Three years after the launch of the new multichannel music delivery formats, many artists, engineers and producers are still looking for fundamental information on how to best mix and manage music in the multichannel environment. Now available, Dolby Laboratories has authored a primer for the professional music production community on best practices for this rapidly developing market. Available as a free PDF download, “Dolby 5.1-Channel Music Production Guidelines” presents a technical blueprint for creating music in 5.1 channels. The document guidelines can be found at www.dolby.com/tech/Multichannel_Music_Mixing.pdf.
The publication covers a range of topics such as proper equipment and speaker placement, calibration for proper monitoring, metadata planning and implementation, program interchange guidelines and an explanation of the many new terms spawned by 5.1-channel production. It also provides accurate information that dispels myths concerning both center and LFE channel usage. Mix and mastering data sheet templates for 5.1-channel projects are also included.
“This document gives a well-rounded technical overview for those producing music for 5.1-channel delivery to consumers,” stated John Kellogg, general manager for multichannel music at Dolby Laboratories. “Dolby will update it regularly as new and better techniques for creating surround music mixes evolve.”
