Jack Reacher BD - No Sound After Converting

[t3mss]

I am a newbie so might be user error. Can't find exact same issue for Jack Reacher BD in other threads.
When I convert the BD to MKV, the features (interviews with author, actors etc.) have perfect audio, but the main film has no audio (picture conversion is perfect though).
The BD box says it is DTS-HD, would this be an issue for MakeMKV? I am thinking that maybe the features are not DTS-HD and hence convert audio okay but main film is DTS-HD and MakeMKV can't convert this audio successfully? Any thoughts?
I am currently evaluating MakeMKV so its not licenced yet. If it cannot convert DTS-HD BDs then it might not be for me.
Thx.

[Woodstock]

Does your player software/hardware support DTS-HD?

You can try ripping using the "FLAC" profile in MakeMKV (Settings, General, enable Expert mode, and you will be able to select/change program profiles), which will re-encode the audio.

[Jon Walker]

When I convert the BD to MKV, the features (interviews with author, actors etc.) have perfect audio, but the main film has no audio (picture conversion is perfect though).

When you say "convert" here, to what app are you referring? The MakeMKV default operation merely decrypts the source data and copies it to an MKV file container without any conversion per se. Therefore, if you are not performing a further conversion, what player are you using for playback, does it support DTS playback, and/or have you checked this player's Media Information/Inspector window to see whether or not any audio track(s) is/are present? (I.e., same basic question posed by first responder but I add a recommendation that you confirm what data was actually copied to the MKV file so you will know if it is the file or the player app causing the problem.)

If you are using a secondary app for conversion, what is it, does it support DTS audio, and to what did you convert the audio? Again, what app did you use to test this converted file and did you confirm that the converted file does, in fact, contain a supported target audio track.

The BD box says it is DTS-HD, would this be an issue for MakeMKV?

Not as long as you don't deactivate the track manually. On my system, the default settings for Jack Reacher copied the video track, the DTS audio track, an AC3 DD5.1 audio track, and supposedly two "Forced English" tracks of data to the MKV file. After a copy, I normally use the free VLC player to proof the copy and its Media Information window to confirm what original data was actually copied to the MKV file before any further processing.

[t3mss]

Sorry for delay in response, I was called away with work.
I used MakeMKV to decrypt the Jack Reacher Blu-Ray. I have downloaded the Matroska codec which enables the playback of MKV via Windows Media Player but whilst I could hear the audio for the interviews I couldn't for the main film. I then used Handbrake to convert into first an MP4, then to a MKV but, for both, once the conversion had completed, again I could see the picture (excellent quality) but I could not hear the audio.
In terms of can my hardware/software support DTS-HD, when I play the BD disc on the PC I can hear the film no problem; but I suppose that does not mean that once converted that Windows Media Player (with the Matroska codec) can necessarily play DTS-HD.
I will do the same again and try playing the resulting file through my Panasonic Blu-Ray player under the TV. Will let you know how that goes.
Thanks again.

[Jon Walker]

I used MakeMKV to decrypt the Jack Reacher Blu-Ray. I have downloaded the Matroska codec which enables the playback of MKV via Windows Media Player but whilst I could hear the audio for the interviews I couldn't for the main film.

The question still remains as to whether or not the MakeMKV file contains the DTS audio track, the AC3 audio track, both, or neither and whether or not your Windows Media Player supports DTS audio. The easiest way to see what audio is actually in the file created by MakeMKV is to open that file in an app like VLC and examine the file streams in the Media Information window. Example...



This image confirms that the MKV file created by MakeMKV on my system contains one MPEG4/AVC video, one DTS audio, and one AC3 DD5.1 audio stream which matches the source file content as depicted in the MakeMKV source window as shown below:



On the other hand, if you check the MakeMKV source window for the files for which you can hear audio, you will note that they only contain AC3 DD2.0 (Stereo) audio data as seen below:



Based on this information, it would appear that your Windows Media playback work flow either does not support DTS audio or that you did not include any audio stream in the file created by MakeMKV. Once again, the best way to determine if the playback problem is a missing DTS (or other) audio stream or a lack of Windows Media playback support would be to open the MakeMKV file in an app like the free VLC media player which is known to support DTS audio and then examine the Media Information window if there is no audio playback in the VLC player. Once you determine where the problem is located, you can modify your work flow to include an audio track if missing, use a different media player if DTS is unsupported, change your work flow to include AC3 DD5.1 audio instead of the DTS audio, or modify your codec component configuration so the Windows Media player will support DTS audio.

