Surround Sound Encoders

[Seancom]

I just got my first 5.1 surround mixing job on an animated video and was wondering if someone can recommend a software based encoder or is hardware the best way to go? What are y'all using to encode your jobs?

Thanks!

[Veit Kenner]

I just got my first 5.1 surround mixing job on an animated video and was wondering if someone can recommend a software based encoder or is hardware the best way to go? What are y'all using to encode your jobs?

Eric,
it seems Minnetonka (http://www.minnetonkaaudio.com) and Sonic (http://www.sonic.com/) are reputable producers of various encoders. Also Sony Vegas is able to encode to AC3 format.

I haven't done much more than tryouts with surround sound, so I can't help with quality and real world experiences.

Veit

[Sean McCoy]

I got Vegas & DVD Architect specifically for that, and have been very happy with both the encoding and authoring. It's a breeze to bring your finished Studio surround files into Vegas and check them against video there before encoding. Vegas is also a handy tool to have around for dealing with multiple video formats. DVDA2 is supposed to be a great improvement over DVD1, although I haven't upgraded yet.

[Mountain Media]

I got Vegas & DVD Architect specifically for that, and have been very happy with both the encoding and authoring. It's a breeze to bring your finished Studio surround files into Vegas and check them against video there before encoding. Vegas is also a handy tool to have around for dealing with multiple video formats. DVDA2 is supposed to be a great improvement over DVD1, although I haven't upgraded yet.

Yeah, it's really neat to do audio development (Surround or otherwise) in SS, using Video Track to 'make it all work' then move video and audio to Vegas to add transitions to video, validate all works, and then burn DVD using DVD Architect!!

DVD Arch. V2 IS improved over DVD Arch. V1, and Vegas 5 is REALLY an improvement over V4.x.

BET SAW VIDEO WORKSHOP WILL BLOW VEGAS AWAY, THOUGH!!!!!!!