X-Git-Url: http://shamusworld.gotdns.org/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi?a=blobdiff_plain;f=include%2Fmetering-in-ardour.html;fp=include%2Fmetering-in-ardour.html;h=8dbe8c25e9fb7a17533252ed01083fe12f97a746;hb=7a4c28bd8605e90876ebee619de364ab7001e405;hp=d47b921f618e91ed48ce92decc60ab21686fa7dd;hpb=2a78650ae3df3a17c9c33f07aea597eb5f36da61;p=ardour-manual diff --git a/include/metering-in-ardour.html b/include/metering-in-ardour.html index d47b921..8dbe8c2 100644 --- a/include/metering-in-ardour.html +++ b/include/metering-in-ardour.html @@ -1,37 +1,37 @@

Introduction

- An engineer reading and using audio level meters compares to a musician - reading or writing sheet-music. Just like there are virtuoso musicians + An engineer reading and using audio level meters compares to a musician + reading or writing sheet-music. Just like there are virtuoso musicians who can't read a single note, there are great sound-engineers who just - go by their ears and produce great mixes and masters without ever looking + go by their ears and produce great mixes and masters without ever looking at a single meter.

- Yet, if you want to work in or with the broadcast industry, it is + Yet, if you want to work in or with the broadcast industry, it is usually unavoidable to use meters.

- Audio level meters are very powerful tools that are useful in every + Audio level meters are very powerful tools that are useful in every part of the entire production chain:

Meter Types

- A general treatise on metering is beyond the scope of this + A general treatise on metering is beyond the scope of this manual. It is a complex subject with a history… For background information and further reading we recommend:

@@ -48,25 +48,25 @@
Digital peak-meter
-
A Digital Peak Meter displays the absolute maximum signal - of the raw audio PCM signal (for a given time). It is commonly used when - tracking to make sure the recorded audio never clips. To that end, DPMs +
A Digital Peak Meter displays the absolute maximum signal + of the raw audio PCM signal (for a given time). It is commonly used when + tracking to make sure the recorded audio never clips. To that end, DPMs are always calibrated to 0 dBFS, or the maximum level that can be represented digitally - in a given system. This value has no musical reason whatsoever and depends - only on the properties of the signal chain or target medium. There are - conventions for fall-off-time and peak-hold, but no + in a given system. This value has no musical reason whatsoever and depends + only on the properties of the signal chain or target medium. There are + conventions for fall-off-time and peak-hold, but no exact specifications.

- Various conventions for DPM fall-off times and dBFS line-up level can be + Various conventions for DPM fall-off times and dBFS line-up level can be chosen in Edit > Preferences > GUI.

RMS meters
An RMS-type meter - is an averaging meter that looks at the energy in the signal. It - provides a general indication of loudness as perceived by humans. Ardour + is an averaging meter that looks at the energy in the signal. It + provides a general indication of loudness as perceived by humans. Ardour features three RMS meters, all of which offer additonal peak indication.
IEC PPMs
-
IEC-type - PPMs are a mix between DPMs and - RMS meters, created mainly for the purpose of +
IEC-type + PPMs are a mix between DPMs and + RMS meters, created mainly for the purpose of interoperability. Many national and institutional varieties exist (EBU, BBC, DIN). + Corporation">BBC, DIN).

- These loudness and metering standards provide a common point of - reference which is used by broadcasters in particular so that the + These loudness and metering standards provide a common point of + reference which is used by broadcasters in particular so that the interchange of material is uniform across their sphere of influence, regardless of the equipment used to play it back.

For home recording, there is no real need for this level of - interoperability, and these meters are only strictly required when - working in or with the broadcast industry. However, IEC-type meters have - certain characteristics (rise-time, ballistics) that make them useful + interoperability, and these meters are only strictly required when + working in or with the broadcast industry. However, IEC-type meters have + certain characteristics (rise-time, ballistics) that make them useful outside the context of broadcast.

- Their specification is very exact, and consquently, there are no + Their specification is very exact, and consquently, there are no customizable parameters.

- +
VU meters
-
VU meters are the dinosaurs (1939) +
VU meters are the dinosaurs (1939) amongst the meters. They react very slowly, averaging out peaks. - Their specification is very strict (300ms rise-time, 1–1.5% overshoot, - flat frequency response). Ardour's VU meter adheres to that spec, but for + Their specification is very strict (300ms rise-time, 1–1.5% overshoot, + flat frequency response). Ardour's VU meter adheres to that spec, but for visual consistency it is displayed as a bar-graph rather than needle-style (more below).
@@ -130,8 +130,8 @@

They all share the same configuration and color-theme which is available in - preferences and the theme-manager. Settings for the Peak and RMS+Peak meters - as well as VU meter standards are found in + preferences and the theme-manager. Settings for the Peak and RMS+Peak meters + as well as VU meter standards are found in Edit > Preferences > GUI > Metering.

@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@

- Regardless of meter type and standard the meter display will highlight red if + Regardless of meter type and standard the meter display will highlight red if the signal on the given channel exceeds the configured peak threshold.

@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@

Overview of meter types

- The figure on the left shows all available meter-types in Ardour 3.4 when fed with a + The figure on the left shows all available meter-types in Ardour 3.4 when fed with a -18 dBFS 1 kHz sine wave.

@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ alt="Needle-style meters as external LV2 plugins" /> alt="Bar-graph meters in Ardour" />

- Due to layout concerns and consistent look&feel all meters available in + Due to layout concerns and consistent look&feel all meters available in Ardour itself are bar-graph type meters. Corresponding needle-style meters—which take up more visual screen space—are available as LV2 plugins (see image on the right):