Music Media Helper (Tools for Multichannel Audio & Music Videos)

[mandrix]

MMH already does everything but make my breakfast.

 

[Arth Attack]

Any news about the AC-4 IMS implementation?

 

[AntPrad]

Hello @HomerJAU, thank you very much for this useful tool!

There is one feature I would love to have, and I know many other audiophiles, composers or mixers around me feel the same way: Converting MKV to ADM BWF (for Audio Definition Model Broadcast Wave Format). Today only utility. Cavernize allows you to do this, and only with Dolby Digital Plus and not with Dolby True HD.

Already being able to convert DDP to ADM is already great: ADM allows you to recover objects with the real-time parameters of the positioning of sources (X, Y, Z), to import it into computer music software such as Pro Tools, Nuendo, Logic Pro, Resolve Studio and many more. Of course, whether in record music or cinema, the transition from the original ADM (maximum 128 object/discrete channels) to the flow processed by spatial coding (1 discrete channel for LFE and 15 object channels which merge the rest) necessarily makes a lot of details disappear compared to ADM studio masters or DCP in cinemas.

However, as an Atmos music and audiovisual mixing teacher, I dream of the day when software like Cavernize will be able to do ADM with True HD and not just destructive Dobly Digital Plus. Being able to show the spatialization movements of sound to my students is very instructive and I hope to do it one day with optimal quality sound.

But as a rerecording mixer in film and music, it would be great to learn from my favorite works. Also, this would allow for quality sampling.

Do you think one day MMH will be able to convert audio from MKV to ADM BWF?

 

[TheYan]

Finally, I got myself a copy of Oppenheimer and for some reason thought that DTS HD MA 5.1 actually holds some ATMOS data. My judgment was clearly tainted by my desire to get nuked, but... anyways...

The ATMOS decoder still happily allows decoding the track. However, probably because there is no actual ATMOS data, it silently fails (delivering a 0kb .w64 file) with no error and simply says "done" when choosing anything above a 5.1 configuration.

It would have been nice if it could decode the highest possible configuration up to whatever you chose. Doing it manually through a Python decoder simply spits out empty tracks with no data for those channels. MMH could possibly do the same or even something smarter.

 

[mandrix]

Finally, I got myself a copy of Oppenheimer and for some reason thought that DTS HD MA 5.1 actually holds some ATMOS data. My judgment was clearly tainted by my desire to get nuked, but... anyways...

The ATMOS decoder still happily allows decoding the track. However, probably because there is no actual ATMOS data, it silently fails (delivering a 0kb .w64 file) with no error and simply says "done" when choosing anything above a 5.1 configuration.

It would have been nice if it could decode the highest possible configuration up to whatever you chose. Doing it manually through a Python decoder simply spits out empty tracks with no data for those channels. MMH could possibly do the same or even something smarter.

Well as you found out, DTS-HD does not hold Atmos. I believe it can hold Auro3D.
The quick and dirty way to decode Atmos into separate tracks would be to use the Dolby Reference Player and live capture the tracks in a DAW. I can't tell you all involved, I just know some people do it.

If you're ripping an actual disc with Atmos content, you can use makeMKV to encode as MKV. Then you can use MMH to convert to flac or wav. Then you could separate individual channels with a DAW, if that's what you're looking to do.

 

[mandrix]

Well as you found out, DTS-HD does not hold Atmos. I believe it can hold Auro3D.
The quick and dirty way to decode Atmos into separate tracks would be to use the Dolby Reference Player and live capture the tracks in a DAW. I can't tell you all involved, I just know some people do it.

If you're ripping an actual disc with Atmos content, or have extracted the decrypted .iso file, you can use makeMKV to encode as MKV. Then you can use MMH to convert to flac or wav. Then you could separate individual channels with a DAW, if that's what you're looking to do.

Or separate the channels with MMH also, missed editing this yesterday. Thanks @Sylfest for reminding.

 

[Sylfest]

hen you could separate individual channels with a DAW, if that's what you're looking to do.

MMH can do that also.

 

[mandrix]

MMH can do that also.

You are of course right. After I quoted myself above I meant to add that but got sidetracked. lol.

 

[HomerJAU]

Do you think one day MMH will be able to convert audio from MKV to ADM BWF?

No. Your best hope is Cavern will eventually decode Atmos TrueHD.

 

[mandrix]

No. Your best hope is Cavern will eventually decode Atmos TrueHD.

Also, although I think I understand the intent, we're drifting afar from an enthusiasts program into professional grade applications. If the content is being taught at an advanced level, one would hope the school is providing the necessary software and the instructors school themselves on using it.
I realize that does not always happen, but it is what it is.
Running afoul of the licensing authorities, Dolby in particular, is not going to help anyone. JMHO.

 

[AntPrad]

I totally understand. Unfortunately there is currently no solution, even paid, to convert Atmos True HD post "Spatial coding" into ADM at the moment. But I understand the issues highlighted with True HD and Dolby, and I understand that this is not a project for MMH. In any case, thank you again @HomerJAU for this great tool!

