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Mixing Music In Dolby Atmos - Everything You Need To Know

Mike Thornton

In this article, we look at what it takes to make your studio suitable to mix in Dolby Atmos for music, whether you need certification, what hardware and software you will need, how to build or convert your studio to Dolby Atmos, as well as our exclusive 6 part tutorial series on setting up and using Pro Tools Ultimate and Dolby Atmos Production Suite to work together in this exclusive everything-you-need-to-know guide to mixing music in Dolby Atmos.

Most music is recorded and mixing for delivery in stereo. There have been a number of experiments in delivering music over the years in formats with higher channel counts like quad and 5.1 but none have taken off because of the need for the end-user to have special hardware.

Dolby Atmos was originally created for cinema sound. Following widespread theatrical adoption, this technology has filtered through into the Home Cinema environment for both film and TV content spanning drama, documentary, and live events. This is consumed over traditional TV broadcast, as well as online streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+.

Dolby Atmos Music is a new ‘object-based’ immersive audio format for music production. This new format allows artists to push their creative boundaries. With Dolby Atmos Music, mixers have the ability to place and move sounds in a 3D environment with more precision, allowing for even more creative possibilities. Now, producers can create tracks that allow listeners to feel like they’re inside their favourite music.

With Dolby Atmos, you deliver one master file, called a Dolby Atmos Master File (DAMF). That is used to deliver the content to the end-user and then the end-user’s equipment plays a version of the content suitable for the equipment attached to it.

Interested In Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment?

If you are interested in mixing broadcast and OTT content then please check out the sister article Everything You Need To Know About Mixing In Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment. But if you are looking to mix your next music project in Dolby Atmos then you are in the right place. Read on…

What Is Dolby Atmos

Dolby Atmos is an immersive experience that utilises up to 64 speaker channels. The speakers completely envelop the audience from behind the screen, on the walls and overhead. Dolby Atmos is designed to enhance the conventional 7.1 surround formats by adding an additional stereo overhead array and up to 118 “sound objects”. These objects can be moved through the theatre in all 3 dimensions. Dolby Atmos Cinema processors take into account the exact specification and dimensions of any playback auditorium so that the effect is the same in each theatre. Watch this video as Dolby explains it much better than we could in words.

As well as a 7.1.2 channel-based system, every speaker can be individually assigned. This is essential, for the second part of the Dolby Atmos system - the objects.  You can have up to 118 objects, that are separate sound elements that, any one of which, you can position around the theatre at will. So a Dolby Atmos mix consists of three primary elements:

  • Audio Beds: A ‘Bed’ is the ‘channel-based’ main output bus of 7.1.2 (LCR, LFE, Side & Rear Surrounds, and a pair of Overhead Surround Channels – these have no forward/ backward separation, just a stereo overhead). Think of this as your main mix bus.

  • Object Audio: An ‘Object’ has far more accurate panning, as it’s all governed by metadata rather than channel-based pan laws. This allows us to pan audio within a virtual 3D space, which will be rendered to be accurately represented in the listener’s environment. Objects are great when you have specific discrete sounds which want defined positions. We’d recommend trying to use objects when mixing Dolby Atmos Music, because at 48kHz we have about 118 objects available, generally allowing each instrument or voice to have an independent panner.

Do I Need Dolby Certification To Work In Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment?

For theatrical cinema release, you must use a Dolby Certified studio to mix and master your Dolby Atmos audio mix. When it comes to Dolby Atmos for Music it seems that currently there is no requirement to use a certified studio.

What Hardware And Software Do You Need To Work In Dolby Atmos?

You only need to use a hardware Dolby Atmos Rendering and Mastering Unit for theatrical cinema releases. For all other Dolby Atmos work, you can use either of these three solutions…

  1. The Dolby Atmos Production Suite is the version of the Renderer that can be used on the same macOS computer alongside your DAW. It's available for purchase via the Avid marketplace and costs $299. Alternatively, Pro Tools Studio or Pro Tools Ultimate perpetual customers with active updates + support plans can get the Dolby Atmos Production Suite at the special price of $99 by accessing the “Special Offers” tab in their Avid Account. There is a 30-day free trial available from the Dolby Developer portal, so you can try it out without having to spend a penny.

