DVD-A to DTS-CD conversion
 

For those of you with a collection of DVD-As and/or DVD music, I found a way to convert our DVD-A's to DTS-CDs that should play in the TLX.

I just made a DTS-CD version of Porcupine Tree's In Absentia that sounds great on my OPPO BD player. I popped into my Accord and even though there is no center channel, the player played the disc and displayed the track info.

You do have to buy some software. It's far easier than some processes I've tried, there are a lot fewer steps and far less time consuming.

The software I used is:

DVD Audio Extractor
Nero Burning ROM 2015

I found the steps here with the only thing different is the verion of the Nero software this site shows : DVD-A to DTDS-CD CONVERSION

Once the image file is created from the DVD Extractor, just launch the NERO software, use the FILE > OPEN icon and point it to the image file you created.

Let me know if you have any questions.

This fits with my research and am planning to try this out soon to produce some DTS-CD's from music videos.

I just made a DTS version of Goodbye yellow Brick Road.. had to split it into 2 discs.. sort of like the original LP version from way back when.

It works well. I downloaded VLC Media free players to test playback on my PC.

I might carry a couple of discs with me to the dealer tomorrow or this weekend.. see if I can test drive an AWD

This was a good find. Thanks. I was hoping to get DVD-A in my new TLX, but we know it isn't there. This is a great workaround.

I finally got around to testing these programs with a DVD-A disk and a Bluray music video. The extract process does take quite a bit of time. The output appears to be a DTS-CD and plays in the car but not on the PC or my Bluray player as the sampling rate is 44.1 KHz rather than the 22.05 KHz of a normal CD.

However MediaInfo reports that it as 2-channel PCM file and NOT a 6-channel DTS file (like the source from the extract). Also tried burning the DTS-CD with ImgBurn (free) rather than Nero (paid), and it produces and identical disc with the same results.

Stew4HD: can you test your produced DTC-CD's with MediaInfo (MediaInfo) and see if they are 2-channel or 6-channel?

Incidentally, when using DVD Audio Extract the track names need to be manually entered other a generic name is used, i.e., Track 01

Depending on the disc, you can get the track info from the internet, some you have to enter manually.

I have an OPPO bluray player, which plays nearly every possible format.
It displays DTS-CD on the screen and sure sounds like its using all the channels.

I make sure and choose the 6-channel versions of the DVD-A since most have both 2 and 6

I grabbed a copy of MediaInfo and used it to test factory made DTS-CDs of Band on the Run and Toy Matinee. MediaInfo says it's 2-channel PCM. It seems MediaInfo doesn't decode that format either.

The sample video concert that I used came with a CD and Bluray disk. I could not tell the difference between the original CD and the produced DTS-CD, but am happy that I can convert other Bluray concerts that do no come with CD's, even if they are only 2-track.

Is the file created by Audio Extractor a DTSwav file?

I play the ones I created in home theater and can really tell the separation.

What bothered me about the MediaInfo program saying the ToyMatinee disc is 2 channel.

Quandry et al:

I finally got around to testing these programs with a DVD-A disk and a Bluray music video. The extract process does take quite a bit of time. The output appears to be a DTS-CD and plays in the car but not on the PC or my Bluray player as the sampling rate is 44.1 KHz rather than the 22.05 KHz of a normal CD.

All CD's are 44.1 kHz sampling frequency. None are 22.05 kHz.

DTS CD's look like 2-channel PCM unless you have a DTS decoder. Then the player reads the DTS flag and plays them back as multi-channel. The 2-channel PCM report is correct and normal.

JLawrence

DVD Audio Extractor produces two files, .dtswav and .cue. The .cue file is used by Nero ImgBurn to produce the DTS-CD. Maybe MediaInfo is not reporting correctly as I have found anything that suggests that the burning programs do any sort of audio conversion.

It would be interesting to see what is reported by MediaInfo on a store bought DTS-CD. Do you have one?

Yes, the titles I mentioned, Band on the Run and Toy Matinee are store bought DTS-CDs and MediaInfo thinks they are 2 channel PCM

Great, so they are likely 5.1 soundtrack and MediaInfo is reporting incorrectly.

With my limited sample so far it looks like the CD are not captured to the HDD as the option is missing from the Menu screen.

Do you mean that the TLX isn't capturing to the HDD? If that is what you mean, yes, that is correct. The HDD is doesn't decode/copy the DTS files into MPx (whatever format it uses). The ELS will only copy 2 channel CDs.

The 4G ELS is the same, will decode and play DTS-CDs as 5.1 content but not save to HDD. I kept a CD booklet in my 4G and will I the TLX.

I thought I read some where that only store bought CD's can be copied to HDD.

This prevents someone copying MP3s to CD to HDD.

Not true. Pop any store bought CD into the TLX and it will automatically try to copy it to the HDD (if equipped), Gracenotes will look for the metadata as well. We are allowed to copy our store bought CD, make MP3's etc, just don't share them. That is where the RIAA comes in and wants to fine you, if they can find you.

Reduced bit copies of DTS CD's don't work. They must be bit for bit exactly like the original. IMO, that's the reason they're not copied to the HDD.

