Steinberg WaveLab 3 Operation Manual

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Proceed as follows:
1.Select “Full cloning (recreate audio files)…”, either from the Edit view : 
Special menu or from the Save special submenu on the File menu.
A dialog appears.
2.Specify a path and file name for the Audio Montage clone.
If you specify a folder that doesn’t exist, it will automatically be created. The cloned audio 
file(s) will be stored in the same folder as the Audio Montage clone.
3.Select one of the “How to recreate audio files” options:
Option Description
Recreate exact audio 
filesThe cloned audio files will be exact copies of the original files. Un-
used ranges are not removed.
Combine optimally all 
audio files into a single 
audio fileAll used ranges in the original audio files are copied and combined 
into a single audio file, to which the clips in the clone will reference. 
The file will get the same name as the Montage clone file.
Note: If the Montage contains both mono and stereo clips, there will 
be two “combined” audio files, one for the mono material and one 
for the stereo material. In this case, the file names will have the suffix 
S (stereo) and M (mono), respectively.
Also, this option is not recommended if clips on different tracks play 
back the same audio files at the same time.
Keep same number of 
files but remove unused 
rangesThe same number of audio files will be created, but any unused 
ranges in the files are removed.  
						

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4.If you later want to be able to lengthen the clips in the cloned Montage, 
you need to specify a clip margins value greater than zero.
This feature allows you to add a specified number of seconds before and after the begin-
ning and end of the clip range in the created audio files. 
This is only relevant if you have selected any other option than the first one 
(“Recreate exact audio files”).
5.If you want the clips in the cloned Montage to have the names of their re-
spective audio file, activate the option “Reset clip names from file names”.
6.If you want the markers in the original audio files to be included in the 
cloned files, activate the option “Copy audio file markers”.
7.Click the Schedule tab to make settings for Priority, Completion, etc.
The options are the same as when using the Render function in the Master Section (see 
“Options on the Schedule tab” on page 242). Note that the process will happen in the 
background, allowing you to continue working in WaveLab (although not with the Montage 
being cloned).
8.Click Clone.
The audio files and the Montage are cloned. When finished, the cloned Montage will appear 
in a new Montage window.
Split files to remove 
unused rangesUnused ranges in the files are removed, but instead of concatenat-
ing the used sections of a file (as with the previous option), the file is 
split when a range is removed.
Create exactly one file 
per clipEvery clip in the Montage clone will reference to a unique file, con-
taining only the audio used in the clip. The files will be named after 
the clips, with the addition of a number if several clips have the 
same name.
Create one file per clip, 
avoid duplicatesAs the previous option, but if two clips use the exact same audio 
range, a common file is created for these clips. Option Description 
						

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Backing up Montages
The Audio Montage has a special backup mechanism, which allows you 
to maintain previous versions of saved Montages, and have the Audio 
Montage automatically saved. It works in the following way:
• Each time you save the Audio Montage, the previously saved version is copied to 
the subfolder “Backup.mon” (in the same folder as the Audio Montage file).
This backup folder is automatically created by WaveLab. The backup files are named 
“Montage_#X”, where “Montage” is the name of the Montage and “X” is a number.
• You can specify how many previous versions you want to keep.
The maximum number of stored backup versions is 1000 (this is possible since Montage 
files are small, containing no audio data). Once the specified number of backups has been 
created, the oldest file will be overwritten each time the Montage is backed up.
This means that the numbers in the backup file names are not related to the 
age of the backup files. Instead, you need to check the dates of the files to 
know which backup is the most recent.
• “Untitled” Montages (that are not yet saved) are also backed up.
The backup files for “Untitled” Montages are saved in the Windows temporary folder, and 
use a number as Montage name, so that the files are called “Y_#X”, where “Y” is a number 
identifying the Montage and “X” is the number of the backup file. Once the Montage is 
saved, these “temporary backup files” can be discarded.
Setting up
You make backup settings in the History view:
1.Select the History view by clicking the History tab.
2.Pull down the History view : Backup menu and select “Backup options…”.
The Backup options dialog appears.
3.Specify how many previous versions you want to keep (0 to 1000), in the 
“Number of backups” field.
Setting this to 0 is the same as turning off the backup for the Montage.  
						

