Correct channel mapping for 5.1 surround DCPs

Instruction for Resolve 18
(updated March 9th 2023)

Instruction for Resolve 17 is here: https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=122356&p=930530#p930530
Instruction for Resolve 16 is here: https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=122356#p772896

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Hi community,

I didn’t find a source that singlehandedly fully explained how to achieve a correct 5.1 surround sound mapping with mono audio tracks for DCP export in DaVinci Resolve Studio, so I wrote a short instruction on how to do it in the most easy way I could find.
My knowledge is composed of different sources from this forum, external websites and my own testing.
Results have been tested and validated in a real cinema.

1) Import your 6 mono audio files.

2) In the Edit Page, in the timeline from which you’ll export your DCP, you need to have as many mono audio tracks, as you have mono audio files, which is 6.

3) Put your 6 mono audio files on the mono audio tracks in the correct order, which is:
A1: Left
A2: Right
A3: Center
A4: LFE
A5: Surround Left
A6: Surround Right

4) In the Fairlight Page select all 6 mono audio tracks (A1 – A6). In the DaVinci Resolve menu bar, click “Fairlight” and then “Link Group...”. In the window that pops up, select all 6 mono audio tracks (A1 – A6) and click on "Link as..." –> "5.1" (not "5.1 Film") in the lower right corner. Close the window.

5) In the DaVinci Resolve menu bar, click “Fairlight” and then “Bus Format…” In the window that now pops up, click on “Add Bus”. For the newly added Bus under "Format" choose “5.1” (not “5.1 Film”). As “Name” you can give this new bus a specific name, for example “Main 5.1”. Press "OK" in the lower right corner to close the window.

6) In the DaVinci Resolve menu bar, click “Fairlight” and then “Bus Assign…” In the window that now pops up, under "Busses" click on the button with your newly added 5.1 Bus and "Out" written under it. Under "Available Tracks" click on the first track (Audio 1) and all six tracks should be selected (because they are linked in a group). Click "Close" in the lower right corner to close the window.

7) Go to the Deliver Page. In the “Render Settings” go to the “Video” tab. Check the box “Export Video” and as “Format” choose “DCP”. Adjust the rest according to your project / DCP. Do not forget to fill out the form under "Composition Settings" which is important to identify your DCP.

8) In the “Audio” tab check the box “Export Audio”. For “Codec” choose “Linear PCM”. For “Configuration Label” choose “Wild track format”! This is important as it gives the correct channel mapping for cinema. If you have checked "Use Interop packaging" in the video tab, the “Configuration Label” option won't show up in the "Audio" tab. Leave the “Render as discrete audio tracks” box unchecked. For “Output Track 1” choose your newly added 5.1 Bus (as of this example it was “Main 5.1”).

9) Choose a file name. This will be the name of the folder in which the DCP files are located (it is not the name of the DCP. The DCPs name, which appears on the server for projectionists to read, is defined by the "Composition Settings" in the "Video" tab in the Deliver Page).
Choose a Location.
Render.

10) You can do a very basic test to see if there are no major mistakes: Import the whole DCP folder in the Media Page. Double-click on the imported file (as the folder will appear as one file in Resolve). When you start playback check the rashes of the audio meters under "Embedded Audio" > "Meters". The first 6 channels should show rashes (if the played scene has actually sound on every channel).

That's it! Please test your DCP in a real cinema if in doubt!

P.S.: Please let me know if you find an improvement for this instruction or any mistakes and I will edit it.

Thanks for the write up.

FYI:

It doesn't need to be so complicated.
You can just link the mono tracks in Fairlight ( THX @Gustavo Mendes).

1) import the 6 mono files and put them on a timeline in the correct order (L-R-C-LFE-Ls-Rs).

2) Fairlight > Link group - Link to 5.1
3) Fairlight > Bus format > 5.1

4) Export with audio track format set to 'Wildtrack'.

