How can I make 6 channel Windows Media audio play properly on stereo speakers?
WMVHD files, typically created for playback on the XBOX360, can contain a 5.1 audio stream. If you play such a file on a computer that only has two speakers then you will only hear the sound from two of the six channels. This causes for example the voices (center channel) to be almost unhearable.The solution is to downmix the 5.1 channels into 2 channels. There are two ways to do this. You can either use AC3Filter or ffdshow.In ffdshow audio decoder configuration, go to the ‘Codecs’ page. Scroll down to the bottom of the list and set ‘Uncompressed’ to ‘All supported’. Now go to the ‘Mixer’ page and set the speakers to ‘2/0 Stereo’. Also enable the checkbox in front of ‘Mixer’ to activate the mixer filter.In AC3Filter options, go to the ‘System’ tab and enable ‘PCM’. Configure the output setting to stereo speakers.
