Dolby Vision and 1.15.1

[Larrikin]

Now open mkvtoolnix, add the mkv you created with MakeMKV, deselect the DTS-HD audio track, add the audio.ac3 file and mux to a new mkv file. This file should retain the DV (as you are using the MakeMKV generated mkv file) and now have only an ac3 audio track.

This is the bit where I'm going to get stuck. Everything else above that is straight forward (thanks to you). I only have macOS running in my environment and I don't think mkvtoolnix supports macOS. Also, installing mkvtoolnix looked like a nightmare with all these other things you have to install along with it. Anyhow, a mute point because I don't run Linux.

[glc650]

When you rip your disc with makemkv 1.52 and above, it will automatically merge the two layers that're on separate tracks onto a single track, but the resulting file will still remain dual layer. If you further need a single layer file (they cannot be merged, the EL can only be discarded), then you will need to use yusecope's tool.

Is this because there is no player that supports BR DV (profile 7 w/dual tracks & layers) when it is in an MKV or is there some other reason for this behavior?

It’s mostly BR players that have dual track support (x700, oppo, etc) and for some reason, the LG OLEDs internal player (MP4s only). Since BR players rarely get updated to begin with and DV in MKVs is a relatively new format, the chances of them being supported is pretty much none. Dedicated streaming boxes on the other hand have no reason to include this support because it’s never used as a streaming format, and it also seems to me that it’s more of a hardware limitation than a software one.

Do these players (x700, etc) play back these (single track, dual layer, profile 7) mkvs? And do they look the same as a retail DV BR (dual tracks & layers, m2ts)?

[MartyMcNuts]

Now open mkvtoolnix, add the mkv you created with MakeMKV, deselect the DTS-HD audio track, add the audio.ac3 file and mux to a new mkv file. This file should retain the DV (as you are using the MakeMKV generated mkv file) and now have only an ac3 audio track.

This is the bit where I'm going to get stuck. Everything else above that is straight forward (thanks to you). I only have macOS running in my environment and I don't think mkvtoolnix supports macOS. Also, installing mkvtoolnix looked like a nightmare with all these other things you have to install along with it. Anyhow, a mute point because I don't run Linux.

I don't use linux either. Only windows. mkvtoolnix is only a single exe file. There are no other things to install. Anyway...

Ok, another option is to also use ffmpeg for the muxing. I hope th DV is kept since you are only copying the video tracks. See if these commands work for you..

for muxing only (not accounting for any subtitles, just video/audio):
ffmpeg.exe -i "the/mkv/file/created/using/MakeMKV.mkv" -i "the/newly/created/audio.ac3" -sn -codec copy -map 0:0 -map 0:1 -map 1:0 "mkv/output/file/should/still/contain/DV.mkv"

For a one-liner (that may work) to encode the audio and mux with the mkv created in MakeMKV:
ffmpeg.exe -i "the/mkv/file/created/using/MakeMKV.mkv" -c:v copy -c:a ac3 -b:a 640k -sn -map 0:0 -map 0:1 -map 0:2 "mkv/output/file/should/hopefully/still/contain/DV.mkv"

[Larrikin]

For a one-liner (that may work) to encode the audio and mux with the mkv created in MakeMKV:
ffmpeg.exe -i "the/mkv/file/created/using/MakeMKV.mkv" -c:v copy -c:a ac3 -b:a 640k -sn -map 0:0 -map 0:1 -map 0:2 "mkv/output/file/should/hopefully/still/contain/DV.mkv"

I've tried that one before and lost Dolby Vision.

What does your first option actually do / how does it work?

[MartyMcNuts]

For a one-liner (that may work) to encode the audio and mux with the mkv created in MakeMKV:
ffmpeg.exe -i "the/mkv/file/created/using/MakeMKV.mkv" -c:v copy -c:a ac3 -b:a 640k -sn -map 0:0 -map 0:1 -map 0:2 "mkv/output/file/should/hopefully/still/contain/DV.mkv"

I've tried that one before and lost Dolby Vision.