FYI:
It doesn't need to be so complicated.
You can just link the mono tracks in Fairlight ( THX @Gustavo Mendes).
1) import the 6 mono files and put them on a timeline in the correct order (L-R-C-LFE-Ls-Rs).
2) Fairlight > Link group - Link to 5.1
3) Fairlight > Bus format > 5.1
4) Export with audio track format set to 'Wildtrack'.

Thanks Erik, yesterday I successfully validated a DCP in cinema, which I channel-mapped with your suggested workflow. I am going to update my initial post soon. Thumbs up!

Why “WILDTRACK”?

Why “WILDTRACK”?

I don't know exactly, I think it's the name of the correct configuration of audio channels inside the audio MXF file in respect to SMPTE standard.

ok, so I'm getting stuck down the rabbit hole of DCP..

came across this thread and am confused about step 4 "4) Export with audio track format set to 'Wildtrack'" ... I'm not seeing where this is set. I've looked in the manual, I've googled but I'm not finding it.

can someone point me in the right direction
cheers

ok, so I'm getting stuck down the rabbit hole of DCP..

came across this thread and am confused about step 4 "4) Export with audio track format set to 'Wildtrack'" ... I'm not seeing where this is set. I've looked in the manual, I've googled but I'm not finding it.

can someone point me in the right direction
cheers

Hi Jeff,
did you read and try step 5) and especially 6) of my original post, yet?

You have to have a surround mix correctly positioned and bus-ed before, of course. Then it should look like this:

ok, so I'm getting stuck down the rabbit hole of DCP..

came across this thread and am confused about step 4 "4) Export with audio track format set to 'Wildtrack'" ... I'm not seeing where this is set. I've looked in the manual, I've googled but I'm not finding it.

can someone point me in the right direction
cheers

Hi Jeff,
did you read and try step 5) and especially 6) of my original post, yet?

You have to have a surround mix correctly positioned and bus-ed before, of course. Then it should look like this:

I did...I will try again, I can't see anything I'm doing anything differently but I must be getting something wrong somewhere...

thanks for your help, and at least I know where the setting should be
cheers

ahh...ok, so I have figured it out. If delivering as interop - as I am needing to - then the audio "configuration label" isn't an option. Only becomes available with SMPTE.

Turns out I'm not crazy..just a little slow to learn

Interesting observation: every option in Resolve gives you an 8 channel audio file when you export a 7.1 DCP. The Dolby CP750 ignores channels 7 and 8, so using a Resolve DCP on a 7.1 system driven by that processor leads to missing back surround channels. I found that out the hard way today.

I ended up having to use DCP-O-matic to get the correct channel mappings (where the back surrounds are on tracks 11 and 12).

Instruction for Resolve 16
(updated July 3rd 2021)

1) Import your 6 mono audio files.

2) In the Edit Page, in the timeline, from which you’ll export your DCP, you need to have as many mono audio tracks, as you have mono audio files, which is 6.

3) Put your 6 mono audio files on the mono audio tracks in the correct order, which is:
A1: Left
A2: Right
A3: Center
A4: LFE
A5: Surround Left
A6: Surround Right

3) In the Fairlight Page select all 6 mono audio tracks (A1 – A6). In the DaVinci Resolve menu bar, click “Fairlight” and then “Link Group”. In the window that pops up, select all 6 mono audio tracks (A1 – A6) and click on "Link" in the lower left corner.

4) In the DaVinci Resolve menu bar, click “Fairlight” and then “Bus Format…” In the window that now shows up, click on “Add Bus” > “Main”. As “Format” choose “5.1” (not “5.1 Film”). As “Name” you can give this new main bus a specific name, for example “Main 5.1”.

5) Go to the Deliver Page. In the “Render Settings” go to the “Video” tab. Check the box “Export Video” and as “Format” choose “DCP”. Adjust the rest according to your project / DCP. Do not forget to fill out the form under "Composition Settings" which is important to identify your DCP.

