Ffdshow audio + ac3 filter settings for 5.1 spdif (2 Viewers)

[kiwijunglist]

EDIT: I RECOMMEND YOU NO LONGER USE MY GUIDE, AS THE LATEST VERSION OF SAF HANDLES EVERYTHING CORRECTLY, AND REQUIRES VERY LITTLE USER INPUT


These are the settings i use with SAF for audio
I have a 5.1 speakers + receiver connected via SPDIF cable (7.1 setup would also work)
If you have a different setup then these settings arn't for you

I use FFDSHOW audio for AAC because it can handle multichannel aac
Monogram aac decoder doesn't do multichannel over SPDIF properly
Most receivers can't decode multichannel AAC therefore you can't pass multichannel AAC directly to the receiver, you must re-encode it is AC3, this is what ffdshow does.
Also the speaker order in 6 channel AAC is different to the speaker order in other 5.1 formats, so you need a codec that correctly maps the speaker order, ffdshow audio does this correctly, other codecs may output the center channel into the front right speaker etc...

I like to use ac3filter for AC3/DTS because it fixes some stuttering in some video files eg. WALL-E HD RIP
Also with some of my rips eg. resident evil - extinction, if the default dts decoder (MPC MPA Audio) passes the dts signal i get lots of crackle, so using ac3filter fixes that also.

I don't think you should enable the mixer in ffdshow audio, because you don't want to upmix stereo to 5.1 because it sounds wrong. I havn't got any 7.1 audio material, so there is no need to downmix from 7.1 to 5.1. If you had a lot of 7.1 audio and only had a 5.1 setup then these settings would not be right for you.

AFTER CHANGING THESE SETTINGS, YOU WILL NEED TO REBOOT THE COMPUTER FOR THE CHANGES TO TAKE EFFECT

EDIT: If you have a 6 channel AAC .mp4 file and you don't get 5.1 sound, try renaming from .mp4 to .mkv

__________________________________________________________________

Mediaportal settings

EDIT: Apparently you should tick the box for 5.1 audio for WMV, I don't have any 5.1 audio to test, but another user has suggested this option must be ticked for 5.1 WMV rips.

__________________________________________________________________

AC3FILTER SETTINGS

__________________________________________________________________

FFDSHOW AUDIO SETTINGS

EDIT: You should also choose - "Only allow one instance of ffdshow audio, check all previous filters"

__________________________________________________________________

Graphs for various media

6 Channel AAC Audio -> Re-encoded into AC3

AC3 sound passthrough

DTS passthrough

MPEG audio movie

__________________________________________________________________


The only problem with this setup is sometimes i get multiple instances of ffdshow audio left in the system tray.

 

[hoborg]

The only problem with this setup is sometimes i get multiple instances of ffdshow audio left in the system tray.

Here is reason

 

[kiwijunglist]

yup i know, haali can also cause that problem within WMP/MPCHC so not just unique to mediaportal.
it only sometimes happens tho which is good.

 

[hoborg]

yup i know, haali can also cause that problem within WMP/MPCHC so not just unique to mediaportal.
it only sometimes happens tho which is good.

That is not problem of Haali but MPC video decoder is causing crash in MP graph cleaning process. So all remained filters remain in graph (like AC3, FFD show audio, DirectVobSub, Haali, etc...)

 

[kkendall]

Great!! Thanks a lot for all your screenshots!

Yesterday I installed SAF for the first time like Hoborg describes in his first post of SAF 4 BETA...but now the audio for TV (HD and SD), Recorded TV and MKV is gone, both AC3 and MPEG and the playback freezes.
In Graphstudio you can see the video connects nicely to the Cyberlink codec, but the audio isn't connected to anything. I can see the ffdshow audio decoder in the graph, but nothing is connected to it.
I have ffdshow audio decoder selected as MPEG, AC3 and AAC decoder.
What should I change to get MP to connect to ffdshow audio decoder?
Is SPDif passthrough of DTS and DD supported by SAF?

kiwijunglist
I'm using the ffdshow version provided by Hoborgs unlocked SAF version but it looks different compared to your version in the screenshots. What ffdshow do you use? If you use AC3Filter as postprocessor in MP and AC3 and DTS are disabled in FFDShow, do you get good results for SPDif passthrough? And what about other audioformats in videofiles that want to use ffdshow audio decoder, do they get double codec treatment (go through both AC3Filter AND ffdshow)?

 

[edterbak]

Hi kiwijunglist,

THank you for this setup. It works for me.
Only remark I have to place with it is that I do need "WMV playback (internal player)" ticked. See the first screenshot. Otherwise Batman - Dark Knight (WMV) doesnt playback 5.1 sound.

For the rest, I think I do notice a better playback of the HQ video because of this setup. (might be subjective..) Thank you!

 

[kiwijunglist]

I have ffdshow audio decoder selected as MPEG, AC3 and AAC decoder.
- Where is this setting, not sure what you mean here?

