A new Dolby Atmos Renderer has just been introduced, combining the functionalities of the previously available Dolby Atmos Production Suite and Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite into a single product.
The new Dolby Atmos Renderer adds a number of improvements and includes all previously available features at a lower price point. Like previous versions, the Dolby Atmos Renderer works in tandem with the user’s DAW to render mixes to any playback environment, based on the audio and positional metadata you author in the DAW.
According to Dolby Professional, the company ‘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 is easier and more affordable to get into Dolby Atmos content creation’.
New features include 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; and 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. It’s worth noting that plug-in are available for macOS only.
Dolby has also 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, with native Apple silicon support, users can benefit from 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.
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.