How are you ripping your ATMOS Blu Rays?

[minimumtumbleweed]

I'm talking about TrueHd Dolby m4a (24/48) and the difficulty most PC players and DAPs have in reading it. Why this limitation?
By the way, what process do you use to get those Atmos lossless m4a? Just out of curiosity.

I have m4as that I rip using the Music Media Helper and they play back no issue on Windows' built in Media Player app. I find that I even have less of that annoying silence at the beginning due to the handshake. And tracks play back gapless so I think it is the best approach currently to playing TrueHD Atmos m4a on PC.

EDIT: Sorry, I miswrote. I'm playing them as mka, not m4a. Better to just use mka as others have said here that m4a may not play gapless.

 

[yerbas07]

I have m4as that I rip using the Music Media Helper and they play back no issue on Windows' built in Media Player app. I find that I even have less of that annoying silence at the beginning due to the handshake. And tracks play back gapless so I think it is the best approach currently to playing TrueHD Atmos m4a on PC.

EDIT: Sorry, I miswrote. I'm playing them as mka, not m4a. Better to just use mka as others have said here that m4a may not play gapless.

I've said before that I use the m4a atmos lossless format because m4a is readable by portable daps, but it seems they don't support 24/48 resolution, but Homer has explained why above.

 

[yerbas07]

Because most players do not allow the mlpa codec (TrueHD) to be recognised in m4a. Nothing to do with 24/48). Mlpa in m4a was only added to the mpeg spec fairly recently, a few years ago.

I looked at the source code used in VLC and there is a simple case statement that rejects mlpa. I mentioned that here on QQ to users of VLC ages ago to go and log that error but I assume it was never done as the issue is still there years later. The VLC code library is used by other applications or the VLC open source (I suspect JRiver is one, hence same issue with JRiver)

Just to be clear: Kodi and PowerDVD both play TrueHD inc TrueHD Atmos in m4a files.

My Power DVD does not read m4a 24/48. There is another player that does read Atmos m4a 24/48, it is the MPC-HC64.
Regarding the KODI player, I find it unfriendly and complicated to use. For example, I cannot see information about the m4a file, among other problems. Is there a way or tutorial to be able to configure and fully use the KODI player?

 

[LuvMyQuad]

My Power DVD does not read m4a 24/48. There is another player that does read Atmos m4a 24/48, it is the MPC-HC64.
Regarding the KODI player, I find it unfriendly and complicated to use. For example, I cannot see information about the m4a file, among other problems. Is there a way or tutorial to be able to configure and fully use the KODI player?

Here you go,

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/kodi-how-to-install-configure-on-windows.30683/

 

[LuvMyQuad]

For the record, I do not find kodi unfriendly and complicated to use. It is a bit complicated to set up, and you do need to be a little computer savy to do so. But once set up, it's very easy to use. There are many skins you can use with kodi. You need to find the one that fits your needs.

What m4a info does it not show that you feel you need?

 

[ssully]

Reminder: a 7.1 flac file ripped from an Atmos disc lacks the metadata for Atmos. The only way to maintain the Atmos mix is to rip to mkv, mka or m4a.

Is that true even when the TruHD audio is ripped as a raw, nondecoded bitstream , i.e. using DVDA-E's 'Direct Stream Demux' option?
The ripped file(s) have a .thd suffix.

 

[HomerJAU]

Yes. In all cases mentioned the method contains the original Atmos encode. There is no decoding it’s ‘copying’.

 

[ssully]

Yes. In all cases mentioned the method contains the original Atmos encode. There is no decoding it’s ‘copying’.

Yes to what?

copying the bitstream to a .thd file (i.e. DVDAE 'Direct Stream Demux' ) DOES preserve the original Atmost encode?
or
copying the bitstream to a .thd file (i.e. DVDAE 'Direct Stream Demux' ) DOES NOT preserve the original Atmos encode?

leefarber says a mkv,mka or m4a file is required.

(I can settle the matter when I have time to actually play the .thd files I've recently ripped. I presume if my AVR says 'Atmos' when I play them -- bit perfectly, from foobar/WASAPI to AVR via HDMI -- the answer is DOES)

 

[jimfisheye]

You rename the .thd extension to .mlp to play the files directly in Dolby reference player. If the renamed .mlp file plays in DRP and you see the meters moving for all 12 or 16 channels, then it worked!

It's probably safe to assume anything ripping the Dolby encoded content to their .thd file format is just copying it... OK, sorry, it's not safe to assume anything in this software spoofing era! But you can click play on the file and find out quick enough.

Ripping to (8 channel max) flac 100% loses the metadata and ability to ever decode the mix permanently.

Still using MakeMKV here. I ripped some of my mlp files to wavpack. That's a real time recording run rolling DRP into a DAW app. Kind of a PITA. I liked the idea of "liberating" the proprietary format for standard media player use but it takes too much time and effort. Hopefully this all being restricted to DRP will change sooner than later!

 

[HomerJAU]

Is that true even when the TruHD audio is ripped as a raw, nondecoded bitstream

Yes it’s true.

 

[mandrix]

You can use MKVCleaver to extract the .thd as one file from an MKV, but no chapters. Like @jimfisheye said, if you have an app that will play it (like the DRP) you can change the extension to .mlp.
MKVCleaver uses mkvtoolnix, I believe, which can't always accurately split chapters. If it doesn't split on the right frame, then....but played as one album length file with appropriate app works.

That is what I used when I had my Frankenstein two AVR (well 1 AVR and a Reciever) solution for playing Atmos as 7.1.4 before I got a 7.1.4 capable AVR. Of course a lot more was involved since the second amp was analog only input and I had to use an HDMI > analog converter for it. (Windows playback using ASIO4ALL and the Dolby Reference Player).
PITA but it worked.