VSPx8 doesn't recognize 5.1 (6 channel) audio ? [Solved]

[TroyTheTech]

I have started to play with 5.1 audio and importing it into VSPx8 Ultimate, and while it is recognized as 5.1 (see screenshot), it does not allow anything other than Stereo in the Sound Mixer.

I watched a tutorial at the Corel site (lots of great stuff there) and it says to "simply click on enable Surround" but I do not have that option in any pull-down menus.
http://learn.corel.com/tutorials/playin ... f65f3-67ae

They talk about it at about 1:40 in their tutorial


Just wondering what I may be missing here... Thanks!

[Ken Berry]

I can't help you with 5.1 surround sound, but I would simply note that that tutorial is based on VS X4 which came out around 5 years ago. So that Enable Surround Sound command in Settings has obviously disappeared. I don't have it either on X9, X8 or X7. However, I have just checked on an older computer where I also have X6 and it *is* in that version, and presumably also X5 as well as the tutorial's X4. I have no idea why Corel dropped it...

[lata]

Hi

Go to Project Properties and set to use 5.1 surround sound, and the Sound Mixer should show that option

[Ken Berry]

I looked at that before I wrote my response above. But I confess I have never understood the difference -- if there is any! -- between the 3/2 audio offering under Project Properties and 5.1 audio. And since I have never produced anything with either format, I have never bothered to find out more -- which is why I told Troy I could not help with the 5.1 aspect of his question...

[TroyTheTech]

Thank you for your helpful replies! I did not know that Tutorial was for such an old version - thanks for letting me know...

I had tried to go change it before, in the Project Properties, but I was unable to change the audio there... for some reason it was greyed out (locked):

But I went back thinking "yah, shouldn't DVD or AVCHD have it in there??" and sure enough, it was available, in the "Compression" tab, in the "Audio Settings" area, under "Audio Type". Here it is (the 3/2 pull-down option..."3 sets of 2 speakers"?) in a new Profile that I created (everything was set to Stereo in all Profiles initially):

In DVD, the "Audio Format" has to be changed to Dolby Digital first.

So you were both sort of correct, it was in there somewhere; but a user has to select different Project Format first at the top (it was initially using "Online" and I had to change it to "AVCHD"; but it is also available in DVD, Blu-ray, etc). I also agree that it would have been nice for them to not take out the much-simpler 'Enable Surround' option - but perhaps this way a user has more control over the settings? Not sure what their thinking was here...

Got it working though - thanks to you both!

[lata]

Hi

I assume your video file uses Digital Dolby 5.1 aka 3/2

If you tick Show Messages from Preferences.
Start a new project and add your video to the top track, you should get a message to set project properties.
That would set DD 5.1 and Sound Mixer should now work with Surround Sound.

Your first image shows using Mpeg4 which does not use Digital Dolby let alone Surround Sound, so not able to set 5.1

[TroyTheTech]

Hi

I assume your video file uses Digital Dolby 5.1 aka 3/2

If you tick Show Messages from Preferences.
Start a new project and add your video to the top track, you should get a message to set project properties.
That would set DD 5.1 and Sound Mixer should now work with Surround Sound.

Your first image shows using Mpeg4 which does not use Digital Dolby let alone Surround Sound, so not able to set 5.1

Thank you for your input. Yes, the file was 6-channel (3 pairs/stereo) PCM Audio (L.E.) with H.264/AVC MPEG-4 Part 10 Video in an AVI container (output from a Bandicam game recording).

The MPEG-4 container supports 5.1 audio (it's just a container, Handbrake can output such a combination, for example):
http://www.gigoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2-Audio.jpg

But it was more that VSPro was falling back to the "Online" Project Format, which was limiting the output to Stereo (showing MPEG-4 as you state, yes). I assumed that VSPro didn't support 5.1 AAC-LC (or 5.1 AC3) in an MP4 container and couldn't figure out how to switch things around... In the end, it appears that not only does the Profile have to be changed, but also the Project Format, as well (first, which I was missing) - which opened up the "DVD" and "AVCHD" (both with Surround support) which I knew had to be in there somewhere

Thanks for the reminder about 'Showing Messages' as well!