Dermot Shane wrote:yes unfortuantly we are hobbled with the same disfunctional audio tools that you are
Resolve's 5.1 Film Buss channel order matches the implementation within ProTools (where the Film ordering scheme is still the default), and that of several other audio workstations.
Some workstations designate it as 5.1 Film Alternative to differentiate it from the SMPTE/ITU 5.1 specification.
Notice the other Buss types Resolve provides (which matches that of other audio workstations),
and notice the channel ordering:
LCR
LCRS
LCRSS
So, Resolve's implementation is not unusual in the slightest, nor is it dysfunctional, neither is it hobbled. It is within spec.
It may seem incorrect to non-audio people, but any trained audio engineer would be instantly at home with Resolve's implementation.
and L R C Lfe Ls Rs is correct layout for DCP and 99% of studio / distb / network deliverables contracts
Yes, broadcast uses the SMPTE/ITU ordering scheme, which is the only official standard adopted by all standards bodies.
The reason for the SMPTE channel ordering scheme is because of channel pairing (L/R, C/LFE, Ls/Rs), in order to match the L/R channel pairing of stereo, to avoid channels being played back incorrectly and to prevent channels from potentially being out of phase.
The 5.1 Film channel ordering (L, C, R, Ls, Rs, LFE) never was standard in the way that the current SMPTE/ITU standard is, but was used by Dolby so it was widely adopted. But, the 5.1 Film channel ordering scheme is part of the ITU 775 spec (it’s just not a SMPTE standard), as is the 7.1 Film ordering scheme. So even the ITU considers the 5.1 Film and 7.1 Film channel ordering schemes a standard.
Of course, Dolby now regards 5.1 as legacy, and now uses the SMPTE/ITU channel ordering for Atmos and the RMU's MADI inputs.
But, several sound libraries (e.g. Boom Library) still use the 5.0 Film channel ordering scheme as standardised by the ITU.
In implementation the Film channel ordering also makes more sense, much like the ITU spec for NHK 22.2 in implementation isn’t necessarily workflow friendly (hence some 22.2 workflows use a custom channel ordering that differs from the deliverable channel ordering scheme).