[LAU] Decoding/ripping dolby surround CDs

[Ralf Mardorf]

On Sat, 2011-11-19 at 12:00 +0000,
linux-audio-user-request at lists.linuxaudio.org wrote:
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:36:43 -0500
> From: Rob <lau at kudla.org>
> Subject: Re: [LAU] Decoding/ripping dolby surround CDs
> To: Julien Claassen <julien at mail.upb.de>
> Cc: linux-audio-user at lists.linuxaudio.org
> Message-ID: <201111181036.44095.lau at kudla.org>
> Content-Type: Text/Plain;  charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> On Thursday 17 November 2011 17:28, Julien Claassen wrote:
> >    My CD is one of the "fake surround" ones. Phase shifting sounds
> >  likely. But what to do about it. Is there any way, I can split it
> up in
> >  any other format, that would allow me to get something more
> sensible
> >  out of it?
> 
> My memory was that the surround channel was added to one channel
> normally 
> and to the other channel inverted, but the Wikipedia article on Dolby 
> surround says it's phase-shifted 90 degrees in one and -90 in the
> other 
> (and, apparently, multiplied by sqrt(2)/2).  That's why I didn't
> mention 
> specifics in my first post.
> 
> But if you wrote a Csound orchestra to decode DTS noise into stereo,
> you 
> certainly should be able to do it for plain old Dolby surround!
> Start 
> messing with phase and adding channels together, and you ought to get 
> something useful out of it.
> 
> Rob

You reach the point, when I'm unable to resist to reply ;).

1. The German Wiki about this bullshit says, that "Dolby-Surround" "is"
compatible to everything, e.g. stereo. It "will" sound as wanted, when
played in stereo.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Surround

2. ½ of 180° phase shift * (1,41/2) should be ok in stereo :D? That's
theory.

Anyway, among other jobs I worked as an video and audio engineer for a
well known German filmmaker and professor. "Dolby Laboratories" are a
mafia. If you make movies using light audio for cord ("celluloid" or
equivalent material ;) you'll notice some un-shy wow and flutter. You
need to pay a lot of money to use Dolby to avoid this issue, no sane
film maker does, excepted of those who are antisocial and take all the
money they can get from furtherances. Dolby comes back for more, to
cheat people, so they invented all that surround bullshit, that does
sound odd.

Any "material" encoded by that kinds of "film Dolby" belongs to /dev/0.

I experienced Dolby C as a very good procedure for maintained analog
homerecording audio equipment, but that's another story.

Dolby for audio is the equivalent to Apple and Microsoft for computers.
They are robbers. They do some good jobs, but most they do is
"business".

This CD belongs to the hazardous waste, it's that simple.

2 Cents, YMMV,

Ralf