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Using Windows Media Encoder, you can encode multichannel audio, which means you can encode audio for a surround sound playback in six (5.1 audio) or eight (7.1 audio) channels. The format is specifically designed for CD, DVD, high definition television, and digital cinema audio programs. Your content source must be one of the following:
You must use either the Windows Media Audio 9 Professional codec or the Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless codec and an audio format that supports multichannel encoding when encoding multichannel content. In addition, the user playing your content must have Microsoft Windows XP and a player that is based on the Windows Media Format 9 Series Software Development Kit (SDK). Otherwise, the audio will be folded down automatically to two channels for stereo speakers.
The encoder automatically folds the channels down to two for playback with stereo speakers. If you are encoding 5.1 audio, you can control the fold-down distribution between the surround, center, and subwoofer channels on the Processing tab of the Properties panel. If you encoded the content to a file, you can also use Windows Media File Editor to control the fold-down distribution in the output file.