Besides Disney movies have you actually seen movies with no dynamic objects? My understanding is that BRs should have at least 4 dynamic objects depending on the total number of objects and Iâve only heard of Disney movies being 100% pinned.
Most newer movies got dynamic audio objects (which move in position and size), but very many got static objects placed at speakers. Normal for ceiling with either 2 or 4. With this approach you will never get any audio from the other ceiling speakers (or wide speakers). By the way, this approach is normal for all DTS:X releases, with fixed 7.1.2 or 7.1.4. So even though DTS:X is even more advanced than Atmos, you have no releases utilizing it. Going forward with this approach, DTS:X is dead - long live Atmos 
Then you will have one bed on ground level, and one bed in ceiling.
There is a reason we donât have DTS:X object viewer (technically it would be possible) - DTS does not like this to be public info. One benefit of DTS:X is the support for Neural:X upmix on DTS:X.
You donât need audio object viewer to know how the mix is done. You can mute all channels except one, then check through which ones are in use (usually smart to do during a large action scene).
@Dennis_Mutsaers , of course, Dolby Atmos is not pinned to specific channels. But this is why the playback must occur through the Dolby Reference Player. Within that software, one must pick the end user format, whether 5.1.2, 7.1.4 or otherwise. You have to ultimately get to an output with a specific number of channels that match your speaker setup, just as the output of an AVR must decode Atmos to the AVRâs output setup, or how a Mac decodes Apple Spacial to a selected speaker format.
Put another way, this is why if one used a software program without the DRP to convert the MKV files to 7.1 FLAC, it would not be in accordance with Dolby Atmos.
The DRP allows the user to bypass use of an AVR so the Dolby Atmos output configuration selected can run through Roon for convolution and playback. I actually run mine through Roon out to HQPlayer for convolution with Audiolense and upscaling to DSD128 for my Okto DAC8pro, which handles 8 channels, Roonâs maximum. It sounds much better than running through the DAC built into my Marantz AV-8802A prepro, which is no slouch itself. JCR
There are plenty of Disney BR movies that are. I have no idea if any Atmos music on BR is but doesnât DRP have an object viewer that can verify that? Also, even if a BR movie is not 100% pinned itâs my understanding that there is still a mix of static and dynamic objects. Iâm assuming this is also the case with Atmos music but again you should be able to verify with an object viewer.
Hi @Jeffrey_Robbins thanks for introducing the possibility of getting 5.1.2 files to play on Roon, while waiting for Roon to support Atmos natively (if it ever happens).
I use Mac computers only and am not familiar with Audacity, but I managed to find a couple of online guides that seems to list procedures for âplaying the output of Mac through Audacity to record it in FLAC 5.1.2.â
Here are my questions:
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In this Audacity guide, they listed âiShowU Audio Captureâ and âSoundflowerâ as free software to use. Are these needed for the use of Audacity on Mac to record in FLAC 5.1.2?
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If yes, which one is recommended?
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Commercial application such as âAudio Hijackâ and âSound Siphonâ are also recommended in the same Audacity guide. But I am afraid other apps would make learning curve even higher. Are these applications better than using Audacity, assuming they are capable of creating 5.1.2 tracks?
All you need is the Dolby Reference Player and Audacity, if you are recording a TrueHD lossless Atmos recording.
For the DRP, set speaker layout to 5.1.2, the audio output device to your Mac sound input (I have one called virtual Atmos), disable the dynamic range and set the presentation for 16 channels.
In Mac sound properties, set output to Blackhole 16 channel and input to virtual Atmos (or whatever your DRP output is called).
In Audacity, set the playback device for virtual Atmos (or whatever your Max sound input is called), the recording device to Blackhole 16 channel and the recording channels as 8. In the recording tab, tick enable for sound activated recording and set level at -145dB. Then when you start playback of an Atmos album in the DRP, Audacity will start recording automatically (so long as you first hit record in Audacity, which will pause awaiting a signal).
In the alternative, the free MMH software will automate the entire conversion process starting with the Dolby TrueHD file in MKV format. You still need the DRP.
If you are wanting to record a lossy Atmos album from Apple Music, then Core Audio becomes your playback device in the Mac and you donât need the DRP because the Mac itself will decode the lossy Atmos from the DD+ stream. JCR
Edit: when playing a Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 track in Roon, the âswap rear channelsâ selection in settings should be off. Note that with traditional 5.1 MCH, it needs to be on. I just remember to switch back and forth, depending on the album I am listening to.
Thanks @Jeffrey_Robbins for your instructions, I finally created my first multichannels FLACs using MMH and Roon successfully imported them.
Speaking of multichannel playback, I stumbled on an article published by Roon, in it this sentence raised some eyebrows:
âThe multi-channel world is a graveyard of false-starts and obsolete technologiesâ 
Roon Team, now I know how you actually feel and this also explains why you have not responded to requests in this thread? 
- one more vote for Atmos via Roon, even if itâs only pass-through.
I have atmos .m4a albums playing perfectly gapless in potplayer now. This is a free app.
I pay hundreds for Roon, how is this not supported?
Having the same problem. Does anyone have insight into what multichannel files are recognized and what files show as âcorruptâ under âSkipped filesâ (instead of simply ignored as unsupported formats)?
Roon Advanced Audio Transport (RAAT) probably need some rework to support Atmos, and Roon Ready endpoints with Atmos support must be updated to support this. No easy task, so it is a bit more complicated than most people think. Iâm however sure it will be done (but this is not a quick fix done in a few hours).
+1 for dolby atmos support.
I would like Roon to be able to play Tidal Dolby Atmos files.
Steven Wilsonâs The Harmony Codex is out with Atmos being the definitive version as stated by the artist. And yet, it canât be played in Roon. I can hardly even process thisâŚ
I get up on the weekend and use Roon to check out new releases to kick things off when I can. Today, as happens too often now it seems, I ended up in Tidal since Harmony Codex and other new releases canât be played properly in Roon. Itâs just so disappointing and seems so counter to everything Roon is marketed as.
Also, one-by-one, every DAW that engineers use to mix music is getting Atmos support. The big announcement and release last week by Presonus is that Studio One now has full Atmos mixing with no extra software needed. This was the primary advancement for this DAW. Clearly they see a future and a need here at it relates to their business.
This hardly seems to be letting up, or a fad, and the deafening silence about this forâŚI donât know âŚgoing on years now?..is just so frustrating. If Roon is never getting Atmos, just tell us. Simple. If it is getting Atmos playback, then give us a confirmation of intent and maybe a super rough timeline. Iâm not sure why this is so controversial.
Weâre coming up on 4 years, 156 posts, and 182 votes requesting Atmos support. And yet not a word of confirmation, or even intention, one way or the other. I love Roon, but this kind of dismissal of this many customers, over such a prolonged period is just extremely disappointing.
Itâs sad⌠I also keep swithing over to Tidal instead of playing music through Roon.
Same - though since I donât subscribe to Tidal (only Qobuz), I have to go to Apple Music to get my Atmos fix.
If Roon would support it, Iâd switch to Tidal in a second to listen through Roon.
Yes, me too.
Would love to hear the new Steven Wilson album, The Harmony Codex, in Atmos.