To enable approval of Atmos mixes with geographically separated collaborators, Source-Connect Facility version supports streaming of Atmos mixes with up to 128 discrete channels with synced metaobjects. Source Elements has partnered with Dolby to implement a special feature in the Dolby Atmos Renderer (DAR) so we can synchronize metaobjects along with the audio. Source-Connect uses the Opus codec for high-channel counts, and at high bitrates the audio quality will be exceptional.

With Source-Connect, there are always (at least) two parties involved in a connection:

1. The sending side is the local party, the "Send Renderer" in the UI.
2. The receiving side is the remote party, the "Receive Renderer" in the UI.

On the sending side, you would open the "Send Renderer" dropdown under General Settings, and select the IP address of your renderer. On the receiving side, you would open the "Receive Renderer" under General Settings and select the IP address of your renderer.

You may have multiple receivers, but only one sender.

The most common scenario is that the playback engine of your DAW (Pro Tools, for example) is "Dolby Audio Bridge" driver. This driver is also the audio input device in the local renderer's side so that data is sent from.

Requirements

On the sending side, you will need to connect to the Atmos Renderer and request that any Atmos-relevant data is communicated to Source-Connect Facility using the Atmos I/O settings.

You will need a Pro Tools setup with audio signals and the corresponding Dolby or Avid panning plugins to send panning metadata real-time to your Renderer that will be transmitted to the remote party via Source-Connect.

On the receiving side, you will need to connect to the Atmos Renderer and send any data that comes from the sending side.

On the sending and receiving sides, you will need an Ethernet connection to an internet connection capable of sending/receiving at least 5MB of network data without packet loss.

What you will need

1. You will need a Dolby-Renderer-enabled version of Source-Connect 4 and a Source-Connect Facility subscription. You can get a free trial via the "FREE TRIALS" tab in the Products & Downloads page, or purchase a Source-Connect Facility subscription or buy-in license on the Source Elements store.
2. You will need a Dolby Atmos Renderer application version 5.3.1 or higher. You can get a free trial via the Dolby Customer portal or purchase a license from them. This requires an iLok account.
3. The sender will need an Atmos-compatible DAW to send audio and metaobjects to the Dolby Audio Renderer.

The following is an example how to configure Source-Connect Facility with the Dolby Audio Renderer and the Pro Tools DAW. Your setup may differ, contact us with any questions.

1. Open the Source-Connect 4 settings panel and adjust the following settings:
1. In the SEND section, select the appropriate number of channels for the connections. With a Dolby Atmos setup, you want to select 128 channels.
2. Under DOLBY ATMOS, open the SEND RENDERER dropdown and select your Atmos renderer from the available options. Make sure you select the correct channel range for the renderer.
3. In the AUDIO I/O dropdown, select the virtual Dolby Audio Bridge device as your input (inputs 1 – 128).
4. Select the output you want to have.
2. Set your Dolby Audio Renderer host as your External Renderer under I/O Setup in Pro Tools:

3. Set the Dolby Audio Bridge device as your Playback Engine device in Pro Tools:

4. In the Dolby Audio Renderer settings, set Dolby Audio Bridge as your Audio Input Device.

5. Then, find your connection partner in the CONTACTS panel and start your session.
6. Verify that the Dolby Renderer is listening:
1. In the Dolby Renderer, go to Setup -> Remote clients. Only once you are connected on a Source-Connect session, with the Renderer properly selected in your Global Settings BEFORE you connect, will you see Source-Connect listed under the CONNECTED REMOTE CONTROLLER CLIENTS:

2. You will also see that Source-Connect is connected to the Dolby Renderer via Default Connection Settings.

The following is an example of how to configure Source-Connect Facility to forward audio and metaobjects to the Dolby Audio Renderer. A DAW is not needed unless you are chasing LTC. Your setup may differ, contact us with any questions.

1. Configure Source-Connect as follows:
1. Under DOLBY ATMOS, open the RECEIVE RENDERER dropdown and select your Atmos renderer from the available options.
2. In the AUDIO I/O dropdown, select the virtual Dolby Audio Bridge device as your output (output 1 – it will automatically expand to 128 channels once you are connected).
3. Select the microphone input you want to have.
4. Only send mono or stereo channels - do not set 128 channels as your return or you will use bandwidth unnecessarily.
2. In the Dolby Audio Renderer settings, set Dolby Audio Bridge as your Audio Input Device

3. Once you are connected on Source-Connect, and the above is correctly configured, you can verify it is connected:
1. Confirm via the Dolby Audio Renderer under the Setup->Remote Clients menu.

2. Confirm via Source-Connect under Default Connection Settings.

4. When the SENDER starts sending audio, and their side is properly connected to their Renderer, you will receive all audio and metaobjects.

We do not recommend sending LTC as an audio channel - for example, do not set the connection to use 129 channels and use channel 129 for LTC. The correct way to use LTC is via the SYNC feature: this activates our special stability algorithms and will give a much better synchronization experience.

If you will be sending timecode in your session via MTC, you will need to configure Source-Connect for it as well. You can find very detailed step-by-step guides on how to configure SYNC for MTC here.

Typical SYNC steps

1. Make sure you are not sending more than 128 channels in Source-Connect.
2. Send the output of the Dolby LTC Generator plugin to Dolby Audio Bridge channel 129 or any channel or audio device that is not being not used. For example, you can use Source-Nexus I/O to get the Dolby LTC signal to the right Dolby Audio Bridge channel.
3. In Source-Connect, select that LTC audio channel in the Time Reference Input -> LTC menu
4. When you hit play in your DAW, you will see that you are sending LTC at the selected frame-rate.
5. The remote side will do the opposite and select their Time Reference Output (can be LTC or MTC, depending on their capabilities).

You can use the Source-Nexus I/O plugin to send audio from Pro Tools if needed, using this template: http://downloads.source-elements.com/SC4/Dolby/Atmos%20Mix%20Template.ptx.zip

Here's how the attached template works:

1. Sends audio to two 7th order ambisonics tracks.
2. Source-Nexus I/O sends the first 1-64 outputs to Dolby Audio Bridge and the second 5-128 outputs to Dolby Audio Bridge.
3. Select Dolby Audio Bridge as the Source-Connect input device.