DTS 6-Channel Problem with Alien DVD

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mike_mgoblue
Posts: 143
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2016 4:36 am

DTS 6-Channel Problem with Alien DVD

Post by mike_mgoblue »

I am experiencing a problem with Disc 1 of the Alien Quadrilogy 9-disc boxed set.

The problem appears to deal with DTS sound.

First, I want to explain the environment.

1. I am using Windows Media Player Classic to play the MKV videos.

2. I have already used MKV successfully on several DVDs that use DTS audio.

For example, Vertical Limit, Alien vs Predator, and Alien vs Predator Requiem all use DTS sound. All of them are successfully heard when using both Dolby Digital and DTS sound in Windows Media Player Classic. When I use Right-Click to look at the information found in "Audio Track" I see the following information in each of those three files:

* A Surround 5.1 [Eng] (ac3, 48,000 Hz, 5.1, 448 kb/s)

* A Surround 5.1 [Eng] (dts, 48,000 Hz, 5.1 768 kb/s)

Both Dolby Digital and DTS successfully play on all three of those movies.

3. Alien is a DVD that uses DTS sound, but it does not work properly with Windows Media Player Classic.

Alien actually is seen differently in the "Audio Track" information provided by Windows Media Player Classic.

Alien looks like this when you use Right-Click to look at "Audio Track" in Windows Media Player Classic:

* A Surround 5.1 [Eng] (ac3, 48,000 Hz, 5.1, 448 kb/s)

* A Surround 5.1 [Eng] (dts, 48,000 Hz, 6 Channels)

The difference is that Alien ends up being seen as "6 Channels" rather than "5.1." Also, Alien does not provide a data rate.

4. When Alien plays, Dolby Digital is the default selection and starts playing fine. But when I select DTS, the screen pauses and stays frozen most of the time.

There have been times when the video did occasionally play at an accelerated speed; however, there was no audio when DTS was selected. The speed could not be changed in a way that allowed audio to be heard.

5. I tried using MKV in a way that did not download Dolby Digital at all. This made DTS the "default" audio format.

As a result, when I start playing Alien in Windows Media Player Classic, the screen simple starts off with a Black screen and stays there.

The screen says "playing," but the video never works and always remain with a paused Black screen.

6. When I used VLC to play the Alien MKV file rather than Windows Media Player Classic, VLC successfully plays Alien with DTS.

VLC provides the Audio Track information as:

* Surround 5.1 [English]

* Surround 5.1 [English]

VLC does not specifically say whether you are listening to Dolby Digital or DTS; however, both work.

VLC does not say "6 Channels" and avoid a data rate the way Windows Media Player Classic does.

I was concerned that maybe VLC was allowing Dolby Digital 5.1 to be played for both tracks, so I created an MKV file that used only DTS. This DTS audio track worked effectively on VLC and appeared as "Surround 5.1 [English]"

If anyone knows why this problem with DTS sound occurs with the movie Alien when played on Windows Media Player Classic, I would appreciate it if you could tell me and hopefully help solve the problem. ... I enjoy using Windows Media Player Classic as my Default player. So it would be nice if Alien worked with it in DTS.
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