Handbrake does if the source has 5.1 audio- just use theTV setting. If you are talking about DVD video or similar, that's a very good option.
If you are talking about camcorder video with 5.1 audio, you might have to look toward Final Cut (not iMovie).
AdrianK, unless you have a receiver that particularly references that feature (that it can handle AAC 5.1) or one that references a function to dynamically convert AAC5.1 to AC3 (5.1), that's not the case. I'm not aware of any receiver on the market that does that. If you know of one, I'd like to know which does work like that.
bedifferent, when you choose theTV setting in Handbrake, it sets up the "audio" pane with 2 tracks: the first one will typically be the AAC track (look under codec), so that you have some audio when not pushing the processing through a Dolby Digital 5.1 device (like a receiver). The second track is usually the AC3 (Dolby Digital 5.1) track. When you feed the video to a Dolby Digital-capable receiver from
TV, the receiver will be served the second (5.1 AC3) track (assuming you are passing the audio through HDMI or optical audio cables- won't work via a stereo cable setup).
This Handbrake conversion won't work if the source file (the DVD) doesn't have a 5.1 audio track to scan. For example, if you have a DVD that is mono or stereo sound only, Handbrake can't create a 5.1 surround track for you. The easy way to tell if you don't know is look in the audio pane of handbrake after you "open source". If there is a 5.1 channel AC3 track, it will show that under the "Track" column, probably in the second row. Codec will show "AC3". If so, render that file, feed the audio through a Dolby Digital receiver and it should give you 5.1 sound.
Here's 2 last tips:
- Consider an extra program to do the ripping part- something that rips the video to a file on your hard drive, then use Handbrake to create a version from that file. Generally, this is much faster than trying to rip straight from disc to the final file
- If you want to somewhat futureproof this effort, consider a 2-step process in which you make a 1080p master file (only from BD discs, not DVDs) AND an
TV render to cover the "for now". Else, when there is a 1080p
TV (hopefully in our lifetimes), you'll be faced with considering a redo again. Yes, this tip comes with space issues, but hard drives are cheap.
AdrianK, unless you have a receiver that particularly references that feature (that it can handle AAC 5.1) or one that references a function to dynamically convert AAC5.1 to AC3 (5.1), that's not the case. I'm not aware of any receiver on the market that does that. If you know of one, I'd like to know which does work like that
Adrian, I sort of got that, but it appeared to imply that pro-logic is a 5.1 solution. The OP is confused enough about this topic, but he's definitely NOT going to get what he wants via Pro Logic. Yes, Pro Logic is a pseudo-surround option (and better than nothing if that's all that's available), but it is not the same as feeding a receiver DD5.1 (AC3) so that it is very clear which speaker is to get which sound track.
Okay, I thought it re-assigned data to the channels in a decent-enough manner, but I guess that isn't so. Really, I only meant to tack that statement on as an FYI, I do understand that native 5.1 is preferable.