M1 Mac Mini running Atmos Renderer 3.7.0

[Mixchump]

Took the leap and bought a brand new M1 Mac Mini (Big Sur), installed iLok License Manager, installed Ravenna driver, and installed Dolby Atmos Renderer 3.7.0 and happy to report that all is working smoothly from ProTools to Renderer and back!

[JFreak]

Good to hear. I also have a fully loaded Apple Silicon Mac Mini and the only real culprits so far are video engine not working and sonnox pro codec not working in any format or standalone. Other minor annoyances with AIR virtual instruments and SoundToys AU plugins, but that is something I can live with for now.

[Reckless Erik]

Just a quick question. How are you connecting the renderer to PT? How many channels are you getting in and out of the renderer?

[its2loud]

Originally Posted by Reckless Erik

Just a quick question. How are you connecting the renderer to PT? How many channels are you getting in and out of the renderer?

If you’re running PT and DAPS on the same machine then the Dolby Audio Bridge is the most efficient way to get audio to the Renderer. 130 channels. It’s a one way path only from PT to Renderer

Audio out from the Renderer is through your audio hardware interface. At least 12 channels minimum for 7.1.4.

If using headphones as well for Binaural monitoring or using any live re-renders then you’ll need more hardware outputs.

[Mixchump]

Originally Posted by Reckless Erik

Just a quick question. How are you connecting the renderer to PT? How many channels are you getting in and out of the renderer?

I'm using Ravenna connecting 32 channels from my main PT system (on a 5,1 MacPro) over to the M1 running Production Suite, and then routing the main 7.1.4 output plus a live 2.0 re-render, and a binaural re-render over to Anubis (monitor controller) and then routed over to HORUS to feed main 7.1.4 speakers (Neumann KH120A), 2.1 monitors (ATC SCM20ASL) and headphones for Binaural.

I found out (although have not tested), after-the-fact, that you can only route 32 channels to the Production Suite version of the renderer. At some point, I'll upgrade Mastering Suite, but this is fine for now... I'm not doing crazy amounts of object stuff...

[LDS]

Originally Posted by Mixchump

I'm using Ravenna connecting 32 channels from my main PT system (on a 5,1 MacPro) over to the M1 running Production Suite, and then routing the main 7.1.4 output plus a live 2.0 re-render, and a binaural re-render over to Anubis (monitor controller) and then routed over to HORUS to feed main 7.1.4 speakers (Neumann KH120A), 2.1 monitors (ATC SCM20ASL) and headphones for Binaural.

I found out (although have not tested), after-the-fact, that you can only route 32 channels to the Production Suite version of the renderer. At some point, I'll upgrade Mastering Suite, but this is fine for now... I'm not doing crazy amounts of object stuff...

Do some testing. It is possible to run a full 128 channels of audio into Dolby Atmos Production Suite, unless they changed something in 3.7. Pro Tools has also increased the coreaudio I/O coint to 64 channels in 2021.6 or later.

[Mixchump]

Originally Posted by LDS

Do some testing. It is possible to run a full 128 channels of audio into Dolby Atmos Production Suite, unless they changed something in 3.7. Pro Tools has also increased the coreaudio I/O coint to 64 channels in 2021.6 or later.

Just for clarification, the ONLY way you can get 128 channels into DAPS is using the DAB. If you want to work in an eco-system that is more pro audio friendly, unfortunately, you have to upgrade to the DAMS license - and apparently, it is NOT upgradable... (you have to buy DAMS from scratch) I'm using Ravenna network, with Merging Anubis as monitor controller, HORUS is my DA, and all of the routing is via ANeMan. Right now, I'm happy with 32 channels feeding the renderer, but eventually, I'll bump up my license...

[LDS]

Originally Posted by Mixchump

Just for clarification, the ONLY way you can get 128 channels into DAPS is using the DAB. If you want to work in an eco-system that is more pro audio friendly, unfortunately, you have to upgrade to the DAMS license - and apparently, it is NOT upgradable... (you have to buy DAMS from scratch) I'm using Ravenna network, with Merging Anubis as monitor controller, HORUS is my DA, and all of the routing is via ANeMan. Right now, I'm happy with 32 channels feeding the renderer, but eventually, I'll bump up my license...

Can you clarify if you have tried selecting a 128 channel coreaudio device in DAPS? Unfortunately I only have a DAMS license on hand. A colleague has my DAPS license so I can't test it.

In versions previous to 3.7, there has been ZERO difference in the way DAMS and DAPS handles coreaudio I/O. They are exactly the same piece of software, and you could access the full 128 channels of Coreaudio I/O in both, regardless of whether it is the virtual DAB coreaudio sound card, an RME Madi FX, Dante PCIe-R card, or even an aggregate device with 128 channels of I/O. The only real difference between a DAMS and DAPS license has been that a DAMS license unlocks more of the speaker and control room functionality (Room EQ, speaker arrays, etc, etc) in the software. Other than that, DAMS and DAPS is exactly the same piece of software. They use exactly the same installer.

The limiting factor to hardware I/O has never been DAMS or DAPS. It has been Pro Tools. Versions prior to 2021.6 have a 32 channel limit on coreaudio I/O. You need HDX1 or HDN to get 64 physical I/O out of it. For 128 channels, you need HDX2. From version 2021.6 onwards, Avid increased the Coreaudio I/O limit to 64 channels, but you still need HDX2 minimum for 128 channels.

Like I said, I suspect a lot of people are delivering content using DAPS and DAB. Particularly if it is film work being done in the box. That is because of the hardware requirements for 128 channels in Pro Tools. Doing it through hardware becomes a $10,000+ investment just to access stuff like video sync peripherals...

[nedd]

Originally Posted by Mixchump

I found out (although have not tested), after-the-fact, that you can only route 32 channels to the Production Suite version of the renderer. At some point, I'll upgrade Mastering Suite, but this is fine for now... I'm not doing crazy amounts of object stuff...

Are you using Dolby Audio Bridge as your playback engine in Pro Tools?

[LDS]

Originally Posted by nedd

Are you using Dolby Audio Bridge as your playback engine in Pro Tools?

It wouldn’t be possible in his setup with a 5.1 Mac Pro running pro tools and an external renderer running on an M1 Mac mini.