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4.Activate the Auto save checkbox if you want WaveLab to automatically 
save the Montage.
Use the value field to the right to specify how often the automatic save should be done (ev-
ery 5 to every 120 minutes).
5.Click OK to close the dialog.
Opening the previous version
The “Open previous version” function on the History view : Backup menu 
works as follows:
• If there are no unsaved changes in the Audio Montage, the most recent backup 
file is opened in a new window.
If you select the function from an open backup file, the previous backup version is opened, 
etc.
• If the Audio Montage has unsaved changes, the saved Montage file is opened in 
a new window.
This is not the same as “Revert to saved” on the File menu! The difference is that “Revert to 
saved” will close the current (unsaved) Montage and open the last saved version, effectively 
replacing the current Montage, while “Open previous version” will open the saved version in 
a new window, without closing the current, unsaved version.
Using video tracks
To be able to use video tracks, DirectX 9 must be installed.
You can edit audio in sync with video placed on a video track in the Mon-
tage. Video tracks are created from the track pop-up menu, just like audio 
tracks.
Adding video clips to the video track
There are several ways you can add video clips:
•By right-clicking somewhere on the empty video track and selecting “Insert 
file(s)”.
A file dialog opens where you can locate the video clip you wish to insert. The clip will be in-
serted at the cursor position.
•By dragging from the Files view (see “By dragging from the Files view” on 
page 384).
•By copying video clips from another Montage (see “By copying clips from 
another Montage” on page 386). 
						

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Playing back a video clip 
Video clips are displayed as clips on the video track, with thumbnails rep-
resenting the frames in the film. If you start playback, the video is played 
back in the Track view for the video track.
Viewing video clips in the Video view
You can also view the film in the upper Montage pane if you select the 
Video view. Here you can set a number of view options:
•To view the video in full screen mode, press [Shift]+[A]. 
Use this same command to reset the view.
•If you make a selection range in an audio clip that is placed in the same 
time line as the video clip, there will be three visible images in the upper 
pane placed side by side.
The middle display shows the film, and the left and right displays will show still images in the 
video clip relating to the boundaries of your audio selection. You can use [Esc] to toggle 
between showing/hiding the audio selection boundaries.   
						

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The Video view Options menu
There are two items on the Video view : Options menu:
•Play video in track (at cursor).
If this is ticked, the video frames will play back in the Track view at the cursor position. If this 
is off, the frames will be displayed as non-animated thumbnail images.
•No video playback in track when this tab is open.
If both options are ticked, the frames will be displayed as non-animated thumbnail images 
when the Video view is selected, but otherwise play back.
Editing video clips in the Montage
You can perform basic functions like moving the video clip by dragging it 
in the time line, lock the clip position, use Split at cursor, copy and paste, 
etc. All available functions are displayed on the clip speed menu for a 
video clip.
Multichannel operation in the Montage
WaveLab supports the use of up to 8 ASIO inputs and outputs. Using a 
multichannel audio interface with an ASIO driver you can route Montage 
audio tracks to up to 8 separate channel outputs and up to 6 surround out-
puts. You can also record up to 8 channels simultaneously, which automat-
ically creates new tracks in the Montage, one for each recorded channel or 
channel pair. 
Setting up for multichannel operation
To be able to use WaveLab for multichannel/surround projects, you need 
the following:
• An audio card/interface with multiple inputs and outputs (preferably 8).
• You have to select an ASIO driver in the Preferences–Audio device tab. 
						

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The ASIO Audio Connections dialog
You also need to specify how WaveLab’s 8 internal input/output channels 
are connected to your audio card. This is done in the ASIO Audio connec-
tions dialog, which is opened by clicking the “Connections” button in the 
Preferences–Audio device tab.
•The 7 Surround channels are the available surround speaker channels.
Although you cannot use more than 6 surround channels in WaveLab, there are surround 
configurations available that include the mono Surround channel, which is not used in the 6 
channel mode. Hence the 7 available surround channels.
•You configure which Surround channel is connected to which ASIO out-
put by using the ASIO output pop-up menus for each channel.
How you should configure this naturally depends on your surround setup, the number of 
available channels, etc. See below for information regarding channel configurations.
•You can change the names of the WaveLab output channels in this dialog. 
However, these names are only reflected in the program when you have 
selected 8 channel (non-surround) mode.
For the surround modes, the channels are always named after the corresponding Surround 
channel.
•In the Input mapping section you select how the inputs on your audio card 
are mapped to the WaveLab input channels. These can also be renamed, 
and will be reflected in the Recording channels dialog.
See “Preparations” on page 521 for details about selecting recording channels in WaveLab.  
						