  2. Use one of the following DAWs which has a version of the Dolby Atmos Renderer built-in: Apple Logic Pro, Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve and Steinberg Nuendo.

  3. The Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite has all of the features of the Dolby Atmos Production Suite, in addition to advanced controls and features. It runs on a separate dedicated Mac or Windows computer (rendering and mastering workstation) connected via a MADI or Dante interface to a computer hosting a DAW. The software cost $995 but remember you will have to buy it as a bundle with an approved computer and interfaces.

For Dolby Atmos for Music And VR, where Dolby Certification is not required, then providing you are happy to use a Mac computer and that it is powerful enough to handle your DAW and the Dolby Software Renderer, then the Dolby Atmos Production Suite is going to be a very cost-effective solution.

Which DAWs Can I Use To Mix In Dolby Atmos?

Supported DAWs include Ableton Live, Apple Logic Pro, Avid Pro Tools, Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve and Steinberg Nuendo.

Ableton Live is now the only DAW that doesn’t offer native integration of Dolby Atmos. Apple Logic Pro, Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve and Steinberg Nuendo offer a built-in Dolby Atmos Renderer, whereas, with Avid Pro Tools, you need to use the Dolby Atmos Production Suite, which Pro Tools users can get for a discount via Avid.

For Ableton Live, you will need the free Dolby Atmos Music Panner plug-in, which is available as an AAX, AU, or VST3 plug-in for use on supported DAWs on macOS.

The Dolby Atmos Music Panner plug-in

The Dolby Atmos Music Panner is available as a free download as an AAX, AU and VST3 plug-in from Dolby Labs.

The Music Panner is the first Dolby Atmos plug-in designed specifically for music workflows. Using the powerful built-in sequencer, users can create tempo-synced object panning routines in immersive Dolby Atmos Music mixes.

Supported DAWs include Pro Tools, Logic Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Ableton Live and Nuendo. Even better is that the installer package also contains documentation and useful session templates.

The Dolby Atmos Music Panner v1.1 includes new features, improvements, and fixes.

  • The Dolby Atmos Music Panner plug-in is qualified for use with Dolby Atmos Renderer v3.4. and macOS Catalina

  • You can edit and automate Dolby Atmos Music Panner plug-in parameters from a supported EuCon control surface.

  • Object (and Object pair) sections now include a field where you can type in a valid input channel number.

  • There are new default object positions in the virtual room when inserting a panner plug-in:

    • Mono panner: By default, the object is placed in the front centre of the room (C position).

    • Stereo panner: By default, the first object is placed in the front left corner of the room, and the second object in the front right corner of the room. The Linking selector is set to Mirror X.

  • Round trip paths in the virtual room now display with an arrow on both ends of the path.

  • Elevation shape options have been reordered to match the order of the options in automation playlists: manual, wedge, sphere, curve.

Get A Free Guide To How To Use The Free Dolby Atmos Music Panner Plugin

UK based Pro audio dealer and installer HHB have produced a free help guide Using the Dolby Atmos Music Panner, which you can download from the HHB website.

What Monitoring Setup Do I Need For Dolby Atmos?

In the Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite and the Dolby Atmos Production Suite, you can configure up to 22 speakers, giving a maximum configuration that would be 5 across the front, 2 pairs of speakers on the sides, 5 pairs of overheads, 1 pair of rears and a sub. In reality, most rooms with these renderers tend not to go beyond a 9.1.6 configuration and, more commonly, 7.1.4, which is the smallest configuration that Dolby recommend for mixing Dolby Atmos content, whether that is music or home entertainment content.