What does your first option actually do / how does it work?

I'm not sure if the mkv's created with MakeMKV 1.15.3 have separate video tracks or not. I've never created one. If the tracks are separate, then command:

ffmpeg.exe -i "the/mkv/file/created/using/MakeMKV.mkv" -i "the/newly/created/audio.ac3" -sn -codec copy -map 0:0 -map 0:1 -map 1:0 "mkv/output/file/should/still/contain/DV.mkv"

should join the video tracks (unmodified) and the audio.ac3 track into a new mkv file. The -map 0:0 is the main video track (base layer), the -map 0:1 is the DV layer and the -map 1:0 is the audio.ac3 from the second input.

The one-liner command:
ffmpeg.exe -i "the/mkv/file/created/using/MakeMKV.mkv" -c:v copy -c:a ac3 -b:a 640k -sn -map 0:0 -map 0:1 -map 0:2 "mkv/output/file/should/hopefully/still/contain/DV.mkv"

does the same thing, it just converts the audio and muxes it with the video tracks (unmodified) to create a new mkv file.

If the mkv created with MakeMKV is a single track, then (-map 0:1 is not needed) and perhaps ffmpeg is dropping the metadata. Dunno...

[dcoke22]

@Larrikin

mkvtoolnix is available for Mac, as I have used it on mine. It is standalone and doesn't require anything else to be installed. https://mkvtoolnix.download/downloads.html Scroll down to macOS.

Also, I was able to hack a conversion profile for MakeMKV 1.15.3 that seems to have converted a multichannel DTS track into a multichannel AAC track (using FFmpeg) while creating the MKV file. I've tested it a single time and verified the output using mediainfo.

I created a file with the contents below named aactest.mmcp.xml and put it in ~/Library/MakeMKV/aactest.mmcp.xml

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<profile>
    <!-- profile name - Default -->
    <name lang="eng">AACTest</name>

    <!-- Common MKV flags -->
    <mkvSettings
        ignoreForcedSubtitlesFlag="true"
        useISO639Type2T="false"
        setFirstAudioTrackAsDefault="true"
        setFirstSubtitleTrackAsDefault="true"
        setFirstForcedSubtitleTrackAsDefault="true"
        insertFirstChapter00IfMissing="true"
    />
    
    <outputSettings name="aac" outputFormat="AAC">
        <description lang="eng">Save as AAC, maybe even multi</description>
        <extraArgs>codec=aac -strict -2</extraArgs>
        <extraArgs>aac_coder=twoloop</extraArgs>
    </outputSettings>

    <trackSettings input="DTSHDMA-multi">
        <output outputSettingsName="aac"
                defaultSelection="$app_DefaultSelectionString,+sel:true">
        </output>
    </trackSettings>
</profile>

This does what seems to be some undocumented things, so there's no reason to think it'll work into the future. That said, since Sonos has made the unfortunate decision not to support DTS on the ARC, it'd be nice if a conversion profile like this became a default option in MakeMKV.

Source:

aac.jpg (48.23 KiB) Viewed 20026 times

Output (audio #2 has the AAC):

Code: Select all

Audio #1
ID                                       : 2
ID in the original source medium         : 4352 (0x1100)
Format                                   : DTS
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 1 h 53 min
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 1 509 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel layout                           : C L R Ls Rs LFE
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 24 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 1.20 GiB (5%)
Title                                    : Surround 5.1
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Audio #2
ID                                       : 3
ID in the original source medium         : 4352 (0x1100)
Format                                   : AAC LC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID                                 : A_AAC-2
Duration                                 : 1 h 53 min
Bit rate                                 : 469 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 8 channels
Channel layout                           : C L R Ls Rs Lw Rw LFE
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 381 MiB (2%)
Title                                    : Surround 7.1
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

[RESET_9999]

Do these players (x700, etc) play back these (single track, dual layer, profile 7) mkvs? And do they look the same as a retail DV BR (dual tracks & layers, m2ts)?