JLawrence

Just wondering how the HDD system would know if it is an exact copy? Not all CDs are found by Gracenote and the HDD will still copy the CD with a title of unknown.

That's what I said, I thought. Am I missing something?

Only store bought CDs can be ripped to HD.

Store Bought = Original (Not home made)


I wish I could find the edit button.

Yes, sorry, you did say that.

My apologies

No problem my friend. :)

What's funny, to me at least, is that I went back and re-read your comment and then my response.. I must have been high! Sometimes, reading comprehension is lacking in me....

Incorrect. I just inserted 4 non commercial CD's, some tracks were not from a commercial CD and they were all ripped. Is this another difference with Canadian models?

No. This has nothing to do with the Canadian models. If you rip as a .wav file, the car will think it is a commercial CD and copy it.

The problem with DTS CD's is that our car copies to HDD at 128 kB/second or 192 kB/second. I don't know what format but it doesn't matter if it is MP3, AAC or something else. These are reduced bit lossy versions of the original .wav file. DTS CD's need to be lossless--exact copies. If they are, they will play perfectly in the TLX but won't copy to HDD as the resulting lossy version won't play.

JLawrence

Cool
 

Cool. I like that idea but it goes against what I read in the manual and what I was told. I did not verify but I accepted the idea because of copyright issues.:toocool:

I wasn't prepared to pay $60 for Nero and was able to successfully burn a DTSCD using ImgBurn which is a free download. Since I don't have the car yet I couldn't play it in the car but it played fine on my OPPO. One thing to be careful of with ImgBurn it seeks to install a lot of additional software and you need to decline it all. Be careful it uses different methods to get permission to download these files.

Thanks for the update and, if you could, please post any tips or tricks for using that software.

It is pretty straightforward. You click in the icon for image to disc and pick a write speed. I have had some problems if I pick too fast a speed. You also have the option to verify the image on the CD at the end. This takes some time and would probably alert you to a mismatch from the original image and the image on disc. However, I just skip it. It will warn you if the image is too large for the disc.

I have run into problems using DVD Audio Extractor on Blue Ray discs. It appears that the problem is with the encryption software. You can download the free version of DVDFab to get around this option. This is another free program that may infect your computer with unwanted software and highjack your browser search functions. You need to have it active when you load the disc and the disc will copy without encryption. So far the free version has worked for me because none of my discs appear to be encrypted with BD + encryption. However, when you use this it appears to defeat the warning on DVD Audio Encryption warning you that you have created an image that is too large to place on a CD-R. I just total the minutes and once I hit 70 minutes I assume that I may not be able to get more on the disc.

I also find that DVD Audio Extractor never seems to have the metadata for my Blue-rays. This may be tied to the use of DVDFab.

So far I have been happy with the results. I won't get my TLX until the end of November. However, I took a copy of Rumours I made to the dealer and it sounded great in the car.

DVD Audio Extractor Support has just advised me that the estimated size information is only available for DVDA and DVD Video discs but is not currently available for Blu-ray discs. I suspect that the same is true for the metadata.

I have run into trouble with a few discs using audio extractor. In particular, the DVD Audio of the Beatles Love album (for the Cirque de Soleil show) extracts only 2 channels. I have tried using the automatic setting and browsing the audio and video folders. I still only get two channel. Now the Blueray player in my computer does not play DVD Audio and I am wondering if this is the trouble. However, for each of these tracks Audio Extractor shows 6 channel sound. Anyone know what is going on or what I am doing incorrectly?

Can you be more specific. How do you know that it is only extracting 2 channels? What did you use to determine that, and is this different from my post https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-b.../#post15188552 above?

The only DVD-A I have had trouble with was ELP's Brain Salad Surgery. The Extractor does not see a 6-Channel source.



Smoore, something is wrong with the disc if the DB player won't play that disc and it does play other DVD-As. Cuold it be a region restriction?

I am using an Oppo player and it plays the DVD audio disc in 6 channels. However the burned disc when played in the Oppo is a CCDA and plays in stereo. Other DVD audio discs when burned show up on the Oppo as DTSCD discs and the Oppo shows them as playing in six channels. I have two other discs that do the same thing. One is Alicia Keys. Songs in A Minor.

So You audio techies are losing me a little. Here's my question…If I convert a DVD-A to a DTS-CD to play in my TLX, will the sound quality be superior to the same CD i could purchase?

Not necessarily higher quality because the bitrate should be about the same, but the DTS-CD utilizes the surround sound system of the ELS by sending separate signals to the front-left, center, front-right, rear-right, rear-left and subwoofer.

Turns out the problem was with my computer. I have had a number of problems lately and returned it to is original factory settings. It now extracts 6 channels from DVDAs and creates DTSCDs from them.

That is good to hear. have you played any in your car yet?

Yes I have. They sound very good. What an improvement over my G37. My favourites are the DTSCDs I made from the Bluray disc of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert. There are great tracks from U2 with Fergie and Mick Jagger and from Simon and Garfunkel to mention just a few.

I have not converted a bluray yet. I have a few that I want to do convert. Thanks for letting me know that it works well