This means that if you are wanting to mix music or post-production, you will need a 7.1.4 monitoring system. Although you can work on smaller systems like a 5.1.2 setup, or even headphones using the binaural renderer built into the Dolby Atmos Production Suite, you will not be able to fully experience how your mix will translate to other spaces, which is why Dolby recommends a minimum system to be 7.1.4 for Dolby Atmos for Music.

Ideally, all 11 speakers should be the same brand and model. but rather than the rear speakers being a smaller model from the same brand, it is suggested that the height speakers can be a smaller model as attaching large speakers to the ceiling comes with its own challenges.

But overall, it’s the same concept; the fronts should all be the same, it is best if the sides match the fronts, but the sides, rears and height speakers can be smaller models from the same brand.

For a 7.1.4 monitoring system, not only will you need 11 speakers plus a speaker to handle the LFE channel, which is a step up from 5.1 and an even bigger jump from just the 2 speakers you needed for stereo, but you will also need to have a 7.1.4 monitor controller.

When looking at controlling your monitors, there are two routes you can look at a stand-alone monitor controller or an interface that is also a monitor controller.

How To Build A Studio Suitable For Working In Dolby Atmos For Music And Home Entertainment

We have featured two home-based Dolby Atmos studio builds so far and although they were are both aimed at Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment, because they are using a single computer and Dolby Atmos Production Suite they are equally relevant for working in Dolby Atmos for Music.

The first was a conversion of an existing home studio belonging to Korey Pereira, MPSE, who is the owner and creative director of Soularity Sound, a post-production company based in Austin, Texas. The second was a new-build with a purpose-built studio in his back garden by Graham Kirkman.

Both articles focused on the practical issues involved in building or converting a studio into a space to mix Dolby Atmos with a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 setup. Graham Kirkman’s advice is to…

“Plan ahead in detail! I had an app on my iPad called Live Home 3D  that enabled me to be able to plan out the studio in 3D. I spent hours and hours drawing and re-drawing it until I got it to where I wanted it and then sent this plan off to the building company who approved it and then, just as building work was about to start….COVID-19 raised its ugly head….

Eventually, the guys were allowed back on site and building began. I was so glad I’d planned everything out as the building shot along and if I’d had major changes it could have been a nightmare. The only things I had to change from my original plan were the locations for the power sockets and where the ceiling speakers would go because with the lights and ceiling acoustic treatment I had limited space for the speakers.”

Graham already had a 7.1 monitoring system from his previous loft-based studio with Dynaudio LYD 8’s across the LCR and Dynaudio BM5a MKII’s for surrounds)…

“I only needed the 4 ceiling speakers. I really wanted to keep everything Dynaudio, but the only ones that would have fitted (physically) were in-ceiling ones and I didn’t want to drill 4 rather large holes into the soundproofed ceiling, so a quick search showed that 4 Genelec 8010s would be perfect for me.”

When it came to speaker choice for Korey, his previous setup consisted of 5x JBL LSR4326P and 1x LSR4312SP…

“With all of the other bigger rooms in town I work with use JBL Cinema-Series speakers, I wanted to make sure whatever I went with would translate to those rooms. I looked at several models and ended up settling on the JBL 7-Series. The biggest draw for me was the ability to mix and match between passive and powered and large and small speakers. He chose 3 x JBL LSR708P (Left, Center and Right) and 8 x JBL LSR705i (4 surrounds / 4 overheads) with a Crown 8|300N amplifier to power the surround and overhead speakers), a JBL Intonato 24 (for monitor control and room tuning) with a JBL Intonato Desktop Controller”.

For Graham when it came to a monitor controller after one blind alley he went for a Focusrite Red 16Line to serve as both the audio interface and 7.1.4 monitor controller.

Is It Worth Investing In Dolby Atmos? Audio Professionals Give Their Verdict

In this article we outline the business case for Dolby Atmos by asking industry experts, mixing in Dolby Atmos to share their business reasoning for investing in Dolby Atmos.

