Steinberg Cubase Studio 4 Operation Manual Studio Manual

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The Project Browser
The list columns for MIDI parts:
ÖFor SysEx (system exclusive) events, you can only edit 
the position (Start) in the list.
However, clicking the Comment column opens the SysEx Editor, in which 
you can perform detailed editing of system exclusive events. For a descrip-
tion of this, see “Working with System Exclusive messages” on page 390.
Filtering MIDI events
When you are editing MIDI in the Project Browser, the 
large number of different MIDI events displayed can make 
it hard to find your way. To remedy this, the Filter pop-up 
menu allows you to select a single event type for display.
When this option is selected, only Program Change events will be 
shown in the event display. To show all event types, select the top
item (“---”) from the menu.
Creating MIDI parts
When a MIDI track is selected in the Project Structure list, 
you can create empty MIDI parts on the track by clicking 
the Add button. This will insert a part between the left and 
right locator.
Creating MIDI events
You can use the Project Browser to create new MIDI 
events:
1.Select a MIDI part in the Project Structure list.
2.Move the project cursor to the desired position for the 
new event.
3.Use the Add pop-up above the event display to select 
which type of MIDI event to add.
4.Click the Add button.
An event of the selected type is added to the part, at the project cursor 
position. If the cursor is outside the selected part, the event is added at 
the beginning of the part.
Editing Automation tracks
All kinds of Cubase automation (the automation subtracks 
for MIDI, instrument, audio, group and FX channel tracks 
or the individual automation tracks for VST Instruments, 
ReWire channels or Input/Output busses) are handled in 
the same way in the Project Browser. Each Automation 
item in the Project Structure list will have a number of sub-
entries, one for each automated parameter. Selecting one 
of these parameters in the Project Structure list shows its 
automation events in the list:
You can use the two columns in the list to edit the position 
of the events and their values.
Parameter Description
Name The name of the part.
Start The start position of the part. Editing this value is the 
same as moving the part.
End The end position of the part. Changing this is the same as 
resizing the part (and will automatically affect the Length 
value as well).
Length The length of the part. Changing this resizes the part and 
automatically changes the End value.
Offset This adjusts the start position of the events within the 
part. Adjusting this value is the same as sliding the con-
tents of the part in the Project window (see “Sliding the 
contents of an event or part” on page 50). Setting a pos-
itive Offset value is the same as sliding the contents to 
the left, while a negative Offset corresponds to sliding 
the contents to the right.
Mute Click in this column to mute or unmute the part. 
						

							412
The Project Browser
Editing the Video track
When the Video track is selected in the Project Structure 
list, the event display lists the video events on the track, 
with the following parameters:
Editing the Marker track
Marker events have the following parameters:
When the Marker track is selected, you can insert markers 
by selecting “Marker” or “Cycle Marker” from the Add 
pop-up menu and clicking the Add button. Regular mark-
ers will be added at the current project cursor position 
while cycle markers will be added between the current left 
and right locator positions.
Editing the Tempo track
When the Tempo track is selected in the Project Structure 
list, the event display shows the events on the Tempo 
track, with the following parameters:
You can add new Tempo events by clicking the Add button. 
This creates a jump-type event with the value 120 bpm at 
the project cursor position. Make sure that there is no other 
tempo event at the current cursor position.
Editing Time Signatures
When “Signature track” is selected in the Project Struc-
ture list, the event display shows the Time Signature 
events in the project:
You can add new Time Signature events by clicking the 
Add button. This creates a 4/4 event, at the beginning of 
the bar closest to the project cursor position. Make sure 
that there is no other time signature event at the current 
cursor position.
Deleting Events
The procedure for deleting Events is the same for all dif-
ferent track types:
1.Click on an event (or a part) in the Event display to se-
lect it.
2.Select Delete from the Edit menu or press [Delete] or 
[Backspace].
Column Description
Name The name of the video clip that the event refers to.
