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DVD Architect 5.2 volume
Upgraded from Pro 8 to Pro 10 and it came with DVD Architect 5.2 (up from 5.0).
Audio volume was uneven on a recent final so I spent the entire day tweaking audio in Pro 10, rerendering, and burning a DVD. Seemed like none of my audio tweaks were taking. Tried writing to different file names, different directories, etc. It was primarily the volume changes that weren’t having an effect.
Finally out of frustration, I tried the older DVD Architec 5.0 just to see if there was a difference. Wow, using two exactly the same .wav files, the volume was louder, clearer, and the level tweaks between scenes were clearly noticable(exactly what I wanted)with 5.0
I’ll use 5.0 to burn my project, however, does anyone know if there is a setting or something that I’m unaware of in 5.2? Or maybe should I try other than wav files for audio?
Thanks in advance.
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7 Replies
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Found my problem, so thought I’d share.
In DVD architect, under project properties, there is an audio default setting. in my DA 5.0 it was set to PCM, in the new 5.2 it was set to AC-3. Changing to PCM made all the difference.
Apparently AC-3 is a compressed format resulting is a less pleasing sound quality (I’m not an audiophile), whereas PCM is uncompressed and much clearer and louder. I’m fine for now.
Tom
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I’m going out on a limb here, but:
1) In one of the flavours of AC3 is an automatic gain control. Used in a camera, AGC can give uneven volume. You may have chosen AGC in the AC3.
Ok…
2) There is nothing wrong with AC3. As the old saying goes, I use it ALL the time, from within Vegas. What you can do with it is to make very acceptable compressed audio that could go a long way in making space on a DVD that may very well be needed.
Grazie
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I’m going out on a limb here, but:
1) In one of the flavours of AC3 is an automatic gain control. Used in a camera, AGC can give uneven volume. You may have chosen AGC in the AC3.
Ok…
2) There is nothing wrong with AC3. As the old saying goes, I use it ALL the time, from within Vegas. What you can do with it is to make very acceptable compressed audio that could go a long way in making space on a DVD that may very well be needed.
Grazie
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AC-3 is the video equivalent of MP3 so it’s no surprise that the sound quality has been compromised due to substantial compression (approx. 10:1).
Where AC-3 becomes useful is when you’re making a lengthy DVD.
I do a lot of stage plays that run anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 hrs. long.
Without the use of AC-3 audio, my video quality would be severely compromised and my preference is for the best video quality possible.
As an example, the VBR settings for a 2 hr. DVD with AC-3 audio are 8,000,000 / 4,688,000 / 2,808,000.
With PCM audio, these numbers drop to 6,688,000 / 3,344,000 / 2,504,000.If your audio levels are all over the place and you can’t get decent sound on a DVD, try the following custom AC-3 adjustments in Vegas.
Encode set to AC3;
Click on Custom tab;
On the first tab, set Dialog Norm at -31 (this sets it at unity gain);
On the last tab marked Preprocessing, set the Line Mode Profile and RF Mode Profile mode to “none”;
DC High Pass Filter On (this operates at <=3Hz and takes DC bias out of the mix);
Bandwidth Low Pass Filter On (this takes aliasing noise at >20kHz out of the encode);
Save this as a preset. -
Obviously I need to learn more about audio.
Thanks for the responses.
Tom
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Tom, if you really want you head to explode, go to the Dolby site, enter AC-3 in the Search bar and start reading 🙂
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Thanks, Mike. Looks like I have a lot to learn about audio.
Tom
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