Did you know that you will not be able to use AAX DSP Plugins with the new Dolby Audio Bridge Workflow via Core Audio when using the new in-the-box workflow with Pro Tools 2019.10 and the Dolby Atmos Production Suite?

This is one of the very useful things that is in a new Dolby Atmos Production Suite and Pro Tools 2019.10 Workflow Guide produced by Dolby. This is very useful especially as Netflix has announced that Dolby Certification is not required for Home Atmos mix rooms, which means all you need to work on Netflix titles is Pro Tools 2019.10 and the Dolby Atmos Production Suite or is it? We have all the details.

The New Workflow With Pro Tools 2019.10 And Dolby Atmos Production Suite

You may be aware that Avid announced Pro Tools 2019.10 users can now use 130 channels of Core Audio with the Dolby Audio Bridge and Dolby Renderer (up from the previous limitation of 32). This means that you can now send all 128 channels of a Dolby Atmos mix from Pro Tools to a Dolby Atmos Renderer using the Dolby Audio Bridge, which is important for two reasons…

1. This eliminates the complexity of needing send plug-ins on aux tracks for every audio feed to the renderer.

2. Automatic Delay Compensation is now being applied to all tracks feeding the renderer, as they are coming directly from track outputs, rather than being tapped off at the plug-in point.

Previously, although you could create content just using Pro Tools and the Dolby Atmos Production Suite because the objects were not going through the Pro Tools delay compensation they could be offset from the bed tracks by the latency from your processing inside Pro Tools.

The Pro Tools 2019.10 upgrade also makes session interchange between the Dolby Atmos Production Suite and the Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite systems much simpler as you just need to change the output routing, as opposed to the previous workflow requiring two completely different routing schemes – one for Send/Return plug-ins, and one for physical outputs.

Check out this video from Avid…

Do I Still Need A Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite System And Dedicated Rendering Computer?

Dolby says that the simple answer is yes. They still recommend using a Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite System on a dedicated rendering workstation as the right tool for mission-critical Atmos mixing and delivery workflows. Dolby does acknowledge that while the announcement from Avid dramatically simplifies the workflow for people using the Dolby Atmos Production Suite, and removes the previous Audio Delay Compensation issues, they do stress that there are still a variety of key features that are only available in their Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite System...

• Multi-system source/record workflows

• Room EQ/b-chain calibration in the renderer

• Downmix and trim controls

• Connect a Renderer Remote (to control the renderer from another machine)

Can You Use The Dolby Audio Bridge With Pro Tools HDX Hardware?

With the introduction by Avid of Pro Tools 2019.10, the answer is yes but there some key caveats you need to be aware of…

• As part of the Pro Tools 2019.10 update, in addition to supporting more channels, Avid has also made it possible to use the Dolby Audio Bridge with HDX hardware as your audio interface. However, it is not possible to use any HDX DSP Processing when using the Dolby Audio Bridge, you can only use it as an audio interface. This means that all your plugins must be in AAX Native mode, you cannot have any AAX DSP plugins running in your session.

• Moving onto the more advanced features necessary for post-production workflows like clocking, syncing, video playback, satellite etc. Since you will be using with the Dolby Audio Bridge as your Playback Engine in Pro Tools, this removes the ability to use an Avid SyncHD for synchronization and reference.

Consequently, Dolby still recommends running the Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite on a separate rendering workstation if you need to lock into a larger workflow.

Can You Use HD Native Or Non-HD Hardware With Pro Tools 2019.10 And The New Dolby Audio Bridge?

Absolutely. Providing you have the Pro Tools Ultimate Standalone Software, which will give you multi-channel support, and the Dolby Atmos Production Suite, you can handle Dolby Atmos workflows, you don’t need Pro Tools HDX cards and hardware. This means you can put together a cost-effective edit solution with just the Pro Tools Ultimate standalone software in conjunction with the software only Dolby Atmos Production Suite. If you want a slightly more equipped system may be for handling deliverables then you can build a system around an HD Native Thunderbolt solution with a DigiLink equipped interface.

Does This Update Resolve Previous Limitations With The Dolby Audio Bridge And Dolby Atmos Production Suite?

While the new workflows introduced by Avid into Pro Tools 2019.10 makes things much simpler for most Dolby Atmos Production Suite users, there are still a few limitations, including…

• It is a one-way audio path, Pro Tools > Renderer > Audio Interface.

• No re-renders back into Pro Tools are possible (e.g. for loudness measurement).

• Record Sync - There is no send/return sample sync, the workflow relies on an LTC track if you want to lock the renderer for recording.

• Avid SyncHD support - There is no ability to lock to external sync, video reference etc. This workflow is designed for stand-alone in-the-box systems.

• The general processing overhead requirements to run the Dolby Atmos Renderer alongside Pro Tools will cause a reduction in the number of tracks and the amount of processing that can be done in Pro Tools, especially as you can no longer use the HDX DSP to offload plugin processing from the computer’s CPU.

Can I Create A Master File Using The Dolby Atmos Production Suite?

As in previous versions of the Dolby Atmos Production Suite, it is possible to record a master file. If you are using the Dolby Audio Bridge you will need to be able to sync the recording using either an MTC or an LTC audio track in Pro Tools.

Is The Dolby Atmos Production Suite supported on Windows?

Even though the Dolby Atmos Production Suite’s big brother the Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite was for a long time only available on Windows, it is now possible to also get the Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite on a dedicated Mac rendering workstation, but the Dolby Atmos Production Suite is still only available on the Mac platform.