Start  The start position of the event. Editing this value is the 
same as moving the event.
End The end position of the event. Editing this value is the 
same as resizing the event, and will automatically change 
the Length value as well.
Length The length of the event. Editing this value is the same as 
resizing the event, and will automatically change the End 
value as well.
Offset This determines “where in the video clip” the event starts.
Note that the event cannot start before the start of the 
clip, or end after the end of the clip. Thus, if the event al-
ready plays the whole video clip, the Offset cannot be 
adjusted at all.
Column Description
Name The name of the marker. This can be edited for all mar-
kers except the left and right locator.
Start The position of “regular” markers or the start position of 
cycle markers.
End  The end positions of cycle markers. Editing this value is 
the same as resizing the cycle marker, and will automati-
cally change the Length value as well.
Length  The length of cycle markers. Editing this value is the same 
as resizing the marker, and will automatically change the 
End value as well.
ID The number of the marker. For regular (non-cycle) mar-
kers, this corresponds to the key commands used for 
navigating to the markers. For example, if a marker has 
ID 3, pressing [Shift]+[3] on the computer keyboard will 
move the song position to that marker. By editing these 
values, you can assign the most important markers to key 
commands.
Note that you cannot edit the “L” and “R” marker IDs (left 
and right locator) or assign IDs 1 and 2 to markers (since 
these are reserved for the locators).Parameter Description
Position The position of the Tempo event. You cannot move the 
first event on the Tempo track.
Tempo The tempo value of the event.
Type This indicates whether the tempo should jump to the 
value of the event (“Jump” type) or whether it should 
change gradually from the previous Tempo event, creat-
ing a ramp (“Ramp” type). See “Editing the tempo curve” 
on page 397.
Parameter Description
Position The position of the event. Note that you cannot move the 
first Time Signature event.
Signature The value (time signature) of the event. 
!Note that you cannot delete the first Tempo event or 
the first Time Signature event. 
						

							33
Export Audio Mixdown 
						

							414
Export Audio Mixdown
Introduction
The Export Audio Mixdown function in Cubase allows you 
to mix down audio from the program to a file on your hard 
disk, in a number of formats. You can choose to mix down 
one of the following:
An output bus.
For example, if you have set up a stereo mix with tracks routed to a stereo 
output bus, mixing down that output bus would give you a mixdown file 
containing the whole mix. Similarly, you can mix down a complete surround 
bus, either to a single multi-channel file or to one file per surround channel 
(by activating the split channels option).
The channel for an audio track (Cubase only).
This will mix down the channel for the track, complete with insert effects, 
EQ, etc. This can be useful for turning a number of events into a single file, 
or if you are using CPU-intensive insert effects – by exporting the track and 
re-importing it into the project you can turn off the insert effect, saving pro-
cessor power.
Any kind of audio channel in the mixer (Cubase only).
This includes VST Instrument channels, effect return channels (FX Chan-
nel tracks), Group channels and ReWire channels. There are many uses 
for this – for example, you can mix down an effect return track or turn in-
dividual ReWire channels into audio files.
Notes
The Export Audio Mixdown function mixes down the 
area between the left and right locators.
When you mix down, you get what you hear – mutes, 
mixer settings and insert effects are taken into account.
Note though that you will only include the sound of the bus or channel 
you select for mixdown.
MIDI tracks are not included in the mixdown!
To make a complete mixdown containing both MIDI and audio, you first 
need to record all your MIDI music to audio tracks (by connecting the 
outputs of your MIDI instruments to your audio inputs and recording, as 
with any other sound source).
A single instrument track can be directly exported as an 
audio mixdown.
You can also export selected tracks – this is a different 
function that doesn’t create an audio mixdown.
Rather, this is a way to transfer complete tracks (including clips and 
events) from one project to another. See “Importing audio” on page 454.
Mixing down to an audio file
1.Set up the left and right locators to encompass the 
area that you want to mix down.
