Any affordable Pro Logic or DTS encoders out there?

by **audios** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:50 am

MIDI Life Crisis wrote: I one gave complete stems (actually my DP files, which I will NEVER do again!) to an Emmy nominated editor. There was a composite sound effect (I did SFX on that picture as well) and he took the sound apart in the surround mix and placed the three composite elements of the effect across the surround field. It sounded cool, but totally destroyed the effect. In the end I had to completely re-do the the surround mix.

Quoting MIDI here and I hope he jumps in on this thread.

I'm looking for a plug/stand alone 5.1 DTS or Pro Logic II encoder that isn't $4000. Most of the films i do are for straight DVD release or download and not theatrical so I don't need Dolby E or some Hi-End system to encode 5.1 stems for authoring DVD's. I looked at SurCode for $800-1000 and its nice but still expensive. I have A.Pack from Apple when i loaded FCP 4.5 on my MAC and it's OK but no Pro Logic encoding. Plus I can't update A.Pack unless i get a completely new version of FCP suite. NOT. Also, most often (especially theatrical releases) my 5.1 stems are going out "un-encoded" and done in a mixing theater somewhere other than my humble room. But i do need to send an encoded file for reference to the producer now and then so they can hear placement and spotting markers according to the work print.

So any info or links anyone has for encoding software, please forward...

by **martian** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:16 am

i have a circle surround encoder - srs labs - it's great - can encode up to 5.1 into stereo and the 4.2.4 is also readable by prologic devices - ie dolby compatible...

they were doing plug ins for a while - not sure now..

a matrix encoder AU sounds ideal for me too!

by **audios** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 6:09 am

martian wrote:i have a circle surround encoder - srs labs - it's great - can encode up to 5.1 into stereo and the 4.2.4 is also readable by prologic devices - ie dolby compatible...

they were doing plug ins for a while - not sure now..

a matrix encoder AU sounds ideal for me too!

SRS doesn't make the plugs any longer and B&H Photo shows the item as "discontinued". So the search goes on.

Not familiar with the AU matrix encoder. Is it a VST plug or outboard hardware? And is it a 5.1 encoder for surround???

Thanks for your input. Appreciated highly.

by **Killahurts** » Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:15 pm

audios wrote:Also, most often (especially theatrical releases) my 5.1 stems are going out "un-encoded" and done in a mixing theater somewhere other than my humble room. But i do need to send an encoded file for reference to the producer now and then so they can hear placement and spotting markers according to the work print.

Here's what I use:

http://www.dts.com/Professionals/Pro-Au ... Suite.aspx

It's a DTS encoder for $250. They have a Master Audio Suite that is much more expensive, but I do fine with this one. If you have your stems ready to go, it doesn't get much easier than this. You are limited to (up to) 48k sample rate though.

I think (standard definition) DTS sounds way better than Dolby AC3. This solution might be cost effective for you, especially if it's mainly for producer refs.

by **Killahurts** » Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:22 pm

Killahurts wrote:You are limited to (up to) 48k sample rate though.

Apparently not any more, you can now have 44.1, 88.2, 48, and 96k, so it would seem.

by **audios** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:53 am

Killahurts wrote:Here's what I use:

http://www.dts.com/Professionals/Pro-Au ... Suite.aspx

It's a DTS encoder for $250. They have a Master Audio Suite that is much more expensive, but I do fine with this one. If you have your stems ready to go, it doesn't get much easier than this. You are limited to (up to) 48k sample rate though.

I think (standard definition) DTS sounds way better than Dolby AC3. This solution might be cost effective for you, especially if it's mainly for producer refs.

I did look at this system while researching different software. And, yes, for the $$$ it does exactly what i need it to do. Bummer is this(in bold);

SAS V2.0:
OS X 10.4 or higher (Mac Intel only)
o Intel Core 2 Duo recommended, running at 2.2GHz or higher
o 2 GB RAM; 4 GB RAM recommended, a USB port for dongle
o 32-bit Java supported
o External 7200 RPM FireWire drive for DTS-HD StreamPlayer™ playback recommended,
separate drives for audio and video would be best. Video interface should be able to show
QuickTime video at desired size and frame rate.

I'm running a G5-PPC with 10.4.11. I did write them an email to ask about previous release versions that would be compatible, and they said they no longer support PPC/MAC's.

So the search goes on. Thanks for the input, appreciated.