I then used Handbrake to convert into first an MP4, then to a MKV but, for both, once the conversion had completed, again I could see the picture (excellent quality) but I could not hear the audio.

Since HandBrake is also known to support DTS-HD audio, your inability to create an MP4 or M4V (MPEG4/AVC) file with audio would seem to imply that the source file created by MakeMKV and used for the HandBrake conversion may not contain any audio at all or that your conversion work flow is turning off/deselecting any available audio.

[Romansh]

DTS in MP4 is like DVD/VobSub in MP4… almost nothing can play it, and what can actually play it has MKV support anyway.

[t3mss]

Jon (Walker) - thanks for the information. I downloaded the VLC Media Player and the MKV file decrypted by MKV Maker has a DTS track and 5 AC3 tracks (not sure why there are 5). When I play the MKV file in the VLC Media Player I can hear the audio. This shows that MKV Maker is decrypting the Jack Reacher BD correctly, which is great news.
What I am still confused by is that Handbrake didn't bring across the DTS track when it converted it. I used the DTS-HD Passthru option but I will now play with the DTS Passthru and AC3 Passthru options and see it that makes a difference.
Thanks again for your help; very useful.

[Jon Walker]

Jon (Walker) - thanks for the information. I downloaded the VLC Media Player and the MKV file decrypted by MKV Maker has a DTS track and 5 AC3 tracks (not sure why there are 5). When I play the MKV file in the VLC Media Player I can hear the audio. This shows that MKV Maker is decrypting the Jack Reacher BD correctly, which is great news.

Would assume other AC3 audio tracks likely include alternate language and/or comments audio tracks. I only included the 6-channel English DTS and AC3 tracks for the main movie along with what were described as the "Forced English" subtitle tracks.

What I am still confused by is that Handbrake didn't bring across the DTS track when it converted it. I used the DTS-HD Passthru option but I will now play with the DTS Passthru and AC3 Passthru options and see it that makes a difference.

Problem is likely in the HandBrake work flow used. I always convert DTS to 48.0 KHz/640 Kbps AC3 DD5.1 when I use it as the audio source in Handbrake. Until Romansh mentioned the possibility of passing the DTS audio through to an MP4 file container, I had not even realized this could be done. Had assumed that HandBrake handled the DTS audio in the same manner as it handles AC3—i.e., it would be placed in an M4V file container instead of the MP4 which, as Romansh pointed out, will not even open in my QT 7 player and the DTS is totally ignored by the QT X and VLC players when the data is in an MP4 container. (MP4 file containers are very restrictive on a Mac and one non QT 7 "Pro" method of removing unwanted, non-MPEG4 audio/video tracks from an MOV file is to simply copy the data to an MP4 file container to "filter" out any non-MPEG4 data.) My basic work flow targets a custom HandBrake ?TV2 anamorphic 1024x720 (1280x720) X264/AAC/AC3 DD5.1/Chaptered M4V file for iTunes management and playback to IOS devices over a wireless LAN within the home and via Internet streaming when away from home so it totally avoids the DTS playback problem you are having.

In any case, am glad you are on the right track now to solving the problem for your particular needs.

Best of luck!

[t3mss]

Thanks all for your help, advice and assistance. I have success. In summary, because the Jack Reacher Blu-Ray has a DTS-HD track I used Handbrake's "DTS-HD Passthru" audio option. This didn't work. However, I have now used the "DTS Passthru" option and it did work!
Early in the process I thought my problem was something to do with MakeMKV was because I could not hear any audio from the original decrypted MakeMKV file, but this was because Windows Media Player doesn't recognise DTS (or DTS-HD for that matter). When I played the original decrypted MakeMKV file via the VLC Media Player, I could hear the audio track, hence I knew it must be something to do with my subsequent Handbrake converted file.
Anyway, case solved and this thread can be closed. Thanks again, really helpful contributions.