Dolby surround tools price

You can deliver multi-channel audio using any conventional two-channel digital delivery format, by encoding your surround content using one of the 'matrixing' systems.

These are Dolby Surround and Pro Logic, both of which offer a four-channel surround system consisting of Left, Centre, Right and a mono Surround rear channel. The advantages of these formats are that they don't need any special delivery hardware, Pro Logic decoders can be found in most, if not all, domestic surround systems, and no data compression is used.

The down side is that the matrixing system means the separation between the various channels will be compromised, and anyone without the correct decoder will hear the encoded audio, usually described as LtRt.

Finally, Dolby E is a format developed by Dolby to enable broadcasters to distribute eight channels of audio through their existing two-channel AES3 digital infrastructure, and doesn't normally appear outside the broadcast production chain. Neyrinck are now producing a DTS version of their Soundcode plug-in. This brings us to the methods available in the Pro Tools environment to enable us to encode our surround mixes into one of the delivery formats described above.

Other tools are available, but they are stand-alone packages that don't work as Pro Tools plug-ins see the 'Alternatives' box for more details. There are three matrix encoding packages, and one Dolby Digital encoding package see box. Digidesign make it clear that you cannot use Dolby Surround Tools for any content destined for film release: film mixes must be handled in approved film dubbing theatres.

If you want to use Dolby Surround Tools within a 5. The user guide provides you with 'step by step' instructions for this process, which adds up to eight tracks to the Session, as well as loads of additional paths and sub-paths see screens below.

The Encoder plug-in has very few controls, just like its hardware cousins. Since it is a 'ganged' trim, all four input channels are boost or cut simultaneously.

Most of the plug-in window is taken up by level meters, which indicate the input level to the Surround Encoder of the L, C, R and S signals. These meters feature peak-reading ballistics, with a peak-hold function to indicate momentary peak values, as well as clip lights which stay on until you clear them.

Similar output level meters display the level of the Surround Encoder 's matrix-encoded Lt and Rt output signals. There are also Dolby level indicators on both inputs and outputs, which look like little triangles, and display the optimum level, also known as the 'reference dialogue level', which corresponds to a sound pressure level SPL of 79dB for home video and other 'small room' releases. These playback levels are 'C-weighted, slow' measurements made with an SPL meter from your mixing position.

This helps to make sure that everyone mixing in Dolby Surround is monitoring at similar levels; our hearing response changes with volume, which is why we should check a mix done at high volumes to see if it still 'works' at low playback volume too. As the LCRS signals are combined into the LtRt output it is quite easy to overload the matrix, so as a matter of good working practice you should be aiming set the levels so that the Dolby level indicators are flashing regularly but you don't hit the peak level Indicators at all.

You should use Surround Decoder to monitor the Dolby Surround mix, to make sure that the Surround-encoded two-channel mix will sound good in what ever format the listener chooses. Digidesign strongly advise that you do not monitor through a Dolby Surround Pro Logic amplifier or receiver to decode a Dolby Surround matrix-encoded signal. The reason is that Pro Logic consumer products are not built to the same professional specifications as the professional decoders and Pro Logic-equipped consumer products have auto-balancing features which, if used in a mix monitoring situation, may contribute to inappropriate mixing decisions.

Surround Decoder lets you switch the monitor mode from Dolby Surround to stereo or just mono. Switching between these modes takes the Lt and Rt input signals and routes them to either one, two, or four playback channels to enable you to easily check for compatibility. In mono the LtRt signals are summed and routed to the Centre speaker, while in stereo the LtRt signals are routed direct to the left and right speakers without decoding.

The Decoder plug-in's pink-noise generator is used to generate and send band-limited pink noise to the LCRS output channels, which is useful for setting up your monitor system. The output level trims should be adjusted so that the pink-noise signal produces a sound pressure level of 79dB at the mix position for each speaker in turn. The Surround Decoder plug-in also has a Surround Delay control, which delays the rear Surround channel in 10 millisecond increments, from 10ms to ms. This delay helps to ensure that any front-channel L, C or R information that has 'leaked' into the S channel is heard from the front speakers first.

