Getting Started with Dolby Atmos in Digital Performer 11 - Part 1: The Basics

[@brianralston_composer]

SMPTE timecode can be exported from DP easily by using MOTU's own SMPTE-Z plugin. It is a free stock plugin already included in DP. Just add it on a blank mono audio track....route that track's audio output to the Dolby Atmos Renderer channel 129 as you did....and the SMPTE-Z plugins will generate the timecode signal that follows the DP transport and it works great. No workaround needed. It is already built in.

[@michaelgwagner]

Thanks! Great tip. For some reason I did not come accross this plugin (although I did some searching).

[@frankweber356]

I would like to ask one question. Why do i need Dolby Atmos ? What is the advantage ? In DP i already have all for surround. Why inserting another App what´s so complicated.

[@michaelgwagner]

Valid question, although a bit of a loaded one. When people ask me that they usually want to follow up with a conspiracy theory. Lol. I think we first have to differentiate between Atmos as a product or service provided by Dolby, and its underlying approach to audio which you could think of as a generalization of surround sound. Atmos employs an object oriented approach that utilizes two types of audio channels, static ones (“bed channels” in Atmos speak) and dynamic channels (“object channels” in Atmos). It is not the only format that does that, there are many more (MPEG-H for example, Sony has one as well). The main advantage of these formats is that they can be rendered at the endpoint and are therefore agnostic to the speaker layout. Instead of providing different mixes for different speaker layouts you only need one mix and that one scales across all potential use cases. In that sense, these formats are superior to traditional surround sound. And why Atmos as opposed to, say MPEG-H? Thats simply because pretty much all movies and TV shows are produced in Atmos these days. But since all object oriented formats work pretty much the same way, any skill you develop when working with Atmos translates seamlessly to other object oriented formats.

[@danwool]

This is great! Thanks so much for doing a DP video. You just sold me, in another video on the Fiedler Atmos Composer, so I'm a little surprised this is with the Dolby Atmos Renderer, but it seems just fine.
One question (so far), can you please explain, or direct me to one of your other videos that explains the best options for binaural monitoring of Atmos mixes? Listening to this on UA-cam in headphones I don't really hear the panning moves you demonstrate here too well. Should I? Or do I need to play back mixes on specific Atmos-capable hardware to hear Atmos spatialization? Thanks again!

[@michaelgwagner]

Tganks! I had it set to stereo which I usually do in these videos. I’m not a big fan of binaural downmixes. I might do a DA Composer video in the future. I decided to go with the Renderer in this one because the composer was not recognized by DP until the most recent update and I was not yet able to test it fully.

[@danwool]

@@michaelgwagner Thanks! Is there another way to experience Atmos on headphones other than binaural? Or am I missing something? If you had it set to binaural rather than stereo in this video would I hear binaural Atmos spacialization off of UA-cam with headphones? ….Sry. I’m struggling with some of these concepts.

[@michaelgwagner]

The only way that experience Atmos immersively on headphones is through some sort of headtracking. You either need the Airpods Pro or Max, the Beats Studio Pro or the Beats Pro earbuds, the Audeze Mobius or the HyperX Cloud Orbit S. Alternatively you can also add a seperate headtracker but that is usually less reliable. Everything else is a gimmick. Yes, you can trick the brain into believing that the audio is immersive but that relies on something akin to a placebo effect. It’s a bit like tricking the brain into seeing 3d with only one eye by moving the camera in certain ways.

[@danwool]

​@@michaelgwagner Ah. I guess I've been confused about the terminology. I thought Atmos music mixes for headphones *meant* 3D immersive placebo trickery to simulate surround/height. I didn't realize it just meant (or could mean just) headtracking - which I'm not so keen on. My brain doesn't quite buy headtracking in headphones. My brain *does* buy the (placebo) immersiveness of The Dolby Labs Functional Tests on Apple Music you refer to in another video, but I guess it's personal preference. Thanks again for your help on this!

[@edwardnixon1782]

Pretty pricey piece of software even with the Upgrade discount from the PerformerLite that came with my UltraLite 5. Sounds good though. Maybe I'll give DA Composer a go... Looking forward to next week's show. :)

[@michaelgwagner]

Digital Performer has some nice features. It is a bit underrated imho. Having said that, if you are new to Atmos and are trying to figure out the best way to get into it, there are better options out there. I would probably go for Cubase or Logic, depending on the OS you use. The DA Composer had some issues with Digital Performer. I think the most recent release fixed that but I have not had a chance to test that yet.

[@edwardnixon1782]

@@michaelgwagner Thanks. Frankly, I probably don't need another DAW in my life; but there's always that possibility of finding true love... :)