The Trinnov NOVA goes immersive: 7.1.4 without changing the box

It's official as of today: Trinnov has released software version 2.1.3 for the NOVA, and this is no housekeeping update. The processor goes immersive, with up to twelve optimised channels in 7.1.4 — on exactly the same hardware already sitting in studios. Trinnov calls it the biggest expansion of the NOVA since launch, and for once the wording isn't overselling it.

Twelve optimised channels, in 7.1.4

The new Immersive mode lets the NOVA optimise up to twelve discrete channels — a full 7.1.4 layout — fed over Dante. Resolution is capped at 48 kHz in this mode, the standard working rate for post and immersive mixing, and one speaker set is available at a time. Trinnov is clearly aiming at compact and mid-sized immersive rooms: production, mixing, mastering and QC.

For anyone building an Atmos room in a sensible volume, this is the missing piece: until now, going immersive with Trinnov meant moving up to a different class of machine.

The NOVA doesn't decode Atmos, it corrects it

One thing to be clear about before you buy: the NOVA has no Dolby Atmos decoder on board. It takes the discrete channels coming out of your renderer or DAW and applies the Optimizer to them. That's not a limitation in a serious production workflow, where rendering happens upstream anyway — it's the normal logic of a monitoring tool. But if you were looking for a decoder, this isn't the product.

What you pay for is channels

Let's be clear straight away: Immersive mode isn't an option you buy as such, but it isn't handed to everyone either. What gets invoiced is channels, the way it has always worked at Trinnov. The NOVA runs on Optimizer licences — 2, then 4, 6 and 8/12 channels — and immersive doesn't change that: a unit with eight licensed Optimizer channels automatically unlocks up to twelve optimised channels in Immersive mode. In other words, the fourth licence, the one taking you from six to eight channels, throws in the next four.

In practice, an installed NOVA 6 only needs one additional 2-channel Optimizer licence, at €720 incl. VAT (€600 excl. VAT), to end up in 7.1.4. No hardware swap, no trade-in, no calibration to start over from scratch — and it applies to units already in the field just as much as to new ones, since the hardware platform has been identical from day one. We'd like to see this more often.

What else 2.1.3 brings

The rest of the update is far from trivial, starting with standard monitoring mode, which goes from six to eight optimised channels — an immediate win for 5.1 rooms with added subs and for more ambitious surround systems. The rest is day-to-day control room life:

• calibration graphs now appear directly in the setup wizard;
• clock management, both Dante and internal, has been reworked;
• bass management is recomputed automatically when switching between compatible speaker sets;
• reboot and shutdown are available from the interface, with automatic restart after a power cut;
• target curves can be edited in 0.1 dB steps, with five presets and the option to save your own.

Availability and pricing

Version 2.1.3 can be downloaded now from the Trinnov application. Actually running in 7.1.4, though, depends on how many Optimizer licences your unit holds.

We stock the Trinnov NOVA in every configuration, from the NOVA 2 at €3,588 incl. VAT (€2,990 excl. VAT) to the NOVA 8/12 at €5,748 incl. VAT (€4,790 excl. VAT) — on its own, with the 3D measurement microphone, or bundled with La Remote; Bundle 12, which pairs the NOVA 8/12 with the 3D mic and La Remote, is €6,948 incl. VAT (€5,790 excl. VAT). The 2-channel Optimizer licence to upgrade an installed NOVA is €720 incl. VAT (€600 excl. VAT). Licences being pure software, they're available immediately whatever the configuration. Applicable VAT may vary depending on your status and delivery country.

Not sure how many licences your room actually needs, or whether your current NOVA can move to 7.1.4? Drop us a line and we'll work it out with you.