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If you've heard about Dolby Atmos and are wondering where to start, you've come to the right place. Throughout this blog, we'll outline the concepts behind Dolby Atmos, the creation process for immersive mixing, and some of the tools of the trade that you'll need to do the job right.
- Vintage King: Your Partner In Dolby Atmos Design And Integration
- What is Dolby Atmos?
- Dolby Atmos Renderer
- Creating Immersive Mixes With Dolby Atmos
- Monitoring Outputs For Dolby Atmos
- Additional Reading
Vintage King: Your Partner In Dolby Atmos Design And Integration
Vintage King is your partner for all Dolby Atmos-related design and integration needs. We can outfit our customers with the tools and technology that complement this software in the studio, in addition to providing on-site installation. Thanks to our special relationship with Dolby, we can also help you receive official Atmos certification.
Below, you can take a 3D walkthrough tour of SNAPSOUND's Dolby Atmos room, which we played a critical role in outfitting.
3D Walkthrough Of SNAPSOUND's New Dolby Atmos Room
What is Dolby Atmos?
Dolby Atmos is a proprietary immersive audio technology that was first released by Dolby Laboratories in 2012. Atmos takes advantage of the best of channel-based audio and adds the concept of audio objects in the channel-based world. It expands upon traditional 7.1 surround systems by introducing two overhead channels, resulting in what Dolby calls a 7.1.2 bed.
In addition to assigning audio to these 10 bed channels, Atmos allows mixers to create up to 118 “audio objects.” These are individual sources that can be placed anywhere in the room, independent of the surrounding beds, based on X, Y, Z coordinates, and the number of speakers available in the room.
In 2014, Dolby announced partnerships with Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer, Yamaha, and many more to create Atmos-enabled home theater AV receivers. In 2018, Dolby partnered with Netflix, allowing users to stream titles in Dolby Atmos directly to their smart TVs, computers, or Xbox. Since the format’s release, over 1725 film titles, 2000 home entertainment releases, and more than 200 live events have utilized Dolby Atmos.
So, what kind of hardware and software do you need if you want to break into the world of immersive mixing with Dolby Atmos? Let's find out.
Dolby Atmos Renderer
Originally, Dolby Atmos required multiple software suites to operate, but the Dolby Atmos Renderer v5.0 software has consolidated the old Dolby Atmos Production Suite and Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite into a single product.
The new Dolby Atmos Renderer app combines all of the features from the previous Production and Mastering Suites into one streamlined tool, along with a range of new features and improvements. It also includes updated native Apple silicon versions of the Dolby Atmos Music Panner, Binaural Settings plug-in, and Dolby LTC Generator for faster, more efficient performance.
On top of that, support for 96 kHz ADM BWF files allows for higher-resolution immersive audio delivery, making it easier to meet today’s production standards. The updated interface has also been refined for a cleaner layout and easier navigation, helping you move faster and stay focused on your mix.
Creating Immersive Mixes With Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos mixes use channels 1-8 just like a traditional 7.1 surround system, with channels 9 and 10 representing the ceiling beds. There are two basic approaches to creating mixes in Dolby Atmos:
- Mixing entirely in Dolby Atmos and rendering surround sound formats from the Atmos session
- Converting 5.1 or 7.1 mixes to Atmos format from dialogue, music, FX, and background stems and/or units
For maximum flexibility, it’s always best to mix sessions entirely in Atmos, although the Dolby Atmos Renderer makes it easy to adapt 5.1 and 7.1 mixes to full Atmos mixes.
Getting Technical
When creating a Dolby Atmos mix, your DAW establishes communication directly with your Atmos Renderer and can automatically create the correct number of beds and objects based on the I/O configuration of your Renderer. Your DAW will create the necessary 7.1.2 beds, map them to objects, and even label the objects to match your naming conventions in the Renderer, a huge time-saver compared to assigning everything manually.
All Atmos surround panners feature a link function, which lets mixers bind the front and rear left/right positional controls together, making it more efficient to place sound sources without having to manage the front and rear playlists separately. Linking is enabled by default and allows you to create pan moves with just two knobs. By unlinking the controls, you can pan from front to back diagonally.
The Height (Z) control is also an essential parameter of the Atmos format, allowing you to creatively place sound elements above the audience. Atmos panners use an auto-height function, which uses the X and Y pan automation to automatically generate new height automation based on the available Atmos speakers. This allows mixers to convert automation for a 5.1 or 7.1 mix into an Atmos mix automation, without having to rewrite the existing automation.
The Dolby Atmos Renderer
An important part of any Atmos set-up is the Dolby Renderer. Currently, there are two different Dolby Renderers, one for home theater or nearfield applications and one created for theatrical applications (only available on loan from Dolby). Let’s talk a little bit first about the Renderer for nearfield application.
The Dolby Atmos Renderer is a Mac or Windows-based system that processes the rendering of objects, manages pans, and authors your file, in addition to controlling your speaker configurations and room calibration. This system, which must be configured to Dolby’s guidelines, will include interface options for DANTE or MADI and work in conjunction with your DAW workstation.
As we mentioned previously, the Renderer for theatrical or cinematic purposes (RMU) is not actually available for sale and can only be used on loan from Dolby or via licensing of the tool. If you’re interested in pursuing the use of this style of RMU, we can connect you with Dolby to work through the details.
So, why use a hardware-based Dolby Renderer? In order to handle sessions with large track counts seamlessly and deliver .atmos files, a dedicated hardware Dolby Renderer is absolutely necessary for your post-production studio. By laying out high standards and specifications for the Renderer hardware, Dolby has ensured that these systems will provide you with the most streamlined workflow for routing, mixing, and controlling your monitors.
Monitoring Outputs For Dolby Atmos
One of the most important elements of creating content for Dolby Atmos is your monitor setup. Currently, there are only a handful of facilities in North America that have been certified for Dolby Atmos, but that number is growing swiftly. Vintage King has been a part of the monitor installs for many of these studios, including Blackbird Studio’s Studio C and SNAPSOUND in Los Angeles.
The control room for a studio working in Dolby Atmos should be laid out with monitors set up in at least a 7.1.4 speaker layout. This layout provides enough positional resolution that mix engineers will have confidence that their content will translate to both larger and smaller systems. The monitors used in these layouts should consist of the same brand and model, with the lone exception being the subwoofers.
In addition to the monitors themselves, creators mixing for Dolby Atmos must be equipped with a monitor control, bass management, and correction/calibration.
Monitor Control
The monitor controller used in a Dolby Atmos environment must have enough inputs and outputs with the correct channel count to support your entire workflow and signal flow. It’s helpful for users to have instant access to individual speaker mutes and solos during mixing and understand which speakers are in use.
Bass Management
This is important for the redirection of lower frequencies to speakers that are capable of carrying the load. It is particularly necessary for studios creating Dolby Atmos music.
Correction And Calibration
Having complete control over variables like room acoustics, delays for speaker position differences, and individual speaker frequency response is essential for mixing with Dolby Atmos. Vintage King offers a number of tools from brands like Trinnov Audio and Sonarworks that are able to achieve correction and calibration for any room. Avid's new MTRX Studio features SPQ processing, which can be used for delay, bass management, and EQing of monitor signals.
Additional Reading
Want to learn more about Dolby Atmos and immersive audio? Check out these blogs:
