What is the best way to divide AC3 audio into the 5 or 6 tracks?
Mac OS X (10.6.8), MacPro Early 2008 10GB
If you have a stereo AC3 file, there's no way to do that. If you need the split tracks, you need to have them delivered to you split.
Actually, Audacity will do it, stereo or 5.1. The problem is that it doesn't identify the channels, which is a nuisance.
OH, a surround mix. Gotcha. Sorry, no clue.
Are you preparing a 5:1 mix for use in a dvd? Compressor will take the 5 individual tracks and create the appropriate file, if that's what you're asking.
Perhaps it might help if you describe what your sources are and what your end use is and how you plan to mix them.
No, the other way round. As I said, I want to take an AC3 file and reconstruct the original 6 tracks.
I made a DVD some time ago and have been asked to modify it. For this I will have to edit the soundtrack as well, so I need the unmixed tracks
I'm just too lazy to do it the hard way
what's the hard way? getting the original stems? ac3 files are heavily compressed and decompressing them (which will be necessary to edit them) and recompressing them will give you a serious quality hit. Have you tried dropping the ac3 file into compressor and seeing if it can convert the individual tracks to 16bit 48ik aiffs without compression. If it doesn't do some googling to see if there are any programs that will do it, unless you're too lazy to do that.
The hard way:
1) Importing in Audacity - does a good job. The problem is finding out which channel is which L-R and Ls-Rs.
2) Opening with Quicktime (7 and Pro), disabling every channel except one and exporting this one mono. Repeat 6 times.
3) Importing it into FCP - problem see 1, also not always synchrone.
Compressor can make an AC3 file but cannot digest one as input - even though it accepts it.
Googling didn't help - there are limits even to my lazyness đ
AC3 to individual tracks