2.Set up your tracks, so that they play back the way you 
want.
This includes muting unwanted tracks or parts, making manual mixer set-
tings and/or activating the R (Read) automation buttons for some or all 
mixer channels.
3.Pull down the File menu and select “Audio Mixdown…” 
from the Export submenu.
The Export Audio Mixdown dialog appears.
The available settings and options differ depending on the 
selected file format (see “The available file formats” on 
page 415).
4.In the File Location section at the top you can specify 
a name and path for the mixdown file.
Note that there are a number of options:
 Click the Options/Functions button to the right of the File 
Name field to open a pop-up menu.
 Select an entry from the Recent Paths sub-menu to reuse a 
path specified for a previous export.
 Select “Set File Name to Project Name” to use the project 
name for the export file.
 Enable the “Auto Update File Name” option (so that a check 
mark is displayed before it) to add a number to the specified 
file name every time you click the Export button. 
						

							415
Export Audio Mixdown
 Activate the option “Use Project Audio Folder” to specify a 
path. This saves the mixdown file in the Project Audio folder.
5.Select a file format with the File Format pop-up menu.
6.Select the bus or channel you want to mix down with 
the Outputs pop-up menu in the “Audio Engine Output” 
section.
This lists all output busses and channels in the active project.
7.Activate the Split Channels option if you want to ex-
port all channels as mono files, or “Mono Export” if you 
want to export all channels as a single mono file. 
8.Make additional settings for the file to be created.
This includes selecting sample rate, bit depth, etc. The available options 
depend on the selected file format – see “The available file formats” on 
page 415.
9.If you want to automatically import the resulting audio 
file back into Cubase, activate the checkboxes in the “Im-
port into project” section.
If you activate the “Pool” checkbox, a clip referring to the file will appear 
in the Pool. Activating the “Audio Track” checkbox as well, will create an 
audio event that plays the clip, and place it on a new audio track, starting 
at the left locator.
ÖThe Import options are only available if you have se-
lected an uncompressed file format.
10.If you activate Real-Time Export, the export will happen 
in real time, i.e. the process will take the same time as reg-
ular playback.
Some VST plug-ins require this in order to have enough time to update 
correctly during the mixdown – consult the plug-in manufacturers if un-
certain.
Cubase only: When Real-Time Export is activated, the 
exported audio will be played back via the Control Room.
The fader below the Real-Time Export checkbox allows you to adjust the 
Control Room volume. Note that if the Control Room is deactivated, the 
Audition Volume slider will not be available.
11.If you activate Update Display, the meters will be up-
dated during the export process.
This allows you to check for clipping, for example.
12.Click Export.
A dialog with a progress bar is displayed while the audio file 
is created. If you change your mind during the file creation, 
you can click the Abort button to abort the operation.
If the option “Close dialog after export” is activated, the 
dialog will be closed, otherwise it will be left open.If you have activated any of the “Import into project” op-
tions, the file will be imported back into the project.
When playing back the re-imported file in Cubase, remember to mute the 
original tracks so that you really hear the correct file.
About the Import options dialog
When you activate any of the options in the Import sec-
tion, the Import Options dialog will open. For a detailed 
description of the options in this dialog see “Import Me-
dium…” on page 279. 
The available file formats
The following pages describe the different export file for-
mats, as well as their options and settings.
 AIFF files (see “AIFF files” on page 415).
 AIFC files (see “AIFC files” on page 416).
 Wave files (see “Wave files” on page 416).
 Wave 64 files (Cubase only, see “Wave64 files (Cubase 
only)” on page 417).
 Broadcast Wave files (see “Broadcast Wave files” on page 
417).
 MP3 files (Cubase only, see “MPEG 1 Layer 3 files (Cubase 
only)” on page 417).
 Ogg Vorbis files (see “Ogg Vorbis files” on page 418).
 Windows Media Audio Pro files (Windows only, see “Win-
dows Media Audio Pro files (Windows only)” on page 418).