 

[TheYan]

I might have not been clear. What I meant is that it would have been great if MMH ATMOS Decoder could understand mistakes in the provided configuration and "fix them," either by showing a notification like "channel configuration incorrect please lower the channel count" or by simply outputting what it can.
In other words, if I could set the highest level I have, for example, 7.1.4, and MMH would render the highest possible content up to 7.1.4. In cases like the one I described before, where the content only supports up to 5.1, MMH would output 5.1 despite me setting 7.1.4.
The use case here is that by setting the configuration once, you wouldn't have to change it depending on the content provided, but instead, you would get the correct decoding up to the requested configuration.

 

[wkearney99]

If you're looking for a good metadata and transcoding swiss-army-knife software, there's also J.River's Media Center. It has some pretty powerful metadata editing features (excel-like table editing in bulk) along with some impressive transcoding for portable devices. I use it to handle converting media from my network onto microSD cards for the radio in the car. Handles renaming filenames, creating folders, transcoding formats and making playlists. All without affecting the source files. Just add the tracks to a playlist, and set up that playlist to sync to a directory location (doesn't "have to be" a portable device).

 

[HomerJAU]

Ha ha. You’d be surprised what MMH could do if I got $79 from every user and charged $20 each year for an update

 

[AYanguas]

I might have not been clear. What I meant is that it would have been great if MMH ATMOS Decoder could understand mistakes in the provided configuration and "fix them," either by showing a notification like "channel configuration incorrect please lower the channel count" or by simply outputting what it can.

The Atmos decoder just "render" the input provided (TrueHD or DD+ Atmos) to the configuration setting (either 5.1.2, 7.1.4 or whatever) the same way an AVR Atmos decoder does with the available speaker configuration. If the mix is done in such a way that there is no content for a bed channel, neither object location content for that "channel", that channel will be "empty" or "silence". It cannot be "flagged" as a "mistake", it was just the way the mixer engineer did. That "mistake" can be seen by us if we find a complete empty channel after the decode.

With the "decoding" we lose the information of Object Metada and get only a multichannel file with the channel number specified. Some channels could be empty, if the original mix is done that way.

If the objective is to tune the mix, by editing individual channels (altering the level, mixing/merging content, etc.) then I would decode to the maximum available channels of the tool 9.1.6. Then see if there is content or not in some channels, and after the editing of individual channels, "re-encode" to the number of channels apropriate for our system (i.,e. our same speakers configuration). This way the re-encoded Atmos will behave the same way it will behave in our speakers configuration system. The resulting encode will have the Object metadata altered, with respect to the original input. Or even inexistant if we re-encode to the max bed channels 7.1.2, or less.

 

[TheYan]

The Atmos decoder just "render" the input provided (TrueHD or DD+ Atmos) to the configuration setting (either 5.1.2, 7.1.4 or whatever) the same way an AVR Atmos decoder does with the available speaker configuration. If the mix is done in such a way that there is no content for a bed channel, neither object location content for that "channel", that channel will be "empty" or "silence". It cannot be "flagged" as a "mistake", it was just the way the mixer engineer did. That "mistake" can be seen by us if we find a complete empty channel after the decode.

With the "decoding" we lose the information of Object Metada and get only a multichannel file with the channel number specified. Some channels could be empty, if the original mix is done that way.

If the objective is to tune the mix, by editing individual channels (altering the level, mixing/merging content, etc.) then I would decode to the maximum available channels of the tool 9.1.6. Then see if there is content or not in some channels, and after the editing of individual channels, "re-encode" to the number of channels apropriate for our system (i.,e. our same speakers configuration). This way the re-encoded Atmos will behave the same way it will behave in our speakers configuration system. The resulting encode will have the Object metadata altered, with respect to the original input. Or even inexistant if we re-encode to the max bed channels 7.1.2, or less.

What I was describing is that the decoder accepted DTS HD MA 5.1 as having Atmos data.. I was expecting then for the decoder to output silent tracks as you have described but instead it silently fails.

 

[HomerJAU]

What I was describing is that the decoder accepted DTS HD MA 5.1 as having Atmos data.. I was expecting then for the decoder to output silent tracks as you have described but instead it silently fails.

I guess I can add code to reject input files without an Atmos stream but I assumed users would realise an Atmos Decoder will only function with Atmos input. I know the docs says that but who reads them, right?

I’ll add to my TO DO list.

 

[TheYan]

I guess I can add code to reject input files without an Atmos stream but I assumed users would realise an Atmos Decoder will only function with Atmos input. I know the docs says that but who reads them, right?

I’ll add to my TO DO list.

Well it is an Atmos decoder it is in its name

But with million formats nowadays it is hard to know for sure if the format supports it or not, better let the computer confirm.

And although the logical thing would be to reject, I do like that it can output 5.1 in that case if you choose the correct setting. Therefore even better would be if it could silence missing tracks instead of rejecting in whole but then probably it would not be called Atmos decoder but simply Decoder

 

[HomerJAU]

Music Media Helper 7.1.13 Released:

Version 7.1.13 (February 10 2024)
-------------
Fixes:
Split & Rename Concerts tool: Button controls remain disabled after split is completed - fixed @letting1

Changes:
Updated 3rd party UI controls to latest 23.1.8

Direct link to new installer:
https://reva.blob.core.windows.net/mmh7/MMHInstaller.msi

 

[mihyli]

Is there somthing wrong with THD tracks demuxed with some softwares???? I got Decoding error, when i want to Decode Atmos. When track is demuxed do DGDemux, everything is OK