In commenting on our article Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment - Everything You Need To Know, community member Sam Fishkin asked…

“This is all fantastic guidance but will you also discuss the pros/cons of making the conversion to Atmos from a business standpoint? What companies are asking for Atmos in their deliverables, what’s the potential upcharge for doing the work, and how much new business is out there to divide up?”

To help answer this question we turned to a number of people at the top of their games who have recently chosen to upgrade their own facilities to enable them to mix and deliver content in Dolby Atmos. We put Sam’s question to them and here are their responses.

To learn what our Expert Panel had to say in response to Sam’s question and more, check out the full article Is It Worth Investing In Dolby Atmos? Audio Professionals Give Their Verdict.

What's The Point Of Dolby Atmos For Consumers?

What is the point in creating content in Dolby Atmos if consumers do not have the equipment to take advantage of the immersive object-based format? In this article, we will investigate the take-up and benefits of delivering content to the consumer in Dolby Atmos.

In the comments section of our article Is It Worth Investing In Dolby Atmos? Audio Professionals Give Their Verdict community member Walter Riggi asked this question…

“How does the consumer digest Atmos? I've never seen any commoner homes have 5.1 speakers properly positioned in their listening environment. I highly doubt they'll have any clue OR space to properly position Atmos. Our facility is moving to Atmos rapidly and this article is encouraging, but the question still is a hot point when speaking with my colleagues. Anyone shed some light? Please and thanks.”

It’s a good question, as what is the point in creating great content in Dolby Atmos if we cannot get it in front of consumers.

To learn more about how Dolby Atmos content can be delivered to the consumer check out the full article What's The Point Of Dolby Atmos For Consumers?

Apple Spatial Audio With Dolby Atmos Support Released

On May 17th 2021, Apple announced Apple Music is bringing industry-leading sound quality to subscribers with the addition of Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos in June 2021. Today Apple officially released Spatial Audio, powered by Dolby Atmos for Apple Music during its WWDC keynote. We have all the details…

Apple Music will automatically play Dolby Atmos tracks on all AirPods and Beats headphones as long as they are fitted with an H1 or W1 chip. Note that the AirPods Pro didn’t launch with spatial audio support, but it should automatically download and install the required firmware.

You don't need a pair of Apple or Beats headphones in order to listen to Dolby Atmos tracks from an iPhone or iPad – any headphones will work, as long as you enable a specific setting.

Read our article Apple Spatial Audio With Dolby Atmos Support Released to get all the latest information.

Apple Spatial Audio - Who Will Benefit?

Apple has rolled out their “Spatial Audio supported by Dolby Atmos” feature in a new version of iOS and on their Apple Music platform. On various professional forums, it’s fair to say that some very smart audio engineers are well into the process of figuring out - well, everything. In this article, Reid Caulfield, takes a look at what we think we know so far, how this affects audio professionals and asks who needs or wants, Immersive Sound for anything?

What Kind Of Things Need Figuring Out? Apart from “everything”? There are A/B and phase-cancellation comparisons between Apple & Dolby’s Atmos offering, vs TIDAL’s, and all of the speculation as to exactly how these various services are generating Binaural audio from their various channel-count starting points, and whether/how they are upmixing from smaller channel formats (e.g. stereo).

All of that said, there is the smell of opportunity is in the air.

To learn more read the full article Apple Spatial Audio - Who Will Benefit?

Apple Spatial Audio - Is It All Hype?

Apple released Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos support on the same day as the WWDC21 keynote address. Whilst we have been reporting uncertainty regarding Apple’s binaural implementation, there are mixed reports coming out about the immersive audio experience on Apple Music. In this article, we explore some of the early concerns.

To learn more and to read about what our observations, having listened to some tracks in Dolby Atmos on Apple Music check out the full article Apple Spatial Audio - Is It All Hype?

AvidPlay Now With Dolby Atmos - First Platform To Support Dolby Format

Avid’s music distribution service, AvidPlay, is the first platform to enable you to distribute your music in Dolby Atmos to compatible streaming services such as Amazon Music HD and TIDAL HiFi. In this article, we explore the new features Avid have introduced including support for sample rates and bit depths up to 192KHz and 24 bit as well as the Dolby Atmos format.

