Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual

							CUBASE SX/SLExport Audio Mixdown 27 – 661
•Cubase SX: When Real-Time Export is activated, the exported audio 
will be played back on the Audition bus.
The fader below the Real-Time Export checkbox allows you to adjust the volume of the 
Audition bus.
10.If you activate Update Display, the meters will be updated during the 
export process.
This allows you to check for clipping, for example.
11.Select a folder and a name for the audio file to be created.
• With some file formats you can create split stereo files (see page 663). 
This will create two files (one for each side) with the same name, but 
with the letter “L” appended for the left channel file and “R” for the right 
channel file.
In the same way, split multi-channel (surround) files (Cubase SX only) will have the 
same name followed by a number indicating the surround channel.
12.Click Save.
•Depending on the file format, an additional dialog may appear.
For example, when exporting to MP3 format a dialog appears where you can add info 
about the song title, artist, etc. Make the desired settings and click OK to proceed.
A dialog with a progress bar is displayed while the audio file is cre-
ated. If you change your mind during the file creation, you can click the 
Abort button to abort the operation.
•If you have activated any of the “Import to” options, the file will be im-
ported back into the project.
When playing back the re-imported file in Cubase SX/SL, remember to mute the orig-
inal tracks so that you really hear the true result. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL27 – 662 Export Audio Mixdown
File format specifics
The following pages describe the different export file formats, and 
their options and settings.
• AIFF files (see page 663).
• Sound Designer II files (Mac OS X and Cubase SX only, see page 665).
• Wave files (see page 665).
• Wave 64 files (Cubase SX only, see page 667).
• Broadcast Wave files (see page 667).
• MP3 files (SX only – upgrade needed for SL users, see page 668).
• Ogg Vorbis files (see page 669).
• Real Audio G2 files (Windows only, see page 670).
• Windows Media Audio files (Windows only, see page 671).
• Windows Media Audio Pro files (Windows and Cubase SX only, see page 672). 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLExport Audio Mixdown 27 – 663
AIFF files
AIFF stands for Audio Interchange File Format, a standard defined by 
Apple Computer Inc. AIFF files have the extension “.aif” and are used 
on most computer platforms. The following settings are available for 
the AIFF export file format:
Channels
Option Description
Mono The audio is mixed down to mono.
Stereo Split Two mono files are created, one for each side of the stereo mix. 
The files will have the name you specify in the dialog, but with “L” 
and “R” added, respectively. Select this format if you plan to use 
the resulting file in another application that doesn’t support stereo 
interleaved files.
If you plan to re-import the file into Cubase SX/SL, we recommend 
that you use the Stereo Interleaved option instead, since Cubase 
SX/SL doesn’t automatically handle stereo split files as one entity.
Stereo Interleaved A stereo audio file is created. This is the recommended stereo op-
tion if you want to re-import the file into Cubase SX/SL.
N. Chan. Split
(Cubase SX only)This is used when you want to export surround channels or mixes 
(busses). Exporting with this option will create a set of mono files, 
with each file containing the audio of one of the surround channels. 
The number and configuration of the channels depends on the for-
mat of the output bus (or channel) you have selected on the Out-
puts pop-up menu.
For example, if you have selected a 5.1 output bus this will result in 
six mono audio files. They will have the name specified in the File 
name field above, followed by a number (1-6).
N. Chan. 
Interleaved
(Cubase SX only)This is used when you want to export surround channels or mixes 
(busses). Exporting with this option will create a single audio file 
containing all surround channels. The number and configuration of 
channels in the interleaved file depends on the format of the output 
bus (or channel) you have selected on the Outputs pop-up menu.
For example, if you have selected a 5.1 output bus this will result in 
a 5.1 audio file (containing six channels). 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL27 – 664 Export Audio Mixdown
Resolution
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 SX/SL, 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 SX/SL), 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 page 
259). 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 will result in limited au-
dio quality.
8 bit audio may be suitable in some multimedia applications, etc.
Sample Rate
This is the sample rate of the exported file. 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, 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.
