MKV with both DD5.1 and DTS in the Container

[PeteS457]

I have a Windows Media Center in my main media room and an Xbox 360 extender in a second media room I also use quite a bit. I used to rip all my movies for years and convert them to WTV and retain the DD5.1 track. If the movie contained a DTS track, I'd use Popcorn and convert it to DD5.1. With the final media file being a WTV with DD5.1, it was able to play on my main media system and on the extender system with full playback control and 6 channel audio.

However, after a few years of this arduous task, I stopped using the limted WTV format and used the MKV container. And the past year or so, I've kept the DTS audio in the container as that is the audio format that sounds better (to me) in my main media room. However, when I play the MKV with DTS on my Xbox 360 extender, it is downgraded to 2-channel stereo as the Xbox 360 does not support DTS. I've always known due to the flexibility of the MKV container that I could store as many video and audio formats as I wanted in the container. So I was thinking that I could store my H.264 video and two audio tracks - DTS and DD5.1 - in the container. That way, it is at least conceivable that I can play a movie MKV on my main media system and it use the DTS audio (preferred) and somehow get the Xbox 360 extender to play the supported DD5.1 secondary track in the second media room. This way, I at least get 6-channel sound in both media rooms with the preferred DTS being played in my main media room.

The problem was I could never figure out how to automate this without changing settings every time I wanted to play a movie. If I define the DTS track as the default track, it plays DTS in my main media room, but that will also be the track the Xbox 360 defaults to and it will play 2-channel audio. And of course if I define the DD5.1 track as the default audio track, then it will play DD5.1 in both media rooms and the DTS track is worthless. I don't know if something like this can be configured in the Shark007 (or LAV) settings so that WMC automatically plays the DTS track in my main media room and the extender plays the secondary DD5.1 track in the second media room. Does anyone have an answer for this?

Just FYI, this is a continuation of a thread I started recently in the Ceton Echo forum asking about Ceton's promised but not-delivered support for DTS on their Echo extender. That would solve my problem.

http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... =69&t=7693

Thanks for any help with this issue.

[Shark007]

Since the 360 does not support multiple audio tracks it will always use the 1st track encountered. If you set the AC3 track as default (for the extender to use), when playing the same file in Media Center, you could rightclick the LAV Splitter systray icon during playback to switch to the DTS audio track. Not quite automatic but at least a viable solution.

[PeteS457]

Thanks for responding Shark007. Yeah, I know that's an option, but no, that's not what I'm aiming for. Trying to get a solution that is totally automatic where family and friends can use it with a remote and get the best quality playback - if it's possible. It is interesting what you said about the 360 that it does not support multiple audio tracks and just takes the first track encountered. If that's the case, can't I make an MKV where audio track #1 is DD5.1 and audio track #2 is DTS - but I set the default track as #2? Seems like I tried that before and it didn't work. I'm guessing the MKV file gets split by Haali (or whatever) on the PC and it will always send the same track to play on the 360 as it does on the PC according to the defaults. I'm guessing there's no way around this unless there's an extender that supports DTS - which it appears that that will never happen. I may be back to converting all my DTS movies to DD5.1. Ugghh.

[Shark007]

It is interesting what you said about the 360 that it does not support multiple audio tracks and just takes the first track encountered. If that's the case,

Wy words were misleading and that is not the case.

I'm guessing the MKV file gets split by Haali (or whatever) on the PC and it will always send the same track to play on the 360 as it does on the PC according to the defaults.

It is being split by LAV for PC playback and it is being split by the DivX.com Media Foundation splitter for 360 playback.

I'm guessing there's no way around this unless there's an extender that supports DTS - which it appears that that will never happen. I may be back to converting all my DTS movies to DD5.1. Ugghh.

This statement is correct and is your proper solution.

[PeteS457]

So neither of these splitters has a "Preferred Audio" setting like they have a "Preferred Languages" setting? I know that with Haali (and I'm guessing with LAV) that you can set the order of the languages if they are available, e.g., "eng, fre, ger". I'm sure you know these splitters well if you're the Shark007 of codec fame.

[Shark007]

So neither of these splitters has a "Preferred Audio" setting like they have a "Preferred Languages" setting? I know that with Haali (and I'm guessing with LAV) that you can set the order of the languages if they are available, e.g., "eng, fre, ger".

all of these settings refer to the Language of the stream (and then only if the stream is properly tagged to begin with) and not the type of stream such as dts over dd.

I'm sure you know these splitters well if you're the Shark007 of codec fame.

That is me.