Stereo Tool
https://forums.stereotool.com/

Multi-channel audio.
https://forums.stereotool.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4685		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  djnforce9 [ Fri Feb 22, 2013 8:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Multi-channel audio.
I'm just wondering. I know this plugin name is "Stereo Tool" but will it actually process multi-channel audio such as 5.1 and 7.1 audio files? I know Winamp added support for these since it started touting the phrase "Winamp Surround Edition". My question is that if you play one of these files with Stereo Tool enabled, does it downsample to stereo or will it process all the channels?
Author:  VTOLfreak [ Sat Feb 23, 2013 12:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Multi-channel audio.
Winamp does handle surround but you have to enable it in the settings, it is disabled by default.
ST also supports surround but not all channels have full processing, some components in ST are not yet finished.
You should ask Hans about this as surround sound is still a work in progress and not a high priority for ST.

I am using ST myself to process surround sound in movies: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4629
Note that ST can not do up and down mixing, so you will still need extra plugins if you need to convert 5.1 into 7.1 for example. Same for the LFE channel, it is best to place the crossover after ST to create the sub channel, I don't know how ST handles the LFE channel.
Author:  djnforce9 [ Sun Feb 24, 2013 6:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Multi-channel audio.
Thanks for answering my question. What I was hoping to do someday is find a way to connect Stereo tool to the general Windows Audio output so I could use it with Youtube and even my games. The enhancement would be really welcome as everything simply sounds better going through Stereo Tool. However, to get the best experience, I would need full 7.1 surround support which by your post, isn't fully implemented yet.
Author:  hvz [ Sun Feb 24, 2013 10:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Multi-channel audio.
At the moment, the declipper, advanced clipper, bandpass filter and hard limit support upto 8 channels, and so does the new multiband compressor in the new beta versions. Basically any filter I add from now on should support any number of channels, but the old filters (AGC, noise gate, all stereo filters, bass boost, phase rotation) don't yet.

But the AGC for example doesn't...

Also, it will process each channel exactly the same - it's (at least for now) unaware of things like LFE channels etc, or the fact that channels in the back "sound" softer (that would be relevant for the multiband compressor with channel separation below 100%).
Author:  djnforce9 [ Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Multi-channel audio.
Thanks for confirming this. It does sound like partial implementation but not all components are optimized as of yet. If it ever gets to a state where it can be used on surround sound systems including the aforementioned LFE channel support, I would love to know. It would be really nice to use Stereo Tool as an all-purpose DSP rather than something within the confines of Winamp.

On that note, any chance the standalone version would output as a Windows audio device that is chained to your sound card's output? Fxsound's DFX actually started doing this since v11.x and it basically enables you to use it on virtually anything. I want to replace DFX with Stereo tool because it sounds far better and has way more features. I believe I tried the Standalone version of Stereo Tool in the past but it didn't behave as I expected so I ended up with a feedback loop. This is pretty much my plane and why I created this thread in the first place.

EDIT: I should mention that I am well aware of "Breakaway Live" however, it would be silly to fork out an additional $100 for a third party application if that functionality could be built into Stereo Tool itself.
Author:  hvz [ Mon Feb 25, 2013 11:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Multi-channel audio.
You can use Virtual Audio Cable for this, it's the same thing that's included in Breakaway. At the moment the stand alone version of Stereo Tool ONLY works in 2-channel mode though, so it's not useable for you if you want more than 2 channels.
Author:  Bojcha [ Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Multi-channel audio.
VAC supports multichannel since v4.09 ;)
Author:  shckrck [ Tue Feb 26, 2013 11:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Multi-channel audio.
Quote:
At the moment the stand alone version of Stereo Tool ONLY works in 2-channel mode though, so it's not useable for you if you want more than 2 channels.
The VST version is still 2-channel only too, right? Only get three out pins in my host, two for the L & R channels and 1 for latency, or should it be enabled somewhere?

And I agree, it's best to subtract the LFE channel AFTER processing through Stereo Tool (with Voxengo BMS for example), another possibility is to bypass it altogether if you already have a LFE channel, but in this case you will have to take care of the delay caused by Stereo Tool's latency, else your LFE channel will be ahead of the other five. :D
Author:  djnforce9 [ Wed Feb 27, 2013 4:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Multi-channel audio.
I still think it would be nice if the support was built right into the standalone version of Stereo Tool itself so no third party applications would be needed and the potential compatibility issues that lie therein. Even if it was a premium feature, I'd pay for the support of having Stereo Tool manifested as a Windows audio device that bridges your sound card accordingly.
Author:  hvz [ Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Multi-channel audio.
I know, but the solution would be identical to what you get if you use Virtual Audio Cable - for example a Breakaway Pipeline *IS* a Virtual Audio Cable. There appear to be very few implementations of something like this.
Page 1 of 2 All times are UTC+02:00
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Limited
https://www.phpbb.com/