Specifications

5.1-Channel Production Guidelines
6-1
Chapter 6
Preparing the Source Delivery Master
When preparing the source delivery master, adhere to accepted standards and
practices to ensure proper Dolby Digital encoding.
One of the most common source delivery formats for Dolby Digital encoding is the
Hi-8 mm tape used in many popular Modular Digital Multitracks (MDMs). Digital
Audio Workstations (DAWs), open reel digital multitracks, and other formats are also
used for this application, although infrequently.
6.1 Channel-to-Track Allocation
Whenever possible, Dolby encourages the adoption of channel-to-track allocation
described in the forthcoming ITU-R recommendation, Parameters for Multichannel
Sound Recording. Track layouts depend on channel complement, although tracks 1, 2,
and 3 are always channels Left (L), Right (R), and Center (C) respectively. Table 6-1
shows one possible configuration. Since inclusion of the LFE channel is optional and
the listener determines its reproduction from a decoder, essential low frequency
information should not be mixed exclusively to the LFE channel. When the LFE