[ANSWERED] Does isadora support aggregate audio ?

Notdoc

i get good results using Blackhole on Mac OS. It's a bit fiddly to get it installed, but you can set up Aggregate and Multi-output settings in AudioMidi Setup prefs.

Once this is done, Isadora will see these as outputs and you can send separate signals from each movie or audio player.

Other people can give better tech. advice than me, but this is my experience.

The link below also offers a Windows-based alternative, which I haven't tried:

https://existential.audio/blac...

Woland

@xlrstik

Check out this thread: https://community.troikatronix.com/topic/6752/sound-routing-software

Also, if I understand correctly, what you want is a multi-output device, not an aggregate audio device.

xlrstik

It´s a aggregated output i need - en soundcard with 4 out and 1 blackmagic hdmi to SDI converter with 8 out. I will look into Blackhole option - Thanks

Fred

@xlrstik do you see the 8 audio outputs of the Blackmagic converter in your audio midi setup (I am assuming you are on osx).

Aggregate outputs should be transparent to any software once they are configured.

bonemap

@xlrstik

I just looked at an issue with a BlackMagic device (Video Assist 12G) tethered to my computer with HDMI. I could send 5.1 encoded audio directly from the Movie Player module in Isadora to the BMD VA12G recorder via HDMI (labelled BMD HDMI), and it showed all six channels active through the device's VU meters. However, trying to monitor or separate the six channels as a mix with the Movie Player was a disaster. I think the multichannel routing capability of the Movie Player is currently dysfunctional. Unless someone can shed some light on this?

Best Wishes

Russell

Fred

@bonemap when you say 5.1 encoded audio, is it just a video file with 6 discrete audio tracks? Or is it an encoded format like Dolby or dts?

bonemap

@fred

Encoded as 5.1 rather than 6 tracks. I would have to have another look but probably 5.1 dts. It is rather difficult to find any software that will compile multiple audio into a multichannel video file unless it is surround sound. If you have any suggestions for this (besides QT7 which I don’t think is viable anymore).

Best wishes

Russell

Fred

@bonemap try the same with discrete tracks. Encoded 5.1 should play but likely not be route able in Isadora. It’s a different kind of data stream.

If you need to route 5.1 with encoded audio to different outputs then you can try do it with the surround setup in osx.

bonemap

@fred

Thanks for the tip. I am actually in the middle of doing some in-depth multichannel audio tests in Isadora. I think it is fairly well understood that the MoviePlayer multichannel audio and audio routing is an unfinished project.

Some of the big issues are that the i/o controls for multichannel audio are still accessible ports of the MoviePlayer module however they are inconsistent and dysfunctional and not integrated into the most recent audio capability of Isadora.

The Sound Player actor on the other hand has great multichannel control and options.

Out of interest, what software would you suggest for encoding multitrack audio into a video file that is not surround sound?

Best wishes

Russell

Fred

@bonemap you can use any video editor. If you have the multi channel audio you can use shutter encoder to add it to or replace the audio on an existing movie (must be exactly the same length). If you need to do it for an avi virtual dub will do it. You will generally need to start with a 6 channel wav file for 5.1.

You are right the multichannel audio capabilities on the movie player are lacking. You can play multi channel audio fine though and although you cannot route on the fly you can change the channel order in your audio setup on your computer. Alternatively most modern sound cards will let you do routing and some like RME will let you control the routing with osc or midi.

If you need to route multi channel audio inside and SDI signal it’s pretty common to use an SDI audio embedder. This lets you combine the outputs from an audio mixer with the output of a video system and have control over line delays and channel order.