Amadeus Acoustics has announced the release of the ART::Director v1.3.1 software update that introduces a Downmix Engine feature alongside a suite of workflow optimisations.
This new capability is designed to help resolve a performing arts industry challenge: translating complex, immersive venue mixes into standardized formats for broadcasting, studio pre-production, and ancillary monitoring.
Venues frequently face the logistical headache of exporting multi-channel mixes to external environments that lack larger-scale loudspeaker arrays. The new Downmix feature acts as a direct bridge, allowing sound engineers to run multiple customizable loudspeaker-based downmixes in parallel following the primary in-house spatial mix.
The practical application of the Downmix Engine feature extends across many echelons of live entertainment and international broadcasts. For example, in an event on the scale of the Eurovision Song Contest, where Amadeus Acoustics served as an official technical supplier for 2026, the main audio mix in the arena must simultaneously serve several parallel destinations:
? To the broadcast van: Engineers can deliver a dedicated spatialized 5.1 or stereo fold-down directly to the mobile broadcast truck for pre-production, allowing most of the house mix to be prepared before or in between the very limited number of stage rehearsals.
? To rehearsal and green rooms: Simultaneously, independent downmix feeds can be sent backstage so that production crews, artists, and the wider team can track their positioning and cues in the show’s timeline, knowing exactly where they are in the show at any given moment.
“Immersive audio shouldn’t be trapped inside the auditorium. The Downmix Engine ensures that whether you are a director checking cues in a stereo rehearsal room, a mix engineer in a mobile broadcast truck, or a performer waiting backstage, the
integrity of the acoustic space is perfectly preserved,” states Volker Werner of Amadeus Acoustics.
The update is also designed to transform the pre-production timeline for sound designers working at performing arts spaces. For example, at an opera house like Theater an der Wien, a historic venue in the heart of Vienna that has an Amadeus Immersive Sound and Active Acoustics installation, the Downmix Engine feature unlocks a new workflow between the studio and the main stage.
Instead of tying up the main auditorium for days, sound designers can use the Downmix Engine feature to build and complex adjust spatial soundscapes within a separate, offline studio space using smaller, standard monitoring setups (5.1, stereo, or even headphones). By placing the Downmix Systems as physical, interactive globes within the 3D software venue map, creative teams can accurately simulate how sound movements will scale. When the production moves to the main stage, the groundwork is already laid, cutting down on-stage technical rehearsal time.
Downmix Engine also provides granular control. It supports standard formats like stereo, 5.1, 7.1, and Atmos, alongside bespoke loudspeaker configurations. Every parallel downmix system has an integrated size multiplier to widen or narrow the field based on the target room’s loudspeaker resolution, individual fade controls for spatial and performing sources, and an independent, dedicated LFE (Low-Frequency Effects) output for low-end management. In addition, performer sources can be exclusively mapped to the main frontal loudspeakers of the studio setup, helping to ensure isolation from the surround and overhead channels.
Additional upgrades in ART::Director v1.3.1:
? OSC Automation: Introduction of pattern-based OSC addresses alongside variables and properties in OSC addressing for more flexible system control. This also helps ensure compatibility with ADM-OSC. Scaling can be applied either to the overall boundaries or configured individually for each OSC source.
? Acoustic Precision Tools: Additional performer source gain offsets designed explicitly for fill, precedence and subwoofer systems, plus support for negative loudspeaker delay offsets.
? Reliability: Improved Director/DSP connection handling, automatic network port detection, and a built-in connection history log for added stability during live operations.
? Creative Controls: Adjustable crossfades between venue snapshots, customizable value mapping, and granular fade-out gains within immersive fade zones. Loudspeaker positions can be automated just like audio sources.
New ART::Director v1.3.1 is available immediately as a free download here. Existing users can update their software to unlock the Downmix Engine feature and OSC features today by clicking on the blue “info” button at the top right corner of the software’s welcome page.
amadeus-acoustics.com
Australian Distributor: Amber Technology ambertech.com.au
