[lapino]

I ripped a DVD yesterday using handbrake (mkv container, aac audio 6 channel). Other 6 channel divx/mkv files I have for my HTPC play fine, but this one seem to play only in 2 channel mode. Any idea why? This is the mediainfo data:

General
Complete name : H:\The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.mkv
Format : Matroska
File size : 1.14 GiB
Duration : 2h 17mn
Overall bit rate : 1 193 Kbps
Writing application : HandBrake svn3574
Writing library : libmkv 0.6.4.1

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : [email protected]
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Muxing mode : Container [email protected]
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 2h 17mn
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 304 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.35:1
Frame rate mode : Variable
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Resolution : 8 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Progressive
Writing library : x264 core 105 r1724 b02df7b
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=6 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=20.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Color primaries : BT.601-6 525, BT.1358 525, BT.1700 NTSC, SMPTE 170M
Transfer characteristics : BT.709-5, BT.1361
Matrix coefficients : BT.601-6 525, BT.1358 525, BT.1700 NTSC, SMPTE 170M

Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format version : Version 4
Format profile : LC
Format settings, SBR : No
Codec ID : A_AAC
Duration : 2h 17mn
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Language : Dutch

Audio #2
ID : 3
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format version : Version 4
Format profile : LC
Format settings, SBR : No
Codec ID : A_AAC
Duration : 2h 17mn
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Language : English

[spiff]

because it's aac? you get what you deserve. 6 channel aac = pure stupid.

[lapino]

I'm not exactly an expert so what settings should I use then to rip my DVDs to a working 5.1 channel .mkv file?

[spiff]

keep the ac-3 audio intact. that's what your receiver supports. if you use aac, what happens is that you decode the ac-3, encode to aac in handbrake. xbmc then decodes the aac, and re-encodes to ac3. it's simply a quality losing roundtrip.

[lapino]

Yeah well, problem is, when I chose AC3 passthrough, the resulting file is a .mkv file with an AC3 track that has 0 channels. I'm using the latest version of Handbrake. Any help on this??

[spiff]

sorry, never used handbrake.

[prae5]

Yeah well, problem is, when I chose AC3 passthrough, the resulting file is a .mkv file with an AC3 track that has 0 channels. I'm using the latest version of Handbrake. Any help on this??

I use handbrake on my mac and have no issues at all using ac3 and dts passthrough. Suggest you check your encoding settings - if your still having issues raise it on their forum.

[lapino]

No problem, think I found it. Was using a nightly build of handbrake (latest version) which supposedly has a bug with AC3 passthrough. Going to check a stable release first.