Broadcast options (embedded information)
AIFF files exported from Cubase SX/SL can have some additional in-
formation embedded: 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.
•If the option “Include Broadcast Options in created AIFF Files” is acti-
vated in the Preferences (Record-Broadcast Wave page), the ex-
ported AIFF file will contain embedded information.
Some applications may not be able to handle AIFF files with embedded info – if you 
get problems using the file in another application, turn off the option and re-export. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLExport Audio Mixdown 27 – 665
•If the option “Show Broadcast Options for AIFF Export” is activated 
on the same page, a dialog will appear when you click Save to export 
the file – use this to enter the desired embedded information.
You can enter default text strings for author, description and reference on the same 
Preferences page – these will automatically appear in the Broadcast Options dialog 
when it appears.
Sound Designer II files (Mac OS X and Cubase SX only)
The SD II format was developed by Digidesign. It is one of the most 
popular audio file formats on the Macintosh, especially for profes-
sional audio work. The following export settings are available:
Channels
Allows you to select mono or stereo files, with the same options as for 
AIFF files (see page 663).
Resolution
The bit resolution of the file, with the same options as for AIFF files 
(see page 664), except that 32-bit (float) files are not supported.
Sample Rate
The options are the same as for AIFF files. See page 664.
Wave files
Wave files have the extension “.wav” and are the most common file 
format on the PC platform. Wave files can be uncompressed or com-
pressed, as described below. For uncompressed Wave files (the most 
common choice), the following settings are available:
Channels
Allows you to select mono, stereo or multi-channel files with the same 
options as for AIFF files (see page 663).
Resolution
The bit resolution of the file, with the same options as for AIFF files 
(see page 664). 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL27 – 666 Export Audio Mixdown
Sample Rate
The options are the same as for AIFF files. See page 664.
Coding (Windows only)
The Coding pop-up menu allows you to select a compression scheme 
for the Wave file, creating smaller files (with a loss of audio quality).
• Which options are available depends on the installed and activated codecs in 
the ACM (Audio Compression Manager) under Windows.
See the operating system documentation for details.
• When a compression option is selected, not all Channels, Resolution and 
Sample Rate options may be available (depending on the selected compres-
sion scheme).
The Attributes pop-up menu displays the currently selected properties for the file.
• For regular, uncompressed Wave files, select “PCM / uncompressed Waves”.
Wave files exported by Cubase SX/SL for Mac OS X are always uncom-
pressed.
Broadcast options (embedded information)
Wave files exported from Cubase SX/SL can have some additional in-
formation embedded: 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.
•If the option “Include Broadcast Options in created WAVE Files” is 
activated in the Preferences (Record-Broadcast Wave page), the ex-
ported Wave file will contain embedded information.
Some applications may not be able to handle Wave files with embedded info – if you 
get problems using the file in another application, turn off the option and re-export.
•If the option “Show Broadcast Options for WAVE Export” is activated 
on the same page, a dialog will appear when you click Save to export 
the file – use this to enter the desired embedded information.
You can enter default text strings for author, description and reference on the same 
Preferences page – these will automatically appear in the Broadcast Options dialog 
when it appears. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLExport Audio Mixdown 27 – 667
Wave64 files (Cubase SX 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 there is one major difference:
•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 2GB), e.g. live surround recordings.
Wave64 files have the same options as regular wave files (see page 
665) and have the extension “.w64”.
•If the option “Show Broadcast Options for WAV64 Export” is activated 
in the Preferences (Record-Broadcast Wave page) a dialog will appear 
when you click Save to export the file.
This allows you to enter information (date and time, description strings etc.) to be em-
bedded in the file. Note that you can enter default text strings for author, description 
and reference on the same Preferences page – these will automatically appear in the 
Broadcast Options dialog when it appears.
Broadcast Wave files
Audio-wise, Broadcast Wave files are the same as regular Wave files. 
They have the same options as Wave files, but there are no Coding 
(compression) options for Broadcast Wave files.
