# LPCM audio, AC-3 tracks & DTS track



## daanvandam (Aug 24, 2014)

I have been trying to setup a streaming program that streams videos music and more to my PS3, xbox360, TV etc. To achieve this i'm using the video engine MEncoder because it seems to work the best, but I have been having some trouble with A/V sync. I have fixed this by disabling 'keep AC3-tracks' and now it works just fine.

But what are AC3-tracks? It also gives me options for LPCM audio and DTS track but I have no Idea what they are. Could someone explain to me what they are and if I should keep AC3 -tracks.

Thanks in advance
(I'm sorry if made any grammar mistakes I try my best)


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

Different types/quality of audio tracks.

LPCM is the default track and supported by all DVD/audio equipment.

All other tracks require hardware or software decoding.

>> DVD-Video - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## daanvandam (Aug 24, 2014)

wich of the three options is the best audio quality for a 5.1 set?

use LPCM
keep AC-3 
keep DTS


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

AC3 or DTS. 

But to use those tracks, you need hardware which supports hardware decoding. As noted in the previous provided link, each type supports/uses higher bitrates. Higher bitrates = higher quality. It also means the amount of data (ie: size of the audio track) is larger.

As you are/were having sync issues with those formats, it's a moot point. Better quality won't matter if it's out of sync. If you can even hear the difference will largely depend on your audio hardware (ie: AVR and speakers).


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## daanvandam (Aug 24, 2014)

Thank you for the information, I will try DTS.


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## daanvandam (Aug 24, 2014)

Could it be that the problem is tied with the file? I watched another movie again with AC-3 (I forgot to turn it off) And it worked just fine all the way trough.


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

Anything is possible. 

And there isn't a fixed size for AC3 audio.

From the spec: "AC-3: 48 kHz sampling rate, 1 to 5.1 (6) channels, *up to* 448 kbit/s"

As noted previously, the higher the bitrate, the more data that needs to be processed and transferred. 

In order of likelyhood, 1)The PC could be having trouble processing the amount of data, 2) the streaming be exceeding the bandwidth of your network, 3) or the file could be corrupted/encoded improperly.


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