Limitless Audio Format Export

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Limitless Audio Format is a newer audio format that is intended to be a free, open, and as implied largely limitless alternative to the currently available object-based audio formats. Providing support for this format could prove useful if the more advanced audio needs are necessary.

Relevant: https://cavern.sbence.hu/cavern/doc.php?p=LAF

[iluvcapra]

Hey thank you for this, for me the most important qualification is I need to be able to import into Pro Tools so right now ADM WAV is pretty much the only target that works for that for the time being.

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Hey thank you for this, for me the most important qualification is I need to be able to import into Pro Tools so right now ADM WAV is pretty much the only target that works for that for the time being.

Hey, I totally get that, and it's no skin off my back. If someone else were to implement the functionality and submit a PR, would you merge it (assuming it didn't have any other issues)? If so, I'd prefer if you re-opened the ticket and just labelled it with something akin to a won't fix label. That way people don't get confused and think there is actually Limitless Audio Format support.

[iluvcapra]

I think there's two issues with this format that would complicate a port:

• A file is either all one bed or all objects, and generally what this script does is it renders as many sound sources as it can to object tracks and then dumps the rest to a bed. This isn't fatal but it's a thing.
• The format only supports polar egocentric coordinates[^1] and the script present uses cartesian allocentric object coordinates.

[^1]: See ITU-R BS.2127-0, there's two different coordinate systems you can use for objects either relative to the listener or relative to the room (and then optionally relative to the screen).

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I think there's two issues with this format that would complicate a port:

* A file is either all one bed or all objects, and generally what this script does is it renders as many sound sources as it can to object tracks and then dumps the rest to a bed. This isn't fatal but it's a thing.

* The format only supports polar egocentric coordinates[1](#user-content-fn-1-32f1776f9fdd50c574b7db044fc162a0) and the script present uses cartesian allocentric object coordinates.

Footnotes

1. See ITU-R BS.2127-0, there's two different coordinate systems you can use for objects either relative to the listener or relative to the room (and then optionally relative to the screen). [↩](#user-content-fnref-1-32f1776f9fdd50c574b7db044fc162a0)

Thanks a ton for pointing out the issues. Maybe LAF could support a mixed mode. I'll reach out.

[iluvcapra]

Do you know what workflow Limitless is targeting or any software that uses it? This is the first I've heard of it.

[Continous]

To my knowledge it is made as a part of this github project. The project is designed largely to decode object-based media formats.

[Continous]

I reached out and per this issue on Cavern's github, the object mode is mixed. Just not documented as such.

[VoidXH]

Do you know what workflow Limitless is targeting or any software that uses it?

Limitless is an archival format intended to be 1:1 compatible with ADM BWF. Compared to ADM BWF, it has way less muxing overhead, and silence doesn't consume the disk. It generally has a 90% reduced file size while still being raw PCM. Cavernize has the capability to convert between BWF and LAF. I made it to store DCPs in less space.

The format only supports polar egocentric coordinates1 and the script present uses cartesian allocentric object coordinates.

Polar coordinates are only for channel-only mode. In object mode, it's allocentric Cartesian.

[iluvcapra]

What about just making an IAB MXF? That does all that stuff.

[VoidXH]

What about just making an IAB MXF?

There is no low level documentation available for it.