Audio:
    Hardware:
        Audio Device: directsound
        S/PDIF: None
        Number of speakers: 2
    Stream:
        Type: Packed PCM
        Bitrate: 4608 Kbps
        Number of main channels: 2
        LFE Channel: None
        Sampling Frequency: 96khz
        Bits Per Sample: 24
    Output:
        Sample Rate: 48 KHz
        Bits per Sample: 16

III. DECODE MLP FILES (if necessary)
SurCode MLP is a simple program that takes several mono .wav files as input (2 for stereo and 6 for multichannel, i.e. one .wav file for each channel) and encodes them inte a single .mlp file. You may be wondering; why do I need to use an encoder when I am trying to decode files? Until someone cracks a dedicated decoder, a workaround needs to be used.

While this software is meant to encode files, it features a verification step that can decode an .mlp file immediately after it is encoded in order to check for errors in the encoding process. Normally, it shouldn�t allow the decoding of arbitrary .mlp files, but luckily it doesn�t check that the .mlp file that it is verifying is actually the one it just encoded. The trick is to encode a set of dummy .wav files, thus producing a garbage .mlp file, and then substituting the garbage file with the .mlp file you wish to decode. The substitution must be performed just after the garbage .mlp file has been encoded and right before it is verified. Fortunately, a status window pops up after the encoding process, providing an opportunity to swap the files.

First of all, you need to make sure you have two separate drives (e.g. C: and D:). This is necessary to get around the problem of having to overwrite a locked file. Next, launch the SurCode MLP encoder and make sure the software is properly configured:

1. From the Options menu, click Encoder Options.
2. Uncheck Downmix and ReBit ™ Bit-Depth Reduction and check Verify after encoding is complete, Write decoded wave files while verifying, and Play back individual channels. Then click Ok.

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In the main window, prepare to encode the garbage .mlp file:

1. Set the destination file path by clicking the Destination button and choosing a directory on your other drive (e.g. D:\temp). For the sake of simplicity, choose a short filename since this is the garbage .mlp file you will be replacing (e.g. foo.mlp so the destination file path is D:\temp\foo.mlp).
2. Set the Channel Assignment drop-down to a value matching the content of your audio. If your audio is stereo, select (Group 1) L, R. If it is multichannel, select (Group 1) Lf, Rf, Ls, Rs / (Group 2) C, Lfe.
3. Select the dummy mono .wav files by using the following buttons: Left Front to select Lf.wav, Right Front to select Rf.wav, and if your audio content is multichannel, Center to select C.wav, SubBass LFE to select LFE.wav, Left Surround to select Ls.wav, and Right Surround to select Rs.wav.
4. In the Playback frame in the bottom right corner, set the radio button to Verify/Play: Destination.
5. In the Encode frame in the bottom left corner, make sure the start field is reset to zero (00:00:00.00) by pressing the R button to the right of the field. This field will need to be reset to zero after each encoding is performed.

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6. Start encoding the garbage .mlp file by clicking the Encode button. A few seconds later, a status window will pop up saying that everything encoded fine. DO NOT CLOSE THIS WINDOW YET. The application is now waiting for you to click Cancel to begin the verification process. While this pop up window is still open, you need to substitute the newly encoded garbage .mlp file with one of the .mlp files extracted from your disc in step (II).
7. Open the directory where the extracted .mlp files reside (e.g. C:\extracted). Select the .mlp file you wish to decode and rename it to foo.mlp (or whatever name you gave the garbage .mlp file). Copy the file by selecting it and then pressing Ctrl+C.
8. Open the directory where the garbage .mlp file resides (e.g. D:\temp). Delete that file by selecting it and then pressing Shift+Del.
9. Paste the file you copied by pressing Ctrl+V. Your extracted .mlp file has now replaced the garbage .mlp file you just encoded.
10. Close the SurCode pop up window by pressing the Cancel button. The encoder will now begin the verification process where it decodes the substituted .mlp file into 1 or 3 stereo .wav files (1 if the content is stereo, 3 if the content is multichannel).
11. When the verification is complete, another window will pop up with the verification status. Pay no attention to whether it reports that the verification step failed or succeeded as the .wav files are decoded fine in either case. Most likely it will report that the verification failed.
12. Close the status window before working with the newly decoded .wav files, since they are released only once you have done that. The decoded .wav files are now located in the same destination directory where the garbage .mlp file is located (e.g. D:\temp).


If your audio content is stereo, the .wav file is ready to be encoded with the lossless codec of your choice, skip to step (V). If your audio content is multichannel, you will have three stereo .wav files containing the Left & Right front, Center & LFE, and Left & Right surround channels, continue on to step (IV-A).


IV. PROCESS MULTICHANNEL .wav FILES
Depending on the type of track you extracted, MLP or LPCM, you will need to following section (A) or section (B), respectively:

A) Decoded MLP Track
In the case of multichannel content, you need to merge the 3 stereo files into one single 6-channel .wav file. For this, you will need to launch WaveWizard and configure it properly by choosing the Edit menu and selecting Preferences:

1. Set the Output directory, any place will do (e.g. D:\temp).
2. In the General settings frame, check Stream manipulation and set it to Merge files. Make sure that all other setting that might affect the audio are disabled: Channel mapping, Sample conversion, Sound level control, and Dithering.

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3. In the main window, make sure the list of files is empty and then add the three stereo files by clicking the Add button, adding them in the following order: surcode_lfrf.wav, surcode_clfe.wav, surcode_lsrs.wav.
4. Click the Convert button.

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