Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual

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Export Audio MixdownThe Export Audio Mixdown dialog
•Cubase only: If Channel Batch Export is activated, you can select/deselect several 
channels in one go using the [Shift] and/or [Ctrl]/[Command] modifiers and then 
clicking on any of the checkboxes for the highlighted channels.
Note that this toggles the activation status of a channel, i. e. all selected channels 
that were previously activated will be deactivated and vice versa.
If your project contains a large number of channels, it might get difficult to find the 
desired channels in the Channel Selection section. 
•To simplify the process of selecting several channels, you can filter the display. 
Simply type in the desired text (e.
 g. “voc” to show all tracks containing vocals) in 
the Filter field below the tree view.
About the File Location section
In the File Location section you can specify a name and a path for the exported files. 
Furthermore, you can define the naming scheme for the exported files. 
At the right of the Name and the Path fields there are two pop-up menus with a 
number of options:
Naming Options
•Select “Set to Project Name” to set the Name field to the project name.
•Activate the “Auto Update Name” option to add a number to the specified file 
name every time you click the Export button.
Path Options
•Select “Choose…” to open a dialog in which you can browse for a path and enter 
a file name. 
The file name will automatically be shown in the Name field.
•Select an entry from the Recent Paths section to reuse a path specified for a 
previous export.
This section is only shown after an export has been completed. With the “Clear 
Recent Paths” option you can delete all entries from the Recent Paths section.
•Activate the “Use Project Audio Folder” option to save the mixdown file in the 
project’s Audio folder.
Naming Scheme
Clicking the “Naming Scheme…” button opens a separate pop-up window. Here, you 
can choose a number of elements that will be combined to form the file name. 
Depending on the settings in the Channel Selection section, different elements are 
available.
The elements are defined as follows:
ElementDescription
NameThe name that you entered in the Name field (in the File Location 
section).
Mixer IndexThe number of the MixConsole channel. 
						

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Export Audio MixdownThe Export Audio Mixdown dialog
ÖBy combining the available naming elements, you can make sure that all the files of a 
batch are exported with unique names. If you have set up a naming scheme that would 
result in identical file names, a warning message appears when you click the Export 
button.
•To add an element, press the “+” button on the far right, and to remove an element 
from the naming scheme click the corresponding “-” button.
You can also remove an element by dragging it out of the Elements section.
•To rearrange the sequence, simply click on an element and drag it to a different 
position.
•To choose a different element for a certain position, click on the element name and 
select a new entry from the pop-up menu.
Each element can only be used once in a naming scheme. The pop-up menu 
therefore shows only those elements that are still available. 
Below the Elements section, you will find some additional options:
The field below these options shows a preview of what the resulting file names will 
look like.
ÖTo close the Naming Scheme pop-up window, simply click anywhere outside the 
pop-up window. The generated name will now also be shown to the right of the 
“Naming Scheme…” button.
About the File Format section
In the File Format section, you can select the file format for your mixdown files and 
make additional settings that are different for each file type. For details, see 
“The 
available file formats” on page 645.
Channel TypeThe type of audio-related channel that is being exported.
Channel NameThe name of the exported channel.
Project NameThe name of the Cubase project.
Counter  
(Cubase only)
This is only available for batch export. Use this to include an 
incrementing number in the generated files names in order to create 
unique file names.
Element Description
OptionDescription
SeparatorAllows you to enter any character sequence to be used as a separator 
between the naming elements (e.
 g. a hyphen enclosed in spaces).
Leading ZerosThis controls how many leading zeros the Counter and Mixer Index 
components will have. For example, if you set this to “2”, the numbers 
from 1 to 10 will be written as 001 to 010.
Counter Start 
ValueHere you can enter a number that is used as the first Counter value. 
						

