Stereo vs 5.1 workflow for DVD

R

ronin99

Active member
I had a film and was supplied with a separate stereo and 5.1 mix.

Client wants one version with stereo and one version with the 5.1

Being a bit unsure of how it works with DVDs/blu rays.
My initial thoughts were to include both the stereo and 5.1 mix in the final .mov export,
and the post house could make the DVD from that.

The person handling it at post house told me that 5.1 defaults to stereo on systems that
don't have a 5.1 setup, so I only need to include the 5.1 mix.

I know in FCP7 you can make a 5.1 track stereo.

If this is the case, why do people still deliver stereo as well as a 5.1 mix?


What would be the most efficient way to make DVD's that contain both a stereo and 5.1 mix?
do I need to export out a stereo version, and a 5.1 version (audio only), convert in compressor and
stack the two audio tracks in a DVD program?
 
There are two reasons to include both. First not all players will do a stereo mix down or will do a real kludgy mix down.

And the second is that even if they do a decent mix down to stereo you won't know what it sounds like. They are going to fold in the surrounds and the center into the L/R and if you haven't tested it the 5.1 mix could have phase issues that make the mix not good at all.

"Big" films do multiple versions to make the sound track play at it's best on the various formats.
 
Trusting the device to do a reasonable stereo mixdown is a real crapshoot. Best to do both.
If pressed for time, I use the Waves S360 to get a stereo mixdown.
 
On 35mm the optical is a LtRt and it's there for two reasons. First not every theatre can play Dolby Digital and second DD is semi fragile since it is printed on the film and can get scratched etc. So DD decoders need to have the LtRt to fall back on if the DD breaks down.
 
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