Before I start ripping all my DVD's........

[TomP80]

Is the lastest version of Handbrake for PC's really truely 5.1 multichannel surround sound compatible?

I am ripping the DVD's to my hard disk using ShrinkDVD (with no compression settings), then coverting them into m4v format using Handbrake 0.9.2 using the standard AppleTV preset (H.264, AAC + AC3), then importing into iTunes.

When I right click on the movie in iTunes, and do a "Get Info", it says that the audio is in 2-channel stereo format - which is worrying.

The problem is that, to cut a long story short, I don't have my receiver and 5.1 speakers hooked up at the moment (AppleTV directly connected via HDMI to TV), so can't actually test if I am getting 5.1 surround sound or not.

I really don't want to rip my 200+ DVD collection with this version of handbrake only to have to do it again later, if, like iTunes says, I am only ripping in 2-channel stereo.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[NightStorm]

Yes, it uses the same format as Apple (2 audio tracks):

1. 2-channel AAC for devices that cannot decode AC3 <-- 'Get Info' in iTunes reports this one
2. untouched AC3 audio (i.e. passthru) for those that can decode AC3

It is up to the device you play the file on to choose between the two. The AppleTV will do this automatically for you if you enable Dolby Digital output.

You can see the other track by starting the playback in iTunes and click on the audio icon in the on-screen interface. You should see both tracks; selecting the surround one will not output anything on a playback device that cannot decode it (i.e. a Mac without Perian installed).