Steinberg WaveLab 7 Operation Manual
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6.4 Specific tool windows 167 editor, and loaded via the File menu. To run a script, from within the script window choose Functions >Execute script . For a general description of scripting, see Scripting . For an overview of the scripting lan- guage, see ECMAScript Reference . You can access this dialog from the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace>Specific tool windows >Script . Note: To view trace or log messages when executing scripts that contain the logWin- dow() function, ensure that the Log window is visible and that it's warning filter buttons - are selected. For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Scripting ECMAScript Reference Log window 6.4.10 Groups This specific tool window displays a list of Groups within the current Audio Montage. Groups are a selection of Clips that you can quickly re-select via the Groups window. You can group a number of Clips and nest Groups inside each other. It is also possible to disable individual Groups and color Groups so you can identify them easily. Grouping Clips To create a Group from a number of Clips: 1. Select the Clips you want to group. 2. Make sure you have the Groups window displayed. 3. Select "Group selected clips" from the drop down menu or click the Group icon. 4. Enter a name for the Group in the dialog that appears and click OK. The new Group appears in the Group list. All Clips included in the Group will also have the name of the Group prepended to the Clip names in each track. Clicking on a Group in the Groups window will select all the Clips in your Montage so you can edit them together. Adding Clips to an existing Group If you already have a Group, and want to add one or several more Clips to it: 1. Select the Clips you want to add. 2. In the Groups view, select "Group selected clips", or click the corresponding icon. WaveLab 7
168 Audio Montages 3. In the dialog that appears, select the Group to which you want to add the Clips. 4. Click OK. Removing Groups 1. Select the Group by clicking on its name in the Groups view list. 2. Pull down the Grouping menu and select "Remove selected group". The Group is removed (the Clips are not affected). Using Groups There are some important things to remember when using Groups: ˆ A Clip cannot be part of more than one Group. If you add a Clip to a Group, it is automatically removed from any other Group it is part of. ˆ It is possible to create nested Groups, by adding a Group to another Group. ˆ You can temporarily "turn off" a Group by deactivating the checkbox to the left of a Group in the list. When a Group is deactivated, you can move individual Clips in the Group, as if they were not grouped. ˆ You can select a specific color for a Group to make it easy to discern it in the track view. ˆ Double-click to rename a Group ˆ You can nest a Group inside another Group by dragging it ˆ The Render option is available to render all Groups as individual files (Render dialog) You can access this window in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace>Specific tool windows >Groups . For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Specific tool windows Render Montage window 6.4.11 DVD-Audio This specific tool window allows you to author a DVD-Audio disk from a collection of audio montages. You can add your finished audio montages into this window, check the DVD-Audio layout for conformity and output a DVD-Audio disk all from this window. Note:All included montages need to be in DVD-A mode (this can be set via Audio Montage properties ). Although DVD-A has a different specification from an Audio CD, its track concept makes is similair to an Audio CD - this is why creating a DVD-A is almost like creating a CD with WaveLab 7
6.4 Specific tool windows 169 WaveLab's Audio Montage. It is worth noting that throughout WaveLab, where "CD" is mentioned (for example, in messages), one can usually substitute "DVD-A". To create a DVD-Audio disk, follow these basic steps: ˆ Create an audio montage - you need at least one audio montage in order to create a DVD-A. You can import any currently open ones or add them as .mon files. Note that the Audio Montage must have DVD tracks defined with red (track) markers. ˆ Add Montage(s) - chooseFile>Add Audio Montage(s) from the DVD-Audio win- dow to add one or more montages to your DVD-Audio. Each montage will then be displayed along with its details in the DVD-Audio window. You can drag the montages vertically to determine the track order. Montages can also be added by dragging mon- tage files directly into the DVD Audio track listing window. ˆ Choose Options - from the DVD-Audio window choose Options>Options... to open DVD-Audio options dialog. You can then define settings for your DVD-A including its name and volume information details, whether it will be played back on PAL or NTSC, and the duration and effects/transitions that included images will use. Images to be included can be laid out in a picture track in your audio montage or a single default image can be chosen. If a default image is used it will displayed at the beginning of each montage ˆ Check and burn your DVD-A - once you are finished laying out your DVD-A and choosing any options, you can check