Steinberg Wavelab Elements 8 Manual

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Audio Analysis
WaveLab Elements provides you with a comprehensive set of tools for 
analyzing your audio and for detecting any errors.
For example, you can use the suite of audio meters, or the 3D 
Frequency Analysis. There are also several tools that help you examine 
any sample of your audio for errors or anomalies.
Global Analysis
In WaveLab Elements you can perform advanced analysis on your audio 
to identify areas with specified properties. This helps you find problem 
areas such as glitches or...

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• The Errors tab lets you find glitches and sections where the audio 
has been clipped.
Most of the analysis types provide a number of positions in the file that 
indicate peaks, glitches, etc. These points are called “hot points”.
Opening the Global Analysis Dialog
The Global Analysis dialog provides various analysis options.
PROCEDURE
1.In the Audio Files workspace, select a range in the audio file that 
you want to process.
If you want to analyze the entire file,...

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Global Analysis - Peaks Tab
This tab is used to find digital peak values in the audio, that is, single 
samples with very high values.
In the Audio Files workspace, select Analysis > Global Analysis, and 
select the Peaks tab.
Find Peaks
Enables peak analysis.
Digital
Displays the highest peak in the analyzed section. When you click 
this value, the number of peaks that are found in the selection is 
shown in the Number of hot points section in the lower left corner 
of...

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Global Analysis - Loudness Tab
This tab is for finding sections that are perceived by the human ear as 
louder or weaker in volume. To find sections that the ear perceives as 
significant in volume, you must look at a longer section of audio.
In the Audio Files workspace, select Analysis > Global Analysis, and 
select the Loudness tab.
Loudness Settings
Analyze Loudness
Enables RMS loudness analysis.
Average
Displays the overall loudness of the analyzed selection....

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Resolution
The length of audio to be measured and averaged. If this value is 
lowered, short passages of loud/weak audio are detected. When 
it is raised, the sound must be loud/weak for a longer period to 
result in a hot point.
Threshold (for the average)
Ensures that the average value is calculated correctly for 
recordings with pauses. The value that you set here determines a 
threshold below which any found audio is considered to be 
silence, and is therefore...

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• The material must be relatively well isolated from other sounds.
• It is preferable to analyze the sustain portion of a sound rather than 
the attack. The pitch is usually not “stable” during the attack.
• Some synthetic sounds may have a weak fundamental (first 
harmonic) which can irritate the algorithm.
Global Analysis - Extra Tab
This tab shows the average DC Offset of the analyzed section and the 
Apparent Bit Resolution.
In the Audio Files workspace, select...

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Clipping
• A digital system has a finite number of levels that it can represent 
properly. When recorded sound levels are too high or when the 
system cannot handle levels that have been raised by digital 
processing, hard clipping occurs that you can hear as strong 
distortion.
A sine waveform before clipping and after.
Result of the Analysis
This reports the number of glitches and clipping instances that have 
been found.
Global Analysis - Errors Tab
This tab helps...

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Find possible glitches
Enables glitch analysis.
Find possible glitches - Threshold
Sets the value at which a change in level is considered to be a 
glitch. The higher the value, the less sensitive the detection.
Find possible glitches - Sensitivity
Length value that represents the length of time in which the 
waveform must exceed the threshold to be reported as a glitch. 
The higher the value, the less sensitive the detection.
Find possible glitches - Output format...

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Performing a Global Analysis
PREREQUISITE 
In the Audio Files workspace, select Analysis > Global Analysis, and 
select the tab that you want to include in the analysis.
PROCEDURE
1. In the Global Analysis dialog, set up the parameters.
Most of the tabs have settings that determine how the analysis should be 
performed.
2. If the Peak or Loudness tab is selected, move the cursor to the 
position that you want to analyze.
The Peak and Loudness tabs report values...

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5. Check the Number of hot points value at the bottom of the dialog.
The value shows the number of positions that were found by the analysis.
6. Use the scrollbar below the Number of hot points value to 
browse between the found positions.
The edit cursor shows the position in the wave window.
7. To browse another property, click the corresponding tab, and then 
the value button.
NOTE
The result of the analysis is saved until you close the dialog or click 
Analyze...