Quality control of LtRt
 

Hi all,

I need to find a good QC tool for verifying LT/RT mixes. We have the latest PT HD but would prefer some sort of cross platform plug-ins (AAX, VST, Audio Units) as we are already using Resolve to QC the picture.

Thanks,

Re: Quality control of LtRt
 

Ears???

Re: Quality control of LtRt
 

What tool do you use to decode / playback the Lt Rt ?

Re: Quality control of LtRt
 

Minnetonka's SurCode or Neyrinck's SoundCode are two popular plugins for Pro Tools. They will encode LtRt's but will also decode and monitor them as well.

Re: Quality control of LtRt
 

Any suggestions for an automated QC of LtRt ?

We receive way too many mixes for manual QC, ideally we want to set up an automated workflow and have the mixers re verify only the rejected ones .

Thanks Leverson

Re: Quality control of LtRt
 

You need to listen to them to hear any steering issues. I don't know that a QC tool would know if a mix sounds "wrong" when decoded. Even a plain LoRo mix will put something in the rears. (And might sound less offensive than the LtRt).

Is anyone here still delivering LtRt mixes? The topic comes up here every once in a while. I haven't touched an encoder in years.

Re: Quality control of LtRt
 

Most of the picture QC tools (Venera, Baton, VidChecker...) can also check some audio characteristics, but AFAIK, none are able to decode LtRt. They usually just verify loudness, silence, clicks... And can optionnally decode AC3, Dolby E or Atmos, but not LtRt.

Re: Quality control of LtRt
 

Can you explain a bit how/what you want verified?

That might help us give you a better answer

Re: Quality control of LtRt
 

For this particular project, we are receiving DPX scans and Wav (Lt Rt) files. They come from old archive films, the original sounds could be from Mag or Optical, separate or composite print, with/without Doly A or SR.

The scan part are outsource to another post house and our job is to QC the DPX and Lt Rt. These files will later be used for broadcast (Prores/LtRt) and DCP (DPX to J2K and discrete 5.1/7.1)

At the moment, the QC is done manually, i have used Baton and Telestream, both decent but cater more to broadcast workflow, not film.

We QC from Davinci Resolve in real time, so ideally i would like to find a good VST compatible decoder that will work in Resolve. All solutions available are for PT, there's Minnetonka, but it has not been updated in years and likely not compatible with Catalina.

So the only solution so far is to use a Dolby hardware (DP562, SDU4 or CP650).

As for the actual QC, basically listening to the Lt Rt for any phase/steering issues.

Re: Quality control of LtRt
 

Ah thanks for clarifying. I would be strongly tempted to use the Dolby hardware. The last one I used was DP564 I think. Does PL-II decode and takes AES/EBU input. I think the 562 and SDU4 only do PL-I with a mono surround, which maybe is OK for your use? Either way they're reliable and don't break with Mac OS changes...

I used the Minnetonka for years, both RTAS and VST. Worked great but would definitely need a test run to see if it works with Catalina.