- Building a home studio computer install#
- Building a home studio computer pro#
- Building a home studio computer software#
- Building a home studio computer tv#
Building a home studio computer install#
Business was good and was having a hard time finding enough downtime to run cables and install the surrounds and overheads. A few weeks later, 11 speakers showed up on a shipping pallet from JBL. I had my list of gear locked in and placed the order along with an array of cables and speaker mounts.
What person in their right mind would go through the trouble of installing Atmos at home and NOT have a way to watch movies on it?
Building a home studio computer tv#
I also picked up an Apple TV and a 4K Blu-Ray player.
Building a home studio computer pro#
This allowed me to easily switch between Pro Tools and the Integra. I also wanted a way to listen to consumer content on the system, so picked up an Integra DHC 80.6 receiver which offered 11.2 outs on XLR which I ran into analogue 1-12 on the Intonato 24. The (3) 708P and the CDi 2000 for the sub were connected via analogue outs on the Intonato. With both the Intonato and the DCi 8|300N supporting BLU link, the 8 channels of surrounds and overheads were connected via a single CAT cable. While I briefly considered going with a Dante solution, I ended up getting an Avid HD Native PCIe + used Digidesign 192 Digital. To avoid an additional AD conversion, I wanted to go into the Intonato via AES. To support Atmos I needed at least 12 channels out of Pro Tools into the Intonato. I had previously been using a MOTU Traveler as my audio interface. I looked at several options but settled on the JBL ASB6115 powered by a Crown CDi 2000. Initially, I planned on keeping my JBL LSS 4312SP for my sub, but running the math for my space, I needed something bigger. The biggest draw for me was the ability to mix and match between passive and powered and large and small speakers.Ĩ x JBL LSR705i (4 surrounds / 4 overheads)ġ x Crown 8|300N (to power the surround and overhead speakers)ġ x JBL Intonato 24 (for monitor control and room tuning) I looked at several models and ended up settling on the JBL 7-Series.
With all of the other bigger rooms in town I work with use JBL Cinema-Series speakers, I wanted to make sure whatever I went with would translate to those rooms. Our previous setup consisted of 5x JBL LSR4326P and 1x LSR4312SP. Luckily by the time I was ready to start mixing in Atmos, the Dolby Audio Bridge between Pro Tools and the local renderer was updated to support 130 channels as well as auto delay compensation. While this was still a decent option for pre-mixing, in order to create masters I would really need a dedicated RMU which meant a LOT of additional gear to make it work. It used send and return plugins to communicate with the local renderer, which meant delay compensation in Pro Tools did not work. The Dolby Atmos Production Suite was available for the low price of $299. As recommended by Dolby (and Netflix), I decided to go with a 7.1.4 configuration. Once I made this decision, I started by designing the speaker layout and choosing the equipment I would need. It was fair to say that Atmos was front-and-centre of those discussions and had me sold on upgrading my setup at home. While there, I had a chance to talk to the folks from Dolby and Avid along with some of the best professionals of our day. In October 2018 I attended the Mix Sound for Film and Television event at the Sony post-production facility in Culver City. This experience delivered and had me wanting to start mixing in Atmos. For me, seeing that film in glorious Dolby Atmos was THE show that weekend. The show I wanted to see was Ready Player One at the Brenden Palms 14 JB-X Theatre. This journey began back in March 2018 when my wife and I planned a trip to Las Vegas. While it ended up taking MUCH longer than expected, delaying the start of the project shaped the system I would build for the better. To save money I was going to design the space and do the install myself.
I am mixing in a relatively small space (50 cubic meters), so I would be designing my room for HT.
Building a home studio computer software#
Home Theatre is designed for disk, digital and streaming platforms and with the latest release, allows you to run both your DAW and the Dolby Rendering and Mastering Unit or RMU software on the same computer! Mixing for this format requires a BIG room, an array of up to 22 speakers and having Dolby come out to your studio to install a Theatrical RMU and calibrate your space to their specifications. Theatrical is meant for mixes that as the name suggests will end up playing in your local Dolby Cinema. For those unfamiliar with mixing in Atmos, there are two basic flavours: Theatrical and Home Theatre.