that it conforms to DVD-Audio specifications by choosing Edit>Check DVD-Audio conformity... . If everything is OK, choose Edit >Burn DVD-Audio... to open the DVD-Audio Creation dialog where you can then render out the disk as a collection of files ready for burning. Once these files are successfully outputted the Write Data CD/DVD dialog will open automatically allowing you to burn your DVD-Audio files to an optical DVD. Note that WaveLab automatically creates some basic DVD menus to access the audio tracks from the DVD-Player. For more information on authoring DVD-Audio disk see Authoring CDs and DVDs . You can access this dialog in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace>Specific tool windows >DVD-Audio . For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Audio Montages DVD-Audio Creation DVD-Audio options Write Data CD/DVD 6.4.12 Navigator This specific tool window displays a representative view of the entire active montage and enables you to quickly navigate around it. WaveLab 7
170 Audio Montages Each track is represented by a horizontal colored block. By default, stereo tracks are dark blue and monotracks are purple or pink (any custom colors you set for a track or via the Groups window are also displayed). The visible Workspace is shown by a surrounding black rectangle. Dragging this rectangle scrolls the main montage window, enabling you to easily navigate to a location in your mon- tage. You can also resize the rectangle vertically and horizontally to adjust the zoom setting of the active window. This window can be useful when you have a large montage with many Clips and tracks. ˆ Left click on a Clip block to zoom on it ˆ Right click anywhere to completely zoom out You can access this window in the Audio Montage Workspace by choosing Workspace> Specific tool windows >Navigator . For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Audio Montages Groups 6.4.13 Zoom This specific tool window displays a magnified view of the selected track and allows you to accurately adjust the cross fade point for two adjacent Clips. You can adjust the zoom level of the selected track, manually shift the Clip's position or allow WaveLab to find the best location to begin a cross fade between two Clips. You can adjust the amount that WaveLab will search for the best cross fade position to avoid phase cancellation issues, and also view the envelope points of the Clips. Mouse operations are identical to those in the main Clip view. You can access this window in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace>Specific tool windows >Zoom . For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Audio Montages 6.4.14 Effects This specific tool window allows you to add VST effect plug-ins, both to individual Clips and tracks. The difference between Clip effects and track effects are that Clip effects affect individual Clips only, whereas track effects affect all Clips on a track. WaveLab 7
6.5 Shared tool windows 171 Each independent Clip and/or audio track in the Montage can be independently processed by up to ten VST effect plug-ins. Effects are configured either as Inserts, when all sound is processed by the effect, or as Send effects where the balance between the unprocessed sound and the effect send level can be adjusted or controlled by effect envelope curves (clip effects only). Note that not all effects are capable of "Send", and if this feature is not available, it is disabled. The window only shows the effects of the focused Clip, or the focused track according to the active mode. Each plugin and track can be understood as being associated with a small "Master Section". A plug-in can be inserted and sorted, and you double-click on an effect to Edit it. When you close an effect window, its parameters are saved into the montage and it can be be undone if necessary. Use "What's This?" help on the column headers for more details. You can access this dialog in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace>Specific tool windows >Effects . For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Audio Montages 6.4.15 Snapshots This dialog enables you to save a number of "views" of your montage. You can then recall a particular view or snapshot at any time. When you save a snapshot you capture the current zoom factor, the current cursor position, the current scroll position and the current time range displayed. You can name each snapshot and update an existing snapshot too. To recall a snapshot, just click on its title in the list. This restores all of its view settings. You can also choose to recall all or just one of its view properties by clicking the appropriate icon. You can access this dialog in the Audio Montage Workspace via Workspace>Specific tool windows >Snapshots . For an explanation of each parameter and interface feature, click on , or the 'What's this?' question mark icon. For more information see Getting Help Related topics Audio Montages 6.5 Shared tool windows Shared tool windows are windows that can only exist in one place at a time and are shared between Workspaces. They perform useful tasks in the active Workspace. They can be docked and un-docked, and saved in your custom layouts. WaveLab 7
