I've added the Penteo VST3 plugin in JRiver and it's simple:
(1) In the JRiver "DSP Studio", click on "Manage Plug-ins..", and locate and add the plugin (on my Windows PC, it's in "C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\Penteo 16 Pro.vst3"). And you should see the plugin in JRiver.
(2) In the Penteo plugin setup, I selected output = 4.0
(3) JRiver has its own upmixing / downmixing function -- this should be disabled since we want to use the Penteo upmixing (screenshot #2).
I didn't need to configure anything else -- the 4 output channels of the the Penteo plugin are sent correctly to the 4 speakers.
However, I don't use Penteo this way because of a limitation in the JRiver plugins -- plugins seem to be applied only on the stereo channels.
In this example (in the screenshot), I also added an Ozone plugin after the Penteo plugin, but it's only applied on the front left/right channels.
Furthermore, if a plugin has a delay, then the front channels will be out of sync with the rear channels.
I could rearrange the plugins and put the Ozone plugin (which will be applied to the original stereo source) before the Penteo plugin -- that should resolve this issue. But there may be cases when I want to apply a plugin to a multi channel source (SACD, BluRay rip, etc), so that's still an issue.
(Screenshot #2 - disable JRiver's built-in upmixing function)
I do not know if there is a way to apply a plugin to specific channels (if the source has more than 2 channels) in JRiver -- I did not bother finding an answer, because I already have a different solution.
Instead of running the plugins in JRiver, I just run it in Reaper, and send the JRiver audio to Reaper -- and this is still in realtime.
JRiver ----> Reaper (Penteo and other plugins) ---> output to speakers
And this also works with other audio sources such as streaming apps, also in real time:
Tidal / Amazon Music,etc. ------> Reaper ---> output to speakers
I never bother saving the Penteo output to a file / FLAC -- I only use Penteo in realtime.
I've previously posted about this in another Penteo thread:
I'm starting with thread with the hope of providing useful tips to new Penteo upmixers who are working with Reaper 6, and are keen to check their work in real time before running a conversion in batch mode (which is explained in detail here). I'm also hoping that this thread will become a space...
www.quadraphonicquad.com
I'm starting with thread with the hope of providing useful tips to new Penteo upmixers who are working with Reaper 6, and are keen to check their work in real time before running a conversion in batch mode (which is explained in detail here). I'm also hoping that this thread will become a space...
www.quadraphonicquad.com
And I mentioned in that thread that I actually send the original (unprocessed) front/left channels to the speakers.
I only use the rear channels output of the Penteo plugin and send that to the rear speakers -- this way I maintain the full range / front stereo stage -- I won't be able to accomplish this if I use Penteo within JRiver.
Windows Scaling
Another issue with VST plugins in JRiver is that the plugin windows are not scaled if you have a high resolution monitor.
In the screenshot below, the plugin is scaled properly in Reaper, but in JRiver the plugin window appears too small.
Otherwise the plugins (I've tested Penteo and Ozone) work fine and they're stable and don't crash in JRiver.
And interacting with the plugin windows/interface is normal/smooth.