[Norm Kaiser]

>> If you want to do it yourself the old-school way, I would start by placing Wave Hammer Surround on the master audio bus and set it to hard limit at whatever the peak value is (i.e., -10dBFS). Start with the “[Sys] Master for 16-bit” preset and adjust the Output Level on the Volume Maximizer to -10dB or whatever their peaks need to stay under…

John, you’ll probably shudder when I say this, but what I’ve recently tried (since downloading and installing the patch that fixes the Wavehammer beeps) is place the Wavehammer on the master bus and the set the volume maximizer at -24db. Then I check the loudness log and find that my integrated LUFS is -24 and conclude that I’m good to go.

That’s probably extremely crude.

How does it sound?

Well I guess that’s one of the MAJOR points I’d like to discuss in this thread — the difference between audio on a computer and audio in broadcast.

I capture my audio and make sure I never clip. My waveform pattern in Vegas is very pretty — i.e., lots of pretty peaks and valleys with the peaks filling the waveform space on top and bottom without ever clipping. When I listen back with my computer’s audio slider bar set about halfway up, it sounds fantastic — rich, full, clean, very little noise, etc.

But I render to meet the CALM Act guidelines, the audio sounds so, well, quiet. I have to turn my PC’s audio all the way up for it to sound good. And then invariably I get the little dingdong chime from Facebook that I just got a new message and my eardrums get pierced.

Is this correct? I’ve read elsewhere that people report this outcome (audio sounds so quiet) and very experienced users report that it’s correct, but is it?

Does the broadcast audio system somehow amplify the sound once it gets to the viewer’s TV? Or do computers play back sound poorly in that they need a really hot signal to sound right?

[Norm Kaiser]

I guess the worry I have is, won’t it mess up commercial insertion? I send the stations a cue sheet with an EXACT commercial insertion time spots. I’m not exactly sure how automated commercial insertion works, but if the DVD is not set to drop frame, won’t the commercial pop in either a moment too soon or a moment too late?

[Norm Kaiser]

Yes, I am delivering to TV stations…that’s why I’m set to drop frame. But evidently my burning software is burning the DVD as non-drop frame???

The TV stations in question request playable DVDs, not DVDs with raw MPEG2 files on them.

So my question is, am I rendering correctly out of Vegas (drop frame) only for my DVD burning software to mess it up (non drop)?

Is it even possible to create a playable DVD that’s drop frame?

[Norm Kaiser]

Welp, I think that’s it!

My time ruler is set to drop frame. So what should I do? Is drop frame or non-drop more the standard today? I would assume non-drop, considering Windows Media Player and VLC default to it?

But Vegas seems to default to drop frame?

[Norm Kaiser]

Gentlemen! Thank you so much for this! Such a huge help!

[Norm Kaiser]

From one Norm to another, thank you!!!

Now…the bit rate…using the Main Concept encoder, it doesn’t look like it can go up to 15Mbps. Looks like the max is 9.8Mbps. Am I right? Is there some way I can correct that?

Also, on the PROFILE where it says HIGH, right next to it is a dropdown labeled LEVEL. Should that be set to HIGH as well?

[Norm Kaiser]

Roger — and everyone else who’s replied to this thread — I want to extend my sincerest thank you for posting to this thread.

Roger, I applied the compressor and the Wave Hammer exactly as you said and my audio sounds great! Thank you for the screenshots. That made it crystal clear what I needed to do.

Now…let’s see what the station says.

[Norm Kaiser]

>>I doubt a simple mono to stereo adapter will work.

I know for a fact that it works. I have video to prove it. The audio itself sounds great. The problem is not whether or not it works; the problem is that the audio has mic handling noise when the interviewer moves it.

>>These are low dollar mics that attempt to look like an SM58. So clones. No guarantees that they bear ANY resemblance to an SM58.

Understood. HOWEVER, if you read the reviews of this mic on Amazon, you’ll see dozens of folks there giving this clone rave reviews and reporting that it performs on par with the SM58. See here: https://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Pro-PDMIC58-Professional-Handheld-Microphone/product-reviews/B003GEBGA0/ref=sr_cr_hist_5?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addFiveStar&showViewpoints=0

>>What city are you in?

I live in Freeport, Florida…right outside of Panama City.

[Norm Kaiser]

Camera: Canon Vixia HF21
Mic #1: Pyle PDMIC58
Mic #2: Radio Shack 33-3042
Mic #3: Radio Shack 33-3039

[Norm Kaiser]

That’s an idea. How do I check that?

I’m thinking no, as the camcorder has a mic level setting, which is a little slider bar thing, and the slider bar thing has a -12dB indicator on it, and I have the mic set right around that indicator.

But maybe you’re on to something! Is it possible this camcorder requires a mic that is self-powered (i.e., a batter?) and since I’m using a simple plug-in dynamic mic it’s turning up the gain?