Mixing three AC3 files into one 5.1 system

[Stuart]

How do I take three AC3 surround sound outputs from three separate soundcards (Soundblaster Audigy2) and mix them into one 5.1 surround sound system? I have three p.c.'s set up as a network that contain a database of video and soundfiles. The video is sorted and will use three projectors but I want to have three different kinds of sound that will be work with one 5.1 surround sound system. The sound files are chosen randomly by the software on a controller p.c.

Advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[MDS]

Do you mean 'mixing' in the sense of combining all three feeds into one so that you hear all of them at the same time, like combining a drum track and guitar track into one song? That would sound horrendous.

 

[jaxvon]

From what I can glean, you're going to watch one movie with three projectors? If this is true, then why not just use one sound file?

 

[Stuart]

Each of the three p.c's contain an equal number of MPEG2 video files and sound files, all different but all the same length, one minute. All the components start and finish at the same time and are chosen randomly. Each p.c. however has a different kind of soundtrack. These three sound layers are ambience (as in background noise - rain, cars etc), musical composition and the third are dialogue / spoken word. The whole thing will be experienced in an art gallery space and will use three projectors, covering three walls. But what I would like to do is to have the soundtracks move around the space using one system. This is neccessary as I don't want to position three sets of surround sound speakers in the space... which I could do I suppose but really I'd like to position one speaker in each top corner with the subwoofer on the floor.

What I am looking at are the relationships between what we see and hear and how we make sense of it. Sure, occasionally the three layers do sound horrendous but for the most part they actually work and some sense is made. But the meanings that are made between what is seen and heard are different for everyone.