172 Audio Montages Shared tool windows: Phasescope VU Meter Oscilloscope Bit Meter Spectroscope Spectrometer Wavescope Timecode Background task monitor Log window Master Section Related topics About Tool Windows Metering Docking windows 6.5.1 Phasescope The Phasescope indicates the phase and amplitude relationship between two stereo chan- nels. It is only really relevant when monitoring stereo audio material. Reading the Phasescope It can be interpreted as follows: ˆ A vertical line indicates a perfect mono signal (the left and right channels are the same). ˆ A horizontal line indicates that the left channel is the same as the right, but with an inverse phase. ˆ A random but roughly elliptical shape indicates a well balanced stereo signal. If the shape "leans" to the left, there is more energy in the left channel and vice versa (the extreme case of this is if one side is muted, in which case the Phasescope will show a straight line, angled 45 degrees to the other side). ˆ A perfect circle indicates a sine wave on one channel, and the same sine wave shifted by 90 degrees on the other. ˆ Generally, the more you can see a "thread" shape, the more bass there is in the signal; the more "spray-like" the display, the more high frequencies are in the signal. WaveLab 7
6.5 Shared tool windows 173 Phase Correlation meter At the bottom of the display, you will find a Phase Correlation meter, which shows the same information but in a different way: ˆ The green line shows the current phase correlation, while the two red lines show the recent peak minimum and maximum values, respectively (these are the default colors, which you can change). ˆ With a mono signal, the meter would show +1, indicating that both channels are per- fectly in phase. ˆ Similarly, -1 indicates that the two channels are the same, but one is inverted. ˆ Generally, for a "good" mix, the meter should show a value between 0 and +1. Unlike the main Phasescope, the Phase Correlation meter is also available in "Analyze audio selection" mode, showing an average value for the selected range. Changing settings You can define display colors, peak hold time, and the resolution or number of samples to display from the Functions>Settings... menu. The Phasescope meter can be found in the Metersmenu of the Audio Files and Audio Mon- tage Workspaces. It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace or the Control Window . Related topics Metering 6.5.2 VU Meter The vu-meter is used to display the peak and average loudness/decibel level of your Audio File. It also displays the pan, or the balance between the left and right channels in a stereo file. The upper part of the level/pan meter window shows the peak level and average loudness, in the following way: ˆ The Peak Level meters display the peak levels of each channel, graphically and numeri- cally. By default, the meter segments and numerical peak values are displayed in green for low levels, yellow for levels between -6dB and -2dB, and red for levels above -2dB. You can change both the colors and the range boundaries if you wish via the Level/Pan Meter Settings dialog. This can be accessed through the Functions>Settings... menu, or by using the icon. ˆ The VU (Volume Unit) meters measure the average loudness (RMS) of each channel. These meters have a built-in inertia, evening out loudness variations over a user-defined WaveLab 7
174 Audio Montages time span. If you are monitoring playback or audio input, you will also note two vertical lines following each VU meter bar, seemingly "trying to reach" the current RMS value. These lines indicate the average of the most recent minimum RMS values (left line) and the average of the most recent maximum RMS values (right line). To the left, the difference between the minimum and maximum average values is displayed (the level value in brackets) - this gives you an overview of the dynamic range of the audio material. ˆ If you are monitoring real-time audio (playback or input), the maximum peak and loud- ness values are displayed numerically to the right of the meter bars. Numbers in brack- ets to the right of the Maximum Peak values indicate the number of successive clips (0dB signal peaks). Recording levels should be set so that they only rarely clip. If the master level is set too high, the sound quality and frequency response will be compro- mised at high recording levels, with unwanted clipping effects. If the level is set too low, noise levels may be high relative to the main sound being recorded. Pan meters The lower part of the window shows the pan (the difference in level between the left and right channel, only applicable when monitoring stereo audio): ˆ The upper pan meters show the peak level difference between the channels, graphically and numerically. Note that the pan meters are "two-sided"; the level bars can go to the left or right, indicating which channel is the loudest. The two sides are shown in different colors (which can be changed via the Settings dialog as explained previously). ˆ The lower pan meters show the average difference in loudness between the channels, in a similar way. This gives you a visual indication of whether a stereo recording is properly centered, for example. ˆ If you are monitoring real-time audio (playback or input), the maximum balance differ- ence value (peak and loudness) for each channel is displayed numerically to the left and right of the meter bars. The VU meter can be found in the Metersmenu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces.It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace or the Control Window . Related topics Metering 6.5.3 Oscilloscope The Oscilloscope offers a highly magnified view of the waveform around the playback cursor position. If you are analyzing a stereo file, the Oscilloscope normally shows the separate levels of the two channels. However, if you activate the option "Show Sum and Subtraction" on the Functions menu (or click the +/- icon), the upper half of the Oscilloscope shows the sum of the two channels and the lower half shows the subtraction. WaveLab 7