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Export Audio MixdownThe Export Audio Mixdown dialog
About the Audio Engine Output section
The Audio Engine Output section contains all the settings related to the output of the 
Cubase audio engine. The following options are available:
OptionDescription
Sample Rate 
(uncompressed file 
formats only)This setting determines the frequency range of the exported audio – 
the lower the sample rate, the lower the highest audible frequency in 
the audio. In most cases, you should select the sample rate set for 
the project, since a lower sample rate will degrade the audio quality 
(mainly reducing the high frequency content) and a higher sample 
rate will only increase the file size, without adding to audio quality. 
Also consider the future usage of the file: If you plan to import the file 
into another application, for example, you should select a sample 
rate supported by that application.
If you are making a mixdown for CD burning, you should select 
44.100
 kHz, since this is the sample rate used on audio CDs.
Bit Depth 
(uncompressed file 
formats only)Allows you to select 8, 16, 24 bit or 32 bit (float) files. If the file is 
an “intermediate mixdown” that you plan to re-import and continue 
working on in Cubase, we recommend that you select the 32 bit 
(float) option.
32 bit (float) is a very high resolution (the same resolution as used 
internally for audio processing in Cubase), and the audio files will 
be twice the size of 16 bit files.
If you are making a mixdown for CD burning, use the 16 bit option, 
as CD audio is always 16 bit.
In this case, we recommend dithering, see “Dithering” on page 233. 
Activate the UV-22HR dithering plug-in (see the separate PDF 
document “Plug-in Reference” for details). This reduces the 
effects of quantization noise and artifacts from being introduced 
when converting the audio down to 16 bit. 8 bit resolution should 
only be used if required, since it results in limited audio quality. 8 
bit audio may be suitable in some multimedia applications, etc.
Mono DownmixIn Cubase Artist, activate this f you want to downmix the two 
channels of a stereo bus to a single mono file. In Cubase, activate 
this if you want to downmix all the subchannels of a stereo or 
surround channel or bus to a single mono file. To avoid clipping, 
the following summing rules are applies:
Stereo: The panning law as defined in the Project Setup dialog is 
applied (see 
“Stereo Pan Law” on page 187). Surround (Cubase 
only): The channels are summed and then divided through the 
number of channels used (in case of a 5.1. channel = 
(L+R+C+LFE+Ls+Rs)/6).
Split ChannelsActivate this if you want to export all subchannels of a multi-
channel bus as separate mono files. 
L/R ChannelsActivate this if you want to export only the left and right 
subchannels of a multi-channel bus into a stereo file. 
						

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Export Audio MixdownThe Export Audio Mixdown dialog
About the Import into Project section
In this section you will find several options for importing the resulting mixdown files 
back into the existing or into a new project:
•If you activate the Pool checkbox, the resulting audio file will automatically be 
imported back into the Pool as a clip.
Use the Pool Folder option to specify in which Pool folder the clip will reside.
•If you activate the Audio Track option as well, an audio event that plays the clip will 
be created and placed on a new audio track, starting at the left locator.
If you activate the Audio Track option, the Pool option will automatically be 
activated as well, and deactivating the Pool option also deactivates the Audio 
Track option.
•If you activate the “Create New Project” option, a new project is created that 
contains one audio track for each of the exported channels, as well as the 
signature and tempo track of the original project. Note that if this is activated, the 
Pool and Audio Track options are disabled.
The tracks will have the corresponding mixdown file as audio event. The track 
names will be identical with the export channel names. Note that the new project 
will be the active project.
ÖThe Create New Project option is only available if you have selected an uncompressed 
file format and the Use Project Audio Folder option is deactivated.
About the Import Options dialog
If you activate any of the options in the “Import into Project” section, the Import Options 
dialog will open for each exported channel when the export is complete. For a detailed 
description of the options in this dialog see 
“About the Import Medium dialog” on 
page 386. 
About the Post Process section
In the Post Process section, you can select a process that you want to execute after 
mixing down your audio file.
•If WaveLab 7.0.1 or higher is installed on your machine, you can select “Open in 
WaveLab” to open you mixdown file in this application after export. 
•You can select “Upload to SoundCloud” to launch SoundCloud, connect to your 
user account, and upload your mixdown.
Realtime ExportActivate this if you want the export to happen in realtime, in which 
case the process will take at least the same time as regular 
playback.
Some VST plug-ins, external instruments and effects require this in 
order to have enough time to update correctly during the mixdown 
– consult the plug-in manufacturers if uncertain.
Cubase only: When Realtime Export is activated, the exported 
audio will be played back via the Control Room. Depending on the 
CPU and disk speed of your computer, it may not be possible to 
export all channels simultaneously if Realtime Export is activated. If 
an error occurs during the realtime export, the program will 
automatically stop the process, reduce the number of channels 
and start again. Afterwards the next batch of files is exported. This 
is repeated as often as needed to export all selected channels.
Due to this splitting of the export process in “runs”, the realtime 
export might take longer than the actual playback would.
Option Description 
						

