By Jordan Glasgow Sr. Product Manager, Content Creation, Dolby Laboratories
The Dolby Atmos Renderer application is a new product that combines the functionalities of the previously available Dolby Atmos Production Suite and Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite into a single product. It adds several new improvements and includes all of the previously available features at a lower price point. Like its predecessors, the Dolby Atmos Renderer works in tandem with your DAW to render your mix to any playback environment, based on the audio and positional metadata you author in the DAW.
Why did we combine the Production and Mastering Suites? We wanted to address the most pressing pain points that we learned from talking to our users, including confusion around how the two products differ, pricing, and a lower cost solution for Windows. By combining the two products, it’s now easier and more affordable to get into Dolby Atmos content creation.
What’s New
The Dolby Atmos Renderer includes all of the features from the Dolby Atmos Production and Mastering suites, plus the following new functionality:
- Native Apple silicon compatibility, which adds performance improvements on macOS
- 96 kHz ADM BWF support
- User interface enhancements designed for a smoother user experience
- Ability to export 5.1.2 re-renders
- Trim and downmix settings are retained between sessions
- New native Apple silicon versions of the Dolby Atmos Music Panner plug-in, Dolby Atmos Binaural Settings plug-in, and the Dolby LTC Generator plug-in*
All users will get features previously only available in the Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite including Room EQ, Array mode, and remote connectivity. Additionally, we’re supporting several new hardware configurations and operating systems.
*Plug-ins available for macOS only.
New Look
The first thing you’ll notice is that the application features an all-new look and feel designed for a better user-experience, including darker background and larger fonts You’ll be seeing a similar look roll out in our other tools over the coming months.
Mac vs. Windows
The Renderer runs on both Mac and Windows, and Windows users can now purchase at a lower price. Mac users can either run the Renderer on a single Mac (same computer as your DAW) or on a separate Mac or Windows machine. Windows users will need to run the Renderer on a separate computer from their DAW, as the driver that routes audio from the DAW to the Renderer, Dolby Audio Bridge, is only available for Mac. However, there is now a wider range of qualified Windows computers at lower price points. Alternately, Windows users seeking a single computer solution may wish to consider one of our partner DAWs that feature native Dolby Atmos rendering, including Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo and Blackmagic Designs Resolve
New Hardware and OS Support
After hearing your feedback, we’ve added support for the latest hardware and operating systems. Dolby Atmos Renderer now supports the Apple Mac Studio as well as the new M2 Apple Mac mini. And, now with native Apple silicon support, you’ll get performance improvements when running natively on Apple M1 and M2 computers. On Windows, the Renderer is supported on the NUC 12 Pro and the Sweetwater . Additional I/O hardware options include the NTP DAD Core 256 for MADI & Dante on Mac and the Merging Technologies AES 67 VAD Premium for Dante workflows with M1/M2 Macs. Additionally, Windows 11 and macOS Ventura are now supported.
Pricing and Upgrades
The Dolby Atmos Renderer can be purchased from the Avid store here for $299 USD. For a limited time, Pro Tools Studio and Ultimate users can get it for $99. Existing Dolby Atmos Production and Mastering Suite users can upgrade here for a one-time $50 USD fee.
Free Trial
A free 90-day trial of the Dolby Atmos Renderer is available here.