DOM 5.1 Channel DCP

[Guddu]

I have received a PRORES which has only 1 Audio Stream (2 Channels). I am required to make a 5.1 DCP out of this. What is the best approach to do this?

I was thinking of Replicating the same audio with lower gain on L, R, LS, RS while leaving LFE blank and maintaining original audio levels on C channel. Is this a good approach?

Thanks in advance for the guidance.

[Carsten]

You can try one of the Upmixers in DCP-o-matic under DCP->Audio, however, you should only use UpmixerA or UpmixerB if you have a chance to listen to the created audio in a surround environment/cinema, as with some signals, they may create unpleasant results.

There are some commmercial solutions for upmixing as well, dts NEO, for example.

Depending on your actual requirement, you may create a 5.1 DCP using only the Mid/Side decoder, and leave surrounds and LFE silent. That would be my personal choice.

- Carsten

[Guddu]

You can try one of the Upmixers in DCP-o-matic under DCP->Audio, however, you should only use UpmixerA or UpmixerB if you have a chance to listen to the created audio in a surround environment/cinema, as with some signals, they may create unpleasant results.

There are some commmercial solutions for upmixing as well, dts NEO, for example.

Depending on your actual requirement, you may create a 5.1 DCP using only the Mid/Side decoder, and leave surrounds and LFE silent. That would be my personal choice.

- Carsten

Dear Cartsen. Thanks for your response. I would be trying the mid side decoder option. My input will be a mxf with 2 mono tracks. Do i have to worry about the channel assignment (specifically in the Content ---> Audio tab) or will selecting the mid side decoder take care of that on its own? Also is it safe to use this decoder? Will the resulting audio be compatible with a Cinema's 5.1 or 7.1 or whatever sound systems they deploy?

[Carsten]

The Mid/Side decoder is comparably straight and safe, it will create L/C/R signals that will not cause technical issues on 5.1 or 7.1 systems. Still, when using any of these audio processors, it is a good idea to perform a test screening on at least an L/C/R capable listening system. For UpmixerA and UpmixerB, this is a MUST!

What exactly do you mean with 'two mono tracks' - is there the same signal on both L/R of this MXF?

- Carsten

[Guddu]

The Mid/Side decoder is comparably straight and safe, it will create L/C/R signals that will not cause technical issues on 5.1 or 7.1 systems. Still, when using any of these audio processors, it is a good idea to perform a test screening on at least an L/C/R capable listening system. For UpmixerA and UpmixerB, this is a MUST!

What exactly do you mean with 'two mono tracks' - is there the same signal on both L/R of this MXF?

- Carsten

The signal is almost same but not 100% same I would say. . . I used Mid/Side decoder. Waiting for the job to complete. Will report back the results of Audio Analysis shortly.

[Carsten]

You can load the resulting audio MXF into an MXF capable audio editor (like Audacity with the ffmpeg plugin) and then see what went into each track.

- Carsten