Dolby Digital AC-3 Audio
There are two good reasons to use AC-3 format audio in your DVD production:
• To take advantage of 5.1 surround audio (five main speakers and a subwoofer—six
channels of audio total), which is supported by AC-3 but not by MPEG-1 Layer 2
• To produce stereo data-compressed audio that is fully compatible with every DVD
player in the NTSC markets of North America and Japan. You may run into some
compatibility issues with older DVD players in PAL countries.
You can use the AC-3 encoder in Compressor to encode everything from stereo to 5.1
surround audio. See
Previewing AC-3 and DTS Audio
for information on listening to
surround audio.
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Chapter 5
Preparing Audio Assets