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Export Audio MixdownThe available file formats
The available file formats
The following pages describe the different export file formats, as well as their options 
and settings. 
- AIFF files, see “AIFF files” on page 645
- AIFC files, see “AIFC files” on page 646
- Wave files, see “Wave files” on page 646
- Wave 64 files, see “Wave 64 files” on page 646
- Broadcast Wave files, see “Broadcast Wave files” on page 646
- FLAC files, see “FLAC files” on page 647
- MP3 files, see “MPEG 1 Layer 3 files” on page 647
- Ogg Vorbis files, see “Ogg Vorbis files” on page 647
- Windows Media Audio Pro files (Windows only), see “Windows Media Audio Pro 
files (Windows only)” on page 648 
ÖMost of the settings described below for AIFF files are available for all file types. 
Where this is not the case, you will find additional information in the corresponding 
section.
MP3 Export (Cubase Artist only)
This version of Cubase provides a function for exporting your audio mixdown as MP3 
files. This function is limited to 20 trial encodings or a trial period of 30 days from the 
installation date (whichever ends first). After this period, the function will be disabled 
until you purchase the MP3 encoder for Cubase.
•When the MP3 format is selected and you click the Export button, a window opens 
showing you how many trial encodings you have left. You can upgrade to an 
unlimited MP3 export function by clicking the “Go to Online Shop” button in the 
dialog.
This will take you to Steinberg’s online shop where you can purchase the upgrade. 
Note that a working internet connection is required.
AIFF files
AIFF stands for Audio Interchange File Format, a standard defined by Apple Inc. AIFF 
files have the extension “.aif” and are used on most computer platforms.
For AIFF files the following options are available:
!Note that the Wave 64 file format is the only format that allows you to export files with 
a resulting size of more than 2
 GB.
OptionDescription
Insert Broadcast 
Wave ChunkThis allows you to include information about the date and time of 
creation, a timecode position (allowing you to insert exported audio 
at the correct position in other projects, etc.) along with author, 
description and reference text strings in the exported file.
Some applications may not be able to handle files with embedded 
info – if you get problems using the file in another application, 
deactivate the option and re-export.
Edit buttonBy clicking this button, the “Broadcast Wave Chunk” dialog opens, 
where you can enter additional information that will be embedded in 
the exported files. Note that in the Preferences dialog (Record–
Audio–Broadcast Wave page) you can enter default text strings for 
author, description and reference that will automatically be 
displayed in the “Broadcast Wave Chunk” dialog. 
						

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Export Audio MixdownThe available file formats
AIFC files
AIFC stands for Audio Interchange File Format Compressed, a standard defined by 
Apple Inc. These files support compression ratios as high as 6:1 and contain tags in 
the header. AIFC files have the extension “.aifc” and are used on most computer 
platforms. 
AIFC files support the same options as AIFF files.
Wave files
Wave files have the extension “.wav” and are the most common file format on the PC 
platform. 
Wave files support the same options as AIFF files and have one additional option:
•Don’t Use Wave Extensible Format
The Wave Extensible format contains additional metadata, such as the speaker 
configuration. It is an extension to the normal Wave format that some applications 
may not be able to handle. 
 
If you get problems using the Wave file in another application, activate this option 
and re-export.
Wave 64 files
Wave 64 is a proprietary format developed by Sonic Foundry Inc. In terms of audio 
quality, Wave 64 files are identical to standard Wave files, but in the file headers 
Wave 64 files use 64-bit values for addressing where Wave files use 32-bit values. 
The consequence of this is that Wave 64 files can be considerably larger than 
standard Wave files. Wave 64 is therefore a good file format choice for really long 
recordings (file sizes over 2
 GB). Wave 64 files have the extension “.w64”.
Wave 64 files support the same options as AIFF files.
Broadcast Wave files
Broadcast Wave files are Wave files with additional meta data. To create a Broadcast 
Wave file, select either Wave or Wave 64 as the file format and activate the Insert 
Broadcast Wave Chunk option. Click Edit if you wish to edit the chunk information, 
otherwise the defaults as specified in the Preferences dialog (Record–Audio–
Broadcast Wave page) will be used. Broadcast Wave files have the extension “.wav”.
Broadcast Wave files support the same options as Wave files.
Insert iXML ChunkThis allows you to include additional project-related metadata (e. g. 
project name, author and project frame rate) in the exported file.
Some applications may not be able to handle files with embedded 
info – if you get problems using the file in another application, 
deactivate the option and re-export.
Note: In the Project Setup dialog you will find the fields Author and 
Company that you can use to include the corresponding data in the 
iXML chunk. These fields are also available in the Preferences 
dialog (General–Personalization page). 
Insert Tempo 
DefinitionThis option is only available if “Insert iXML Chunk” is activated. 
When “Insert Tempo Definition” is activated, tempo information 
from the tempo track or the Definition tab of the Sample Editor is 
included in the iXML chunk of exported files. This is useful if you 
want to use the files in other projects where they need to adapt to 
the project tempo.
Option Description 
						