What should I change to get MP to connect to ffdshow audio decoder?
- if ffdshow is setup in MP config: video settings it should load for audio, see MP settings, first pic

Is SPDif passthrough of DTS and DD supported by SAF?
- Hoborg doesn't use SPDIF, but ffdshow supports SPDIF passthrough for DTS and AC3, see ffdshow settings, 2nd pic

I'm using the ffdshow version provided by Hoborgs unlocked SAF version but it looks different compared to your version in the screenshots. What ffdshow do you use?
- I use this version ffdshow tryouts | Official Website
- FFdshow tryouts beta 6 is the latest stable version, and most people recommend this version

If you use AC3Filter as postprocessor in MP and AC3 and DTS are disabled in FFDShow, do you get good results for SPDif passthrough?
- Yes i get best results when using ac3filter for passthrough, that is why i disabled it in ffdshow, and use ac3filter for post processing, but i disable spdif input in ac3filter so it only inputs what ffdshow doesn't decode

And what about other audioformats in videofiles that want to use ffdshow audio decoder, do they get double codec treatment (go through both AC3Filter AND ffdshow)?
- With my settings it doesn't use both decoders at the same time, only one or the other (see the graphs)...However my old setup i used to double decode, and it will still work if it goes audio -> ffdshow -> ac3filter -> sound device, that will still work fine. Double decoding with ffdshow and ac3filter will still work and some people use this method.

Hi kiwijunglist,

THank you for this setup. It works for me.
Only remark I have to place with it is that I do need "WMV playback (internal player)" ticked. See the first screenshot. Otherwise Batman - Dark Knight (WMV) doesnt playback 5.1 sound.

For the rest, I think I do notice a better playback of the HQ video because of this setup. (might be subjective..) Thank you!

I don't think i have any 5.1 wmv rips to try, i will add this to my guide! thanks.

 

[kkendall]

I have ffdshow audio decoder selected as MPEG, AC3 and AAC decoder.
- Where is this setting, not sure what you mean here?
==In MediaPortal setup you can select ffdshow audio decoder for both AAC and MPEG/AC3 (your first screenshot)

What should I change to get MP to connect to ffdshow audio decoder?
- if ffdshow is setup in MP config: video settings it should load for audio, see MP settings, first pic
==I've installed SAF and it works! No SPDIF passthrough yet though...

Is SPDif passthrough of DTS and DD supported by SAF?
- Hoborg doesn't use SPDIF, but ffdshow supports SPDIF passthrough for DTS and AC3, see ffdshow settings, 2nd pic
No SPDIF? wow, I thought at least devs that develop for audio/video decoding would love a good sound setup

I'm using the ffdshow version provided by Hoborgs unlocked SAF version but it looks different compared to your version in the screenshots. What ffdshow do you use?
- I use this version ffdshow tryouts | Official Website
- FFdshow tryouts beta 6 is the latest stable version, and most people recommend this version
== Ah, great! thanks, I'll try it out. Any idea why Hoborg doesn't use the latest version?

If you use AC3Filter as postprocessor in MP and AC3 and DTS are disabled in FFDShow, do you get good results for SPDif passthrough?
- Yes i get best results when using ac3filter for passthrough, that is why i disabled it in ffdshow, and use ac3filter for post processing, but i disable spdif input in ac3filter so it only inputs what ffdshow doesn't decode
== Hmm, maybe I have to change some settings, because I still don't have SPDIF passthrough, it gets converted to normal PCM stereo. I also get double decoding in some instances in my setup. I'll have a look at it again with your tips.

And what about other audioformats in videofiles that want to use ffdshow audio decoder, do they get double codec treatment (go through both AC3Filter AND ffdshow)?
- With my settings it doesn't use both decoders at the same time, only one or the other (see the graphs)...However my old setup i used to double decode, and it will still work if it goes audio -> ffdshow -> ac3filter -> sound device, that will still work fine. Double decoding with ffdshow and ac3filter will still work and some people use this method.
== I do get double decoding, I'll have to look intoo that again when I get home.

Tnx alot for all your answers!

 

[dakota_ii]

kiwijunglist,

thanks a lot for this "how-to" !!

Finally I got all videos, DVDs, DivXs, *.ts and *.flv files running.

Marcus

 

[kkendall]

Here is something I don§t understand when looking at your system tab screenshot of AC3 Filter. On tab 'System' of the AC3filter configuration, you say "We don't want ac3filter to load when ffdshow audio is active, therefore SPDIF is unticked".
This implies that if you want to use SPDIF over AC3Filter, you have to untick SPDIF at 'Use AC3Filter for' in AC3filter config. Thats a bit contradictory...
You also have LPCM in both AC3filter config (ticked on 'System' tab)and ffdshow config enabled(libmad codec), why is that?
I generally don't understand the first part of the 'System' tab of AC#filter config anyway. Why can you tick both AC3/DTS AND SPDIF? AC3 and DTS have to USE SPDIF right? Why can it here both be chosen?
And what kind of audio is 'DVD'?
Hope someone can explain this to me better because I'm a bit lost here