To ALC or not to ALC at DVinfo.net

Imran Zaidi · January 25th, 2004, 05:59 PM

Well, on this forum I've heard two takes on using ALC on the DVX100/A. Some say use it, others say don't.

I noticed the following link...

http://www.bealecorner.com/dvx100/a-...io-levels.html

And it suggests that the ALC doesn't affect audio levels at all until it gets into the danger range. Shouldn't that suggest that ALC is a win-win scenario? The exact quote from the above link is:

"...Below -5 dB ALC does not affect the audio response..."

Randall Campbell · January 25th, 2004, 07:36 PM

I leave ALC on all of the time on my DVX100. From my tests it seems to really be a limiting compressor that only takes effect when the signal approaches 0dB. I did not use my previous camera, the PD-150's ALC, since it was an automatic gain control which attempted to adjust the gain to make everything have max volume.

Barry Green · January 25th, 2004, 09:13 PM

It seems you give up a little bit of dynamic range (i.e., clamping begins and maxxes out at -4.5db, vs. going to 0) in exchange for (hopefully) never getting blown-out distortion.

In other words, yes, basically a win-win.

Peter J Alessandria · January 26th, 2004, 07:11 PM

Use it.

January 25th, 2004, 05:59 PM	#1
Imran Zaidi Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 1,315	To ALC or not to ALC Well, on this forum I've heard two takes on using ALC on the DVX100/A. Some say use it, others say don't. I noticed the following link... http://www.bealecorner.com/dvx100/a-...io-levels.html And it suggests that the ALC doesn't affect audio levels at all until it gets into the danger range. Shouldn't that suggest that ALC is a win-win scenario? The exact quote from the above link is: "...Below -5 dB ALC does not affect the audio response..."

January 25th, 2004, 07:36 PM	#2
Randall Campbell Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Durham, NC Posts: 69	I leave ALC on all of the time on my DVX100. From my tests it seems to really be a limiting compressor that only takes effect when the signal approaches 0dB. I did not use my previous camera, the PD-150's ALC, since it was an automatic gain control which attempted to adjust the gain to make everything have max volume.

January 25th, 2004, 09:13 PM	#3
Barry Green Barry Wan Kenobi Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,863	It seems you give up a little bit of dynamic range (i.e., clamping begins and maxxes out at -4.5db, vs. going to 0) in exchange for (hopefully) never getting blown-out distortion. In other words, yes, basically a win-win.

January 26th, 2004, 07:11 PM	#4
Peter J Alessandria Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 293	Use it.