To learn more about how you can use AvidPlay to distribute your own music in Dolby Atmos and why we awarded AvidPlay our coveted Expert’s Choice Award, check out our full article AvidPlay Now With Dolby Atmos - First Platform To Support Dolby Format.

How To Setup And Use A Dolby Atmos System Using Pro Tools Ultimate And Dolby Atmos Production Suite

Mixing music in Dolby Atmos can unlock a whole new world of creative possibilities and really bring any piece to life with immersive audio. However, in order to ensure that all your creative efforts aren’t thwarted at the final hurdle - delivery, it’s vitally important to plan ahead.

This means starting the process by carefully analysing your delivery requirements - what you need to deliver in order for your content to reach the outside world, whether it’s a commissioned piece or self-funded and distributed.

Objects And Beds

Whereas in “traditional” surround systems, you send audio to specific speaker locations, prearranged in the playback room, Dolby Atmos works differently. You still have the option to route to and pan between specific speakers - this case, the “Beds”, which can be up to 7.1.2 in size, but Dolby Atmos also gives you the option of using “Objects”.

These differ from Beds in that they are not fixed speaker locations, but point sources of sound, that exist in a 3D space. Because these are point sources rather than speaker channels, their position within the 3D listening space remains the same, regardless of how many physical speakers you have in your listening area.

A Series Of 6 Tutorials

Across a series of 6 articles, brought to you with the support of Avid, Post-Production Specialist and Immersive Audio expert Alan Sallabank shared detailed tips and tricks to help you get to grips with the audio post-production workflows for content to be delivered in Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment, which will be especially useful if you are delivering to the likes of Netflix and Amazon.

Multi-national and streaming distributors are especially keen on Dolby Atmos, as it is what is known as a “single file delivery”, which automatically adapts according to the playback device.

Again these tutorials are aimed at post-production workflows but because the setup and configurations for Dolby Atmos For Music are virtually identical so been though you will be mixing music in Dolby Atmos, these tutorials will be very helpful.

What You Will Need

The Dolby Atmos Production Suite and The Dolby Audio Bridge are software solutions, so while you don’t need any specific Avid or Dolby hardware to follow the advice in these tutorials, you will need specific versions of software -

  • Pro Tools Ultimate 2019.10 or later

  • Dolby Atmos Production Suite v3.4 or later

Running everything in software does also put quite a strain on your host computer, so we would also recommend that you are running a machine with at least six physical cores and at least 32GB of RAM.

Dolby Atmos - Setting Up Your Pro Tools Session And The Dolby Atmos Production Suite - Free Expert Tutorial Part 1

In this free video tutorial, looking at Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment workflows, we start with how to set up your Pro Tools session and the Dolby Atmos Production Suite as well as a look at some terminology.

Dolby Atmos - Using The Dolby Audio Bridge The Way Avid And Dolby Recommend - Free Expert Tutorial Part 2

In this free video tutorial, looking at Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment workflows, we cover the workflows recommended by Avid and Dolby, relating to using the Dolby Audio Bridge and the Dolby Atmos Production Suite.

Because of the unique way that the Dolby Audio Bridge works with Pro Tools and the Dolby Atmos Renderer, you can easily find yourself experiencing issues with digital clocking errors, sync drift, control surface latency, and timecode discontinuities unless you get the specific setup of your system correct from the outset. In this second tutorial, we show how to set up your clocking and interfaces in such a way that you avoid damaging your speakers and your sanity.

Using The Dolby Atmos Audio Bridge - An Alternative Workflow - Free Expert Tutorial Part 3

Next, we look at an alternative (and some may say “off-piste”) and definitely “not qualified by Avid” way of getting the best out of the Dolby Atmos Production Suite and Pro Tools Ultimate, including being able to bring the re-render outputs back into the same Pro Tools session all on one machine, which is something you cannot do with the Avid & Dolby approved workflow.