6) In the “Audio” tab check the box “Export Audio”. For “Codec” choose “Linear PCM”. For “Configuration Label” choose “Wild track format”! This is important as it gives the correct channel mapping for cinema. If you have checked "Use Interop packaging" in the video tab, the “Configuration Label” option won't show up. Leave the “Render as discrete audio tracks” box unchecked. For “Output Track 1” choose your new 5.1 Main Bus (as of the example it was “Main 5.1”).

7) Choose a file name. This will be the name of the folder in which the DCP files are located (it is NOT the name of the DCP. The DCPs name, which appears on the server for projectionists to read, is defined by the "Composition Settings" in the "Video" tab in the Deliver Page).
Choose a destination.
Start render.

8) You can do a simple test to see if there are no major mistakes: Import the whole DCP folder in the Media Page. Double-click on the imported file (as the folder will appear as one file in Resolve). When you start playback check the rashes of the audio meters under "Embedded Audio" > "Meters". The first 6 channels should show rashes (if the played scene has actually sound on every channel!).

That's it! Please test your DCP in a real cinema!

ahh...ok, so I have figured it out. If delivering as interop - as I am needing to - then the audio "configuration label" isn't an option. Only becomes available with SMPTE.

Turns out I'm not crazy..just a little slow to learn

Thanks. I added that information to the instructions!

Wild track format (WTF) is a way of describing that MXF has 16 unstructured channels which should be in very specific order.

https://cinepedia.com/sound/

"For SMPTE DCP, it is recommended that Channel Configuration 4 (WTF) and the signal ordering described in the table above be used for compatibility."

What's the procedure with a 5.1 mixdown in a single 5.1 file?

Just leave the linking in Fairlight, make sure timeline track is 5.1 and make sure that the bus is 5.1? Then continue as described?

What do you mean single ?
Procedure should be the same. During export you just don't force discrete tracks, so it will create 1x 5.1 interleaved track.

A single mutli channel 5.1 file - instead of having discrete tracks as discrete files, everything in a single 5.1 file...

Just not sure on the DCP container side of things, are there usually discrete channel-files in the dcp or would the single ones be consolidated into a multi-channel-file anyway?

If you are doing DCP then don't try using single 5.1 track, but procedure described above. This is specifically made to produce compatible file. Resolve won't actually let you select anything else than WTF.
If you specifically want Jpeg2000 then use MXF/MOV container and then you can do what you want with audio.
(for single 5.1 track just use 5.1 track/bus and then export without selecting "Render 1 track per channel")

If you are doing DCP then don't try using single 5.1 track, but procedure described above. This is specifically made to produce compatible file. Resolve won't actually let you select anything else than WTF.
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Alright, that's valuable information! Thanks!

Just want to say thanks for the write up. It's so much better and easier to reference then all the 'tutorials' on youtube. Thumbs up!

Just want to say thanks for the write up. It's so much better and easier to reference then all the 'tutorials' on youtube. Thumbs up!

Thank you. You're very welcome

This is a very useful post, however I'm in need of creating a DCP with more than 6 channels. It seems the fairlight bus method doesn't go above 7.1 channels?

I have 16 audio channels in some DCPs, and what I've been doing is mastering a QuickTime file with 16 individual mono tracks, then using DCP o Matic to generate the DCP. This works, but it's very slow. A 15 min 4k DCP takes around 5 hours to render in DCP o Matic, while the QuickTime file only takes an hour in DaVinci. I tried a test where I only mastered 6 chan in DaVinci and it packaged the DCP in 1 hour as well, so I can save a total of 5 hours for a 15 min clip if I can figure out how to properly export 16 Chan audio in a DCP with resolve.

I'm a resolve noob fyi, I've been using the free version for a little while and just purchased studio last week to master 4k DCPs directly and skip the DCP o Matic step.