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:
Option Description
File Name
(File Location 
section)In this field you can enter a name for the mixdown file.
Path
(File Location 
section)Here you can specify a path where you want the mix-
down to be saved. 
Use Project 
Audio Folder
(File Location 
section)If you activate this option, the mixdown file is saved in 
the Project Audio folder, as opposed to the specified 
path.
File Format pop-
up menu (File 
Format section)From this pop-up menu you can select the file format 
for the export, in this case “AIFF File”. 
						

							416
Export Audio Mixdown
AIFC files
AIFC stands for Audio Interchange File Format Com-
pressed, a standard defined by Apple Inc. These files sup-
port 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.
Insert Broadcast 
Wave Chunk 
(File Format
section)This 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 refer-
ence 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, turn off the option and re-export.
Edit button (File 
Format section)By clicking this button the “Broadcast Wave Chunk” 
dialog opens where you can enter additional informa-
tion that will be embedded in the exported files. Note 
that in the Preferences (Record–Audio–Broadcast 
Wave page) you can enter default text strings for au-
thor, description and reference that will automatically 
be displayed in the “Broadcast Wave Chunk” dialog.
Outputs pop-up 
menu (Audio 
Engine Output 
section)This menu lists all output busses and channels in the 
active project. Simply select the bus or channel you 
want to mix down.
Mono Export 
(Audio Engine 
Output section)If you activate this option, the exported audio is mixed 
down to mono.
Split Channels 
(Audio Engine 
Output section)Activate this option if you want to export all channels 
as mono files.
Real-Time 
Export (Audio 
Engine Output 
section)If you activate this option, the export will happen in real 
time, i.e. the process will take the same time as regular 
playback. Some VST plug-ins require this in order to 
have enough time to update correctly during the mix-
down – consult the plug-in manufacturers if uncertain. 
Cubase: When Real-Time Export is activated, the ex-
ported audio will be played back via the Control Room.
Update Display
(Audio Engine 
Output section)If you activate this option, the meters will be updated 
during the export process. This allows you to check for 
clipping, for example. 
Sample Rate 
(Audio Engine 
Output section)This setting determines the frequency range of the ex-
ported 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 qual-
ity (mainly reducing the high frequency content) and a 
higher sample rate will only increase the file size, with-
out adding to audio quality. Also consider the future 
usage of the file – if you e.g. plan to import the file into 
another application, 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. Option DescriptionBit Depth 
(Audio Engine 
Output section)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 rec-
ommend that you select the 32 bit (float) option.
32 bit (float) is a very high resolution (the same resolu-
tion 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, you should 
use the 16 bit option, as CD audio is always 16 bit.
In this case, we recommend that you activate the UV-
22HR dithering plug-in (see the separate manual 
“Plug-in Reference” for details). This reduces the ef-
fects of quantization noise and artifacts from being in-
troduced when converting the audio down to 16 bit.
8 bit resolution should only be used if required, since it 
will result in limited audio quality. 8 bit audio may be 
suitable in some multimedia applications, etc.
Audition Volume 
fader (Audio 
Engine Output 
section)Cubase: The fader below the Real-Time Export check-
box allows you to adjust the Control Room volume. 
Note that this fader is only available if the Control 
Room is activated.
Pool (Import into 
project section)Activate this option if you want to import the resulting 
audio file automatically back into the Pool. A clip refer-
ring to the file will appear in the Pool. 
If this option is activated, the Import Options dialog ap-
pears on export. For a description of the available set-
tings, see “Import Medium…” on page 279.
Audio Track 
(Import into 
project section)If you activate this option, an audio event that plays the 
clip will be created and placed on a new audio track, 
starting at the left locator.
If this option is activated, the Import Options dialog ap-
pears on export. For a description of the available set-
tings, see “Import Medium…” on page 279.
