Exploring Dolby Atmos music, I did a quick video on how to produce music on Logic Pro in the Atmos format

[Franck]

Continuing the series, how to make music in the Dolby Atmos format using Apple Logic Pro X.

 

[dabl]

Thanks! Would be interested in your Mac hardware specs (model, cpu, ram) etc and how things go if/when you try a mix with multiple tracks and plugins plus while also running the Dolby Atmos renderer etc.

It seems an apple machine running both Logic Pro and the Dolby renderer is the most affordable path for Atmos music production. In the Windows world I believe the Dolby Atmos renderer must run on a separate machine which can only procured from an authorized dealer, so much more expensive and complicated.

I don't yet own any Apple hardware up to the task of doing all this so am of course looking at the ARM based machines. At one point not too long ago ARM and/or the latest Mac OS compatibility with either/both Logic Pro and the Dolby Atmos renderer was a 'thing' but that may have changed.

For OS compatibility (only) discussion I found this

Even the name has 'pro tools' in it I've found a lot of useful stuff at
https://www.pro-tools-expert.com
For instance there is a page on Logic Pro
https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/logic-pro-x
One of the most difficult pieces of the Atmos music production puzzle is the notion of a 'monitor controller' that can handle the volume and speaker crossover eq for playback.

Again, most of the dedicated solutions are expensive and not too long ago there were very few that combined an audio interface with the controller.

Here is an example discussion of making use of a reasonably priced solution from not too long ago.

I've been thinking of trying to use an AV receiver as a poor man's monitor controller.

If you're just doing things 'inside the box' ex all recorded tracks from a synthesizer it's much easier but unfortunately I want to record real drums etc which requires a bunch of mics and analog ins and outs etc.

Anyway, glad to see discussion of this here.

Some other example articles I found useful

https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/pr...by-atmos-what-hardware-and-software-do-i-need
https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/ho...ow-about-dolby-atmos-home-entertainment-r57h5
https://musicsupport.dolby.com/support/home

 

[Franck]

Thanks! Would be interested in your Mac hardware specs (model, cpu, ram) etc and how things go if/when you try a mix with multiple tracks and plugins plus while also running the Dolby Atmos renderer etc.

It seems an apple machine running both Logic Pro and the Dolby renderer is the most affordable path for Atmos music production. In the Windows world I believe the Dolby Atmos renderer must run on a separate machine which can only procured from an authorized dealer, so much more expensive and complicated.

I don't yet own any Apple hardware up to the task of doing all this so am of course looking at the ARM based machines. At one point not too long ago ARM and/or the latest Mac OS compatibility with either/both Logic Pro and the Dolby Atmos renderer was a 'thing' but that may have changed.

For OS compatibility (only) discussion I found this

Even the name has 'pro tools' in it I've found a lot of useful stuff at
https://www.pro-tools-expert.com
For instance there is a page on Logic Pro
https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/logic-pro-x
One of the most difficult pieces of the Atmos music production puzzle is the notion of a 'monitor controller' that can handle the volume and speaker crossover eq for playback.

Again, most of the dedicated solutions are expensive and not too long ago there were very few that combined an audio interface with the controller.

Here is an example discussion of making use of a reasonably priced solution from not too long ago.

I've been thinking of trying to use an AV receiver as a poor man's monitor controller.

If you're just doing things 'inside the box' ex all recorded tracks from a synthesizer it's much easier but unfortunately I want to record real drums etc which requires a bunch of mics and analog ins and outs etc.

Anyway, glad to see discussion of this here.

Some other example articles I found useful

https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/pr...by-atmos-what-hardware-and-software-do-i-need
https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/ho...ow-about-dolby-atmos-home-entertainment-r57h5
https://musicsupport.dolby.com/support/home

I have an iMac Pro, so I think I have the umppf... I don't think these processes are CPU expensive, although they recommend the sample rate to be 1024bits.

I think Atmos has been expensive so far, because Dolby wants to make sure you have a Dolby Atmos certified studio for movie production, and I guess the Director wants to make sure you know what you do. I don't know if this requirement will exist for music. For instance Apple has a "Mastered for Apple Music" logo, and you need to prove that the master was done by one of the approved Apple Mastering Engineers. Let's see if Apple music goes that way for Spatial Audio. Also, once Spatial Audio is in Logic Pro, may be you won't need to the Dolby Atmos renderer as a separate application.

The only shop so far that allows you to dristibute spatial music, is Avid, they sell the Dolby Atmos production suite ($299), and AvidPlay is basically $50/year for distributing Atmos music (Available in July). This article explains how to distribute Atmos Music to Amazon and Tidal. Distrokid and TuneCore are rumored to work with Apple to allow submitting Atmos files.

For me, I do quadraphonic music on my quadraphonic modular synthesizer, so far, I have mastered it into 5.1, (and released in this format on surroundmusic.one) where center channel is silent, and each quad channel is mapped to L,R, Ls, Rs directly. The location of quad speakers is not the same as for 5.1, but many people don't have a 5.1 calibrated room anyhow. In short, I think I can do Atmos music files where I ignore the height, so I can check all is ok on my 5.1 system and also in binaural.

 

[mlrocker]

three days ago...good news


only $200

 

[beerking]

three days ago...good news

Now that is a very interesting development!!

 

[dabl]

The $200 price point is nothing new. Amazingly it's been that price since Logic was first introduced.

If you already have Logic updates like this one are free.

The really big deal is the code optimization for the M1 chips.

The Atmos integration is a great development but it really just simplifies the previous process.

There is no E-AC-3 export so you still need the Atmos Renderer.

 

[Franck]

There is no E-AC-3 export so you still need the Atmos Renderer.

You can export the ADM BWF file from Logic Pro so they can be uploaded to your distributor. So the Atmos Renderer is not needed to make commercially distributed music.
What may be missing (I will need to check) is to be able to export in various renderer formats, like binaural and in mp4 format so you can play it on various devices.

 

[Franck]

I extended a bit more this video, into 3 more detailed videos:

3. Coming soon…

I’m still using the Dolby Atmos Rendered, but all the information is useful if you have the new Logic Pro X.