-
Audio gain question
I’m working on a project that originated on PAL DigiBeta and will end up being produced as a PAL and NTSC DVD. I’ve outsorced converting and compressing the PAL master and ended up with two 24-bit wav files. However the NTSC version is significantly quieter. I know that the PAL tape had the tone set to -12dB and I suspect (and probably confirm on Monday) that during conversion the tone on the NTSC DB was set to -20dB. I’m not quite sure how big a deal this is: should I have them redo the NTSC master or just lower the volume of the PAL mix and go ahead with the DVDs?
-
6 Replies
-
rethinking reference levels is a good idea if you know what the actual levels are. If you set tone at -12 and have “overs”, you’re screwed.
You have to know what the original master’s references were to know where to set the level.
Are either of the levels correct? How do you know?
Regards,
Ty Ford
-
I agree.
Reference levels are merely a relationship between the tones and the audio that follows it. It actually doesnt matter what the tone level is if you understand the relationship between the tone and audio and log its value so anyone receiving it can calibrate, however most follow tone at -18dbfs (ppm4) (pal) being -8db below peak. You need a PPM to measure this.pETER
-
Perhaps where you are.
Where I am, tone is set at -20 dB.
Regards,
Ty Ford
-
The original Digi Beta was a Russian broadcast tape. The tone was set to -12dB, I assumed it was correct and simply followed the lead. My original problem though – different levels on PAL and NTSC versions – has somewhat disappeared since it turned out the PAL audio synced perfectly with the NTSC video! I’m gona leave it at that for now and do some serious reading about audio levels – any recommendations?
-
um, well, sure.
Ty Ford
Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. More at: https://home.comcast.net/~tyreeford/AudioBootcamp.html
or https://www.tyford.com -
LOL, nice plug 🙂 It looks great but I’m a 100% post guy so learning about mics and such would serve me if I intended to confront field people and start asking tough questions… not a good idea in most cases. What I had in mind was something about audio in post.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up