PerfectSurround has released an update of their Penteo 16 Pro upmixing and downmixing all-in-one plugin, adding Ambisonics decoding and downmixing to any supported format, a Tilt mode allows more forward control for the overhead channels and an LFE full bypass option.

The PerfectSurround team have been working with an active beta team of gaming VR users over the past 6 months to see what else Penteo needed to improve their existing Ambisonics upmix features.

Automated Ambisonics Decoder For Penteo 16 Pro

The biggest user request from their annual survey was to add an automatic Ambisonics decoder to enable downmixing from 1st, 2nd, 3rd Order Ambisonics, AmbiX/FuMa to other formats.

In response, they have added an automated Ambisonics decoder to Penteo 16 Pro, which they stress is not a paid-for add-on, it comes included in the plugin, at no extra cost, right out of the box.

With this latest update, users will now be able to upmix or downmix Ambisonics to or from any of their supported formats between Stereo and Atmos 9.1.6, just like any other format. CEO of PerfectSurround Jeffrey Read told us exclusively…

“We feel this will streamline workflows as Ambisonics encoding/decoding is now mainstream.”

Tilt Mode for Overhead Channels

PerfectSurround tell us that their ‘Modes’, which automate key task or sound profiles have been popular with users and a popular request has been to allow for more overhead channel control. In response, the PerfectSurround team came up with a new Tilt mode.

When the new Tilt mode is enabled it shifts the upper channel energy forward, which is useful when you need to spatially narrow Atmos, Auro3D, or DTSX overheard channel mixes. As you can see the new Tilt Mode button is next to the DropVox Mode button.

As part of this change, they have also moved the Gain Button, which is not located to the left of the Output Format drop-down list above the Output signal meters.

Full LFE Filter Bypass

Another user request has been to allow more control over LFE filtering and they have enabled that.

the new Full LFE Filter Bypass option bypasses all the LFE filtering ensuring the original LFE signal is passed through with no filtering.

When LFE is applied to a downmix, for example, going from 7.1 to 5.1, a new ‘Full’ frequency option has been added to the frequency drop-down list.

Note that the Full option is not available when you are synthesizing LFE, for example, when you are going from Stereo to 5.1.

Penteo 16 Pro Price And Availability

Penteo 16 Pro is normally priced at $499 but for a limited period, it is available at just $349, saving $150. Check out the article on our Deals page for more info.

Penteo 16 Pro Awarded Experts Choice

PerfectSurround Penteo 16 Pro is their latest upmixing plug-in, which opens up the Penteo upmixing technology to the full range of immersive formats up to 16 channels. This includes 5.1, 7.1, Dolby Atmos up to 9.1.6, Auro 3D up to 13.1, DTSX and up to 3rd order Ambisonics. What is more, it is both an upmix and a downmix plug-in in one interface and enables you to go from different channel counts and formats in the one plug-in.

You can read our detailed article Penteo 16 Pro Is Released - An All-in-one Upmix And Downmix Plugin Supporting Up To 16 Channels and learn more about what Penteo 16 Pro can do and why we gave it an Experts Choice award.