Why is everyone so jazzed about ATMOS?

[Mr. Afternoon]

MKV file via VLC media player?

No, what I mean is if your speakers/reciever doesnt support Atmos, the software would take room paarameters, speaker parameters, and render a downmix from the Atmos content on the fly.

 

[himey]

No, what I mean is if your speakers/reciever doesnt support Atmos, the software would take room paarameters, speaker parameters, and render a downmix from the Atmos content on the fly.

The downmixing is built into the Dolby True HD format.

Too bad there isn't software that decodes Atmos and re-routes it as PCM 7.1, with the back speakers becoming the top/height speakers in a 5.1.2 setup. Won't happen though because they want you to buy a new receiver/processor.

 

[jimfisheye]

I see here a leap from 'cheapo gear' right to 'soundbar'. As if there's nothing else? False choice. The 'else' encompasses what most of us use, I'd bet.

I'd also bet your setup is the peculiar outlier.




Weak.

I have the basic computer -> audio interface -> amps/speakers home theater setup. Medium field. Yes, it's also a project studio and I have interfaces that also have inputs. Maybe I spent more time with a level and tape measure than others? Nothing peculiar though. And I've seen more than a few systems from folks on this forum that could probably run circles around mine! I don't know, I think I'm pretty well calibrated and my mixes are at least not out in left field.

Yeah you know, I'm not buying more channels of audio interface to get at hidden software. This is pretty straightforward and clear. Seeing junk like shitbars with an Atmos sticker on the side of it kind of leads to the 0-100 comment above. So sure, I could get some reasonable AVR for a grand give or take and make a sideways move. More gear! Woohoo! Between the fact that I shouldn't have to and the fu factor from Dolby with this, I'm really turned off. I have more than 12 channels of output and it's all in pro products that were kind of made to work for a long time.

Your comments (and others) are kind of fair in a way but also kind of not. Atmos is 12 or more channels of 24 bit PCM audio. The format that's been around for decades now. It isn't something weird and new. The on the fly software render required for the objects to the 7.1.4 array depending on the discrete object channels available is a new twist but pretty matter of fact. Look at the speaker array available, render the objects there are no discrete channels for into the 7.1.4 array and send 12+ channels of PCM audio to your connected interface(s). (Or further - render everything into a 7.1 or 5.1 mix as the available speaker channels dictate.) Not everyone knows the nuts and bolts and that's fair. At the end of the day this is what's going on though.

Release the f'ing decoder Dolby and stop acting so desperate!

 

[pti]

I feel similarly to Andrew Scheps here: (warning: language). It's so hard it makes me want to vomit.

His solution to listen to commercial Atmos releases on his mix rig was to buy a $5K+ JBL SDP-55 decoder with DANTE to pipe decoded Atmos into his mixing rig.

For my Mac + Focusrite + 7.1.4 JBL LSR43xx mixing system, I did a much cheaper, but still absurd version, buying another Apple TV 4K, buying a used Onkyo TX-RZ730 on eBay, piping all 12 signals from the Onkyo pre-amp outputs into audio interface inputs on my mixing system, and patching all of those back to the 12 outputs I use for the speakers using Rogue Amoeba Loopback.

I have the Dolby Atmos Renderer running for Atmos mixing, but that only does bed+objects+pan-metadata-to-Atmos, not Atmos-to-speaker streams.

I strongly suspect this will be at least partially resolved for Apple Music very shortly, with MacOS Monterey supporting speaker configurations above 7.1 (e.g., 5.1.2 and 7.1.4) and Apple Music at least having access to an Atmos software decoder that will address the larger arrays.

Playing back Atmos from other sources like Blu-Ray will remain a problem and I will likely need to keep my Onkyo AVR preamp capture hack in place for a while if I want to listen to reference mixes.

 

[ar surround]

I try to fire up my Atmos / Auro 3D rig this afternoon. Wish me luck! I may need help for you folks.

Sooooooooooooo ???

Problems...More channels = more problems. Right @LuvMyQuad ? More later.

I‘ve got Atmos fired up as I write this. It’s a 7.1.4 system. Big Parasound amps handling the seven main speakers while the new Marantz SR7013 handles the four overhead speakers. Listening to All Things Must Pass as my first Atmos experience. It’s a bit rear-centric presentation, but overall I am pleased.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

It’s a bit rear-centric presentation, but overall I am pleased.

I'm kind of surprised to hear that.

 

[halbroome]

I‘ve got Atmos fired up as I write this. It’s a 7.1.4 system. Big Parasound amps handling the seven main speakers while the new Marantz SR7013 handles the four overhead speakers. Listening to All Things Must Pass as my first Atmos experience. It’s a bit rear-centric presentation, but overall I am pleased.

Wait 'til you hear ABBEY ROAD in Atmos .

 

[ar surround]

I'm kind of surprised to hear that.

Lennon’s Gimme Some Truth is on now. The front / rear balance is better on this one.

 

[Sal1950]

but overall I am pleased.

Woo Hoo,, it'll get even better.
Like all multich recordings from the very first 2ch, we're at the mercy of the source. Some fabulous, most somewhere in the middle, and lots of pure junk.

 

[ar surround]

I just listened to Abbey Road for the first time in Atmos. Now I'm finally jazzed about Atmos. Some parts of the album are absolutely wild in this format.

 

[temporaryhuman]

I feel similarly to Andrew Scheps here: (warning: language). It's so hard it makes me want to vomit.

