Ultra-fast Dolby E Encoding

Modern computers are increasing performance by adding processing cores instead of increasing clock speeds. The latest Mac Pro, for example, has twelve processing cores. If the computer is running multiple software programs at once, then those cores can split up tasks easily. But if a complicated algorithm is running on the computer, its performance will not be enhanced unless it is specifically written to use multiple cores. And that was the case of Neyrinck’s version 1.0 Dolby E system. It was crunching along using just one processor at a time.

Paul Neyrinck has a lot of experience at optimizing audio algorithms. For years at Digidesign he was a key contributor to making each generation of TDM hardware more and more powerful. Now that audio professionals rely on their computer CPU for more and more, Paul realized that optimizing the Dolby E encoding system would be very valuable. So for version 2.0, Paul used his experience and skill to optimize the Dolby E encoder to be much, much faster than version 1.0 by splitting up the encode across CPU cores. The exact speed depends upon many system factors such as the number of cores, disk I/O bandwidth, and CPU speed. At a Toronto post studio with a new 12-core Mac and a solid state hard drive, they are able to Dolby E encode a forty-five minute, 5.1 mix in just forty-five seconds.

If you want to test how fast your system can encode Dolby E, simply download the trial software and send a request to Neyrinck support for an unrestricted iLok trial license. Be sure to use a fast storage system for best performance because all those cores need to read and write audio as quickly as possible.

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