Exporting Video File- Audio Format

[maxmax]

Hi,

It seems that when exporting to a video file with the DCP audio setting set to 5.1, the resulting video file will have 5.1 audio, even if the source has stereo audio. One must ensure that the DCP audio is set to stereo in order to get stereo sound in the video file. I think this has changed from recent versions.

Example: A video file with stereo sound and an SRT file imported, then exporting to a video file (MOV, LT). The resulting video file will have a different audio format depending on the DCP audio settings.

When source is 5.1 and you select mix down to stereo in export menu, the result is stereo, the same when source is stereo and you select mix down to stereo (which does not make sense) In those cases the DCP audio setting does not change anything.

[IoannisSyrogiannis]

I may miss something here, but I will write that I had some errors made when I was thinking that what I export is the file I imported.
Things worked well with me when I understood that -similar to when making a DCP- what you export is the intended composition, but instead of a DCP, as a video file.
And that makes more sense when you think about "what if I have more than one clips in the row?". Then, should the export use the audio configuration of the one or the other file? The aspect ratio or resolution of which?

[carl]

As Ioannis suggests, the idea here is that you are exporting a file which looks and sounds the same as a DCP made from the same project.

So, if your project is set to 5.1 audio, that is what would be done in a DCP, and that is what will be exported.

I guess this got more confusing since DCP-o-matic is now more likely to set your project to 5.1 even if you only have a stereo source. This is because we believe it increases compatibility with some less common projection systems.

I'm a little reluctant to change this, since exporting a video file from an imported video is not (as far as I know) a particularly common use-case. I guess we could start "automagically" doing different things with audio in a DCP compared to a video export, but I suspect this just might end up making things even more confusing.

[maxmax]

I understand. A bit confusing is the fact that when you select mixdown to stereo, the problem is solved.
I am using DOM for inserting subtitles in a video file. BTW: Does anyone know another software (for mac), where you can insert ST and change size and position of the ST? (except the expensive ones)

[IoannisSyrogiannis]

Insert, like hard-code/burn-in?
I would check handbrake.
Otherwise, if I would go from .mp4 or .mov, where "soft" subtitles is difficult to MKVtoolnix, and re-mux video with subtitles.
The changes of size and position, though, would most likely be through some kind of subtitle editor. And there, Mac is not doing well with inexpensive applications.

If I didn't have had windows or linux, to run Subtitle Edit, for instance, which is impressively good with handling subtitles to feed to a transcoder, I would probably try to learn how to do what I want with ffmpeg command line. Which ffmpeg is what DCP-o-matic uses for exporting to .mp4 and .mov.

I didn't mention DaVinci Resolve, because it could be overwhelming, just for subtitles.

Good luck.