Distortion/clpping on AC3 mix to DVD -AC-3 Encoder

Subject:Distortion/clpping on AC3 mix to DVD Posted by: FlipJack Date:5/25/2004 11:42:32 AM Just wondering if anyone else has problems with distortion and /or clipping when playing back a DVD surround audio mix burned straight from Acid Pro. The mix sounds great in Acid but when I play it back there's some kind of clipping distortion mainly in the Center channel. Also some material sticks WAY out of the mix at times. It would be really nice if you could put signal processing on each surround channel.
Subject:RE: Distortion/clpping on AC3 mix to DVD Reply by: Neil Wilkes Date:5/25/2004 12:42:39 PM How do you have the dialnorm setting? It sounds like a metadata problem to me - can you give some more info please. Also, can't you use ASIO drivers in ACID, and set up a discrete surround mix? I use Nuendo personally, so am uncertain how ACID handles surround. However, I would have thought that you should be able to process each channel independantly. You'd have to watch your phasing though. In Nuendo, you can simply set up a 5.1 output Buss, and route things to it either directly into a dedicated channel, or else to the Buss as a whole & use a panner.
Subject:RE: Distortion/clpping on AC3 mix to DVD Reply by: FlipJack Date:5/25/2004 2:21:58 PM Not sure what you mean by "dialnorm" setting is that a Nuendo term? The "clipping" definately isn't like normal digital distortion, it sounds more like a bad time stretch effect or a gapper type of effect. I lowered inputs and outputs going to effects tjat were in the red , but still getting it. Incedently there are no signals going to the center channel. maybe I'll try just muting that chaneel all together see what happens. In Acid a regular stereo mix privides you a Master channel in which you can place plugins to run the whole mix thru. When you set up a surround mix, the 6 master outputs don't have the little plugin option which makes no sense to me. I'd thought about running channels through a bussing matrix and then sending them to the outputs, but it's such a redundent way to go about things. Alas maybe that's what I'll have to try.....

Subject:Distortion/clpping on AC3 mix to DVD

Posted by: FlipJack

Date:5/25/2004 11:42:32 AM

Just wondering if anyone else has problems with distortion and /or clipping when playing back a DVD surround audio mix burned straight from Acid Pro.
The mix sounds great in Acid but when I play it back there's some kind of clipping distortion mainly in the Center channel. Also some material sticks WAY out of the mix at times.
It would be really nice if you could put signal processing on each surround channel.

Subject:RE: Distortion/clpping on AC3 mix to DVD

Reply by: Neil Wilkes

Date:5/25/2004 12:42:39 PM

How do you have the dialnorm setting?
It sounds like a metadata problem to me - can you give some more info please.

Also, can't you use ASIO drivers in ACID, and set up a discrete surround mix? I use Nuendo personally, so am uncertain how ACID handles surround. However, I would have thought that you should be able to process each channel independantly. You'd have to watch your phasing though. In Nuendo, you can simply set up a 5.1 output Buss, and route things to it either directly into a dedicated channel, or else to the Buss as a whole & use a panner.

Subject:RE: Distortion/clpping on AC3 mix to DVD

Reply by: FlipJack

Date:5/25/2004 2:21:58 PM

Not sure what you mean by "dialnorm" setting is that a Nuendo term?
The "clipping" definately isn't like normal digital distortion, it sounds more like a bad time stretch effect or a gapper type of effect. I lowered inputs and outputs going to effects tjat were in the red , but still getting it. Incedently there are no signals going to the center channel. maybe I'll try just muting that chaneel all together see what happens.

In Acid a regular stereo mix privides you a Master channel in which you can place plugins to run the whole mix thru. When you set up a surround mix, the 6 master outputs don't have the little plugin option which makes no sense to me. I'd thought about running channels through a bussing matrix and then sending them to the outputs, but it's such a redundent way to go about things. Alas maybe that's what I'll have to try.....