Dolby goes all-in-one for Atmos production

The new Dolby Atmos Renderer application brings together the Dolby Atmos Production Suite and the Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite into an all-in-one system.

Dolby Laboratories has streamlined the production of Atmos content fairly considerably by combining its Dolby Atmos Production Suite and Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite into one, over-arching application, the Dolby Atmos Renderer.

It’s available now through the Avid Store for new customers for $299. Existing Dolby Atmos Production Suite and Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite users can upgrade to the Dolby Atmos Render application for a one-time $50 fee (though it look like this is yet to roll out). Free trials are also being trailed.

So, what do you get? As well as the combined existing functionality of what were two standalone apps, the new software also adds new capabilities such as native Apple Silicon compatibility and improved performance. Here’s the full list:

• Native Apple silicon support, including native support for Dolby plug-ins, Dolby Atmos Music Panner, Binaural Settings, and LTC Generator.
• 96 kHZ ADM support.
• Retain your Trim and Downmix settings.
• Room EQ, Array mode, remote connectivity, and compatibility with Windows (previously exclusive to Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite customers).
• 5.1.2 re-renders. 
• New UI for readability and accessibility. 

Regarding that Windows compatibility, it is there but users will need to run the Dolby Atmos Renderer on a separate computer from their DAW and use a hardware solution to route audio to/from the DAW (Dolby Audio Bridge, which is necessary to route audio from a DAW to Dolby Atmos Renderer on a single computer, is currently available for macOS only).

Compatible DAWS include: 

• Ableton Live*
• Apple Logic Pro*
• Avid Pro Tools
• Blackmagic Designs Resolve
• Merging Pyramix
• Steinberg Nuendo**

*Requires Dolby Atmos Music Panner

**Connection to Dolby Atmos Renderer not yet supported in native Apple Silicon mode