His solution to listen to commercial Atmos releases on his mix rig was to buy a $5K+ JBL SDP-55 decoder with DANTE to pipe decoded Atmos into his mixing rig.

For my Mac + Focusrite + 7.1.4 JBL LSR43xx mixing system, I did a much cheaper, but still absurd version, buying another Apple TV 4K, buying a used Onkyo TX-RZ730 on eBay, piping all 12 signals from the Onkyo pre-amp outputs into audio interface inputs on my mixing system, and patching all of those back to the 12 outputs I use for the speakers using Rogue Amoeba Loopback.

I have the Dolby Atmos Renderer running for Atmos mixing, but that only does bed+objects+pan-metadata-to-Atmos, not Atmos-to-speaker streams.

I strongly suspect this will be at least partially resolved for Apple Music very shortly, with MacOS Monterey supporting speaker configurations above 7.1 (e.g., 5.1.2 and 7.1.4) and Apple Music at least having access to an Atmos software decoder that will address the larger arrays.

Playing back Atmos from other sources like Blu-Ray will remain a problem and I will likely need to keep my Onkyo AVR preamp capture hack in place for a while if I want to listen to reference mixes.

I thought about mxing in Atmos, as I have thousands of classic stems and multitracks collected, but it seemed rather complex for me.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

I feel similarly to Andrew Scheps here: (warning: language). It's so hard it makes me want to vomit.

His solution to listen to commercial Atmos releases on his mix rig was to buy a $5K+ JBL SDP-55 decoder with DANTE to pipe decoded Atmos into his mixing rig.

For my Mac + Focusrite + 7.1.4 JBL LSR43xx mixing system, I did a much cheaper, but still absurd version, buying another Apple TV 4K, buying a used Onkyo TX-RZ730 on eBay, piping all 12 signals from the Onkyo pre-amp outputs into audio interface inputs on my mixing system, and patching all of those back to the 12 outputs I use for the speakers using Rogue Amoeba Loopback.

I have the Dolby Atmos Renderer running for Atmos mixing, but that only does bed+objects+pan-metadata-to-Atmos, not Atmos-to-speaker streams.

I strongly suspect this will be at least partially resolved for Apple Music very shortly, with MacOS Monterey supporting speaker configurations above 7.1 (e.g., 5.1.2 and 7.1.4) and Apple Music at least having access to an Atmos software decoder that will address the larger arrays.

Playing back Atmos from other sources like Blu-Ray will remain a problem and I will likely need to keep my Onkyo AVR preamp capture hack in place for a while if I want to listen to reference mixes.

I've always been curious with what that metadata for the height info looks like, and what language is it in.

Since you work with Atmos Patrick, can you shed some light on that please?

*not even sure I'm asking the right questions for this

 

[pti]

I've always been curious with what that metadata for the height info looks like, and what language is it in.

Since you work with Atmos Patrick, can you shed some light on that please?

*not even sure I'm asking the right questions for this

Thankfully, I don't need to know much about how the object metadata is conveyed downstream to do the mixing. The Dolby Atmos Renderer takes the audio streams from the DAW and the panning metadata from the Atmos Panner plugin and handles the rest, from rendering on monitor speakers or headphones to exporting to ADM BWF or .M4A for distribution.

I am also very curious, though about how the bed streams and object streams are encoded and how the metadata is conveyed at various points in the pipeline (e.g., the professional audio metadata (PMD) stuff in live production, the ADM BWF, the streams from Apple/Tidal, the HDMI audio bitstream from aTV to receiver, etc.) Someday, I'll dig in a little more on that, but right now, the mixing is keeping me occupied.

 

[humprof]

Reviving this thread because I think it's still a pertinent question. And because this article (which someone posted in the Quad Traders Facebook group today) is also germane:
https://www.trustedreviews.com/opin...t-but-are-we-getting-the-best-from-it-4220589

 

[Tornado Red]

Reviving this thread because I think it's still a pertinent question. And because this article (which someone posted in the Quad Traders Facebook group today) is also germane:
https://www.trustedreviews.com/opin...t-but-are-we-getting-the-best-from-it-4220589

I like the take on headphones in the article, couldn't agree more. I have Air Pods Pro and Sony xm-3 headphones with a DAC (all with the appropriate settings dialed in) and neither of them come anywhere close to the way Atmos sounds with speakers imo.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Now this is what I call a TRUE ATMOS set up

INSIDE STEVE WILSON'S STUDIO

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Now this is what I call a TRUE ATMOS set up

INSIDE STEVE WILSON'S STUDIO

What kind of cables does he use ??

 

[4-earredwonder]

What kind of cables does he use ??

Here's the link to the article, SW

https://www.mixonline.com/recording/steven-wilson-knows-surround-part-2

 

[AYanguas]

Now this is what I call a TRUE ATMOS set up

INSIDE STEVE WILSON'S STUDIO

Still surpised by this known picture about why the Top Speakers are not aimed to his MLP but just pointing downwards.

Yes, I know that speakers could be of wide dispersion. And that would be the Atmos recomendation as to build the studio for Steven Wilson.

Also, if pointing directly to the central position, we would lose quickly height imaging if moving outside the sweet spot, I guess.

Also, this is how most of in-ceiling speakers are mounted. Some with aimable tweeters like mine. So, Steven should test listen how his mix sound for a usual in-ceiling setup?

Just thoughts.

 

[MidiMagic]

What is that thing between the top speakers?