Forum Post

User16859083830892540652 (Customer) asked a question.

June 13, 2023 at 12:50 AM
How do I convert my ADM file to lossless format?
I have the Dolby Renderer but that maxes out at 768 kbps.
I am hosting a immersive sound experience and want to play a higher quality/lossless version.

For the "Dolby Media Encoder v3.4.0" it says "Access to this professional software requires that your company has a valid sales order contract."

How can I do this?
  • 8 answers

  • AdamP (Dolby Labs)

    Hi,

    There are three codecs used for Atmos delivery to consumer devices. DDPlus JOC (the codec muxed with the MP4 export from the Renderer), AC4-IMS and Dolby TrueHD. Of these only Dolby TrueHD is lossless. Dolby TrueHD is used for Blu-Ray authoring only. There are very limited playback options outside of an authored Blu-Ray disc.

    Dolby Media Encoder can be used for all three codecs and is available for evaluation. Purchase is through a reseller and it is sold on a yearly subscription basis.

    While the DDPlusJOC encoder can go to data rates higher than 768kpbs, the increase from existing and excellent subjective audio quality is not increased at the same rate as any bitrate increases over 768kbps.

    The best and least expensive approach is probably just ADM BWF playback from the Renderer or a DAW through Core Audio or ASIO devices. If that is not practical then MP4 playback is the best option.

    Thanks,
    Adam
    Expand Post

  • User16859083830892540652 (Customer)

    Thanks for the quick and thorough reply. Do you have a link for more information on this?

    • Sam H (Self Employed)

      If you export your ADM as normal, you can then play that back in your Renderer configured to speaker or binaural playback. That will be lossless so long as you tune of Spatial Coding (emulation of dd+joc ). Alternatively if you want a lighter weight playback solution, simply re-render the ADM directly to multichannel.wav of the speaker format needed for your event.

    • AdamP (Dolby Labs)

      Hi, As Sam and I note playback of the ADM from the Renderer itself is PCM as would any re-render output as .wav. If you want to playback a compressed file you can either use the default MP4 export in the Renderer or get Dolby Media Encoder. You can also get the Dolby Reference Player with the evaluation of the Dolby Media Encoder. The Dolby Reference Player application can play back Dolby TrueHD as .mlp files through a Core Audio or ASIO device. Without knowing more about what gear you are trying to use for your event it is hard to specifically recommend a solution but PCM playback directly from the Renderer or .wav playback using Re-renders seems the least complicated. Links to request the Dolby Media Encoder and Reference Player can be found here: https://customer.dolby.com/content-creation-and-delivery

      Best,
      Adam
      Expand Post

      • Sam H (Self Employed)

        Sorry, that should read "That will be lossless so long as you 'turn off' Spatial Coding (emulation of dd+joc ). ie disable it in the Renderer settings.

  • AdamP (Dolby Labs)

    Hi, If you are using an AVR for playback then an MP4 with DDPlusJOC is really the only practical solution whether loaded on a USB drive for playback or USB drive via a Blu-Ray in bitstream passthrough.
    Best,
    Adam

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