Dolby Surround Tools in PT 5.1.3?

[synthetic]

Is it possible to use the Dolby Surround Tools 2.0 encoder on an LCRS mix buss in Pro Tools 5.1.3? I tried it today and it isn't available as a plug-in on a 4-channel master fader. Is there a trick to this, or did I just blow a few hundred bucks on nothing?

I tried creating a send from an LCRS master fader to some other busses, but I can't figure out how to do this selectively. It seems a bit silly to have to mix in stereo in order to use the surround encoder. Any hints? Thanks, -jl

[synthetic]

Today I figured out how to use the Dolby Surround Tools plug-in with Pro Tools 5.1. The problem is that since it's such an old plug-in, there are two linked stereo plug-ins to encode a LCRS signal, so they can't be set up on a 4-channel LCRS master fader. So just in case anyone ever needs to do this, here's how it works.

1. Go to I/O setup. Make a new LCRS Bus. Drag the outputs so that they're arranged L-R-C-S.

2. Make two subpaths under your LRCS bus. Each should be stereo. The first subpath should fall under the L/R outputs, the second should fall under the C/S outputs.

3. Route your Pro Tools channels so that their output goes to the LRCS buss.

4. Make two stereo aux inputs. Set the input of the first one to the L/R subpath, and the input of the second to the C/S subpath.

5. Insert the Dolby "SurEnc M" plug-in on the first aux input, insert "SurEnc S" on the second. Set their outputs to a stereo output.

When you look at the meters all of the audio will appear to be going to the first aux input. This is because the meters apparently monitor the output. But you can now pan in surround and it will be encoded LtRt to your stereo output.

You can repeat steps 1-5 to make other LtRt outputs. This is great for TV mixing, you can have 3 surround busses setup without having to buy 3 Dolby SEU-4s. I plan on using this setup with a hardware SDU-4 for monitoring.

Enjoy, -jl