‘ab Transcoder’

User Guides

7 Jul

Written By Alejandro Cabrera

ab Transcoder is the quickest way to convert your 1st Order Ambisonics media between formats.

This plugin was designed to work with 1st Order Ambisonics Signals (A-FORMAT or B-FORMAT)

Depending on the DAW you use, please refer to the end of this guide for punctual comments and tips.

Set-Up

This plugin was created with ease in mind, as you shouldn’t have to spend more than a couple of seconds to Transcode an Ambisonics signal.

As soon as it’s inserted, simply select your INPUT and OUTPUT types of signals. If your microphone wasn’t in an upright position when recording, you can also modify the orientation in the plugin to match.

The PROFILE section contains 2 core buttons, MONITOR and QUALITY.

MONITOR: When set to monitor, the plugin works in zero-latency mode, offering an instant conversion from A-FORMAT to B-FORMAT. This mode is great for tracking and monitoring your Ambisonics audio.

QUALITY: When set to quality, the algorithm applies filters and curves crafted to give the best quality possible to your signal.

A BALANCED curve was created to adapt to any Ambisonics microphone in the market. Additionally, profiles crafted by measuring specific capsules are available - if you own any of these microphones, you can chose the matching profile to get the best quality possible.

Currently measured capsules:

Soyuz Ambisonic 013
RODE NT-SF1
Sennheiser AMBEO
Saramonic SR-VRM1
Zoom H3-VR

Finally, INPUT and OUTPUT gain controls will help you adjust the signal.

You don’t need to do anything else!

Every single ‘Audio Brewers’ plugin as well as most Ambisonics plugins need an AMBIX signal to work. We strongly recommend you convert your media to AMBIX so that it’s ready to roll!

A-FORMAT TYPES I AND II? What?

Depending on your Microphone, A-FORMAT recordings can be of Type I or II, please follow the guide below to understand the difference, additionally.

A Mic Compatibility has been added with Microphone Brands and Models where we’ve tested ab Transcoder

Type I:

Channel 1 is Front Left Up
Channel 2 is Front Right Down
Channel 3 is Back Left Down
Channel 4 is Back Right Up.

Microphones we’ve tested on

SOYUZ AMBISONICS 013A
RØDE NT-SF1
SENNHEISER AMBEO
ZOOM H3VR
SARAMONIC SR-VRMIC
CORE SOUND TETRAMIC

Microphones we haven’t tested on (yet)

NEVATON VR
ZOOM VRH8
CALREC SOUNDFIELD MK4

(if you own any of these mics please come in contact with us, we’d love to test a recording)

Type II:

Channel 1 Front Left Down
Channel 2 Front Right Up
Channel 3 Back Left Up
Channel 4 Back Right Down

Microphones we’ve tested on

Microphones we haven’t tested on(yet)

EUPHONIA DPA-4

(if you own any of these mics please come in contact with us, we’d love to test a recording)

Video Tutorials (Microphone -> ab Transcoder -> Upscaler (Optional) -> ab Decoder)

- Insert a 1OAc track.
- Insert this plugin with your desired Output configuration. Regardless of your output, the transcoded signal will always be 1st Order.
- We strongly suggest his plugin be inserted in the very first insert slot.
- Remember to add a decoder at the end of your insert chain to be able to properly listen to the signal.
- We strongly suggest his plugin be inserted in the very first insert slot.
- Make sure your track is set to Surround, and of course, make sure you decode the signal.
- Insert an Ambisonics Audio track with the Audio file
- We strongly suggest his plugin be inserted in the very first insert slot.
- Remember to select a Decoder (e.g. our ab Decoder) in the panner.
- Ambisonics signals are only available in Nuendo / Cubase Pro.
- Remember to set the track width to at least 4 channels.
- We strongly suggest his plugin be inserted in the very first insert slot.
- Remember to add a decoder at the end of the Inserts chain.
- Regardless of your final Output, use this plugin in a 16-channel adaptive track.
- We strongly suggest his plugin be inserted in the very first insert slot.
- The final insert of your track should always be a Decoder (we suggest ‘ab Decoder HOA).
- This plugin is compatible with ALL DAWs. If your DAW only supports Mono/Stereo signals, make your you set the appropriate input/output settings. All ‘under-the-hood’ processing will happen in Ambisonics :)