The x700 supports all the DV formats / profiles but only in a TS / M2TS / MP4 containers and yes, they look identical to the bluray disc.

[Larrikin]

@Larrikin

mkvtoolnix is available for Mac, as I have used it on mine. It is standalone and doesn't require anything else to be installed. https://mkvtoolnix.download/downloads.html Scroll down to macOS.

Also, I was able to hack a conversion profile for MakeMKV 1.15.3 that seems to have converted a multichannel DTS track into a multichannel AAC track (using FFmpeg) while creating the MKV file. I've tested it a single time and verified the output using mediainfo.

I created a file with the contents below named aactest.mmcp.xml and put it in ~/Library/MakeMKV/aactest.mmcp.xml

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<profile>
    <!-- profile name - Default -->
    <name lang="eng">AACTest</name>

    <!-- Common MKV flags -->
    <mkvSettings
        ignoreForcedSubtitlesFlag="true"
        useISO639Type2T="false"
        setFirstAudioTrackAsDefault="true"
        setFirstSubtitleTrackAsDefault="true"
        setFirstForcedSubtitleTrackAsDefault="true"
        insertFirstChapter00IfMissing="true"
    />
    
    <outputSettings name="aac" outputFormat="AAC">
        <description lang="eng">Save as AAC, maybe even multi</description>
        <extraArgs>codec=aac -strict -2</extraArgs>
        <extraArgs>aac_coder=twoloop</extraArgs>
    </outputSettings>

    <trackSettings input="DTSHDMA-multi">
        <output outputSettingsName="aac"
                defaultSelection="$app_DefaultSelectionString,+sel:true">
        </output>
    </trackSettings>
</profile>

This does what seems to be some undocumented things, so there's no reason to think it'll work into the future. That said, since Sonos has made the unfortunate decision not to support DTS on the ARC, it'd be nice if a conversion profile like this became a default option in MakeMKV.

Source:
aac.jpg

Output (audio #2 has the AAC):

Code: Select all

Audio #1
ID                                       : 2
ID in the original source medium         : 4352 (0x1100)
Format                                   : DTS
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 1 h 53 min
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 1 509 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel layout                           : C L R Ls Rs LFE
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 24 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 1.20 GiB (5%)
Title                                    : Surround 5.1
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Audio #2
ID                                       : 3
ID in the original source medium         : 4352 (0x1100)
Format                                   : AAC LC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID                                 : A_AAC-2
Duration                                 : 1 h 53 min
Bit rate                                 : 469 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 8 channels
Channel layout                           : C L R Ls Rs Lw Rw LFE
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 381 MiB (2%)
Title                                    : Surround 7.1
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

Mate, thank you very much for this. I didn't think Sonos ARC supported AAC though? Does that mean my file needs to be different to convert to AC3? Also, is it as simple as putting that file in the directory you listed above and run MakeMKV and run it or do I have to do something inside of MakeMKV to point to that file?

I also need to capture all forms of DTS. DTS - X, DTS-HD, DTS-MA, DTS7.1, DTS 5.1. However, True HD the Sonos ARC supports. So if I can get the DTS stuff into an AC3 file, that would be awesome.

Not to risk this too much, but True HD 5.1 would even be better because its lossless whereas AC3 is lossy. Not sure if that can be done. I can be satisfied with AC3, but True HD 5.1 would be the ultimate.

Note that the ARC supports True HD which includes ATMOS.

[Larrikin]

For a one-liner (that may work) to encode the audio and mux with the mkv created in MakeMKV:
ffmpeg.exe -i "the/mkv/file/created/using/MakeMKV.mkv" -c:v copy -c:a ac3 -b:a 640k -sn -map 0:0 -map 0:1 -map 0:2 "mkv/output/file/should/hopefully/still/contain/DV.mkv"

I've tried that one before and lost Dolby Vision.

What does your first option actually do / how does it work?

