REQUEST: support for more formats of surround audio

[HHaynes]

I realize that many facets of the request I'm about to make actually needs to be worked out on the client side, but I thought I'd go ahead and put in a word here for the server-side setup as well, whether by creating a new file type declaration or through implementing a demuxing plugin before streaming to the client.

I'd like to see (and hear) more support for surround formats - particularly

• DTS (*.dts)
• DTS-WAV (*.wav)
• multi-channel PCM WAV (*.wav)
• multi-channel MP3 (*.mp3)
• multi-channel AIFF (*.aif)
• Broadcast Wave Format (*.wav)
• multi-channel Windows Media Audio (*.wma)

Are there any that I've missed?

For my purposes, I'd like to be able to render a multi-channel file (I have authoring programs [primarily Nuendo 4.1] that support export of all of these formats) to my NAS and then stream it to my screening room to check the mix before rendering in conjunction with the video stream, which takes a significantly longer and involves launching another authoring tool (Vegas 8 Pro/DVD Architect 4.5).

I would very much like to see increased support for these formats as media streaming game consoles and surround systems become more commonplace. Right now I have to go through quite a few contortions to get my Zappa "Quadraphiliac" and Crystal Method "Legion of Boom" DTS CDs to play, and that's just a shame.



So, give a shout-out of support if you're like me and want to have more surround sound options. Likewise, if anyone can shed some light on where "the work" lies in getting these formats to work (server, plugin, client) I think it would be a useful discussion in order to better understand the technological barriers to making it a reality. TIA!