Since the release of Pro Tools Ultimate 2019.10, non-HDX users have been able to properly access the full potential of the Dolby Audio Bridge’s 128 audio paths. We show how you can do this using a Focusrite Red 6Line, Audinate Dante Virtual Soundcard & Dante Controller and Source Elements Source Nexus Pro.

Learn more: To get the inside story on our unique workflow to be able to bring back the re-renders into Pro Tools son one machine then check out our article Using The Dolby Atmos Audio Bridge - An Alternative Workflow - Free Expert Tutorial Part 3.

Dolby Atmos - How To Keep Loudness In Check - Free Expert Tutorial Part 4

In this part, we take a look at managing loudness in your Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment mixes to ensure that your mixes sound right whatever they’re played on.

With the Dolby Atmos workflow, you will be delivering a “single file” format that is preferred by most international distributors, which automatically adapts its playback according to the capabilities of the playback device. When it comes to loudness, what this means is that there is no offline process available to automatically gain loudness and true-peak compliance.

Learn more: To learn how to keep loudness under control in your Dolby Atmos mix sessions, check out our article Dolby Atmos - How To Keep Loudness In Check - Free Expert Tutorial Part 4.

Dolby Atmos - Using Upmixers, 3D Reverbs With Objects - Free Expert Tutorial Part 5

In this free video tutorial, looking at Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment workflows, Alan looks at best practice when using immersive upmixing and reverb plug-ins, with a firm focus on ensuring downmix compatibility. We look at how to set up 2 Dolby Atmos compatible upmixing plugins - Nugen Audio Halo Upmix 3D and PerfectSurround Penteo 16 Pro as well as two Dolby Atmos compatible reverb plugins iZotope (Exponential Audio) Stratus 3D and the brand new Liquidsonics Cinematic Rooms Pro.

Dolby Atmos - How To Master Using The Dolby Atmos Production Suite - Free Expert Tutorial Part 6

In this free video tutorial, the sixth in a series of 6, looking at Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment workflows, we now progress to the end game - Mastering. We circle round to where we started and look in detail at all the deliverables that are required as well as the Atmos master mix because the production will also be distributed on mediums that do not or cannot support Dolby Atmos.

We also have a glossary of terms as working in Dolby Atmos brings with some more jargon that you will need to understand.

More Mixing Music In Dolby Atmos Tutorials

As well as our 6 part series above there are other tutorials available on working in Dolby Atmos that we recommend looking at.

How To Mix Dolby Atmos For Music - Expert Tutorial

In this extended free Expert Tutorial, David Ziegler, Senior Content Engineer, Dolby Germany and Eric Horstmann from Immersive Lab show how to mix music in Dolby Atmos. David starts with an overview and then together they explore Eric’s template and workflow using a track that Eric recently remixed in Dolby Atmos for a client.

As this tutorial is nearly one hour long, we have provided section headings with the running time that section starts, so that if there is a particular topic you want to watch you can jump straight to it rather than have to watch the whole tutorial though.

That said, we do recommend watching it all the way through once so that you get the full picture. Then when you need an answer to a specific issue you can go to that point in the video, and get the answer quickly.

Free Dolby Atmos Music Helper Documents

Dolby has put together a set of help guides to help music producers and engineers understand and set up their studios to record, mix and master in Dolby Atmos.

  • Creator Cover Page - Dolby Atmos Music - This is an introduction in which Dolby uncovers some concepts to get you started, including: Immersive ≠ Surround, Headtracking, Wider Dynamic Range, Loudness Target and Client Check and QC.

  • Delivery Specification 2021.4 - Dolby Atmos Music - This document covers Dolby’s recommended delivery specs for general points as well as specifics covering loudness as well as gapless albums.

  • Dolby Atmos Music Incoming Mix Deliverables 2021 - This covers recommendations for the format of sessions that are going to be mixed in Dolby Atmos, including specifics for Pro Tools and Logic Pro DAWs.

