Messages posted by juliusweb

PROBLEM SOLVED

I edited the original post title to reflect the fact that I found a solution.

I was correct with my initial assumption that the culprit here was the digital feed. PIX provided a link to a 5.1 (and 7.1) surround sound speaker test file. With the optical (digital) cable that file would only play through the front speakers. I swapped out the optical cable for the analog speaker cables that connect the computer's sound card with the Logitech module.

It appears to be a common surround sound connection. There are three plugs on each end; orange, green, black. Each plug is a two channel line; LF/RF, LR/RR, Center/SUB.

Using the above connection everything is functioning as expected. I can edit 5.1 channels in SD and everything is coming out of the correct speakers.

It seems that the Logitech module is looking for a Dolby Digital or DTS stream when the optical cable is used and in the absence of one of those streams it treats anything else as two channel. There is a "DECODE" light on the module. When I played a DVD that I authored with SD everything was fine due to the fact that the DVD was sending a Dolby Digital encoded audio track. The DECODE light came on and everything sounded fine.

Playing that same DVD with the analog cables the DECODE light does not come on but all of the speakers are firing due to the fact that the Dolby Digital signal is being processed through the computer's sound card and sending out the signals through the appropriate audio channels.

I hope that this helps someone out in the future.

Quote: Hmmm,

I've just run a few test files and can confirm what you've found, if I understand you correctly.

Using files downloaded from http://www.jensign.com/bdp95/7dot1voiced/ it does appear that only the front two channels (L & R) & centre (C) play back correctly through ADR. The Lb & Rb channels play back through the front speakers.

Please confirm whether I'm barking up the right tree & I'll forward this issue to the tech department at CL R&D.

PIX

PIX,

I downloaded the above files.
When I played the 5.1 file through AD the rear channels were downsampled through the LF and RF channels.
I burned a DVD through PD and the channels all played as expected through the correct speakers.

Thanks again for looking into this.

Quote: Hello juliusweb,

We're dealing with a lot of variables here, one of which is the difference in speaker setup.

Just to clarify, are you saying that when you're editing 5.1 audio clips in AudioDirector the sound only plays through the RF & LF channels & not through the other speakers? i.e. you can't set balance & pan correctly?

PIX

Thanks PIX for the quick reply.

You are correct. When editing through AD, playback is only occurring through the LF and RF speakers. If, in the mix room, I attempt to use the panning function as a clip plays, I can only hear the "panning" as it goes from the LF speaker to the RF speaker even if I move the panning to the rear speakers. I suspect that if I were to burn a DVD the panning would be there and would be correct.

I believe that my problem lies with the fact that all of my audio is now being streamed from the computer, through a digital (toslink) connector, into a Logitech box that in turn fires the speakers. I think that any signal that goes through that digital connector is passed through as a two channel signal unless it has a Dolby Digital or DTS stream imbedded within, hence the fact that the LF and RF are apparently functioning as normal.

As a test I had the LR channel edited to only play one sound. Upon playback through AD I could hear that sound downsampled into the LR and RF channels. I then burned a DVD through PD and all sounded as expected. The single sound was heard only from the LR channel.

I believe that my problem lies with the way that my audio is being sent from the computer as a digital signal and the decoder that I have is passing it through as a two channel signal if there isn't a Dolby Digital or DTS stream detected.

Maybe a different sound card with analog outputs would fix this problem. My decoder will accept analog inputs.

I guess that my question is...is it normal for people to playback audio in AD and it comes through their 5.1 speakers as it should?

Thank again.

I just hooked up a 5.1 surround system to my computer. An optical cable sends the digital audio to a Logitech controller that decodes a Dolby Digital stream or a DTS stream as well as passing through 2 channel audio.

When I put in a DVD or Blu-Ray that I have made with PowerDirector everything is fine and the 5.1 channels work as expected.

When I am editing a 5.1 channel audio clip, the playback does not use anything except the two front channels. I suspect that this has something to do with the stream coming through the optical cable.

This makes the panning function useless as I can't judge the affect without authoring a disk.

Is there any way to have the 5.1 channels function during the editing process in AD?

Different soundcard?

Thanks for any help.

Thank you for the response. I guess that PD11 is more like a "pass through" when it comes to the 5.1 audio channels.

Sony is about to release a handycam that has a 5.1 mic built in. I am considering the purchase of this camcorder. If I import a clip from this camcorder to PD11 will I be able to manipulate the individual sound tracks? I know that there is a box that I can tick to produce 5.1 audio but I believe that the original clips have to have the 5.1 already in them in order for this function to work.

Thanks for any help on this.