Dolby Atmos Renderer Compatibility and Configuration Guide

Mar 12, 2026
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What-are-the-current-computer-OS-and-I-O-configurations-for-running-the-Dolby-Atmos-Renderer-on-a-dedicated-Workstation

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AdamP, 3/13/2026 9:54 AM

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MattD, 3/13/2026 9:55 AM

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The Dolby Atmos Renderer can run alongside your DAW on the same Mac or on a dedicated PC or Mac workstation with its own I/O.

This article first covers compatibility when used alongside your DAW, and then setting up Renderer workstations:

Single Machine Setup
Dedicated Renderer Workstations
- PC Based Configurations
- Mac Based Configurations
Synchronization Considerations

Single Machine Setup

The Dolby Atmos Renderer is tested with macOS Sonoma 14.8.3 to Tahoe 26.2, and with these specific DAWs: AVID Pro Tools Ultimate, Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve, Merging Pyramix, and Steinberg Nuendo. In this configuration, the native panner of the DAW communicates the Atmos metadata to the Dolby Atmos Renderer application and audio is passed via the Dolby Atmos Bridge. See our Working with DAWs knowledge base section for more information.

Note: Nuendo on Apple silicon Macs (as of version 14) must be set to "Open using Rosetta" to communicate with the Renderer.

In addition to direct communication with native panners of the DAWs, the Dolby Atmos Music Panner plugin can be used to augment panning functionality and expand the available DAW options. The Dolby Atmos Music Panner is available for Mac only, as an AAX, AU, and VST3 plugin. The following DAWs are tested for use: Ableton Live, Apple Logic Pro X, AVID Pro Tools, and Steinberg Nuendo.

Further information can be found in the Getting Started with the Dolby Atmos Music Panner article.

Dedicated Renderer Workstation

To configure the Dolby Atmos Renderer to run on a dedicated workstation, it is important to choose appropriate hardware and set it up correctly. This section gives an overview of the tested computer hardware, operating systems, and audio I/O devices. Full configuration details can be found in the D olby Atmos Renderer Installation and Configuration Guide. In addition, Dolby Atmos Certified Service Partners can build and supply systems.

PC Based Configurations

The PC specifications are split into a table of tested systems and list of minimum components, from which systems can be built.

Tested PC Configurations:

Computer Hardware	OS Supported	Audio Interface Options and Connection Type
Dell Precision 7920† Single Intel Xeon Silver processor, Dedicated graphics card, 16 GB RAM	Windows 10*/11 Pro for Workstations (note older units will not run Windows 11)	2x RME HDSPe MADI + TCO module or WC expansion board (PCIe) RME HDSPe MADI FX (PCIe)^§ RME MADIface XT (USB 3.0)^§ Focusrite RedNet PCIeR (or PCIeNX) Dante (PCIe) Focusrite RedNet TNX (Thunderbolt 3) NTP DAD Core256 Dante/MADI (Thunderbolt 3) AVID MTRX-II (Thunderbolt 3)
Dell Precision 7910† (Contact Dolby for specification)	Windows 10 Pro*
Sweetwater CS400 v7† Intel Core i7 3.8Ghz 32GB RAM	Windows 10*/11 Pro (Request Pro version upon ordering)
NUC 12 Pro - NUC12WSHi7 Full‡ 16GB RAM	Windows 11 Pro
NUC Moonstone R9 CBM3R9MS* 16GB RAM	Windows 11 Pro
HP Z4 G5 Workstation† HP Z4G5TWR W32425 32GB/1TB Intel® Xeon® W3-2425 32 GB RAM NVIDIA RTX™ A2000	Windows 11 Pro for Workstations

* Dolby Atmos Renderer v5.4 is the last version that will support Windows 10.

† PCIe thunderbolt card required for use with Thunderbolt base audio interfaces.

‡ Requires a thunderbolt chassis for use with PCIe-based cards.

§ The MADI FX and MADIface XT use optical connectors only for input/outputs 1 & 2.

Minimum PC Component Specifications:

Bespoke PC Renderer workstations should be built with the following minimum specifications:

CPU: Intel Core i7 (12^th Generation) or Xeon (4th Generation)
RAM: 16 GB DDR4
OS: Windows 10 - 11 Pro 64-bit or Pro for Workstations 64-bit
OS Drive: SATA SSD or M.2 drive (min 512 GB)
Content Storage: Dedicated local SSD storage for real-time recording of master files (min 512 GB)
I/O: Sufficient PCIe slots (internal or in external chassis), USB3 or Thunderbolt/USB4 connectivity for selected audio I/O interfaces.
Graphics Card: Dedicated PCIe graphics card.