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Export Audio MixdownThe available file formats
FLAC files
Free Lossless Audio Codec files are audio files that are typically 50 to 60 % smaller 
than regular Wave files, for example. FLAC is an open source format. 
Use the Compression Level fader to select the compression level for the FLAC file. 
Since FLAC is a lossless format, the level has more influence on the encoding speed 
than on the file size. The default level is 5. 
MPEG 1 Layer 3 files
MPEG 1 Layer 3 files have the extension “.mp3”. By use of advanced audio 
compression algorithms, MP3 files can be made very small, yet maintaining good 
audio quality.
In the File Format section, the following options are available for MPEG 1 Layer 3 files:
Ogg Vorbis files
Ogg Vorbis is an open source, patent-free audio encoding and streaming technology, 
offering compressed audio files (extension “.ogg”) of small size, but with 
comparatively high audio quality.
In the File Format section you will find only one setting: the Quality fader. The Ogg 
Vorbis encoder uses variable bit rate encoding, and the Quality setting determines 
between which limits the bit rate will vary. Generally speaking, the higher the Quality 
setting, the higher the sound quality but also the larger the files.
OptionDescription
Bit Rate faderBy moving this fader, you can select a bit rate for the MP3 file. As 
a rule, the higher the bit rate, the better the audio quality and the 
larger the file. For stereo audio, 128
 kBit/s is often considered to 
result in “good” audio quality.
Sample Rate pop-up 
menuOn this pop-up menu you can select a Sample Rate for the MP3 
file.
High Quality Mode 
optionWhen this is activated, the encoder will use a different resampling 
mode, which can give better results depending on your settings. In 
this mode, you cannot specify the Sample Rate, but only the Bit 
Rate for the MP3 file.
Insert ID3 Tag optionThis allows you to include ID3 Tag information in the exported file. 
Edit ID3 Tag buttonWhen you click this, the ID3 Tag dialog opens, in which you can 
enter information about the file. This additional information will be 
embedded as text strings in the file, and can be displayed by most 
mp3 playback applications. 
						

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Export Audio MixdownThe available file formats
Windows Media Audio Pro files (Windows only) 
This is a continuation of the Windows Media Audio format developed by Microsoft Inc. 
Due to the advanced audio codecs and lossless compression used, WMA Pro files 
can be decreased in size with no loss of audio quality. Furthermore, WMA Pro 
features the possibility of mixing down to 5.1 surround sound. The files have the 
extension “.wma”.
When you select “Windows Media Audio File” as the file format, you can click the 
“Codec Settings…” button to open the “Windows Media Audio File Settings” window.
Note that the configuration options may vary, depending on the chosen output 
channels. 
General tab
In the Input Stream section, you set the sample rate (44.1, 48 or 96 kHz) and the bit 
resolution (16
 bit or 24 bit) of the encoded file. Set these to match the sample rate and 
bit resolution of the source material. If no value matches that of your source material, 
use the closest available value that is higher than the actual value. For example, if you 
are using 20
 bit source material, set the bit resolution to 24 bit rather than 16 bit.
ÖThe setting in the Channels field depends on the chosen output and cannot be 
changed manually. 
The settings in the Encoding Scheme section are used for defining the desired output 
from the encoder, e.
 g. a stereo or a 5.1 surround file. Make settings appropriate for 
the intended use of the file. If the file will be downloaded or streamed on the internet, 
you might not want too high bit rates, for example. See below for descriptions of the 
options.
•Mode pop-up menu
The WMA Pro encoder can use either a constant bit rate or a variable bit rate for 
encoding to 5.1 surround, or it can use lossless encoding for encoding to stereo. The 
options on this menu are as follows:
ModeDescription
Constant BitrateThis will encode to a 5.1 surround file with a constant bit rate (set 
in the Bit Rate/Channels menu, see below). Constant bit rate is 
preferably used if you want to limit the size of the final file. The size 
of a file encoded with a constant bit rate is always the bit rate times 
the duration of the file.
Variable BitrateEncodes to a 5.1 surround file with a variable bit rate, according to 
a quality scale (the desired quality is set in the Bit Rate/Quality 
menu, see below). When you encode with variable bit rates, the bit 
rate fluctuates depending on the character and intricacy of the 
material being encoded. The more complex passages in the 
source material, the higher the bit rate – and the larger the final file.
LosslessEncodes to a stereo file with lossless compression.  
						

