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Dolby Surround DATs conversion
I have quite a few DATs of shows we produced before I was hired, and they are labeled “Dolby Surround.” This means they should contain 3.0, 4.0, or 5.1 (if they are ProLogic II).
My question: Is there a software application I can run the stereo files through (after capturing them to my hard drive), and save the 6 (or fewer) surround channels?
I really just want to Open the 2.0 file and Export a 5.1 (or 4.0) WAV.
I’ve searched the Web all afternoon and can’t come up with anything. These shows weren’t mixed on a DAW, but direct to DA-88 and DAT. (Some of them aren’t available on DA-88, and the ones that are, I would have to rent a deck to play them back.)
Thanks for your ideas.
Christopher Smith
CBN WorldReach
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6 Replies
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I’m not aware of any plugin that could do what you want. There’s loads of pro prodcuts that go the other way, but very few go from Lt/Rt to surround. If the recordings were processed through Dolby technologies, you’ll probably need a Dolby product to go the other way round. That’s just how Ray rolls, it seems: proprietary technology. Most pro Dolby machines are very costly, if they even let you buy them instead of loaning them to you, but there could be some other way. If absolutely pristine audio quality is not paramount (these are ProLogic DATs, after all), you could hook you DAT’s output to the input of a consumer home cinema decoder, set that to decode whatever format is encoded on your DATs and record the individual channel-outs to an audio interface.
If you want a totally pro signal path, I’d personally go with the DMU, but I’m not sure of other options. If you contact your local Dolby rep, he may be able to cue you in. Ah… Dolby.
good luck!
JC Boulay
Audio Z
Montreal, Canada
http://www.audioz.com -
Thanks very much, JC. I had thought about the consumer decoder idea, but I don’t have access to 6-channel inputs anymore. We no longer have our surround mixing suite, and I’m trying to do this with just my MacPro and my Marantz PMD700 (our rack-mount decks no longer work). I might have to spring for a Firewire or USB interface.
Lots of tools out there to read AC3 files and play them out the optical interface; nothing to keep it all in the realm of the hard drive. Ah, well.
Christopher Smith
CBN WorldReach
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Here’s a link to a plugin that purports to turn LT RT and/or stereo into 5.1. https://www.tcelectronic.com/UnwrapTDM.asp.
John
MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.5 QT7.5.5 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870
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Thanks very much, John. That appears to be a good solution, although we don’t have ProTools. I found out we can still get access to Nuendo, and this gives me the idea to use a 2-to-5.1 plugin for Nuendo, which should work also.
Thanks again for taking the time to reply.
Christopher Smith
CBN WorldReach
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Hi Chris,
I would appreciate it if you would post your results…This is an area that interests me greatly…
Thanks, Greg
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Try this Waves product (UM225/UM226) Christopher. Same basic concept as TC’s Unwrap but it works in a variety of DAW’s (Pro Tools, Logic, Nuendo etc.) and only costs $200 for the Native version. I’ve had some good success up-mixing 2.0 to 5.1. Cheers!
https://www.waves.com/Content.aspx?id=8760
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