Mac Based Configurations

The following two tables contained the tested Mac-based workstation builds.

Tested Mac Intel Configurations:

Computer Hardware	OS supported	Audio Interface Options and Connection Type
	macOS 14.8.3 to 26.2	2x RME HDSPe MADI + TCO module or WC expansion board (PCIe) RME HDSPe MADI FX (PCIe)^§ RME MADIface XT (USB 3.0)^§ Focusrite RedNet PCIeR (or PCIeNX) Dante (PCIe) Focusrite RedNet TNX (Thunderbolt 3) NTP DAD Core256 Dante/MADI (Thunderbolt 3) Merging Technologies, RAVENNA/AES67 Virtual Audio Device (VAD) Premium AVID MTRX-II (Thunderbolt 3)
Mac Pro 7,1 8-Core Intel Xeon, 3.5 GHz, 32 GB RAM
Mac Mini 8,1‡ Intel Core i7 3.2GHz 16GB RAM

‡ Requires a thunderbolt chassis for use with PCIe-based cards.

§ The MADI FX and MADIface XT use optical connectors only for input/outputs 1 & 2.

Tested Mac Apple Silicon Configurations:

Computer Hardware

OS supported

Audio Interface Options and Connection Type

Mac Mini 9,1‡

Apple M1 chip

16 GB RAM

macOS 14.8.3 to 26.2

2x RME HDSPe MADI + TCO module or WC expansion board (PCIe)
RME HDSPe MADI FX (PCIe)^§
RME MADIface XT (USB 3.0)^§
Focusrite RedNet PCIeNX Dante (PCIe)
Focusrite RedNet TNX (Thunderbolt 3)
NTP DAD Core256 Dante/MADI (Thunderbolt 3)
Merging Technologies, RAVENNA/AES67 Virtual Audio Device (VAD) Premium (48kHz only)
Dante Virtual Soundcard Pro 128ch
AVID MTRX-II (Thunderbolt 3)

Mac Studio 13,1‡

Apple M1 Max chip

32 GB RAM

Mac Mini 14,12‡

Apple M2 Pro chip

16 GB RAM

Mac Studio 14,14‡

Apple M2 Ultra chip

64 GB RAM

Mac Studio 14,13‡

Apple M2 Max chip

32 GB RAM

Mac Mini 16,10‡

Apple M4 chip

16 GB RAM

‡ Requires a thunderbolt chassis for use with PCIe-based cards.

§ The MADI FX and MADIface XT use optical connectors only for input/outputs 1 & 2.

Synchronization Considerations

The synchronization of the Dolby Atmos Renderer is nominally achieved by an LTC signal over an audio input, via the Dolby LTC generator plug-in (or equivalent DAW functionality). An external LTC generator feeding an Analog-to-Dante (via Audinate AVIO 1x10 adapter) or Analog-to-MADI conversion can also be used. By default, channel 128 is used, however, interfaces with higher channel count can use channel 129 to preserve the full object count.

Additional notes:

RME HDSPe MADI cards and TCO Module on PC: The LTC input on the TCO module can be used. In the Renderer set the External sync source to ASIO Sync.
Merging Technologies RAVENNA/AES 67 Virtual Audio Driver (VAD) Premium: It is advised not to use an external LTC generator and Analog-to-Dante as this will result in 8 channels not being available for mix audio.
MADIface XT: The MIC/LINE input can be utilized with an external LTC generator with the Renderer timecode input channel set to 129.
MADI FX, MADIface XT and DAD Core 256: For DAWs with 3x MADI outputs, it is possible to use Channel 129 for timecode. Note for the DAD Core 256 the NTP driver control panel must be set to 256 channels.
Focusrite PCIeNX and TNX: An option to upgrade to a 256 channel count is available from Audinate which will allow the use of channel 129 for the LTC signal.

See the Dolby Atmos Renderer Installation and Configuration Guide for full details.

If you have any questions regard compatibility or configuration, feel free to post them in our Dolby Atmos Forum.