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Export Audio MixdownThe available file formats
•Bit Rate/Quality pop-up menu
This menu allows you to set the desired bit rate. The available bit rate settings vary 
depending on the selected mode and/or output channels (see above). If the Variable 
Bitrate mode is used, the menu allows you to select from various levels of quality, with 
10 being the lowest and 100 the highest. Generally, the higher the bitrate or quality 
you select, the larger the final file will be. The menu also shows the channel format 
(5.1 or stereo). 
Advanced tab
•Dynamic Range Control
These controls allow you to define the dynamic range of the encoded file. The dynamic 
range is the difference in dB between the average loudness and the peak audio level 
(the loudest sounds) of the audio. These settings affect how the audio is reproduced if 
the file is played on a Windows computer with a player from the Windows Media series, 
and the “Quiet Mode” feature of the player is activated to control the dynamic range.
The dynamic range is automatically calculated during the encoding process, but you 
can specify it manually as well.
To manually specify the dynamic range, first put a checkmark in the box to the left by 
clicking in it, and then enter the desired dB values in the Peak and Average fields. You 
can enter any value between 0 and -90
 dB. Note, however, that it is usually not 
recommended to change the Average value, since this affects the overall volume level 
of the audio and therefore can have a negative effect on the audio quality.
The Quiet Mode in a Windows Media player can be set to one of three settings. 
Below, these settings are listed together with an explanation of how the Dynamic 
Range settings affect them:
- Off: If Quiet Mode is off, the dynamic range settings that were automatically 
calculated during the encoding will be used.
- Little Difference: If this is selected and you have not manually changed the dynamic 
range settings, the peak level will be limited to 6
 dB above the average level during 
playback. If you have manually specified the dynamic range, the peak level will be 
limited to the mean value between the peak and average values you specified.
- Medium Difference: If this is selected and you have not manually changed the 
dynamic range settings, the peak level will be limited to 12
 dB above the average 
level. If you have changed the dynamic range, the peak level will be limited to the 
peak value you specified.
•Surround Reduction Coefficients
Here you can specify which amount of volume reduction, if any, is applied to the 
different channels in a surround encoding. These settings affect how the audio is 
reproduced on a system incapable of playing back the file in surround, in which case 
the surround channels of the file will be combined into two channels and played back 
in stereo instead.
The default values should produce satisfactory results, but you can change the values 
manually if you wish. You can enter any value between 0 and -144
 dB for the surround 
channels, the center channel, the left and right channels and the LFE channel, 
respectively.
Media tab
In these fields you can enter a number of text strings with information about the file – 
title, author, copyright information and a description of its contents. This information 
will then be embedded in the file header and can be displayed by some Windows 
Media Audio playback applications.
ÖFor more information about surround sound and encoding, see the chapter “Surround 
sound (Cubase only)” on page 266. 
						

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Synchronization
Background
What is synchronization?
Synchronization is the process of getting two or more devices to play back together at 
the same exact speed and position. These devices can range from audio and video 
tape machines to digital audio workstations, MIDI sequencers, synchronization 
controllers, and digital video devices.
Synchronization basics
There are three basic components of audio/visual synchronization: position, speed, 
and phase. If these parameters are known for a particular device (the master), then a 
second device (the slave) can have its speed and position “resolved” to the first in 
order to have the two devices play in perfect sync with one another.
Position
The position of a device is represented by either samples (audio word clock), video 
frames (timecode), or musical bars and beats (MIDI clock).
Speed
The speed of a device is measured either by the frame rate of the timecode, the 
sample rate (audio word clock) or by the tempo of the MIDI clock (bars and beats).
Phase
Phase is the alignment of the position and speed components to each other. In other 
words, each pulse of the speed component should be aligned with each 
measurement of the position for the most accuracy. Each frame of timecode should 
be perfectly lined up with the correct sample of audio. Put simply, phase is the very 
precise position of a synchronized device relative to the master (sample accuracy).
Machine control 
When two or more devices are synchronized, the question remains: how do we 
control the entire system? We need to be able to locate to any position, play, record, 
and even jog and scrub the entire system using one set of controls.
Machine control is an integral part of any synchronization setup. In many cases, the 
device simply called “the master” will control the whole system. However, the term 
“master” can also refer to the device that is generating the position and speed 
references. Care must be taken to differentiate between the two.