Delaying the Surround channel by just a small amount means that any common 'crosstalk' information will arrive at the listener after the main front signal, and as a result the information will be perceived to have emanated from the front speakers. The Decode Steering display has no user controls: it simply shows the direction in which the Pro Logic decoder output is currently being 'steered' by the mix. This perspective shows the position of the dominant channel, relative to your front L, C and R and rear S speakers.

The Surround Decoder's adaptive matrix tracks the changes and makes the appropriate decoding adjustments as the steering direction of the mix shifts dynamically. The Surround Decoder plug-in includes options for different centre speaker configurations: Large, Small and None. You should choose Large if your Centre speaker is matched or closely matched, in terms of low-end frequency response, with your Left and Right speakers.

This is the optimum setup, but not everyone's system is like this, hence the two other options. The Small option redirects low-frequency content from the Centre channel below Hz to the left and right speakers, while with None selected the Centre channel output signal is attenuated by 3dB and added equally into the Left and Right output channels, to deliver a correct 'phantom centre' image of your Centre channel information. The Dolby Surround Panner plug-in is now redundant, in favour of the more flexible surround panning available in Pro Tools 5.

The plug-ins described in the main text are all matrix-based encoders that use variants of the Dolby Surround or Dolby Pro Logic II systems. This does away with the narrowing of the soundfield that is typical of matrixing, but it uses data compression, so there are different side-effects to take into consideration.

The integrated help features are a nice touch. Neyrinck's system consists of an Audiosuite-based encoder and decoder, plus an RTAS version of the decoder for easier checking of playback material. To use the encoder, you first need to produce a bounced file of your surround mix.

You then highlight the bounced file and select Soundcode Encoder from the Soundfield sub-menu of the Audiosuite menu. Next, you set the Dolby Digital encoding parameters, the file name and file format, and the encoding happens off-line.

You can then decode the resulting file and import the results back into Pro Tools for quality checking, by using the Encode and Import button at the bottom. Dolby Digital encoding has many features and options, and you should read the documentation that comes with the software package before embarking on any serious encoding.

Fortunately, the plug-in has integrated help right , which can be accessed by clicking on a text description. An inspired feature of this plug-in is the ability to drop in and patch a short section of the encoded file. This will save you loads of time if, for example, you have already encoded a two-hour film soundtrack for a DVD, but a last-minute change is made to replace one line of dialogue.

Obviously, you have to match the encoder settings when dropping in, and drop-ins can only be done at 48kHz sample rate, not The decoder plug-in operates as a real-time RTAS plug-in in stereo-to-mono, stereo-to-stereo or stereo-to-surround versions or as a non-real-time Audiosuite plug-in. The decoder has integrated help, just like the encoder, and again, you would be very wise to read the documentation before using it in anger, in order to understand the implications of all the different settings.

It is possible to use the decoder to decode a digital stream from a DVD player straight into the Pro Tools environment, which is useful when you want to compare your mix against a commercial DVD without leaving Pro Tools. Conversely, the decoder can also be used to output a Dolby Digital AC3 file as a bitstream from a Pro Tools interface digital output, so you can make a reference CD or DVD disc to check your mix and the encoding on various consumer playback systems, assuming you have a suitable authoring package.

This is very definitely a professional's tool and not something the beginner should tackle. You need to read up and understand what all the different metadata settings are for. That said, the ability to create reference DVDs and CDs and then play them on various consumer systems to check out how your mixes hold out through the AC3 encoding and encoding processes, before commiting your project to manufacture, is great.

Neyrinck include a comprehensive set of documentation to help you to get your head round the AC3 process and its settings. The Circle Surround encoder takes up to a maximum of six discrete inputs and a subwoofer channel, and produces a two-channel LtRt mix. The input-level indicators are much more basic than those of the Dolby Surround Tools encoder.

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