Surround downmix considerations at DVinfo.net

Emre Safak · September 2nd, 2006, 01:54 PM

What do you do to ensure that your stereo downmixes are intelligible? I did not make a separate stereo mix on a recent project, opting instead to let the viewers' hardware take care of it, and I regretted it. Is it possible to get quality stereo sound simply by properly setting the metadata while encoding the surround mix, or must one make a separate stereo mix?

For reference, this is what Dolby says. I want to know what works for you.

Douglas Spotted Eagle · September 2nd, 2006, 02:12 PM

We do a separate mix in *most* cases.
We do a fair number of industrials, so we leave those to collapse at the playback device since there is little in the rear channels outside of machine and forklift noise.
Outside of those, we generally do a separate mix option for the DVD.

September 2nd, 2006, 01:54 PM	#1
Emre Safak Trustee Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brookline, MA Posts: 1,447	Surround downmix considerations What do you do to ensure that your stereo downmixes are intelligible? I did not make a separate stereo mix on a recent project, opting instead to let the viewers' hardware take care of it, and I regretted it. Is it possible to get quality stereo sound simply by properly setting the metadata while encoding the surround mix, or must one make a separate stereo mix? For reference, this is what Dolby says. I want to know what works for you.

September 2nd, 2006, 02:12 PM	#2
Douglas Spotted Eagle VASST Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Stockton, UT Posts: 5,648	We do a separate mix in most cases. We do a fair number of industrials, so we leave those to collapse at the playback device since there is little in the rear channels outside of machine and forklift noise. Outside of those, we generally do a separate mix option for the DVD. __________________ Douglas Spotted Eagle/Spot Author, producer, composer Certified Sony Vegas Trainer http://www.vasst.com