Just encode video with Resolve (as this is what takes 5h) and then put all together in DCP-o-matic. You should be able to skip re-encoding if you feed it with jpeg2000 already.

excatly what Andrew says

exported a DCi4k_Scope 97 min feature last night, took under 120 min to run out the jpeg2000 seq, a further 25 min to re-wrap in DCP-0-Matic

exporting is all about processors = i have dual 14c xeon's on tap and they are runinng at 100%
re-wrapping is all about disk access = i have a 12 bay array on SAS, that held the media and a 2tb NVME to use as a temp spot until the DCP was QC'd

it then took 9 hours to copy to the producers dog slow external USB drive....

but if it takes 5 hours to render 15 min of a timeline i would be looking into where the bottleneck might be...

Hmm, maybe something about DCP o Matic I have set incorrectly.

To clarify right now resolve takes 1 hour and DCP o Matic takes 5 hours to then make the DCP. I am exporting a QuickTime file in resolve with jpeg 2000 compression, 444 12 bit and all 16 channels.

This takes 1 hour to make in resolve and 5 hours to wrap the DCP.

If I do a test with a 6 channel source file I can make the DCP directly in resolve and that takes 1 hour vs DCP o Matic being 5 hours.

This is for around 15 min of 24fps full 4k content (4096x2160).

Hopefully this is just some setting I'm missing in DCP o Matic, or maybe I should export resolve to something else that DCP o Matic won't try to re encode?

I posted a reply question before but because I'm a noob it takes a while for my posts to show up since a moderator has to approve them apparently....I think I answered my question about how to get DCP o Matic sped up.

I enclosed jpeg2000 frames for video with resolve and wav files for my 16 audio channels. Now DCP o Matic flies through the wrapping. It wraps in around 5 min!

I guess one thing I do find a bit annoying is that having 16 individual WAV files slows down setting up the channel mapping properly in DCP o Matic. I don't get a large matrix like with a multi channel file, but there must be a way for me to export a multi channel WAV file in resolve I guess...I'll keep hunting.

That being said, any tips are appreciated if there is a better way than what I just did.

Sounds right- wrapping should be fast (just speed disk limit).

Just export 16 channels interleaved wav (or MOV, not 16x mono files). Make desired order already in your timeline (Resolve keeps timeline order after export).

6 mono files .. ok...but....

what if your mix contains 24 mono files, do you mean they should be mixed down first?

Also whats the meaning with the 5.1 film buss format in DR if it doesnt work?

And IF you patch eg speaker and sync channels to the surround Center, whats the point of the PAN controls as they will all be dumped into 1 single channel in the center anyway? This means its not possible to control the panning of individual voices if they are all on the same track?

will somebody please enlighten me?

6 mono files .. ok

what if your mix contains 24 mono files, do you mean they should be mixed down first?

One mono file per channel. A channel is a source of sound in a 3D room. So a 5.1 mix has 5 sound sources + a subwoofer.
If you actually have 24 channels, then of course 5.1 or 7.1 is not enough. You might need a Dolby Atmos mix or something alike if there is. Or do a mixdown.
But if you just have 24 tracks, in the process of making the surround-mix, you have to decide which tracks (or sounds within the tracks) go to which channel.

But I'm not a sound engineer myself, I just work with them, so my description may be not as scientific as it could.

Also whats the meaning with the 5.1 film buss format in DR if it doesnt work?

I don't understand that question. Also you may list your Resolve version in your signature, to get better assistance.

And IF you patch eg speaker and sync channels to the surround Center, whats the point of the PAN controls as they will all be dumped into 1 single channel in the center anyway? This means its not possible to control the panning of individual voices if they are all on the same track?

No, you didn't get the concept of surround / stereo mixing. The tracks in your software are not equal to the channels in the final mix. If you pan a voice, which in the software is on one track, through the whole surround field and then export that mix to 5.1, the voice-sound will be in all 5 mono files at the correct times.

My instructions for 5.1 DCPs are for mapping, not for mixing. The surround mix has had to be done beforehand.

