ProAudio Review - March 2008 - (Page 44)

POST | REVIEW Usefully, a Channels tab displays any options available in the selected format, to ensure that you make the correct decisions; for all formats, the software displays the most common number of channels, enabling the user to add or subtract them from a drop-down list. (Recall that Dolby TrueHD, for example, offers Dolby encoder servers are used, with higher priority jobs being processed first. As will be obvious, a TrueHD Job for Blu-ray – referred to as Dolby Lossless - requires an accompanying Dolby Digital soundtrack (up to 640 kbps), the two encoded bitstreams being multiplexed during authoring. During encoding, the Apple host system usefully tracks and reports the progress of each session; if the project requires Dolby TrueHD material, which involves time-consuming multipass processing, Dolby Media Encoder displays which of the four pass states have been reached. Even more usefully, because DMP is HTML-savvy, users can review and amend via most Internet browsers the password-protected status of projects running on remote systems - even via a Blackberry - or iPhone-type of handheld device with network access. Common encode settings can be saved as templates and used during subsequent sessions. Usefully, Encoded Files can be updated with a Punch List that allows a section of a previously encoded file to be modified without having to re-encode the entire file. Imagine, for example, that you just need to fix a short audio glitch or dropout that went unnoticed during the encoding stage; this way it’s possible to fix a short section, rather than re-encode the entire project - a magnificent time-saver. As might be imagined, a variety of Dolby Metadata options are available that can be used to describe the encoded audio and convey information to control downstream encoders and decoders, including loudspeaker configuration, down-mixing dynamic-range control, and normalize listening levels using Dialnorm (Dialog normalization). Within the Media Decoder section a number of playback environments can be mimicked, including the subwoofer outputs and Pro Logic Delay values. (Usefully, channel locations and labels correspond to SMPTE 428M, Digital Cinema Distribution Master Channel Mapping and Channel Labeling.) To follow and/or check audio-video sync, file position is displayed for both audio and QuickTime files against most commonly encountered species of timecode (while noting that .BWF files do not contain frame-rate information, but this can be set manually). Output levels of each channel of the file being decoded also are displayed on a separate meter. To allow multiple users to develop their own settings, a Decoder Configuration File (DCF) can also be saved as snapshots of the decoder setup. (Usefully, when a DCF is reloaded, the application verifies the presence of any external I/O devices – like a speaker channel - that were present when the configuration was last saved, DOLBY continues on page 48 ➤ DOLBY Continued From Page 42 IN DETAIL: DOLBY MEDIA ENCODER This application combines powerful bitstream mastering features with comprehensive project - and file-management capabilities, and works in faster than real-time on a local computer or via a network; unauthorized installations are prohibited via Pace iLok USB smartkey verification. The familiar browser-based Apple Mac OS X interface provides easy access to target files and the program’s powerful feature set for Media Encoder Client or Media Encoder Server. Workflows - the path from the stored input file to the client to the server, and thence to the desired destination for the encoded file - are simple to set up and are logically organized. (Usefully, Media Encoder also supports a small-format Web server, enabling users to view and manage server activity on pages optimized for handheld devices.) Opening a new Project Window prompts the user for Project Name and optional Sub Project Name (useful for subdividing large projects), Creator (automatically filled in with the current user’s computer name), and optional Facility (which lets users designate the encoding site); optional Job Template Path; and optional Comments for adding project information. Other project parameters include Format Types - Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and MLP Lossless; the default being Dolby Digital - and Target Media, with DVD Video as the default. Multiple Targets are also available for some formats; usefully, when the user chooses two or more targets, the system produces a single encoded file that is compatible with all the selected targets, rather than a separate file for each target. Attributes of these multiple-target files are restricted to the lowest applicable limit - Blu-ray Disc, for example, allows the Dolby Digital data rate to go as high as 640 kbps. If you choose both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD, however, you are restricted to 448 kbps, which is the maximum data rate for HD DVD. Job names can also be specified, and complete descriptions of data relevant to a mastering and authoring project can stay with the files as they move through the process – very useful. The number of channels in a mix can be specified, along with channel labels, plus source files to be encoded and their destination. Dolby Media Producer screenshots features unavailable in other formats.) The encoder application also displays the most common channel IDs in the most common order - a drop-down list adjacent to each name lets you modify IDs and channel order by choosing alternative values. It’s interesting to note that the file selector is intelligent and provides automatic file selection; double-clicking a source file causes the software to automatically select an entire whole set if a complete set of files is encountered with standard file-name conventions. Having selected a file, the Encoder displays its encoded sample rate. Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus are always encoded as 48 kHz; the software automatically down-samples source files with sample rates of 96 or 192 kHz for encoding as Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus. Dolby TrueHD is a flexible format with three presentation types - eight-, six-, and twochannel - that define how the consumer system replays the audio data. Various user-definable options provided by DMP let the user select the appropriate program settings. (Default is six-channel independent presentations, with eight-channel being a copy of the six-channel one, plus the two-channel presentation carrying a down-mix with appropriate metadata.) USEFUL OPERATIONAL FEATURES Each job can be submitted to the Encoder Queue on any of the available network servers, or the local Apple workstation when multiple 44 | ProAudio Review | March 2008 Subscribe to the Digital Edition of Pro Audio Review http://www.proaudioreview.com/subscribe www.proaudioreview.com http://www.proaudioreview.com http://www.proaudioreview.com/subscribe

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ProAudio Review - March 2008 Contents Publisher's Page Studio News and New Products Sennheiser MKH 8040 Microphone Digidesign Mbox 2 Micro Studio Spotlight Upsampler X/Audio Live News and New Products Touring Gear From the Road Broadcast News and New Products ION Audio Tape2PC Cassette Archiving System Brauner VMA Large-Diaphragm Microphone Audio Ltd. RMS 2040 Series Post News and New Products First Look NAB Showcase Buyers Guide Single Slice

ProAudio Review - March 2008

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