Subject:included Dolby Digital AC-3 plug-in.

Posted by: PeterWH

Date:8/26/2009 10:19:39 PM

The advertising line is :Use Sound Forge 9 software to export multichannel files in surround AC-3 format using the included Dolby Digital AC-3 plug-in.

I was disappointed to find that this is not included in my recently purchased Sound Forge 9, but has to be purchased as a separate plug-in worth $199. Have I got it wrong? This seems like misleading advertising!

Subject:RE: included Dolby Digital AC-3 plug-in.

Reply by: john_dennis

Date:8/26/2009 11:18:35 PM

I found that to be true of Sound Forge 9.0. I have the capability in Vegas Pro 8 so my heart isn't broken. You can use the Dolby Digital AC3 Studio setting to produce a Stereo DVD file, but admittedly with no options and not 5.1 surround sound.

Subject:RE: included Dolby Digital AC-3 plug-in.

Reply by: musicvid10

Date:8/27/2009 7:05:59 AM

Sound Forge Professional, about $400, includes AC-3 audio export. That is the version for which you quoted the advertising.

Sound Forge Studio, about $70, does not include AC-3 audio export, nor does it claim to do so.

If you purchased the Professional version of Sound Forge 9, and it did not install the AC-3 audio export, then it's possible you bought an illegal copy.


[url]http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/audiostudio/compare

Subject:RE: included Dolby Digital AC-3 plug-in.

Reply by: john_dennis

Date:8/27/2009 11:37:59 AM

musicvid
My copy is Sound Forge 9.0 which I upgraded as a result of one of Sony's offers and it does not export anything except "Stereo DVD". It is not Sound Forge Studio and I paid significantly more than $70 for the upgrade from the Sony web site. As I said, I have Vegas, so I didn't even notice until this post. It is a puzzler...

Subject:RE: included Dolby Digital AC-3 plug-in.

Reply by: musicvid10

Date:8/27/2009 12:49:01 PM

You are correct, the upgrade page says the plugin is included.

You will need to contact Customer Service at the top of the page to find out how to activate it. They don't respond to posts in the peer forums.

It is possible you may need to obtain the CD to install it.

Subject:RE: included Dolby Digital AC-3 plug-in.

Reply by: PeterWH

Date:8/28/2009 3:51:07 AM

Hi - I started this post.
I bought the full version Sound Forge 9 version as a download from this Sony site and the only AC-3 plugin included is the AC-3 Studio. If you want to use the Pro version you need to pay the extra $199 US. It is cleverly activated as an upsell option that you discover when you try and use the option of saving using the AC-3 Pro format.
I still believe that this is misleading advertising.
I have a work around as I also have Vegas 9 and I save my file to a multi track WAV format and then prepare this in Vegas for 5.1 surround sound. I can then render in Vegas as it has the AC-3 Pro plugin included.
This is not the point though. It seems that the Sound Forge project team thought that they would develop their income stream by being less honest than the Vegas Pro project team.
Just my opinion born out of frustration, as I enjoy Sound Forge 9 and expected more of Sony.

Subject:RE: included Dolby Digital AC-3 plug-in.

Reply by: rraud

Date:8/28/2009 8:11:40 AM

It seems that the Sound Forge project team thought that they would develop their income stream by being less honest than the Vegas Pro project team.
Just my opinion born out of frustration, as I enjoy Sound Forge 9 and expected more of Sony.

(My pet peeve) Vegas claims Broadcast Wave file support... Not saying Vegas only imports BWFs. NO EXPORT. Do I smell a class action lawsuit for deceptive advertising?

Subject:RE: included Dolby Digital AC-3 plug-in.

Reply by: ForumAdmin

Date:8/28/2009 8:28:49 AM

Sound Forge 9.0 Pro includes the AC3 Studio plug-in and will recognize the AC3 Pro plug-in when installed.

The limitations of the AC3 Studio plug-in are that encoder parameters are not exposed for tweaking. It will render stereo or 5.1, but the 5.1 templates are only exposed when the file of interest has six channels. That is, it doesn't auto-create a surround mix from a stereo file (neither version does this).

J.

Subject:RE: included Dolby Digital AC-3 plug-in.

Reply by: john_dennis

Date:8/28/2009 9:21:12 AM

Thanks ForumAdmin for the clarification on the funtionality. In checking I probably picked up a two channel file. Now, I'll shut up since my original intent was to validate what PeterWH observed, and I don't want to further hijack the thread.

Subject:RE: included Dolby Digital AC-3 plug-in.

Reply by: Angels

Date:9/1/2009 9:11:56 AM

"Sound Forge 9.0 Pro includes the AC3 Studio plug-in and will recognize the AC3 Pro plug-in when installed."

If this is true, and since Vegas 9 provides AC-3 Pro export, then why doesn't Sound Forge 9 see it?

I end up using the same workaround as PeterWH (export to multichannel wav and import into Vegas 9 and export using AC3 Pro in Vegas 9), but I don't understand why these extra steps are necessary. We're still using the AC3 Pro settings in the end, so functionally the only difference is the inconvenience.