Music for surround sound

[5614]

so, i just got some surround sound (5.1) speakers for my TV, it can play DVDs, CD-RW, MP3s and all stuff like that, which means i can write music files i make on the surround sound....

 

but how do i make a file on my computer that uses surround sound to its full effect?

 

like, how can i make a music file which will play in each of the 5 speakers seperately?

 

you know in cinemas with surround sound it sometimes does a sound 'shooting around you', each speaker one at a time flowing from one to the next, that sounds really cool, how can i make one of those?

 

once it's made i just burn it to a CD-RW and play it!

[ed84c]

how much did it cost?

 

Download Indiana Jones of Bearshare, it wil be the DVD version and therefore in 5.1

[5614]

it cost £200 (that's the 5.1 + 20" TV + DVD/CD-RW/MP3/radio + VCD all together - it was 2nd hand, 1 year old, still all great, a genuine buy)

 

i have DVDs which are surround sound too! i realised a few hours ago that any DVDs i may happen to have on my HDD i can burn to CD and watch their too.

 

but what i really wanna do is create an audio file which i can play which will use all 5 speakers (+ subwoofer) seperately!

[ed84c]

theyre selling them in Comet for £30 and Aldi had some for £20

 

http://www.kellyindustries.com/sounds.html

[Molotov]

I dont think you can get regular CD audio (.mp3/.wav/etc.) to separate into 5 channels because it was recorded for only 2 channel stereo. You can get it to play out of all 5 speakers but it wont be true 5.1. Now most DVDs on the otherhand were recorded and encoded to support using all 5 channels seperately.

[5614]

from ed84c's site, i've found:

 

http://www.kellyindustries.com/diy_5_1.html

How to Create a Dolby Digital Audio CDR

 

Step 1: Do a 5.1-surround mix using the your Digital Audio Workstation such as Nuendo' date=' Digital Performer, Sonic Foundry's ACID v4, SAW Studio[/b'], console or workstation of your choice. Record it discretely on 6-track as 6 separate WAV files in your computer.

 

Step 2: If the discrete audio tracks are on an ADAT or D98 etc.... You'll need to get them into your computer as separate wave files into your computer. I've done it using 16/44.1 files, and it should work at bit lengths and rates at up to 24-bit / 48 kHz but you will need to use the 44.1k Sample rate if you want to put it on a CDR.

 

Step 3: Open the files in Minnetonka's Surcode, Nuendo's Dolby Digital Encoder or other Dolby Digital Encoder and assign them to the proper channel (L, C, R, Ls, Rs, and LFE).

 

so you still need to make it and then save it in a special way... i shall try it soon, i'll tell you how it goes, but i might not be able to do it for a while, or a very long while.

[bloodhound]

like the previous post said, mp3's currently dont allow for surround sound. you will either have to install some upmixing software. ( i never had to as i dont have 5.1). but a quick google, i found this which could possibly be ur savior.

 

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=27803

 

also try http://www.doom9.org and see if they have any extra guides.

 

formats that currently support surround are. AAC, AC3 and DTS afaik

 

ur dvd player should be able to decode AC3 and DTS, I am sure it can AAC as well ( recommended)

[Dave]

mp3's are encoded with stereo, so they won't play 5.1. On my system at home, I have SPDIF out going straight into the back of my amp; my amp has support for Dolby Prologic II, so it automatically goes out surround sound. But then again, my amp cost about the same as your entire system :|

 

But yeah, there's plenty of links in that thread about software that will upmix automatically like prologic, so I wouldn't worry.

[The Rebel]

Thanks for the website. I've been meaning to try out creating music in 5.1 or above. I've got a couple of multitrackers but have never had the know how of accessing rear speakers for example, and direct a channel to that speaker. I think I'll check out these bits of software.

 

Does anyone know if my SPDIF output (alongside the standard stereo output) is appropriate for multichannel outputting via 5.1. speaker setups; or will I need a dedicated multi-channel sound card??