No, you didn't get the concept of surround / stereo mixing. The tracks in your software are not equal to the channels in the final mix. If you pan a voice, which in the software is on one track, through the whole surround field and then export that mix to 5.1, the voice-sound will be in all 5 mono files at the correct times.

My instructions for 5.1 DCPs are for mapping, not for mixing. The surround mix has had to be done beforehand.


Precisely. lets take the simple case of footsteps across the screen from left to right. This is a single mono sound effect existing on one of many sound effect channels. You achieve the left to right by use of the PAN window and automation. You are effectively moving the sound level across the Left Center and Right 5.1 channels.

Now suppose you have another sound effect of a car moving from right to left at the same time. Why shouldnt you just do exactly the same as for the footsteps? I thought the whole point of surround sound was 5 sound outputs (speakers) in a room which you could use to move sound across as needed. So why should the 'mix' be restricted to just 6 channels? It doesnt make any sense!

I have experimented with just using the 5.1 buss setting, not 5.1 film and in Render using 'wild tracks' and guess what, it works! tested by importing the DCP into resolve and playing it it there. So the answer is you can use as many audio tracks as you like (all mono of course), no need to premix any of them into a single channel mixdown. Use automation to set any panning as required. Music tracks need to be split into a left and right channel if you want to preserve the stereo effect and then panned to the left and right speakers respectively. Also tested the resulting DCP in DCP-o-Matic and it plays well there too

So why should the 'mix' be restricted to just 6 channels? It doesnt make any sense!

Because 5.1 and 7.1 are from a time before Dolby Atmos, where you have 3D coordinates that can be mapped in real time to speakers. So every speaker needed to have a channel assigned. The smooth panning between them is just tricking our ears/brain. There is no real transition between speakers, there is just mono sound signals that are sent to single channels.

I have experimented with just using the 5.1 buss setting, not 5.1 film and in Render using 'wild tracks' and guess what, it works! tested by importing the DCP into resolve and playing it it there. So the answer is you can use as many audio tracks as you like (all mono of course), no need to premix any of them into a single channel mixdown. Use automation to set any panning as required. Music tracks need to be split into a left and right channel if you want to preserve the stereo effect and then panned to the left and right speakers respectively. Also tested the resulting DCP in DCP-o-Matic and it plays well there too

Sounds good in theory, but make sure it works correct in a cinema!

Hi all,

Is Wild Track Format mandatory for SMPTE's DCP?

I read that on a Q/C report but I have a real doubt. EasyDCP's Q/C validator doesn't mention any warning with non-WTF audio track.

WTF didn't exist before. We used to make DCP SMPTE without it.

Thanks.

Is Wild Track Format mandatory for SMPTE's DCP?.

You might find a definitive answer here: https://dcss.dcimovies.com/87da0904badd1e28efc83e860d0d572a6cf4399a/dcss.html

Is Wild Track Format mandatory for SMPTE's DCP?.

You might find a definitive answer here: https://dcss.dcimovies.com/87da0904badd1e28efc83e860d0d572a6cf4399a/dcss.html

Nothing about Wildtrack in there.

Is Wild Track Format mandatory for SMPTE's DCP?.

You might find a definitive answer here: https://dcss.dcimovies.com/87da0904badd1e28efc83e860d0d572a6cf4399a/dcss.html

Nothing about Wildtrack in there.

I don't know the answer, but here is more discussion about that:

https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=169064

https://dcpomatic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1906

Hope it helps. Best thing of course would be to test it in a cinema.

I remember that DCP softwares were not allowing WTF for SMTPE format 10 years ago. That came later to expand more audio track and more possibilities. I don't see any reason why it would have become mandatory nowadays, at least for a simple 5.1 SMPTE mapping (L/R/C/LFE/Ls/Rs).