If the option “Show Broadcast Options for Broadcast WAVE Export” 
is activated in the Preferences (Record-Broadcast Wave page) a dia-
log will appear when you click Save to export the file. This allows you 
to enter information to be embedded in the file: date and time of cre-
ation, a timecode position (allowing you to insert exported audio at the 
correct position in other projects, etc.) and author, description and 
reference text strings.
•You can enter default text strings for author, description and reference 
in the Preferences dialog (Record–Broadcast Wave page).
These will automatically appear in the Broadcast Options dialog when it appears.
•If you don’t want to add embedded information, you can deactivate 
“Show Broadcast Options” in the Preferences. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL27 – 668 Export Audio Mixdown
MPEG Layer 3 files (Cubase SX only)
• Cubase SL users can export to MP3 20 times as a “trial” feature (fully 
functional), after which the function is disabled. 
When the MP3 format is selected, a text at the bottom of the Export Audio Mixdown di-
alog shows you how many remaining encodings you have left. 
You can upgrade your Cubase SL copy to include unlimited MP3 encoding by clicking 
the “Order now” link in the lower right corner of the dialog (this takes you to Stein-
berg’s online store on the web – a working internet connection is required).
MPEG 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.
The following options are available for MPEG Layer 3 files:
Channels
Use the radio buttons to select mono or stereo files. This setting affects 
which options are available on the Attributes pop-up menu (see below).
Sample Rate
Determines the frequency range of the audio – the lower the sample 
rate, the lower the highest audible frequency in the audio. This setting 
will also affect which options are available on the Attributes pop-up 
menu, as described below.
Attributes
This pop-up menu allows you to 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.
• Note that the available options on this pop-up menu depend on the 
Channels and Sample Rate settings.
This is because for mono audio and/or low sample rates, there is no point in using the 
highest bit rates – they would simply create larger files without adding to audio quality. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SLExport Audio Mixdown 27 – 669
Quality
These options determine the “depth” of the encoding algorithm and 
thus the quality of the resulting file. In the “Highest” mode, the encod-
ing will take the longest time, while in the “Fast” mode, the audio qual-
ity may be lower. The file size is not affected by these options.
Options
When you click the Save button, an Options dialog opens in which 
you can enter information about the file. This additional information 
(called the ID3 tag) will be embedded as text strings in the file, and 
can be displayed by some mp3 playback applications.
• For the information to be included in the file, you need to activate the 
“Insert Options” checkbox in the dialog.
Ogg Vorbis files
Ogg Vorbis is an open, patent-free audio encoding and streaming 
technology, offering compressed audio files (extension “.ogg”) of small 
size but with comparatively high audio quality.
The following options are available for Ogg Vorbis files:
Channels
Use the radio buttons to select mono or stereo files.
Sample Rate
Determines the frequency range of the audio – the lower the sample 
rate, the lower the highest audible frequency in the audio.
Quality
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. 
						

							CUBASE SX/SL27 – 670 Export Audio Mixdown
Options
When you click the Save button, an Options dialog opens in which you 
can enter information about the file, as when creating mp3 files.
• For the information to be included in the file, you need to activate the 
“Insert Options” checkbox in the dialog.
Real Audio G2 files
Real Audio files (extension “.rm”) allow very high compression rates 
and can therefore be made very small. This makes the format especially 
useful for downloading and streaming multimedia from the internet.
The following options are available for Real Audio files:
Coding and Content
This is where you specify the desired audio quality for the file. In the 
Real Audio G2 format, this information is divided in two pop-up menus: 
Coding (determining the bit rate) and Content (specifying the typical 
audio content – voice, music, etc.).
When you select a Coding/Content, a descriptive text appears in the 
field below the pop-up menu, describing the suitable use of the se-
lected format.
• Note that the choice of mono or stereo is included in the Coding/Content 
options.
Options
When you click the Save button, an Options dialog opens in which you 
can select one or more modes (each explained in the dialog) for the 
file. You can also enter information about the file. These text strings 
will be embedded in the file and can be displayed by some Real Audio 
playback applications.