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Why Orbit ​

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New in Orbit 1.5.2

Orbit 1.5 was our biggest release yet — a full timeline, a built-in video editor, a completely rebuilt IAMF / Eclipsa export, a rebuilt QC PDF report, and OSLS, a customisable speaker output system that drives any layout up to 64 channels. 1.5.2 followed with per-speaker solo/mute and custom groups, and a rebuilt loudness footer Powered by Cota (BS.1770-5, with 5.1 re-render measurement). See What's New.

Orbit is a focused desktop app for quality-checking and finishing immersive audio masters — from Dolby Atmos ADM BWF through to IAMF and Eclipsa. It ships in two editions:

  • Orbit — professional ADM BWF QC: 3D scene view, head tracking, broadcast metering, and binaural monitoring. Inspect beds, objects, automation, and spatial positioning; monitor in 7.1.4 (or any custom layout via OSLS), binaural, Apple Spatial Audio, or stereo; verify levels with broadcast-grade metering powered by Cota.
  • Orbit Pro — from master to delivery. Everything in Orbit, plus the complete immersive finishing workflow in one app: IAMF / Eclipsa export with a full routing graph, video sync and multi-track editing, per-object markers, Sessions, playlists, and an all-tracks view.

Whether you're a mix engineer validating your own work, a QC specialist reviewing deliverables, a delivery engineer producing IAMF masters, or a supervisor who needs a reliable playback reference, Orbit aims to give you confidence in a delivery without the overhead of a full DAW session.

The problem Orbit solves ​

When you need to verify or deliver an ADM master, you typically have two options: export an MP4 for playback or load up your full DAW session. Neither is ideal for focused QC, and neither helps when the deliverable you actually need is IAMF.

Orbit gives you a third option: a lightweight player that shows you exactly what's in the file — beds, objects, automation, and spatial positioning — with clear visualization and reliable metering. With Orbit Pro you can then finish the job: render an IAMF / Eclipsa master with mix presentations and per-target loudness, or sync the audio to picture and export a muxed MP4.

Common scenarios:

  • Verify a finished ADM master before delivery to a distributor
  • Spot-check a mix while assets are still in motion
  • Review spatial positioning without opening your DAW
  • Compare 7.1.4 (or a custom OSLS layout), binaural, Apple Spatial Audio, and stereo translation in one session
  • Generate a PDF report summarising what's in the file
  • (Pro) Author an IAMF / Eclipsa deliverable from an ADM master, routed and restricted for a specific target
  • (Pro) Sync audio to picture, edit a multi-lane video timeline, and export a muxed MP4

What Orbit (Standard) does ​

Orbit Standard is the inspection and verification edition — the same role Orbit has always filled, not an authoring environment. Five things it's built around:

Inspect — audit an ADM master object by object. See beds and objects placed in space, solo any element, and check naming and metadata against the spec.

  • ADM BWF playback and inspection — beds, objects, automation, spatial positioning, with deterministic playback that's the same every time.
  • IAMF / Eclipsa playback — full v2.0-spec decoder (v1.1 files always work too) with streaming decode, scalable-layer monitoring, and per-element waveforms. Audition any layer in real time.
  • Higher-Order Ambisonics — scene-based audio carried inside an ADM master or an IAMF file: playback, monitoring, 3D ambisonic field visualisation, and BS.2076-3 metadata parsing.

Measure — a full meter bridge, with loudness measurement powered by Cota.

  • Broadcast metering — ITU-R BS.1770-5 loudness, true-peak, per-channel output meters with peak hold and solo/mute groups.
  • PDF QC report — a structured summary of the file, including loudness, you can hand to a client or distributor.

See — multichannel and spatial waveform views lay the entire programme out on a timeline, so you can scrub, spot and verify every channel at a glance.

  • DAW-style waveform view — pinned label gutter, two-tone min/max strokes, sample-accurate detail at deep zoom, and instant reopening of previously-indexed files.
  • 3D visualisation — numbered objects move with ADM automation and react to audio levels. See at a glance whether things are where they should be.

Monitor — head-tracked binaural monitoring with custom SOFA / HRTF support and per-headphone EQ, for accurate fold-down monitoring.

  • Four monitoring modes — 7.1.4 speakers, binaural headphones, Apple Spatial Audio, and stereo fold-down. Switch on the fly to validate translation.
  • Head tracking — via AirPods motion sensors or your Mac's camera, so the binaural soundstage stays put while you move.
  • Headphone EQ — parametric compensation engine with 18+ presets (Meze, HiFiMAN, Audeze, Focal, Neumann, DCA, Shure, Sony MV1, Slate VSX, …) and a 5-band user tone stack.

Any layout — custom speaker layouts up to 64 channels via OSLS, the open-source Orbit Speaker Layout System, with an output routing matrix. 10.1.4, 22.2, Auro configurations, or a 30-speaker dome — described once in one open file, driven everywhere. OSLS works in both Orbit and Orbit Pro.

