DVD and Blu Ray 2-Channel Audio

[MagicO309d]

I've been trying to research this as it relates mainly to a PC music server build for 2-channel only but it's quite confusing. Is anyone doing this here?

What's the best way to reproduce 2-channel from these formats, read the dedicated 2-channel track or downmix the higher quality multi-tracks?

Is there a specific software player that shines in this area yet?

[Paul W]

For concert DVDs, it's been my experience that the SQ for 2-channel PCM tracks is usually audibly superior to the lossy compression used for DD and DTS multichannel.

Blu-Ray lossless DTS-MA multichannel SQ is not an issue but, when available, I almost always prefer the 2-channel mix. (My personal preference is to post-process the 2-channel mix with Neo-6 or DPL for a more subtle surround effect.)

Try the "direct" output from J River MC and ArcSoft TMT.

[jim85iroc]

I bought a program called "DVD Audio Extractor" online for about $30 specifically to rip my concert DVDs. The newest version will also work with DVD-A, which I think is great. It can downmix multichannel content, or extract any number of PCM channels directly, and at any sample & bitrate you choose... 16/44.1 waves are perfect to make CDs with.

I don't know if the same company offers a similar product for Blue Ray, but they probably do.