I have just found out that Neyrinck have also released a Dolby E plug-in and stand alone package. It surely shows how important Dolby E is in a 5.1 surround production flow.

Dolby E is a clever trick from Dolby that takes the 5.1 audio and packs it up into a digital format that looks like a stereo AES/EBU data stream and so can be recorded and distributed around the existing stereo AES/EBU infrastructure.

Until recently one needed Dolby hardware boxes to convert to and from Dolby E, but with the introduction of the Minnetonka and Neyrinck plug-ins we now can bring that part of the workflow into the world of Pro Tools.

This from the Neyrinck press release…

SoundCode For Dolby E is a set of software tools to manage audio and Dolby metadata using Dolby E encoding and decoding and multichannel broadcast wave (MBWF) files with embedded Dolby metadata. Now Dolby E streams can be encoded at your workstation faster-than-realtime to a stereo WAV file. Now a Dolby E layback can be confidence monitored directly in Pro Tools. Now a Dolby E encode can be delivered to a video facility as a file. Now Dolby metadata can be embedded in a WAV file, where it belongs. Now file-based workflows can be implemented that carry Dolby metadata with the audio. Now Pro Tools can import and export SMPTE ordered files larger than 4 GB. Now multiple programs can be combined into a single audio file.

Specifications And Cost

• Pro Tools RTAS Broadcast Monitor plug-ins – Stereo, 5.1 (HD or Complete Production Toolkit required), and 8-out (using stereo auxiliary output stems)
• Pro Tools AudioSuite plug-ins – Broadcast Encoder, Broadcast Monitor
• Standalone Application – Broadcast Encoder, Broadcast Monitor
• Sample Rates – 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz (Dolby E operates at 48 kHz only)
• Pro Tools 7.0 or later required
• Mac OS X ( Windows XP / Vista Coming Soon
• $4495 MSRP

It is interesting to see that if you want both the encoder and decoder plug-ins, then Paul Neyrinck’s offering at $4495 is quite a bit cheaper than Minnetonka’s plug-in package at $5995. I look forward to seeing how they both perform.

If anyone has tried either of these plug-ins out please comment here, thanks.

Comments (4):

1. 

   Mark said:
   March 5, 2009 at 1:22 am

   I am not sure if these plug ins are certified yet nor if they are shipping yet – whereas the Minnetonka Plug-Ins are certified and shipping – and I can say from testing them on a Pro Tools HD3 system – they worked flawlessly with 5.1 and 7.1 stem encoding and decoding.
2. 

   Mike Thornton said:
   March 5, 2009 at 9:35 am

   Thanks Mark for your comments. I am looking into the status of Paul’s plug-in. Great to hear that the Minnetonka one is working well. Are you able to handle Dolby E workflows without any Dolby hardware now?Thanks again,Mike.
3. 

   Mark said:
   March 11, 2009 at 7:04 pm

   Yes – no hardware at all. I also am using Dolby’s media meter for dialog norm. It’s been great.
4. 

   Mike Thornton said:
   March 11, 2009 at 8:42 pm

   Wow, that is great news, Thanks Mark.