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Selecting a channel configuration
You can configure the number of channels to use for each Montage. All 
multichannel (i.e. more than two channels) configurations except 8 chan-
nel mode are surround formats, and are internally assigned to surround 
channels in WaveLab as described previously.
The are two operational modes you can use for multichannel work in 
WaveLab:
•Using a surround configuration.
To access the surround configurations, you must first select DVD-Audio mode on the Edit 
view : Mode menu. In surround mode, tracks can be routed to one or several surround 
channels (Left/Right Front, Center, etc.). WaveLab supports configurations with up to 6 
surround channels (5.1).
•Using the 8 channel configuration.
To access the 8 channel configuration, you must select CD mode on the Edit view : Mode 
menu. In this mode, channels refer to the names of the 8 WaveLab output channels instead 
of the Surround channels. Tracks can be routed to one (mono tracks) or two (stereo tracks) 
of the 8 available output channels – see “About the 8 channel mode” on page 520.
•To select a channel configuration, open the Edit view : Mode menu. On 
this menu, all available channel configurations are shown, but if CD mode 
is selected at the top of the menu, only the stereo and 8 channel configu-
rations are available.
Here, a 6 channel (5.1) surround configuration is selected.  
						

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Which configuration you should select depends on a number of factors:
•The number of outputs available on your audio card.
If you only have 4 outputs on your card, you can only use surround formats with 4 or less 
channels.
•Whether or not you intend to mix the Montage to a surround format.
If not, select normal stereo operation or 8 channel mode which is non-surround oriented, 
see “About the 8 channel mode” on page 520.
•The intended use of the final surround mix.
For example, if you want your mix to be compatible with the most commonly used 5.1 sur-
round set-up, select 6 channel mode.
About the surround channels
As mentioned before, there are 7 surround channels available (you use 
the ASIO Audio Connections dialog to specify how surround channels 
are connected to the outputs on your audio card – see “The ASIO Audio 
Connections dialog” on page 507), 6 of which can be used simulta-
neously. The surround channels are handled as either mono or stereo 
channels in WaveLab, depending on whether the corresponding sur-
round channel is stereo or mono. 
The following surround channels are available for the various multichannel 
configurations:
Surround channel Description
Left/Right front 
(Lf, Rf)Used in all surround configurations. These correspond to standard left/
right stereo speaker positions in front of the listener. You should route 
a stereo track to these channels.
Center (C) This is placed in between the Lf/Rf surround speakers. You should 
route a mono track to this channel.
Low Frequency 
Effects (LFE)The LFE channel is connected to a (often self powered) “subwoofer” 
and provides low frequency content (normally below 120 Hz). It it nor-
mally used to provide special low frequency effects like deep rumbles, 
explosions, etc. For each channel routed to the LFE channel there is a 
low pass filter that allows you to extend or lower the low frequency 
range reproduced by the LFE channel. There are no strict rules for 
where to place the LFE subwoofer, but it is normally placed in an asym-
metrical position beside the Center speaker. You should route a mono 
track to this channel.
Surround (S) This is sometimes referred to as the “back” surround channel, and is 
normally placed in between the Left/Right surround channels. You 
should route a mono track to this channel.
Left/Right Surround These are placed behind the listening position, mirroring the Left/Right 
front speakers. You should route a stereo track to these channels. 
						

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About the “Disable redundant modes” menu option
This is activated by default. On the Edit view : Mode menu you have proba-
bly noticed that some of the surround configurations are greyed out. You 
may also have noticed that in all surround configurations there is a slash “/” 
between some of the channels. If you look closer you can see that the 
greyed out channel configurations actually contain the same surround 
channel assignment as other (available) configurations, but that the slash 
there is placed between different channels. The reason for this is that the 
DVD-Audio specification allows for mixed sample resolutions within the 
same channel configuration, which therefore needs to be divided into two 
separate groups, e.g. the Lf/Rf channel group could have a higher sample 
rate resolution than the other surround channels in the same configuration. 
The slash indicates which channels belong to which group.
However, the use of mixed resolutions is not yet implemented in WaveLab 
so these modes are at the moment “redundant”.
Assigning tracks to output channels
When you select a multichannel configuration, new tracks are not auto-
matically created, you have to create and assign tracks to surround chan-
nels manually. However, when you import a multichannel interleaved 
audio file in the 5.1 format, tracks routed to the corresponding surround 
channels are automatically created, see below.
You select which output(s) a given audio track should be assigned to in 
the Audio dispatching dialog.