolnix & MKVextract (you should already have this if you are following impimpin206's tutorial.)
BeSweet
Tranzcode

alternately, here is the .rar file containing MKVtoolnix & MKVextract, BeSweet, and Tranzcode


Step 1.
download programs or extract them from the .rar file........ duh. :-P

Step 2.
install mkvtoolnix via the MKVtoolnix Setup file. (if you already have MKVextract installed, skip to Step 5)

Step 3.
once setup is complete take the files located in MKVextract and place them in the MKVtoolnix folder. (default directory is C:\Program Files\MKVtoolnix )


Step 4.
either create a shortcut for MKVextractGUI, or prepare to go back there each time you wish to start MKVextract. now open MKVextract.


Step 5.
once MKVextract is running point it to the MKV file which contains the DTS track you wish to convert. set the output location to wherever you want the extracted file to be located, put a check in the box next to the listed DTS track. then hit the extract button. (if you already have the raw DTS track then skip this step)


Step 6
now, open up Tranzcode by opening the Tranzcode folder and click on TranzGUI. simply select the DTS track you just extracted as the input in Tranzcode. now. for the output. create a folder (because tranzcode will bust the DTS track into 6 WAV files) and then select that folder for the output. then select "6 Mono WAV", after that you can click run.


Step 7
once Tranzcode finishes, open the BeSweet folder and open the BeLight app. once open, click on "File" and then click "Create Mux File." next, click on the box with "FL" on it. navigate to the folder you created containing the 6 WAV files and click on the WAV file with "FL" at the end. then proceed to do that for the "C" (Center Channel), "FR" (Front Right Channel), "LFE" (Low Frequency Effects), ect. when you have that done make sure to set "Select the Output File" to AC3 and then check the box for "Load automatically this .mux file for input." set a save directory of your choice and then you can click OK.






Step 8
after you click ok you will automatically be taken back to BeLight and it will have automatically loaded the created .mux file. now all you have to do is set a few options. go to "Presets" (located at the top) and then select AC3->5.1-448kbps. you will see that the AC3 tab below is selected and the other settings reflect the preset you selected. you can leave the bitrate alone or decrease/increase as you wish. i always uncheck the "Dynamic Compression" box, it's your call. that should do it, click the "Start Processing" button and then it will create your AC3 file. (i don't see any options for output location so i assume it places the file wherever you saved the .mux file during Step 7. i always just work from my desktop so i can easily delete everything after i'm done.)


i hope that helps a few peeps that need the DTS->AC3 conversion.

if this helps anyone, please give it a bump so that it can continue to do so rather than fall to the wayside.

Seems to have worked well. However a few things

The .rar file you posted seems to contain stuff not in the original site programs. Like when I downloaded tranzcode from their site it was only the .exe and a list of commands (no gui) and when I downloaded besweet from the site it did not come with belight. So I just used the .rar you posted

Also, When selecting bit-rate, is 448 enough? The file I have is DTS 1536 kbit/s. How much quality is lost in the audio using only 448kbps? The max BeLight seems to allow is only 640?

448 kbps should be enough, though I think most scene releasers use 640 kbps. I've never seen higher than 640 kbps AC3

yeah, tranzcode and besweet don't come originally as i have packaged them in the rar file, that was my main reason for packaging them like that. i provided the links to the programs in case people wanted to check for updated versions, as well as to provide a link in the event that my redistributing the programs was against a rule that i was unaware of.

if someone wanted to, they could google and find all the gui's and whatnot i've added into the rar file. but to save work and to keep people from getting confused, as i did when i was originally figuring out how to do this, i just packaged exactly what i had. that way you all see what i see and can walk right through the tut. perhaps i should have mentioned to just download the rar file from the get go.

I used this guide to convert Fear and Loathing DTS to AC3, when I loaded it into TMPGEnc it came out 30 mins longer than the video. I recoded anyways and the audio was in sync, anyone know why that was?

the times i've used it the audio track generally comes out to be a few seconds longer/shorter, nothing no where near 30 mins. not sure what caused that, but glad it was in sync and worked.

I need to convert an AAC track to AC3, how to I do that?

after a quick google search i found that vlc player will apparently trascode aac to ac3. dowload it and give it a go. use the file->wizard function to get started.

Hey,

THanks for the Guide. Tranzcode does not want to work on my machine (vista). Is there any other piece of software you could suggest.
Thanks

have you obtained the most recent version of tranzcode? the one i have packaged is older. give the newest one a go and let me know.

still no luck

Thanks though

may try this, i found this in another thread here at xbscene.

i did my first test on this and it just came out as a notepad file? thats not right is it, when i then click the file it said error, im transcoding one now but its still on 00.00%. any ideas


no dnt push the emergency panic button. i figured it out now, transcoding like a dream. thanks alot buddy

glad it worked out for ya. enjoy

Have any of you found that after doing this the resulting audio file comes out very quiet?

Great tutorial!

One question.
What do you do after step 8?? How do you replace the DTS with the new AC3??

thanks

I figured it out - feelin a lil stoopid now

And yes the audio is lower - volume wise.

What did you do to get around it? as i have found its almost unwatchable unless the volume is almost maximum.

Adam19
Nothing special - just followed the tutorial. For me the only thing was the decrease in volume.

i've never noticed a change in volume in my conversions. not that i've really done many, but none the less, never noticed a drop in volume.

Nice tut, but I think if you're given a DTS audio source, you should convert it to WAV then straight to WMA.

Skip the AC3, which will further degrade the audio, by making 1 extra lossy conversion! Go from DTS to WAV then straight to WMA 10 Pro 5.1
Or, in the case for MP4 movies, go straight from DTS to AAC 2.0

If your plan is to encode the audio in WMA 10 pro 5.1, then converting WAV to AC3 is an unnecessary lossy step.

And if you plan to encode it into 2ch AAC LC, then again going to AC3 is pointless.

I understand the guides WMV and MP4 start with AC3 audio, and not DTS... but converting DTS to AC3 just to convert it again to WMA or AAC, seems a little weird.

I really need help!! I have done everything that all guides have told me to (spilt the file, everything) I've made it to the BeLight option, add all the tracks(FL, C, SR, etc.) but when I click the Start Processing or Advance settings I get
"Access Violation at address 0050F563 in module 'Belight.exe'. Read of Address 00000030"
Please please help me, could it be the way I have downloaded these programs on my hard drive?

how did u do it??