  • Best Practices - Dolby Atmos Music Studio - This is an excellent document for anyone looking to build or upgrade a studio for Dolby Atmos. It covers specs for the mix room, how to calibrate your monitor system, the overall system design, some sample room layouts, a sample signal flow diagram and producer signal flow diagram.

  • Best Practices FAQ - Dolby Atmos Music Studio - This document should be read in conjunction with the Best Practices guide and helps to answer some of your questions including: Why do we need best practices? How was the target curve decided upon? Have music studios been ‘doing it wrong’ when it comes to a monitoring reference? Why do I need multiple machines when my DAW machine is so powerful? and Where can I address questions or concerns?

  • Dolby Atmos Music Producers System - This is a series of slides that summarise some of the material in these guides and will be very helpful for visual learners.

  • Assembling an Album of ADMs for Dolby Atmos Music - Both Avid Pro Tools and Steinberg Nuendo supports the import and export of Dolby Atmos ADM files. This makes the process of album assembly for Dolby Atmos possible within today’s existing toolsets. This document covers some considerations that will make the process of assembling much easier.

  • Writing Music Panner Sequence to Pro Tools - Dolby Atmos Music - In order to use Pro Tools Export to BWAV ADM feature, while also using the Dolby Atmos Music Panner, it is necessary to convert the movements generated by the Dolby Atmos Music Panner into Pro Tools Automation. This document shows you how.

  • Dolby Atmos Recording Guidelines v1.5 - This document covers some basic principles about Dolby Atmos before moving onto the Audio Capture Approach, Microphone Placement, Microphone Selection, Recording Hardware and Settings, Sample Theatrical Atmos Speaker Configurations, Sample Home Atmos Speaker Configurations, Sample Microphone Locations Diagrams and Sample Microphone Location Documentation.

You can download these from Dolby using the button below…

Free Mixing Music In Dolby Atmos Guides - Get Your Ebooks From HHB

HHB, a UK based pro-audio dealer and installer, have put together a free starter guide and Pro Tools template to help users get to grips with mixing music in Dolby Atmos.

To get the free guide, you will need to sign-up for the HHB Newsletter and they will send you the free how-to guide for using the Dolby Atmos Production Suite software tools, which is designed to enable a Pro Tools user to set up the required metadata and audio connections in order to be able to deliver their first Dolby Atmos mix!

This getting started guide is also relevant to anyone working in Post Production who wants to get up to speed mixing in Dolby Atmos using the Dolby Audio Bridge.

There is also a guide on the new free Dolby Atmos Music Panner plugin too.

How To Create And Mix Music In Dolby Atmos - Expert Tutorial

During the Avid Connect Live event at Summer NAMM 2019 in Nashville, Avid ran a number of panels and training sessions, some of which were streamed and recorded.

Watch the Dolby Atmos for Music Breakout session to learn how Mix Engineer Colin Heldt uses Dolby Atmos for immersive music mixing and production creating a three-dimensional sonic environment with spatial control

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In this next video from Avid Connect at Summer NAMM 2019 we have a panel of Dolby Atmos for Music specialists featuring Dolby's Ceri Thomas, Mix Engineer Colin Heldt & Producer/DJ Matt Lange talking with Avid's Greg Chin about creating music and mixing in Dolby Atmos.

See this content in the original post

Dolby Atmos - Find Out How To Mix Music In The Immersive Format

In this video from NAMM 2020, Avid’s application specialist, Jeff Komar takes an in-depth look at working on music projects with Dolby Atmos natively, in Pro Tools, with the power of HDX, Avid S4, and MTRX.

Watch this video to see Jeff give some insights into techniques for mixing music using a combination of objects and bed tracks. He shows how you can switch a track from object to bed and use the same panners in Pro Tools to either control the audio position in a 7.1.2 bed or to send metadata to the Dolby renderer to tell the renderer where to position each object in the room. What is smart is that the Dolby ecosystem will take that metadata and position the sound of the object in the same place, even though the room, speaker positions and number of speakers are different to the room you use to mix in.

