PS2 .PSS files with AC3 audio

[P-chan]

Hi there. 

I started a project for my rom hack for Wild Arms 5 on PS2 which completely removes Japanese lyrics in both OP and ED songs. 

The problem was, WA5OP.PSS and WA5ED.PSS are .PSS files with .ss2 and .ac3 audio tracks. I could not figure out how to mux SS2 and AC3 audio tracks properly in .PSS files. I attempted to remux the .PSS files with .SS2 and AC3 audio but it seems to not work. The sound POPS when at the end of playback with the hacked WA5ED.PSS which might be the same issue for WA5OP.PSS. I even attempted to do a playback test on custom .PSS file that replaced the Dolby logo for Genji PS2 game but it crashes when attempting to playback.

Is there a proper way to mux .PSS files with AC3 audio? I'll provide examples later at least.

Edited January 22 by P-chan

[ikskoks]

Here are all PSS tools I know:


* foobar2000 + vgmstream plugin (for playing audio only)
* Media Player Classic
* [https://www.zophar.net/utilities/ps2util/pss-plex.html PSSPlex]
* [https://www.zophar.net/utilities/ps2util/pss-demux.html PSS Demux]
* [https://www.zophar.net/utilities/ps2util/pss-player.html PSS Player]
* pss2wav
* PSS Downsampling Tool
* RipPSS
* PS2 Movie Player
* Cube Media Player 2
* TMPGEnc
* [http://nickle.shimbe.net/Archives/psscut010.lzh PSS Cutter] (+ source code)
* [https://psx-core.ru/load/0-0-0-634-20 ps2str GUI]

Maybe one of these can be helpful 🙂 Let me know here if you succeed.

[P-chan]

On 1/22/2025 at 3:28 PM, ikskoks said:

Here are all PSS tools I know:


* foobar2000 + vgmstream plugin (for playing audio only)
* Media Player Classic
* [https://www.zophar.net/utilities/ps2util/pss-plex.html PSSPlex]
* [https://www.zophar.net/utilities/ps2util/pss-demux.html PSS Demux]
* [https://www.zophar.net/utilities/ps2util/pss-player.html PSS Player]
* pss2wav
* PSS Downsampling Tool
* RipPSS
* PS2 Movie Player
* Cube Media Player 2
* TMPGEnc
* [http://nickle.shimbe.net/Archives/psscut010.lzh PSS Cutter] (+ source code)
* [https://psx-core.ru/load/0-0-0-634-20 ps2str GUI]

Maybe one of these can be helpful 🙂 Let me know here if you succeed.

Well, not really. TMPGEnc is paid software and none of the tools support AC3 audio. But i came up an idea! I think i should continue development and mark it as an alpha build with the only limitation is surround sound is not supported for the opening and ending like other movie files btw. If i ran into other issues, i should cancel development again. Please stand by.

[morrigan]

An early version of the PS2 SDK had a leaked PSS file processing tool called PS2STR.EXE. However, that was only an early version. Considering that WA5 is a relatively late-era PS2 game, the PSS tool included in the SDK should have been updated to support muxing more audio formats, but there haven't been any leaks of that.

Therefore, the only option is to reverse engineer this special PSS format ourselves, which is indeed very difficult.

[swosho]

@morrigan Technically, you can multiplex PSS with AC3 audio just fine as a data-type stream even with the old v1.00 build of ps2str from 1999, but that version of the tool cannot properly mux VBR m2v, so it's kind of borderline useless. 2001-ish to the latest PS2 SDKs include ps2str v1.08, which is widely available on its own these days.

@P-chan Mux the AC3 track as a data stream via ps2str v1.08, just be sure to set its bitrate to 56000 bytes/sec (assuming that it's a standard 448 kbps AC3).

[morrigan]

10 hours ago, swosho said:

@morrigan Technically, you can multiplex PSS with AC3 audio just fine as a data-type stream even with the old v1.00 build of ps2str from 1999, but that version of the tool cannot properly mux VBR m2v, so it's kind of borderline useless. 2001-ish to the latest PS2 SDKs include ps2str v1.08, which is widely available on its own these days.

@P-chan Mux the AC3 track as a data stream via ps2str v1.08, just be sure to set its bitrate to 56000 bytes/sec (assuming that it's a standard 448 kbps AC3).

Ah, I see. So PSS doesn't support VBR. In fact, many video formats used in games from that era don't support VBR either. However, it's quite easy to convert videos to CBR using tools like FFmpeg.
Regarding the AC3 audio format muxing you mentioned... how is that done? Is it muxed with the M2V video stream in the same way as regular ADS audio?

[P-chan]

@swosho Thanks. I just have to do the same .PSS muxing but with the AC3 audio stream with bitrate set to 56000, and playing them back and then . . . it works! Based on testing results, the audio does not pop. Hopefully i can test custom .PSS file in Genji PS2 game. Now the hack works via PCSX2 emulator, how about i can test it on a real PS2 on a later date. 

I have decided to give my rom hack a name, Wild ARMS 5 - Vocal Removal Hack. 

This rom hack AI-filters out all the lyrics of the songs Justice to Believe and Crystal Letter both performed by Nana Mizuki. The idea for this rom hack was popped into my head after looking into the description of Crystal Letter MUSIC CLIP on YouTube and states it is the ending for Wild Arms the Vth Vanguard. Check the description of the this clip for proof (as well, i also have decided to come up with a new initiative i am exploring for Japanese MVs (which is external .ass karaoke subtitles overlayed in a Japanese MV on YT) which will not be covered here.):  https://youtu.be/Klc-guNRuC4

The tools used to create this vocal removal hack are:

VGMToolbox (PSS Demuxer)

foobar2000 with vgmstream plugin

Ultimate Vocal Remover

MAGIX VEGAS PRO 17 (paid, it is not free)

Audacity

MFAudio

HxD Hex Editor

QuickBMS with XWH/XWB splitter script downloaded from an HCS64 forum.

This rom hack will support both the US and EU(PAL) versions of the game (and support the Japanese version is meant to be added later as a standalone version) and, along with others, will be part of a new, exciting collection of miscellaneous rom hacks for Playstation 3, Playstation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, PC, and Wii, among others. Thanks.

Edited 1 hour ago by P-chan