So, I'm doing conversions from my DVDs and Blu-rays to .m4v x264 files. I'm using Plex for managing my video library, and my primary display client is a Roku box. I'm using AnyDVD-HD + Handbrake to do my conversions.
I've got a few questions about audio. The Roku is only capable of sending 5.1 audio out if it's in Dolby AC3 format. It's also capable of directly handling AAC, but only 2-channel formats.
When I set up the audio tracks to be put into the video files, I am planning to put in one 5.1 AC3 track and one 2-channel AAC track, but I've got some questions about the encoding options;
1. I can select multiple bitrates and sampling rates for the ffmpeg encoding of the 5.1 AC3. Almost all audio tracks for AC3 seem to be 48khz, and the handbrake guide says that AC3 bitrate is normally 448 kb/s. If I drop the sample rate to 44.1 and/or the bitrate to 384, am I setting myself up for compatibility issues where devices may not like those rates down the road?
2. On the AAC side, a Roku can only manage 2-channel output from an AAC stream, despite the fact that there are modern 6-channel discrete variants of AAC. The AAC encoding options include Dolby Prologic II, amongst others. I was under the impression that Prologic II was purely a post-processing effect which could upconvert 2-channels to 5.1 algorithmically. The handbrake guide really doesn't explain what it means to choose this over a stereo encoding- can anyone explain to me what the effect of choosing Prologic II encoding would be?
Thanks
Ikarius
I've got a few questions about audio. The Roku is only capable of sending 5.1 audio out if it's in Dolby AC3 format. It's also capable of directly handling AAC, but only 2-channel formats.
When I set up the audio tracks to be put into the video files, I am planning to put in one 5.1 AC3 track and one 2-channel AAC track, but I've got some questions about the encoding options;
1. I can select multiple bitrates and sampling rates for the ffmpeg encoding of the 5.1 AC3. Almost all audio tracks for AC3 seem to be 48khz, and the handbrake guide says that AC3 bitrate is normally 448 kb/s. If I drop the sample rate to 44.1 and/or the bitrate to 384, am I setting myself up for compatibility issues where devices may not like those rates down the road?
2. On the AAC side, a Roku can only manage 2-channel output from an AAC stream, despite the fact that there are modern 6-channel discrete variants of AAC. The AAC encoding options include Dolby Prologic II, amongst others. I was under the impression that Prologic II was purely a post-processing effect which could upconvert 2-channels to 5.1 algorithmically. The handbrake guide really doesn't explain what it means to choose this over a stereo encoding- can anyone explain to me what the effect of choosing Prologic II encoding would be?
Thanks
Ikarius