O3A Upmixer - IMAX 5.0, 6.0 and 12.0
Host Support
O3A Upmixer - IMAX 5.0
| Host Type | Support |
|---|
| AAX | Yes, input mapped to standard 5.0 |
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| VST2 | Yes |
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O3A Upmixer - IMAX 6.0
| Host Type | Support |
|---|
| AAX | Yes, input mapped to standard 6.0 |
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| VST2 | Yes |
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O3A Upmixer - IMAX 12.0
| Host Type | Support |
|---|
| AAX | Yes, input mapped to 7.1.4 |
|---|
| VST2 | Yes |
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Audio
O3A Upmixer - IMAX 5.0
| Channels | Content |
|---|
| Input | 5 | IMAX 5.0 (mapped to standard 5.0 for AAX) |
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| Output | 16 | O3A |
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O3A Upmixer - IMAX 6.0
| Channels | Content |
|---|
| Input | 6 | IMAX 6.0 (mapped to standard 6.0 for AAX) |
|---|
| Output | 16 | O3A |
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O3A Upmixer - IMAX 12.0
| Channels | Content |
|---|
| Input | 12 | IMAX 12.0 (mapped to 7.1.4 for AAX) |
|---|
| Output | 16 | O3A |
|---|
Controls
Description
There are three O3A Upmixer plugins for processing IMAX surround mixes. These correspond to each of the IMAX 5.0, IMAX 6.0 and IMAX 12.0 speaker layouts. They convert the mixes to third order ambisonics (O3A).
The AAX version of the IMAX 12.0 plugin requires Pro Tools 2023.6 or later.
IMAX 5.0 Channels
The channel ordering used for IMAX 5.0 is as follows:
| Channel | AAX | VST |
|---|
| 1 | Front Left | Front Left |
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| 2 | Front Centre | Front Right |
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| 3 | Front Right | Front Centre |
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| 4 | Rear Left (mapped to Left Surround) | Rear Left |
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| 5 | Rear Right (mapped to Right Surround) | Rear Right |
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For AAX, note that this is mapped to standard 5.0.
IMAX 6.0 Channels
| Channel | AAX | VST |
|---|
| 1 | Front Left | Front Left |
|---|
| 2 | Front Centre | Front Right |
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| 3 | Front Right | Front Centre |
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| 4 | Rear Left (mapped to Left Surround) | Front Centre Overhead |
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| 5 | Front Centre Overhead (mapped to Centre Surround) | Rear Left |
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| 6 | Rear Right (mapped to Right Surround) | Rear Right |
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For AAX, note that this is mapped to standard 6.0, with the IMAX Front Centre Overhead channel mapped to the Centre Surround in standard 6.0 (i.e. at the back).
IMAX 12.0 Channels
| Channel | VST |
|---|
| 1 | Front Left |
| 2 | Front Right |
| 3 | Front Centre |
| 4 | Front Centre Overhead |
| 5 | Rear Left |
| 6 | Rear Right |
| 7 | Side Left |
| 8 | Side Right |
| 9 | Overhead Front Left |
| 10 | Overhead Front Right |
| 11 | Overhead Rear Left |
| 12 | Overhead Rear Right |
IMAX systems use speakers with wider bandwidth than typical cinema systems. No Low Frequency Effect (LFE) channel is used in the mix formats. Also note that the last two channels in IMAX 5.0 and 6.0 correspond to rear speakers, not side or surround speakers.
The plugin is available in the O3A Upmixers plugin library.
Controls
Two modes are supported, "Inferred" and "Virtual". Generally, "Inferred" is recommended.
| Mode | Description |
|---|
| Inferred | This mode is optimised for use with material that has been mixed using conventional panning techniques, such as equal-power panning or VBAP. The approach produces smooth transitions when sounds pass between speaker locations. |
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| Virtual | This mode simply places each of the audio channels in their appropriate speaker direction. This can be worth trying when the mix has not been put together by conventional panning and the channels have a complex phase relationship. |
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