  • Preferences window — 11 sections (Audio, Downmix, Spatial, Monitoring, Headphone EQ, Appearance, Metering, Timecode, Head Tracking, Sessions, Performance) with visual grids and inline camera preview.

What Orbit Pro adds ​

Orbit Pro is where Orbit grows beyond verification. The headline addition is authoring — Orbit Pro starts that journey with IAMF / Eclipsa, and 1.5 built out the rest of a full finishing workflow around it.

IAMF / Eclipsa export — the first authoring feature

Orbit Pro's export engine maps your ADM master through a full routing graph — see and shape every signal path from ADM to IAMF, apply the restrictions each delivery target needs (YouTube, Esfera, Full Master, or fully custom), and hear exactly what it'll sound like before you commit. Render with mix presentations, scalable layers, contextual render targets, an optional rendered ChannelBased Audio Element, Opus quality presets, a pan-law picker, and per-target measured loudness. A "Listen as" preview card lets you audition any mix presentation, and optional binaural rendering writes a stereo binaural file alongside (or instead of) the multichannel master.

Pro also adds the heavier-weight QC and finishing features that need a project on disk to make sense:

  • Timeline — your entire master on one timeline: beds, objects, and stems as colour-coded waveforms, with per-track soloing, looping, and markers. Spot silent objects, watch automation changes, and scrub to navigate — the 3D scene and Activity grid stay visible alongside it during playback.
  • Object Activity window — lays out every object in your master and traces its movement in real time, with trajectories in top-down or polar azimuth/elevation views alongside waveforms and live positioning data.
  • Video sync & multi-track editing — a full timeline-style editor with up to 4 video lanes, snapping, undo/redo, lane-aware razor, fade tool, scrub-while-paused, frame-accurate seeks, proxy generation, and support up to 4K. Import video with no editing at all if that's all you need. Render fades and crossfades when exporting a muxed MP4 with IAMF or PCM audio.
  • Per-speaker solo & mute, and custom groups — in the Monitor view, solo or mute individual speakers or whole custom groups across top-down, side, and 3D layout views.
  • Sessions (.orbsession) — a robust project format with track-waveform pre-scan, broken-bundle detection, automatic media relinking, a session lockfile, and an explicit dirty indicator.
  • Markers & comments — per-track markers with stable creation-order numbering, a ⇧M shortcut, and CSV / PDF / IAMF-PDF report export.
  • Looping — define a loop region on the timeline with frame / second / minute / free snap modes, persisted with the session.
  • Object detail / Inspect view — per-object waveform, position, and width tabs with zoom up to 64×.
  • Album / multi-file playback — gapless continuous playback with user-defined track ranges and playlists.

Try before you buy

Both Orbit and Orbit Pro offer a 14-day trial — get one at orbitspatial.io, not from inside the app.

What makes Orbit different ​

Built around inspection. The UI puts the timeline, 3D visualizer, and meters on screen at once. Pro adds editing and export tools without burying the inspection workflow.

Fast mode switching. Toggle between 7.1.4 (or a custom OSLS layout), binaural headphones, Apple Spatial Audio, and stereo fold-down to validate translation. The same content, different monitoring perspectives.

Visual clarity. The 3D scene shows numbered objects that move with ADM automation. Objects react to audio levels, growing larger when active. Ambisonic content gets its own 3D field visualisation.

Repeatable playback. Orbit is deterministic — the same file plays back the same way every time, on the same hardware, using Orbit's own rendering engine rather than a third party's.

One signal path. The 7.1.4 mix is the source of truth — binaural, Apple Spatial Audio, and stereo are all derived from it. That's what keeps metering, fold-down, and IAMF export consistent across every monitoring mode, no matter how wide the physical speaker layout gets.

Who Orbit is for ​

  • Mix engineers and re-recording mixers who want to validate their own work before handing off
  • QC teams and delivery specialists who review ADM masters for compliance and quality
  • Supervisors and clients who need a reliable playback reference without learning a complex tool
  • Artists and collaborators who want to play back ADM files without the quality loss of an MP4 or buying into a full DAW setup
  • Delivery engineers (Pro) producing IAMF / Eclipsa masters from existing ADM material, routed for a specific delivery target
  • Post-production teams (Pro) needing frame-accurate audio-to-picture review with markers and notes

What Orbit doesn't do ​

  • It doesn't edit or re-author ADM files — Orbit Pro authors IAMF / Eclipsa deliverables, but the ADM master itself stays the source of truth.
  • It doesn't replace a full DAW session for creative work.
  • It doesn't expose mix-engine controls — there's nothing to tweak that would change the rendering.
  • It's not affiliated with Dolby. Orbit uses its own rendering engine, independent of Dolby's — use official Dolby tools for certification when required.

Local playback

All playback, analysis, and IAMF export happens on your machine. Internet is only used for license activation/refresh and optional update checks. Your audio files never leave your computer.

Ready to start? ​

Orbit Spatial® is a registered trademark of South Loop Studios. All rights reserved.

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