This is a project I've had on the back burner for a while but I've been able to complete recently. It's pretty common knowledge (i think) that the first DVD releases of the Ghostbusters films contained 5.1 tracks that were re-purposings of the films original Dolby Stereo mixes now in discrete 5.1 format. I have acquired copies of these DVDs and synced the 5.1 tracks up to each films' respective 4K master, these should work on just about any release of them (the Mastered in 4K BDs, 2016 UHD, DoVi UHD). Available in 16-bit 48kHz FLAC 5.1, for all forum members new and old

Notes about Ghostbusters II: I sadly was only able to obtain a dupe DVD of this one where the English 5.1 track was reduced to 384kbps instead of the full 448kbps, if anyone here has a full bitrate copy of this track I'll gladly resync. I checked the DD 5.1 Backup track on the UHD and while it did have mono surrounds, After further A/B testing I found that it was just a downmix of the Dolby Atmos track due to the SFXs being synced differently than the Stereo track (also thank Bobby Brown since "On Our Own" was also mixed differently on the Atmos). I was also planning on syncing the Laserdisc stereo but one of the sides of the capture I had was off-balanced, the track only sounded slightly better than the UHD stereo anyways.

Hi folks, just saying hey. I'm a stickler for original colors and aspect ratio, so here I am.

holá, nice to meet you all

Hello from Spain. First time here, starting to see some great things on the forum.

Hello there, how are doing?

How would you like to elaborate and discuss the history about the Audio Mixes of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Films (1945-1965) for Home Video in order to find out what audio mix is:

A: The optimal audio in terms of AQ (by separating the comparison and sorting them in various best sounding channel presentations fx. "Best 1.0/2.0 Mono, 2.0 Stereo or Multi Channel (4.0 to 7.1 [or Atmos]") on the various Home Video Editions
B: See if the mixes for the selected titles stick to OG audio (either 35mm Optical Mono/Stereo, Magnetic 4-Track or 70mm 6-Track mixes) or remixed audio.


To kick things of, here are my candidates for the following films:

State Fair (1945)

Sound Mix AQ Countdown (from Worst to Best Sounding):

Stereo Upmix:

2. 2005 Fox Home Entertainment DVD 

Mix Left to Examine:

1. 1991 Fox Video JP LaserDisc [PILF-1332]
2. 1992 Fox Video US LaserDisc [1348-80]

Original Mono:

2. 2005 Fox Home Entertainment DVD
1. 2014 Fox Home Entertainment BD


Oklahoma! (1955)

Sound Mix AQ Countdown (from Worst to Best Sounding):

Todd-AO Version:

6. 2005 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
5. 2005 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 5.0)
4. 2014 Fox Home Entertainment BD (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1)
3. 1999 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
2. 1999 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 5.1)
1. 1994 Fox Video LD [4269-85] (PCM 2.0 Stereo)

CinemaScope Version:

4. 2014 Fox Home Entertainment BD (DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0)
3. 2005 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
2. 2005 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 5.0)
1. 1989 CBS-Fox Video "LBX" LD [7020-85] (PCM 2.0 Stereo)


Carousel (1956)

7. 2006 Fox HD Master [iTunes] (Dolby Digital 2.0/5.0 or 5.1?)
6. 2014 Fox Home Entertainment BD (DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0)
5. 1994 Fox Video VHS (Hi-Fi 2.0 Stereo)
4. 2006 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
3. 2006 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 5.0)
2. 1999 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
1. 1999 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 5.0)

Mixes left to examine:

1988 CBS/Fox Video / 1991 Fox Video VHS (Hi-Fi 2.0 Stereo)
1991 Fox Video JP LD [PILF-1333] (PCM 2.0 Stereo)
1992 Fox Video "LBX" LD [1713-85] (PCM 2.0 Stereo)
1997 Fox Video "THX" LD [0419685] (PCM 2.0 Stereo)


The King and I (1956)

Sound Mix AQ Countdown (from Worst to Best Sounding):

9. 1992 Fox Video "LBX" LD [1004-85] (PCM 2.0 Stereo)
8. 1999 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
7. 1999 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 5.1)
6. 2014 Fox Home Entertainment BD (DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0)
5. 2006 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
4. 2006 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 5.0)
3. 1996 Fox Video "THX" LD [0896485] (PCM 2.0 Stereo)
2. 1996 Fox Video "THX" LD [0896485] (Dolby Digital 5.1 [AC-3])
1. 1981 Magnetic Video "P&S" LD [1004-80] (PCM 2.0 Stereo [Analog Track])


South Pacific (1958)

Sound Mix AQ Countdown (from Worst to Best Sounding):

General Release Version (with Bookends):

9. PCM 2.0 Stereo (Analog Track) [1983 CBS/Fox Video "P&S" LD] [7045-80]
8. Hi-Fi 2.0 Stereo [1990 CBS/Fox Video VHS]
7. PCM 2.0 [1994 Fox Video "THX" LD] [4268-85]
6. Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo [1999 Fox Home Entertainment DVD]
5. Dolby Digital 5.1 [1999 THX Fox Home Entertainment DVD]
4. Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo [2009 Fox Home Entertainment BD]
3. Dolby Digital 4.0 [2009 Fox Home Entertainment BD]
2. DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 [2009 Fox Home Entertainment BD]
1. PCM 2.0 Stereo [1990 CBS/Fox Video "LBX" LD] [7045-85]

Extended Roadshow Version:

Missing a cracking sound (during deleted Bali Ha'i - Short Reprise [Billis]):

