DizzyBoyDizzy wrote:
I was thinking (optimistically) that maybe the fix for these windows apps was as easy as changing the windows decoder to something that reported more accurately.
For now, I see two options, potential "before or after hacks" to make this work:
Modify the dts/cpt files to make them look 1509kbps or lower, then import,
Modify the built BDMV folder files from Encore, created with a "dummy" low-bitrate dts file, with a program like bdfix or bdedit.
For the first option, my original thought was to go with DTS-HD MAS, Surcode DVD-DTS, or with free software like eac3to and attempt to encode the files to a slightly lower bitrate, which after a significant amount of time fiddling with each program, I quickly concluded impossible (there are no options to change the bitrate further with dts (non-hd) audio other than the standard 1509/754 with MAS, and the 1536/768 with DVD-DTS, and eac3to won't even recognize commands to encode to anything other than the latter two bitrates.
I then downloaded HxD, a free hex editor, imported a file in, and felt immediately cold and isolated. I quickly closed it, before depression started to sink in.
For the second option, I went to try to BDFix as an earlier poster suggested, but refuse to pay $600-$1000 to fix a problem that should not exist. I then went for BDedit, a free -- albeit with less automated functionality -- tool, opened it, loaded my bdmv.index file, and immediately went cross-eyed. I decided I would try to do on my own with no structure edit, by muxing the proper audio with the video and subs into a custom .M2TS file using TsMuxer, and replace the main film .M2TS in the STREAM directory within the BDMV folder. I then built the ISO (using ImgBurn) and while this did effectively use the new audio, the video now has a horrible seeking issue, where it glitches and takes forever to switch chapters or move the slider to a later scene in the timeline. This more than likely being due to the new audio not matching what the files somewhere in the BDMV folder are expecting.
So, until someone good at hex or BD structure editing steps up with some assistance, or one of us becomes fluent at either, we are at the mercy of Adobe to actually make this product work.
Of course, there is a third option: go with Scenarist. Which I would gladly do at this point, had I not already expended the money, time, and effort of acquiring and learning this buggy software. If this issue isn't fixed soon, I may begrudgingly be forced to do so.
Sorry to sound negative here, but all this strikes me as a complete waste of time as Encore is not actually decoding anything here.
DTS support is passthrough only, unless something has changed in CS5.5 variant that I do not yet know about.
It's the application importer that has the problem, as 1510 reported instead of 1509 on PC notwithstanding, I am having no trouble at all in actual authoring with DTS files (using the .cpt variant) in Scenarist at all. As the 2 apps use the same authorcore, it's got to be the importer and not windows otherwise it would all fall apart in Scenarist too.
FWIW, DVD-Lab Pro gives 1536kbps as the bitrate for imported DTS files, clearly wrong, yet still it gets things right in the actual compile stage.
The coders blame this on the file headers, and say it simply is not an issue to worry about.
Also, editing with stuff like eac3to is not going to work for BD as the verification will doubtless fail more often than not when fed out of spec assets - the creation of which is highly likely in reverse engineered "encoders" as this has to be.
The other reason I think the problem must be in the importer is because of what happens on attempting to import DTS-HD files in high resolution or Master Audio format - it just does not work as Encore's importers get it all wrong & ignore the VBR code, treating it all as CBR with disastrous results.
I cannot understand why mandatory codecs are not implemented - makes no sense to me at all - so I feel your pain here as DTS Core Audio is a mandatory stream for Blu Ray inasmuch as all players must be capable of decoding it, yet it's broken.
Another missing in action codec is 5.1 LPCM too.....maybe the developers do not think audio is important!