6.5 Shared tool windows 175 Making settings By opening the Settings dialog you can adjust the display colors, and choose to activate Auto-zoom or not. With Auto-zoom activated, the display is optimized so that the highest level reaches the top of the display at all times. The Settings dialog can be accessed through the Functions >Settings... menu, or by using the icon. The Oscilloscope can be found in the Metersmenu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces. It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace.It can also be docked in the Control Window . Related topics Metering 6.5.4 Bit Meter The Bit Meter shows the resolution or the number of bits used in the digital audio being monitored. Normally the maximum number of bits in an Audio File is the same as the resolution of the Audio File (e.g. a 16 bit Audio File shows that up to 16 bits are used), but sometimes this is not the case. As soon as you perform any kind of real-time processing on an Audio File, the audio data is treated at a much higher resolution (32 bit floating point), to allow for pristine audio quality. Examples of such processing include level adjustments, effects, the mixing of two or more files, etc. In fact, the only time when a 16 bit file is played back at 16 bit resolution is if you play it without any fades or effects, and with the Master Faders set to 0.00 (no level adjustment). You can try this out for yourself by playing back a 16 bit Audio File and viewing the Bit Meter - as soon as you adjust the Master Faders, note that 24 bits are used and the "inter" indicator is lit (more on this below). How to read the Bit Meter ˆ The innermost meters (closest to the bit scale) show the number of bits in use. You can adjust this display in the Settings dialog. ˆ The outer meters are "history" meters, showing how many bits were recently in use. You can adjust the hold time in the Settings dialog. ˆ The "over" segment indicates clipping, similar to a clip indicator. ˆ If the "below" segment is lit, there are more than 24 bits. The bit meter will show the 24 higher bits, and the "below" segment indicates the existence of extra, lower bits. Note that audio is always processed with more than 24 bits internally. ˆ If the "inter" segment is lit, this indicates that the audio data cannot really be expressed on a regular 24 bit scale (there are floating point values "in between" bits, thus the label "inter"). This is typically the case if you apply effects; thus the "inter" segment allows you to differentiate processed from non-processed 24 bit PCM files. WaveLab 7
176 Audio Montages When to use the Bit Meter ˆ To check whether dithering is necessary or not. As a rule, if you're playing back or mixing down to 16 bits, and the Bit Meter shows that more than 16 bits are used, you should apply dithering. ˆ To see the "actual" resolution of an Audio File. For example, even though a file is in 24 bit format, only 16 bits may be used. Or, a 32 bit file may only use 24 bits (in this case, the "below" segment would not be lit). For this purpose, the Bit Meter is best used in "Analyze selection" mode. ˆ To see whether a "zeroed" plug-in still affects your signal, or whether a plug-in uses 16 bit internal processing, or more generally, to detect any signal modifier stage in the audio chain between reading and playing. To adjust the Bit Meter settings, select "Settings..." from the Options pop-up menu or by using the icon. The Bit meter can be found in the Metersmenu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces. It can be used either as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace or the Control Window . Related topics Metering Dithering 6.5.5 Spectroscope The Spectroscope shows a continuous graphical representation of the frequency spectrum, analyzed into 60 separate frequency bands, represented as vertical bars. Peak levels are shown as a short horizontal lines above the corresponding band, indicating recent peak/- maximum values. The Spectroscope offers a quick spectrum overview. For a more detailed analysis of the audio spectrum, use the Spectrometer . The Spectroscope can be found in the Meters menu of the Audio Files and Audio Montage Workspaces. It can be used ei- ther as a floating window, or docked in the Workspace.It can also be docked in the Control Window . Related topics Metering Spectrometer 6.5.6 Spectrometer The Spectrometer uses FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) techniques to display a continuous frequency graph, providing a very precise and detailed real-time frequency analysis. WaveLab 7