I don't know anywhere else to ask this.

Way back when, I had Windows Xp, VLC, and AC3filter. If a dvd had a 5.1 audio track, I could manipulate Ac3filter so that the center channel would be complely muted. The rear channels are where we have the music and some sound effects. This is how I was able to get the music for MTV's Spider-Man.

However, since the release of Windows 7, this set up no longer worked. I know there are people here who are getting complete score rips from dvds doing SOMETHING and I'd like to know how that it is.

I've got a few MKV files of television shows that have 5.1 sound. I downloaded ac3filter to try and see if updates from years ago had fixed the problem-- but no such luck. I also read you could open mkv's in audacity and remove the center channel that way-- but no luck there. So, I have a few questions.

1. Is there a way to get a 5.1 audio track from a dvd to somehow not play the center channel, in windows 7?
2. Is there a way to replicate that same effect with an MKV file?
3, Or, is there a program to open the audio of an MKV file in which I could simply delete the center channel?
Thank you.

I think you can figure out how to do it with the help of this:

eac3to/How to Use - Wikibooks, open books for an open world (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Eac3to/How_to_Use)

Doesn't work with mkv-files though but there are other programs that can extract the audiofile from those. What you want to do is extract the AC3-file and then convert it with EAC3TO, either to a multi-channel wav-file or a separate wav-file for each channel. In any case you will need an audio editing program capable of handling multi-channels to work with those wav-files.

Calidoran, this seems to be a command prompt program.
I have no idea how to use those. Is there a GUI version?

This may be out of my understanding.

EDIT: Found a GUI version and will experiment with it.

I have some links in my thread:

Thread 113650

on how to do this as well :) check the first post for them

Alright, I'll check it out.. looks very complicated. *gulp*

looks very complicated. *gulp*

It can be. Oh yeah, definitely.

deleted.

You can remove audio channels with Media Player Classic.

I use winavi.

Alright, I'll check it out.. looks very complicated. *gulp*

It will be. Give it about a week of reading and experimenting before getting excited.
Go in with no hopes as hopes leads to impatience and impatience leads to errors and errors leads to futility. You'll eventually end up quitting if you go down the Dark Path.
Forgo all hopes and wonders and just approach it from an objective view point rather than a subjective view point.

You can use the eac3to with a GUI to split the audio into separate WAV files then use Audacity to edit.
That's the best free option.

Editors that support multichannel:
Adobe Audition (Payware)
Sony Sound Forge (Payware)
Wavosaur (http://anonym.to/?http://www.wavosaur.com/) (Freeware)
WavePad (http://anonym.to/?http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/index.php) (ShareWare --- means you get to use some features for free but you must pay for more features (http://anonym.to/?https://secure.nch.com.au/cgi-bin/register.exe?software=wavepad))

Don't use anything like Sony Vegas to edit the audio tracks together. It's not ideal for pure audio processing.

You might like MAGIX Music Maker (http://anonym.to/?http://www.magix.com/us/music-maker/) (Payware), as a beginner.
Once you've played a lot with audio editing, you'll drop that in favor other programs for their abilities.

Programs that don't support multichannel editing:
Goldwave (http://anonym.to/?http://www.goldwave.ca/) (Payware)

Payware offer trials. Some trials offer full functionality of their software while others may limit the features available.
(Read the fine print.)

WARNING: When using eac3to and the ArcSoft decoder, make sure to check which version of the "dtsdecoderdll.dll" you are using!
Right-click on the file, go to properties, and check the version number and the "modification date".
Make sure the version is 1.1.0.0 and the modification date is "25 April 2008".
There's a buggy version dated April 21, 2008.
The bug has been fixed for the April 25 version.

Versions 1.1.0.0 and 1.1.0.8 have been thoroughly tested and verified to produce bit-exact results.
A new version recently this year has been released as 1.1.0.9 which has not been tested for accuracy.
Version 0 and 8 are good when 7.1 audio is seen as "Strange setup" (non-standard channel layout for DTS 7.1).
Other versions (2, 5, 7, etc) produce garbage.
But version 0 is bound to have much more success than version 8.
Why everyone has version 8, I don't know.

EDIT: Also a note on downmixing, a lot of software is designed to downmix properly from multichannel to stereo.
But make sure you are downmixing properly to stereo!

Some programs offer different ways to downmix.
All you will ever need is a simple downmix.
nothing fancy like Dolby Pro Logic or other crap.

DPL is designed primarily for movies since sound effects can easily utilize all surround sound channels.
Music is a huge gamble. You're not likely to get that much surround sound dynamics, even from a film rip.
Not all music is created with surround sound dynamics in mind.

Conglomerates like Hans Zimmer is steering towards a highly-mixed surround sound work setting.
It started with Sherlock Holmes (2009) when you were able to download the soundtrack in "surround sound" wav files when it was really just DPL encoded.
Then Inception had a bonus feature of select tracks mixed in 5.1 surround sound in DTS-HD Master Audio.
And now with Man of Steel, he's made a special DTS mixed soundtrack available to listen to a "11.1" headphone mix.
He's really gearing towards the future market of surround sound. But on a very limited market scale.
To listen to the 11.1 DTS mix at home, only a small audience of capable DTS surround sound receivers will be getting a small update that will install and allow decoding of this up-and-coming DTS mixing.

The Social Network (Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor) OST had a release in blu-ray.
Although, I sincerely doubt sales ever picked up enough for other soundtracks to follow suit.
Reznor should have remixed and re-released his NIN discography in blu-ray (DTS-HD MA 5.1/6.1/7.1) before gambling away on The Social Network OST. :notgood:

Sound Forge has presets that work well.
No idea about Audacity, I barely use it at all.
Audition is more complicated as you have to assign the tracks to each channel and do a lot of other junk. Eventually, you get there.

If you use eac3to, make sure to use "-downStereo" and nothing else.
The other presets allow Dolby Pro Logic downmixing. Not for music. :notgood:
Older versions (3.24 which is what every "All-in-One" package ships with) has "-down2" switch. :notgood: It's really just DPL.
eac3to author changed the names and downmixing options around for more clarity. :smrt:

Dude, use this! Incredibly easy! It's what I do!

How To Remove Vocals From Music Tracks Using Audacity (http://www.howtogeek.com/56335/how-to-remove-vocals-from-music-tracks-using-audacity/)

But it keeps things mono in the end.

But it keeps things mono in the end.

I know but it's really the only way.