Music Dvd Audio Settings?

[ThePope]

I tried the Music DVD function for the first time in Toast 9.0.2 and I have a few questions.

 

1/ Which audio settings do I use if I'm adding MP3 audio files. I left it on default which I think was dolby digital. Not sure if it can be changed either.

 

2/ Why does it take so long, it was doing a conversion process which might tie into question 1. Maybe I had the audio setting wrong, because it converted every song which took forever.

[firenhancer]

You can change the setting from DD to PCM by going to Options --> More --> Encoding --> Custom Encoding --> Audio format -- PCM

 

BTW unless you have pre-authored multi-channel content, the resultant Music DVD will be DD Stereo.

[ThePope]

You can change the setting from DD to PCM by going to Options --> More --> Encoding --> Custom Encoding --> Audio format -- PCM

 

BTW unless you have pre-authored multi-channel content, the resultant Music DVD will be DD Stereo.

 

What I'm trying to figure out is, what audio setting should I be using for high quality MP3's, to give me the best sound and processing time.

 

[firenhancer]

Best sound and processing time donot go hand in hand. Refer Tsantee's post which has details.

[ThePope]

In the custom encoder settings window you can choose which format and if you choose Dolby Digital (the default) you can choose the bit-rate setting. The higher the bit rate the less the audio is compressed so it will sound better.

 

So if the MP3 files are 44.1 KHz, then I should use Dolby Digial 44.1 KHz. I'm at work so I don't have the application to look at, so I don't know what's in the pulldown menu.

 

[firenhancer]

So if the MP3 files are 44.1 KHz, then I should use Dolby Digial 44.1 KHz. I'm at work so I don't have the application to look at, so I don't know what's in the pulldown menu.

 

You are confusing Data rate vs sampling frequency. DVDs usually will use 48khz (PCM) and you have option in Toast to go as high as 448kpbs for data rate for DD.

[ThePope]

You are confusing Data rate vs sampling frequency. DVDs usually will use 48khz (PCM) and you have option in Toast to go as high as 448kpbs for data rate for DD.

 

Data rate is:

"lossless" and "lossy compression ratios.

 

Sampling frequency:

Defines the number of samples per second, 44,100 Hz audio CD, 48,000 Hz DVD.

 

Thanks for all the input, I'm getting a better understanding. If I pick DD I will choose a higher bit-rate for better quality, because information has already been lost because the files are MP3's.

[tsantee]

Data rate is:

"lossless" and "lossy compression ratios.

 

Sampling frequency:

Defines the number of samples per second, 44,100 Hz audio CD, 48,000 Hz DVD.

 

Thanks for all the input, I'm getting a better understanding. If I pick DD I will choose a higher bit-rate for better quality, because information has already been lost because the files are MP3's.

I think you've got it figured out. Choosing 48 khz PCM will prevent any additional quality loss to your MP3 tracks. Choosing the higher bit rates for 2-channel Dolby Digital creates better-quality audio than do the lower bit rates. Note that the movies and most concert DVDs you buy are typically 192-to-256 kbps.

[tsantee]

The Toast Music DVD uses the video DVD spec. This means that MP3 audio files must be re-encoded to either Dolby Digital AC-3 or to uncompressed PCM. In the custom encoder settings window you can choose which format and if you choose Dolby Digital (the default) you can choose the bit-rate setting. The higher the bit rate the less the audio is compressed so it will sound better.

 

Uncompressed audio takes up much more space. If you choose this format you'll get about seven hours of music on a single-layer DVD.

 

The encoding does take a lot of time so what you're experiencing is normal.

[ThePope]

It looks like I should have used PCM for high quality MP3's (emusic subscriber).

 

Dolby Digital, or AC-3, is the common version containing up to six discrete channels of sound. The mp3 are only 2 channel stereo so it looks like I picked the wrong setting.

 

Where do you change the setting from Dolby Digital to PCM?