Avid has announced a new 2023.12 update for its Pro Tools software that introduces new capabilities for both music and audio post workflows, including an integrated Dolby Atmos renderer that’s designed to streamline immersive mixing.
The release also offers enhancements to Pro Tools Sketch, adds new Markers functionality, I/O Setup and Routing colour coding, Same as Source bounce support for H.264 video, and support for Native Instruments S-Series controllers.
The integrated Dolby Atmos renderer is included free in Pro Tools Studio and Ultimate and is intended to improve the efficiency of immersive mixing workflows with simplified setup, mixing, and monitoring. Users can now render and monitor Dolby Atmos mixes within Pro Tools without having to roundtrip to an external renderer.
Further, a new window provides visualization of Dolby Atmos mixes from various perspectives and enables quicker switching between multi-speaker and binaural headphone monitoring. Additionally, a new I/O Setup tab simplifies the configuration of beds, objects, groups, trim, and downmix settings and saves them as part of the session for easier recall.
“At Dolby we are passionate about enabling solutions that make it easier for creatives to bring their stories to life, and working with Avid to develop this integration has delivered on that,” says David Gould, senior director of content creation solutions, Dolby Laboratories. “Whether it’s sound for film, TV, or music, Pro Tools has helped to deliver Dolby Atmos content to the masses, and this new integration will enable even more creators to deliver unforgettable immersive experiences.”
The 2023.12 software release also introduces new interoperability between Sketches and Pro Tools sessions, adds new MIDI workflow improvements, and more. Users can now drag and drop instrument clips as audio or MIDI into the Pro Tools timeline from Sketch.
Conversely, when dragging audio clips from Pro Tools into the Sketch window, they have the option to render the full signal chain (including plugin processing, Elastic Audio, clip effects, etc.) to maintain their processed sound. Finally, improvements to the desktop Media Browser are designed make it easier to access loops and samples, including monthly Pro Tools Sonic Drop sound content.
Initially introduced with the Pro Tools 2023.6 release, Track Markers enable users to add detailed, colour-coded comments within a track to improve both music and audio post workflows. In response to customer feedback, the 2023.12 release builds on this functionality with more marker rulers for enhanced visibility, allowing for each ruler to have a specific purpose with more space for text to be displayed. Markers are also easier to find in the Memory Location window through improved sorting and filtering options.
Avid vice president, audio product management, François Quereuil, says, “The Pro Tools team has a constant and deep level of engagement with creative professionals across audio post and music production, working tirelessly to serve their needs. With this release, we’re excited to deliver the immersive workflows our customers have been asking for, and we continue our pursuit of time-saving features and modern music creation tools to benefit all Pro Tools users.”
Pro Tools 2023.12 also introduces I/O Setup and Routing colour coding designed to enable users to more quickly identify where any track is bused or routed. The release also offers Same as Source bounce of H.264 video files, allowing the picture to pass through untouched without needing to re-encode the frames or change the original video’s timestamp. And, Pro Tools has been updated to support
the new Native Instruments Kontrol S-Series MK3 controllers.
Pro Tools 2023.12 is now available to all Pro Tools customers on an active subscription or perpetual license with a current Upgrade Plan, as well as all Pro Tools Intro users.