Close dialog 
after exportIf this option is activated, the dialog will be closed after 
the export, otherwise it will be left open. Option Description 
						

							417
Export Audio Mixdown
Wave64 files (Cubase only)
Wave64 is a proprietary format developed by Sonic 
Foundry Inc. In terms of audio quality, Wave64 files are 
identical to standard wave files, but in the file headers 
Wave64 files use 64-bit values for addressing where wave 
files use 32-bit values. The consequence of this is that 
Wave64 files can be considerably larger than standard 
Wave files. Wave64 is therefore a good file format choice 
for really long recordings (file sizes over 2 GB), e.g. live sur-
round recordings. Wave64 files have the extension “.w64”.
Wave64 files support the same options as AIFF files.
Broadcast Wave files
Concerning audio, Broadcast Wave files are the same as 
regular Wave or Wave64 files, but without compression. To 
create a Broadcast Wave file, select either Wave or 
Wave64 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 Pref-
erences (Record–Audio–Broadcast Wave page) will be 
used. Broadcast Wave files have the extension “.wav”.
Broadcast Wave files support the same options as AIFF 
files.
MPEG 1 Layer 3 files (Cubase only)
MPEG 1 Layer 3 files have the extension “.mp3”. By use of 
advanced audio compression algorithms, mp3 files can be 
made very small, maintaining good audio quality.
For MPEG 1 Layer 3 files the following options are avail-
able:
Option Description
File Name
(File Location 
section)In this field you can enter a name for the mixdown file.
Path
(File Location 
section)Here you can specify a path where you want the mix-
down to be saved. 
Use Project 
Audio Folder
(File Location 
section)If you activate this option, the mixdown file is saved in 
the Project Audio folder, as opposed to the specified 
path.
File Format pop-
up menu (File 
Format section)From this pop-up menu you can select the file format 
for the export.
Bit Rate fader 
(File Format 
section)By 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 (File 
Format section)In this pop-up menu you can select a Sample Rate for 
the mp3 file.
Insert ID3 Tag 
option (File 
Format section)This allows you to include ID3 Tag information in the 
exported file. 
Edit ID3 Tag 
button (File
Format section)When you click this, the ID3 Tag dialog opens, in 
which you can enter information about the file. This ad-
ditional information will be embedded as text strings in 
the file, and can be displayed by some mp3 playback 
applications.
Outputs pop-up 
menu (Audio 
Engine Output 
section)This menu lists all output busses and channels in the 
active project. Simply select the bus or channel you 
want to mix down.
Mono Export 
(Audio Engine 
Output section)If you activate this option, the exported audio is mixed 
down to mono.
Split Channels 
(Audio Engine 
Output section)Activate this option if you want to export all channels 
as mono files.
Real-Time 
Export (Audio 
Engine Output 
section)If you activate this option, the export will happen in real 
time, i.e. the process will take the same time as regular 
playback. Some VST plug-ins require this in order to 
have enough time to update correctly during the mix-
down – consult the plug-in manufacturers if uncertain. 
Cubase: When Real-Time Export is activated, the ex-
ported audio will be played back via the Control Room.
Update Display
(Audio Engine 
Output section)If you activate this option, the meters will be updated 
during the export process. This allows you to check for 
clipping, for example. 
Audition Volume 
fader (Audio 
Engine Output 
section)Cubase: The fader below the Real-Time Export check-
box allows you to adjust the Control Room volume. 
Note that this fader is available only if the Control 
Room is activated.
Close dialog 
after exportIf this option is activated, the dialog will be closed after 
the export, otherwise it will be left open. Option Description 
						

							418
Export Audio Mixdown
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.
For Ogg Vorbis files the following options are available:
Other file formats
Steinberg also offers optional Dolby Digital (AC3) and 
DTS encoders for export directly to AC3 or DTS format 
(Cubase only). Please go to www.steinberg.net for more 
information.
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 co-
decs and lossless compression used, WMA Pro files can 
be decreased in size with no loss of audio quality. Further-
more, WMA Pro features the possibility of mixing down to 
5.1 surround sound. The files have the extension “.wma”.