I also read in Deluxe/Netflix DCP requirements that WTF must have 8 or 16 channels only. That's weird. So we would have to add silent channels? Non-sense...

i had a DCP pass QC from Deluxe last week, it was L/R/C/Lfe/Ls/Rs only
no complaints, no notes

i had a DCP pass QC from Deluxe last week, it was L/R/C/Lfe/Ls/Rs only
no complaints, no notes

SMPTE I suppose? With or without WTF configuration?

If yes, they don't respect their own requirements. Look at the bottom of the page: https://hpaonline.com/wp-content/upload ... df#page=18

Same for Netflix:
https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/ ... quirements

Instruction for Resolve 17
(updated July 3rd 2021)

Instruction for version 16 is here: https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=122356#p772896

Hi community,

as I didn’t find a source that singlehandedly fully explained how to achieve a correct 5.1 surround sound mapping with mono tracks for DCP export in DaVinci Resolve Studio, I wrote a short instruction on how to do it in the most easy way I could find.
My knowledge is composed of different sources from this forum, external websites and my own testing.
Results have been tested and validated in a real cinema.

1) Import your 6 mono audio files.

2) In the Edit Page, in the timeline, from which you’ll export your DCP, you need to have as many mono audio tracks, as you have mono audio files, which is 6.

3) Put your 6 mono audio files on the mono audio tracks in the correct order, which is:
A1: Left
A2: Right
A3: Center
A4: LFE
A5: Surround Left
A6: Surround Right

3) In the Fairlight Page select all 6 mono audio tracks (A1 – A6). In the DaVinci Resolve menu bar, click “Fairlight” and then “Link Group”. In the window that pops up, select all 6 mono audio tracks (A1 – A6) and click on "Link as..." –> "5.1" (not 5.1 Film) in the lower right corner. Close the window.

4) In the DaVinci Resolve menu bar, click “Fairlight” and then “Bus Format…” In the window that now pops up, click on “Add Bus”. For the newly added Bus under "Format" choose “5.1” (not “5.1 Film”). As “Name” you can give this new bus a specific name, for example “Main 5.1”.

5) In the DaVinci Resolve menu bar, click “Fairlight” and then “Bus Assign…” In the window that now pops up, under "Busses" click on the button with your newly added 5.1 Bus and "Out" written under it. Under "Available Tracks" click on the first track (Audio 1) and all six tracks should be selected (because they are linked in a group). Click "Close" in the lower right corner.

6) Go to the Deliver Page. In the “Render Settings” go to the “Video” tab. Check the box “Export Video” and as “Format” choose “DCP”. Adjust the rest according to your project / DCP. Do not forget to fill out the form under "Composition Settings" which is important to identify your DCP.

7) In the “Audio” tab check the box “Export Audio”. For “Codec” choose “Linear PCM”. For “Configuration Label” choose “Wild track format”! This is important as it gives the correct channel mapping for cinema. If you have checked "Use Interop packaging" in the video tab, the “Configuration Label” option won't show up. Leave the “Render as discrete audio tracks” box unchecked. For “Output Track 1” choose your newly added 5.1 Bus (as of the example it was “Main 5.1”).

8) Choose a file name. This will be the name of the folder in which the DCP files are located (it is NOT the name of the DCP. The DCPs name, which appears on the server for projectionists to read, is defined by the "Composition Settings" in the "Video" tab in the Deliver Page).
Choose a destination.
Start render.

9) You can do a simple test to see if there are no major mistakes: Import the whole DCP folder in the Media Page. Double-click on the imported file (as the folder will appear as one file in Resolve). When you start playback check the rashes of the audio meters under "Embedded Audio" > "Meters". The first 6 channels should show rashes (if the played scene has actually sound on every channel!).

That's it! Please test your DCP in a real cinema!

P.S.: Please let me know if you find an improvement for this instruction or any mistakes and I will edit it.

Just updated the instruction for Resolve 18 (original first post). Nothing really changed much. I mainly got rid of typos and wrote some passages in a little more detail for the instruction to be more precise.