I wasn't aware that earlier versions of XPress supported 5.1.
Anyway, I've worked out how to keep any 5.1 channel tracks. I encode just the video stream with XPress, then use BeLight to re-encode the audio to 5.1 .ac3. Then use DVD Author to combine both streams, create the vobs and burn the dvd. Works fine, no loss of sync and BeLight is quick and easy to use (much easier than BeSweet). Not the ideal solution, but at least I get the best of both vid and audio encoding now, and it's only 1 extra step. I'm fairly certain I can get DTS encoding going in a similar way too.
I did look at 5.1 dvd encoding but the prices start at around $300US for anything even half decent. WinAVI Video Converter supports 5.1 and is fairly cheap, but I found it falls over on a lot of files, plus there's not even rudimentary editing/filtering options. I think you'd find that if XPress supported 5.1 output then the price would be at least double what I paid. Seems the moment you mention Dolby 5.1 dvd encoding, the price escalates considerably.
The thing I like about XPress is that it doesn't choke on ANY input format, even the wierd ones. If it plays on Media Player, XPress will import it. I also get none of the a/v de-sync crap which happens with a lot of other conversion tools. I have yet to see it crash, the batch encoding is great, filters are excellent and the final video output quality is as good as any commercial dvd I've seen. The 300 page manual covers everything to the finest detail too. No guesswork needed for undocumented options. I'm pretty happy now I've got the 5.1 happening.
Anyway, I've worked out how to keep any 5.1 channel tracks. I encode just the video stream with XPress, then use BeLight to re-encode the audio to 5.1 .ac3. Then use DVD Author to combine both streams, create the vobs and burn the dvd. Works fine, no loss of sync and BeLight is quick and easy to use (much easier than BeSweet). Not the ideal solution, but at least I get the best of both vid and audio encoding now, and it's only 1 extra step. I'm fairly certain I can get DTS encoding going in a similar way too.
I did look at 5.1 dvd encoding but the prices start at around $300US for anything even half decent. WinAVI Video Converter supports 5.1 and is fairly cheap, but I found it falls over on a lot of files, plus there's not even rudimentary editing/filtering options. I think you'd find that if XPress supported 5.1 output then the price would be at least double what I paid. Seems the moment you mention Dolby 5.1 dvd encoding, the price escalates considerably.
The thing I like about XPress is that it doesn't choke on ANY input format, even the wierd ones. If it plays on Media Player, XPress will import it. I also get none of the a/v de-sync crap which happens with a lot of other conversion tools. I have yet to see it crash, the batch encoding is great, filters are excellent and the final video output quality is as good as any commercial dvd I've seen. The 300 page manual covers everything to the finest detail too. No guesswork needed for undocumented options. I'm pretty happy now I've got the 5.1 happening.