Stereo to 5.1/3D Upmixer for Car Audio Help

[justin30513]

Hey all.... I need some experienced help.
I'm a sound quality (SQ) car audio competitor. I'm currently building turning my truck into a competition plus a product demonstrator, or "Demo", vehicle.
On top of playing 2 channel stereo for normal judging where I have a 3-way front stage (mid-bass, mid-range, and tweeter) I'll also be adding center and rear channels. There's the possibility of adding side channels as well. This will be done for DVD and Blu-ray videos encoded with surround to be viewed and played. There will be two small (9inch 16:9) TFT screens where the sun visors are as well as a larger 16:9 TFT screen that will fold down from the ceiling's center. I'm installing an Intel NUC PC (converted for 12 volt use) which has both optical and HDMI outputs. This will be one of my source units and used for demos. It, and my other sources (phones and android headunit) will them connect to my DSP/Amplifier combo. It will act as a source selector as well as handling EQ and time alignment functions. It has 12 channels of amplified speaker outputs which are rated at 80 watts each at 4ohms (120w @2ohms) along with 2 sets of RCA outs for additional amplifiers. They will be used for the subwoofer amps. There will be 2, 12in subs with a 1kw monoblock each.
A lot of OEM audio systems are surround upmix capable. BMW has Logic7....Acura had the ELS system.... and several more are out there. There have been several aftermarket processors have their own versions of upmixers but nothing solid. I know there has to be software out there that can feed the surround signal to a soundcard with the necessary line outs that can be fed to my processors 16 inputs.
I just have clue to which to use so I'm humbly coming to all of you. I simply need it to do this on the fly as in plug a USB drive in and go.... lol.
I'm currently disabled from having 5 spine surgeries since 2016 after finding 3 tumors in my lower back. Music as well as car audio have kept me sane and honestly, probably kept alive. It's very important to me since I'm sponsored (JBL, Musway USA, Raptorliner, Ford Performance to name a few) and do not want to disappoint them.
Ask any questions you need and I look forward to everyone's suggestions and comments!

 

[DVDdoug]

Decoding DVD & Blu-Ray surround will require a licensed commercial product.

If you can use a computer, DVD & Blu-Ray player software can take care of that, and possibly do up-mixing. The Raspberry Pi (a single board computer) might be worth looking into.

Up-mixing can probably be done with the MiniDSP but I don't know much about it. I assume it can do reverb an delay and maybe it can do L-R "matrix" decoding. I know it can do frequency filtering if you want to use it as a crossover.

 

[ppataki]

I'm installing an Intel NUC PC

If your source will be a PC then I guess you will use a media player software to play your content there
If that is the case then I would strongly recommend Jriver MC 31 - there is a built-in upmixer that is really very simple to use (literally a tick in a box) and it works like a charm, I always use that in my main system if I want to expand the stereo signal to the other channels

 

[street19]

These OEM upmixing algorithms are not simple in->out signal flows. They require access to a proprietary tuning suite to adjust routing of the signal slices and other vehicle specific parameters. These tools are corporate IP and cannot be accessed by the consumer crowd. You'll need a solution developed and marketed for consumers.

JBL MS-8 - Logic 7 is basically the only legitimate game in town as of today, if you can find one with the controller.

The other option would be to load up a DAW on the Nuc (reaper, pro tools etc.) and install the Penteo Perfect Surround plugin. This upmixes from stereo to several immersive formats, sometimes for better or for worse. But at least you'd have all the tools you need right there. Using windows Virtual Audio Cable, you can route application audio from say Tidal, into the DAW, through the penteo upmixer, and out to a USB audio interface with analog outputs (RME, Motu, Focusrite) (will require an inverter or a way of converting to 12v). Pick one that has enough 1/4" analog outputs to fit your maximum surround configuration. (7.1, 7.1.4, etc etc) and then send the outputs to your Musway for individual speaker tuning and channel routing.

With a 2018+ Macbook, this same signal flow (with a few tweaks) can be used to output DD+ Atmos music to your system. If you really want to take it to the next level... Good luck!