2009 Fox Home Entertainment BD (Dolby Digital 5.1)
2009 Fox Home Entertainment BD (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) Downmixed from the 5.1

No Errors:

2009 Fox Home Entertainment BD [Dolby Digital 4.0 (448 kbps)]

Mixes left to examine:

2006 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 5.0)
2006 Fox Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)


Flower Drum Song (1961)

Sound Mix AQ Countdown (from Worst to Best Sounding):

5. 2006 Universal Picture Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital Mono)
4. 2006 Universal Picture Home Entertainment DVD (Dolby Digital 5.1)
3. 1992 MCA/Universal LaserDisc [40198] (PCM 2.0 Stereo)
2. 2022 Kino Lorber BD (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo)
1. 2022 Kino Lorber BD (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)


State Fair (1962)

Sound Mix AQ Countdown (from Worst to Best Sounding):

4.0:

2. 2005 Fox Home Entertainment (Dolby Digital 4.0)
1. 2017 Twilight Time BD (DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0)

2.0 Stereo (TBC):

2017 Twilight Time BD (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0)

Mixes left to examine:

1. 1977 Magnetic Video VHS (Mono or Stereo? [TBC])
2. 1988 CBS/Fox Video Hi-Fi VHS [2.0 Stereo]


The Sound of Music (1965)

Sound Mix AQ Countdown (from Worst to Best Sounding):

10. Dolby Digital 4.0 (2010 Fox "45th Anniversary" BD) [Downmixed from the 7.1]
9. DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (2010 Fox "45th Anniversary" BD)
8. Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (2005 Fox "40th Anniversary" DVD) [Downmixed from the 5.0]
7. Dolby Digital 5.0 (2005 Fox "40th Anniversary" DVD)
6. Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (2000 Fox "Five Star Collection" DVD) [Downmixed from the 4.1 or is it 5.1?]
5. Dolby Digital 4.1 [or is it 5.1?] (2000 Fox "Five Star Collection" DVD)
4. PCM 2.0 Stereo (1989 CBS/Fox Video LD) [1051-85]
3. Dolby Atmos (2025 Disney UHD)
2. PCM 2.0 Stereo (1994 Fox Video "30th Anniversary" LD) [4267-85]
1. Dolby Digital 5.1 (1996 Fox Video AC-3 LD) [0897285]

Mixes left to examine:

PCM 2.0 (1981 Magnetic Video LD/1983 CBS/Fox Video LD) [1051-80]

If you would like to help me out, You please go ahead and use your audio software like:

Audacity + FFMPEG Plugin
gmkvextractGUI [optional, if extracting from a remuxed source] special thanks to, izzybell for giving us how to do so), to see what the following mixes look like)

Or simply toggle back and forth between the audio mixes on the R&H titles you own on home video to make your own observations and enlighten the thread to hopefully bring us closer to a reliable conclusion.

If you have any objections or you think the audio mixes of these films have any significance to you, please let me know, as it helps to be informed or educated thanks to the person from the inside who has the info we need.

Please let me know what you think of this.
Thank you.

Hi everyone 

I am someone who enjoys movies and likes to have the best possible viewing and listening experience 
Available.
I like to immerse myself in the movie, and throughly enjoy the time spent watching a movie. 
Home theater is my hobbie.

Greetings, everyone.

Hi, everyone, i found this forum recently, looking forward to more projects!

Hello FanRestore forum, performing the required post.

While it's a common practice for most major studios to do brand-new 5.1 Surround mixes for the classic catalog titles, sometimes they just repurpose old stems.

If you use this forum Dolby Stereo doesn't need an introduction but if you somehow don't know the TLDR is essentially Dolby Stereo was a technique of getting 4 channels of audio (LCRS) to fit into the usual optical stereo track on a 35mm reel via matrixing (if you want to a longer explanation, check here: https://fanrestore.com/thread-3467.html). Sometimes these mixes would play in discrete "Baby Boom" format in 70mm, hence the 70mm Six-Track part of the thread name. Now in the early days of surround sound on Home Media, many releases would choose to just use their existing Dolby Stereo track and process them back to surround (Much like a theater would've done during the original run). Having an interest in these mixes, I have found a way to identify if a release is using an unfolded Dolby Stereo track. 

Software Needed -
Audacity + FFMPEG Plugin
gmkvextractGUI (optional, if extracting from a remuxed source)

For my main example, I'll be using a personal favorite of mine that has two 5.1 tracks on different home media release. Dune (1984).

Below is a screenshot of the surround channels on the 1998 Universal DVD



Now you might already be able to tell that the surround channels look to be the same in both channels. This is the first step in identifying as Dolby Stereo only ever used a single mono surround channel. However the second step is the real smoking gun to prove that this is a Dolby Stereo unfold/Six-Track Mix
By right click on the the leftmost side of the track in Audacity, you can change the track view to Spectrogram which reveals...



Matrixing in the surrounds! The spectrogram can easily show the results of the matrix decoding process which makes it HIGHLY likely a track is an unfolded Dolby Stereo track. Now this isn't 100% definitive for one of those 2 reasons.
1. This is age/budget dependant, Some films had discrete mono surrounds while other relied on matrixing, There's also rare case of a film's original mix having stereo surrounds but being released in Dolby Stereo (i.e Indiana Jones, Popeyes).
2. There are rare cases of remixes using matrixed surrounds (again, Indiana Jones) and/or stereoizing the mono surrounds (Blade Runner). So beware of those.

With that being said I hope this is a useful guide for those looking to find 70mm Six-Tracks or Dolby Stereo unfolds on older releases, Cheers!