I’m still trying to figure out ATMOS renderer in the new version, and having no success at all - my group track does not appear in the renderer input list and I created the group in Audio Connections and assigned it to the main 7.1.4 output, and I must be missing a step or two because I’m not able to get my bed into the renderer at all.
Anyway, has ANYONE successfully rendered out a mix using the Dolby Renderer for 11 yet? What was your workflow, if you don’t mind telling? I’ve been doing the steps in the how-to video and for whatever reason I’m not able to go beyond setting the group up. Thanks in advance, looking forward to hearing that this can actually be done!
Update: With the help of another topic on this forum I was able to get the audio through the renderer and can create an ADM file of my content. That can be combined with video using the Dolby Atmos conversion tool to create a final MP4 with Atmos capable playback.
That’s some great news! I take it the conversion tool allows for creating a Dolby Digital Plus file? Then you would mux that with your video? This is definitely one of the parts that I am still struggling with unfortunately. Does the conversion tool also allow for creating a True HD + Atmos version. I have yet to dabble with the conversion tool and have been a bit baffled with their documentation surrounding this topic. Definitely appreciate any insights you may have billjv!
@Rexler I just downloaded the conversion tool and am going to take a piece through the entire process while I’m off this week. Thanks to you getting me past the ADM module issue, I’m hoping I can create an MP4 using Atmos all on the PC. (Recently semi-retired my Mac).
Regarding Dolby Digital Plus, I have a Surcode app from Minnetonka Audio that gives me DD and DD+ encoding from Premiere, so I’ve never had to try to use the conversion tool for that. I’ll check it out and get back to you on it.
@MattiasNYC Actually I was mistaken. The conversion tool will not let you conbine audio and video. The Atmos Media Production Suite, which I used previous to Nuendo 11, contains a version of the Renderer that allows an MP4 output. I believe what is needed for marrying video to atmos audio is the Dolby Encoding Engine, which you can apply for here.
“With the help of another topic on this forum I was able to get the audio through the renderer and can create an ADM file of my content.” Do you have a link to that topic? I’m interested in eventually getting into Atmos as well.
Okay, so I downloaded the Encoding Engine after approval, and I realize now I’m probably in over my head. The engine is pretty much command line, and there isn’t one intuitive thing about it. Additionally, all of the different requirements and switches make it really obtuse for those who aren’t programmers. My guess is that Dolby wants to sell the Dolby Vision Producer Suite in order to have an interface that is easier to use. If you are a programmer or have a lot of coding experience you may be able to decipher and create your own plug-in, but that’s above my pay grade - I don’t even want to get into C compiler stuff and all that.
On Dolby’s site, perhaps in a community or forum section or knowledge base section or something, I remember reading about how to mux audio/video. It was a bit too much for my puny brain without more coffee, but if you want a link to it I can probably dig it up… actually, you can maybe search for “Atmos” on the forum for Blackmagid Design in the Resolve section, and you’ll likely find the topic where the link was…
Thanks for this - I did that search and am downloading the Studio beta now. Not keen on using Resolve for editing but if I just need to do a combine of ADM WAV and my video, I can use it as needed.
This is what Jeurgi and myself were pointing to earlier in the referenced thread. I have attempted to make use of the Dolby Encoding Engine, only to find that there must be some sort of file length limitation to the free license. Basically it calls back stating that the operation is not supported by the license. I used the packaged template for converting an Atmos mezz file to True HD, replacing the file input and output locations as directed in the manual. I can try another ADM export of shorter length to test this hypothesis later.
This is where we have a conundrum. I have not seen any references to this tool or it’s purchase on any Dolby Partner websites. I have only seen options for cloud encoding subscription services or going straight to a media distribution service with an ADM file. I don’t want to have to include a middle man to create essentially a fancy mp3 of an Atmos master. This business model is horrible for the independent artist if it is indeed the case.
Once again my hope is that I am severely mistaken by all of this & that someone my be able to shed some light on all of this for the community. We should be able to export directly from the host in a format that an audience can enjoy at home in the highest fidelity or on the go being streamed from an artist’s webpage. Just my two cents here.
This looks like the easiest and cheapest solution - it’s free! Thanks @MattiasNYC for posting those links, very informative. The studio version of Resolve is something I may invest in if I start doing a lot of Atmos related stuff. For now I’ve just done some music stuff.
Does anyone have any easy, good ways of getting already muxed media back into a professional Atmos setup? I’ve been looking at receivers and the cheaper ones have speaker-outs only, the midrange have “pre amp” outputs on RCA that are -10dBV I believe and they’re in the $1k range, and then finally the ones with +4dBu XLR outs are far too pricey.
So, any ideas here? Only thing I can think of is getting the mid level one and routing the “pre amp” outputs back into an interface and routing direct to my monitors. For hard media (as opposed to streaming) it’d be obviously cheaper to simply rip the media and have Nuendo play it back - but I don’t think this is possible (?).
Honestly for quick & dirty that’s probably the best option I could think too! It appears to me that even attempting to play the content from a Win10 machine for example requires it to be fed over hdmi to a certified receiver. I have heard that using a QSC Q-Sys processor as your receiver/soundcard could be a viable option. It would require some programming for the unit but could be worth the effort if one could be acquired for the right price used.
What you describe is pretty much the setup I have. I have a Marantz 6014 that has 10 RCA inputs for 7.1.2. The outputs of my X32 are physically connected to the Marantz inputs, and I can assign those through Nuendo to play back my projects. I also have two more ceiling speakers that I feed directly from my X32, so I can monitor and mix in 7.1.4. The signal is not processed by the amp, and it is not recognized as Atmos - it’s just the pure multi-channel mix from Nuendo.
For playing back Atmos content from the amp, I switch the X32’s 8 XLR inputs and 4 aux outs to the feed from the amp. My computer’s normal media output is fed to the Marantz amp via HDMI and just becomes one of my sources, as does my cable feed, blu-ray, and anything else. This arrangement works out great, as I can listen to mixes in DD or Atmos or whatever format they happen to be in, and the amp will even up-rez the content to take advantage of the ceiling speakers. if desired.
Some lessons learned - mixing -10 and +4 unbalanced and balanced signals is a recipe for hum noise. I’ve had to put direct boxes on every channel coming from and going to the amp to avoid this. For that I used two 8 channel DI rack units. Also I have a large handful of external synths which all have to be sent through DI boxes before going to the mixer to avoid hum. Hum in this scenario is no laughing matter.
Honestly the hardest thing about all of this was figuring out routing. I ended up getting a Behringer S16 unit to give me more inputs and outputs that feed into the X32 digitally. I use them for more external gear inputs and additional outputs for a separate set of 5.1 monitors, and a special stereo fold-down mix for doing live webcasts. (Yes, my studio looks like a speaker garden!)
I feel like I’ve achieved the point where my studio works they way Atmos is designed - as a full-blown sound environment rather than just a bunch of speakers. And there are times that I’ve been doing live-to-multitrack music scoring where the room just absolutely engulfs me as the sound dances around me in all kinds of ways, all under my control. I start to forget about speakers and placement and it all just sounds like it’s coming from every direction and the entire room becomes an instrument. It’s overpowering sometimes, actually!
just found this thread, which points to the other thread with similar intentions.
Good stuff here too.
Seems like there are a couple of potential solutions to get ADM-Files to play on Atmos AVRs. Let’s see, which one we all come up with to be the optimum (effort and $$$).