I'm not sure if the mkv's created with MakeMKV 1.15.3 have separate video tracks or not. I've never created one. If the tracks are separate, then command:

ffmpeg.exe -i "the/mkv/file/created/using/MakeMKV.mkv" -i "the/newly/created/audio.ac3" -sn -codec copy -map 0:0 -map 0:1 -map 1:0 "mkv/output/file/should/still/contain/DV.mkv"

should join the video tracks (unmodified) and the audio.ac3 track into a new mkv file. The -map 0:0 is the main video track (base layer), the -map 0:1 is the DV layer and the -map 1:0 is the audio.ac3 from the second input.

So I tried that two stepped process of first creating the AC3 file and then the second process of the step above. Unfortunately I lost dolby vision. I'm just about to try @dcoke22 suggestion as that would be ideal and so much faster.

If that doesn't work I'll try your option B doing it one command.

[Larrikin]

Also, I was able to hack a conversion profile for MakeMKV 1.15.3 that seems to have converted a multichannel DTS track into a multichannel AAC track (using FFmpeg) while creating the MKV file. I've tested it a single time and verified the output using mediainfo.

I created a file with the contents below named aactest.mmcp.xml and put it in ~/Library/MakeMKV/aactest.mmcp.xml

OK, so I tried this method, but I cannot select the profile aactest from MakeMKV. It just shows the default, AAC-Stereo, FLAC, WDTV. I was expecting aactest to show there.

The file is in: ~/Library/MakeMKV/aactest.mmcp.xml

[dcoke22]

@Larrikin

I assume you found other files in ~/Library/MakeMKV ? It is the default data directory on Mac, but the file goes in wherever the MakeMKV data directory is in MakeMKV's preferences.

Also, Finder thinks the file is a XML Document.

And the permissions are at least you get to Read & Write, staff is read, everyone is read.

And you restarted MakeMKV after dropping the file in place.

And Expert mode is turned on in MakeMKV's preferences.

Are there any interesting messages about conversion profiles in the log?


As for the Sonos ARC not supporting AAC… I suppose anything is possible, but it is hard to imagine that it doesn't since they claim support for Apple Airplay 2.

[Larrikin]

@Larrikin

I assume you found other files in ~/Library/MakeMKV ? It is the default data directory on Mac, but the file goes in wherever the MakeMKV data directory is in MakeMKV's preferences.

Also, Finder thinks the file is a XML Document.

And the permissions are at least you get to Read & Write, staff is read, everyone is read.

And you restarted MakeMKV after dropping the file in place.

And Expert mode is turned on in MakeMKV's preferences.

Are there any interesting messages about conversion profiles in the log?


As for the Sonos ARC not supporting AAC… I suppose anything is possible, but it is hard to imagine that it doesn't since they claim support for Apple Airplay 2.

I think I've done all of that and I also think you are right on AAC. For now, let's try AC3. Here is a screenshot to show you the permissions in the directory. Note that I used vi to create the file.

[Larrikin]

@Larrikin

I assume you found other files in ~/Library/MakeMKV ? It is the default data directory on Mac, but the file goes in wherever the MakeMKV data directory is in MakeMKV's preferences.

Just to add, I had a fiddle with FLAC. Look at where that profile resides: /Applications/MakeMKV.app/Contents/MacOS/../Resources/appdata.tar:flac.mmcp.xml

It also shows on my screen before I click the button to make the MKV that its clearly going to change the DTS to Flac on the conversion. When I had the AC3 one loaded, it didn't

[Larrikin]

@Larrikin

I assume you found other files in ~/Library/MakeMKV ? It is the default data directory on Mac, but the file goes in wherever the MakeMKV data directory is in MakeMKV's preferences.

OK, so I stuffed up. My default data directory in MakeMKV's preferences was wrong and had changed from the default. The profile now shows. I'm about to go again and create the MKV. mate, really appreciate all your help

[Larrikin]

OK, so an update. AAC still only produced Stereo on my Sonos ARC. However, working with everything you did for me, I changed the codec to AC3, and boom - it works! Thanks so much mate!!! Dolby Vision and AC3