Exporting a WMA mixdown
ÖDepending on the chosen output, not all options may 
be shown.
Option Description
File Name
(File Location 
section)In this field you can enter a name for the mixdown file.
Path
(File Location 
section)Here you can specify a path where you want the mix-
down to be saved. 
Use Project 
Audio Folder
(File Location 
section)If you activate this option, the mixdown file is saved in 
the Project Audio folder, as opposed to the specified 
path.
File Format pop-
up menu (File 
Format section)From this pop-up menu you can select the file format 
for the export.
Quality fader 
(File Format 
section)The Ogg Vorbis encoder uses variable bit rate encod-
ing, 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.
Outputs pop-up 
menu (Audio 
Engine Output 
section)This menu lists all output busses and channels in the 
active project. Simply select the bus or channel you 
want to mix down.
Mono Export 
(Audio Engine 
Output section)If you activate this option, the exported audio is mixed 
down to mono.
Split Channels 
(Audio Engine 
Output section)Activate this option if you want to export all channels 
as mono files.
Real-Time 
Export (Audio 
Engine Output 
section)If you activate this option, the export will happen in real 
time, i.e. the process will take the same time as regular 
playback. Some VST plug-ins require this in order to 
have enough time to update correctly during the mix-
down – consult the plug-in manufacturers if uncertain. 
Cubase: When Real-Time Export is activated, the ex-
ported audio will be played back via the Control Room.
Update Display
(Audio Engine 
Output section)If you activate this option, the meters will be updated 
during the export process. This allows you to check for 
clipping, for example. 
Audition Volume 
fader (Audio 
Engine Output 
section)Cubase: The fader below the Real-Time Export check-
box allows you to adjust the Control Room volume. 
Note that this fader is available only if the Control 
Room is activated.
Close dialog
after exportIf this option is activated, the dialog will be closed after 
the export, otherwise it will be left open. 
						

							419
Export Audio Mixdown
The following options are available:
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. These should be set 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. E.g. if you’re 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 cho-
sen 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. whether 
it should be a stereo file or a 5.1 surround file. Make set-
tings 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 de-
scriptions of the options.
Mode
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:
Bit Rate/Quality
This menu allows you to set the desired bit rate. The avail-
able bit rate settings vary depending on the selected 
mode and/or output channels (see above). If the Mode 
“Variable Bitrate” is used (see above), the menu allows you to select from various levels of desired 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 af-
fect how the audio is reproduced if the file is played on a 
Windows XP computer with a player from the Windows 
Media series, and the user activates the special “Quiet 
Mode” feature of the player to control the dynamic range.
The dynamic range is automatically calculated during the 
encoding process, but you can specify it manually as well.
If you want 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 it affects the overall vol-
ume level of the audio and therefore can affect the audio 
quality adversely.
The Quiet Mode in a Windows Media player can be set to 
one of three settings. Below, these settings are listed to-
gether with an explanation of how the Dynamic Range set-
tings 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 manu-
ally 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.
Mode Description
Constant Bitrate This will encode to a 5.1 surround file with a constant 
bit rate (set in the Bit Rate/Channels menu, see be-
low). 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 Bitrate Encodes 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/Channels menu, see below). When you 
encode with variable bit rates, the bit rate fluctuates 
depending on the character and intricacy of the mate-
rial being encoded. The more complex passages in the 
source material, the higher the bit rate – and the larger 
the final file.
Lossless Encodes to a stereo file with lossless compression. 
						

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Export Audio Mixdown
Surround Reduction Coefficients
Here you can specify which amount of volume reduction, if 
any, should be applied to the different channels in a sur-
round encoding. These settings affect how the audio is re-
produced 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 will normally produce satisfactory re-
sults, 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 informa-
tion 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 en-
coding, see the chapter “Surround sound  (Cubase only)” 
on page 195.