In this video, Avid was using an Apple Mac Pro HDX3 system running Pro Tools Ultimate with an Avid S4 control surface and Avid MTRX interface and audio router. In addition, they had the Dolby Atmos Renderer.

Dolby Atmos - Remastering Music - An Introduction

Universal Music and Dolby remix some of the world’s most popular music in Dolby Atmos using Avid S6 and Pro Tools | HDX. In this video, Avid brought together a panel of practitioners already mixing music in Dolby Atmos hosted by Avid Product Specialist Jeff Komar.

  • Greg Penny – Record Producer, Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Musician, Songwriter, Artist

  • Bruce Botnick – Audio Engineer, Record Producer

  • Steve Genewick – Grammy-nominated Recording Engineer

  • Doug Higgins – VP, WW Audio at Pixelogic Media

Below are the main questions Jeff Komar posed to the panel in the video and some nuggets, Mike picked out from the answers. These are not intended to replace the video but to give you some of the highlights from the conversation.

  • There are a lot of questions out there in mixing music in Dolby Atmos is “how do I approach this and creatively and philosophically how do I approach this?

  • The format of Dolby Atmos is 128 channels with a combination of beds and objects and you have to ask yourself what am I going to use? A bed could be 7.1.2 or 5.1 or 7.1 and then you have x number of objects, which are mono or stereo, and so you are going to have to choose how you are going to use this stuff, what is your approach?

  • What about processing, dynamic, limiting etc? Obviously you can do that with a bed but how do you deal with dynamics on objects?

  • What about the issue of re-renders, do you listen to your mixes in 7.1 or 5.1 and QC them? 

  • What about your use of objects, do you use them statically? What about using objects dynamically?

  • How do you approach the height channels, what do you choose to put in the height channels, how do you use it creatively?

There was a Q and A session which concluded this session.

Mixing Dolby Atmos In Music - An Webinar Series From Dolby's Ceri Thomas

Dolby ran a series of webinars aimed to provide an introduction to the world of Dolby Atmos Music presented by Ceri Thomas.

Ceri Thomas

Following 15 years in the film and television industries, Ceri Thomas joined Dolby as part of their virtual reality (VR) program firstly as an applications engineer focussing on the developing field of Virtual Reality and the applications of sound to immerse a viewer in their virtual world. Then as Senior Applications Engineer, he specialised in workflows for Dolby Atmos Content creation across Film, Television and Music. Working with media companies to develop a holistic approach to high-end content creation for HDR video and immersive audio.

Ceri is now responsible for content and studio enablement for Dolby Music based out of Los Angeles, enabling musicians, mixers and engineers to create music in Dolby Atmos.

Mixing Dolby Atmos In Music Episode 1 - An Introduction

Ceri Thomas explores the content creation for Dolby Atmos Music. In this introductory session, we explore Dolby Atmos and what it means for music. This was held on Wednesday, March 18th and 19th, 2020 and re-run on April 22nd 2020…

Mixing Dolby Atmos In Music Episode 2 - Setting Up Your Studio

Ceri explores some of the tools and technologies that support setting up a Dolby Atmos Music mix room. Ceri looks at some example systems and how they can work together. This was held on March 25th 2020 and re-run on April 30th 2020.

Mixing Dolby Atmos In Music Episode 3 - Dolby Atmos Music via Headphones

Ceri explores how it is possible to mix Dolby Atmos using headphones via the binaural renderer. This was held on April 1st 2020 and re-run on May 7th 2020…

Mixing Dolby Atmos In Music Episode 4 - Dolby Atmos Music Specifications

Dolby's Ceri Thomas explores topics around delivering Dolby Atmos Music to a consistent standard. This was held on April 8th 2020 and re-run on May 14th 2020…

Mixing Dolby Atmos In Music Episode 5 - From Your Studio To The World

Dolby's Ceri Thomas explores topics creation workflows through encoding. This was held on April 15th 2020 and re-run on May 21st 2020…

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