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User16497142305459443251 (Resort Records Inc.) asked a question.

April 11, 2022 at 10:23 PM
Convert Dolby Atmos ADM BWF to MP4 without ProTools?
Our studio employs Steinberg Nuendo on Windows to produce Dolby Atmos ADM BWF files. I'd like to produce Dolby Atmos MP4 files for QC and perhaps B2C delivery. If I purchase the Dolby Atmos Production Suite ($299) and install it on a non-studio iMac, can I generate the Dolby Atmos MP4 files from the aforementioned ADM BWF files?

To be clear, our iMac has no audio hardware or software (e.g., ProTools) installed. It is an office computer we just happen to have available.

Any advice is appreciated.
  • 7 answers

  • AdamP (Dolby Labs)

    Hi, As long as this is just being used to open ADM BWF and export MP4 files you should be ok. The Dolby Audio Bridge should be set as the input and the iMac speakers as the output even if you don't intend to playback audio. An alternative depending on how often this will be needed would be to use Amazon Web Services (AWS) MediaConvert. Once an account is set up it is pennies for most encodes. If you go the iMac route you should still not be running anything older than macOS Mojave and preferably be on at least an i5 with 16GB Ram. It may well function for this purpose with lower specs than the software is designed to run on but your mileage may vary.

    Best,
    Adam
    Expand Post

  • User16497142305459443251 (Resort Records Inc.)

    Thank you, Adam! I'll give it a try.

    I've since learned about the Dolby Encoding Engine, which apparently has a command-line utility for Windows and some nice encoding options - many more than I will ever need. This would be ideal, but I understand it's quite expensive ($500/year?). I would only use it for one or two projects per year. Is there a "Lite" version? :-) Other options?

  • Sam H (Self Employed)

    @User16497142305459443251 (Resort Records Inc.)  You can upload your ADM BWF to Amazon Media Convert and it will transcode to DD+JOC.mp4 costs about $0.07 per conversion last time I used it. As a fellow Windows-only Studio, until such a time Dolby Atmos Renderer is made for Windows, that's the best, fastest and cheapest option imo. Learn more here:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWOR4V2LOw4

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