Sound always lower than regular TV or DVD

[Carl Downs]

I took the time and got all my sounds (dailog, music, effects, ect) to hit right between 3 and 6 db without any clipping or anything too low. However... when I listen on my PC or on the TV (by DVD) The sound is always much lower than regular TV or a DVD. I always have to crank the sound way up to get it even with regular TV or a DVD. For example... on my TV I watch TV or a DVD at sound level 20 but to get the same sound level with a Vegas>Architect DVD I have to crank it up to 55. What is the deal...?? I'm I missing somthing?

[Mike Kujbida]

Try the following settings and see if it helps.

Encode set to AC3;
Click on custom tab;
Dialog normalization: -31 dB;
Dynamic range compression: None;
On the first tab set diag. norm to "-31";
On the last tab marked preprocessing;
Set the Line Mode & RF mode profiles to "None";
Now save this as a preset.

[Carl Downs]

When I open "custom" the Dailog Normalization is default set to -27Db... Hmmm... I havn't a clue but wouldnt setting it to -31Db make the sound even lower? As I said, I don't have a clue and will try your advice nevertheless. I'm thinking Dailog Normalization should be 0??? But as I said, I'll give your settings a shot and let you know.

[Mike Kujbida]

Carl, have a look at the AC3 too quiet? thread and see if it helps to clarify things.

[Alan Craig]

I have same problem using Pinnacle studio plus ver.10 any body help me with that one please

[Christian de Godzinsky]

Hi,

I have the same problem in Vegas 7. Final DVDs are ok but the volume is very low.

Audio is close to clipping level in the source AVI file that I feed to DVDA. Rendering this to a DVD using stereo AC3 (the standard audio setting for DVDs) ends with very low audio volume levels. I would say the audio leve is about -12...-16db lower than what it should be. Shouldn't the standard settings produce an 1:1 volume ratio? I read this thread and the other mentioned here - but did not find an answer to the problem.

What is the exact procedure to get close to 1:1 volume and audio levels encoding with stereo AC3? I don´t want the AC3 stereo encoder to alter the audio level in any way.

Our skilled moderator(s), do you have any better advice to share??

Christian

[Edward Troxel]

Christian, just use the settings mentioned previously in this thread.

[Carl Downs]

It seems I've finally got a question that has touched base with many. As Christian says... why does the encoder change the volume level without telling anybody... it should just encode 1 to 1... as we have labourously spent time on the timeline setting the levels we want!? This is goofy... and should be fixed to output the same levels as we have set them!! (did I say that already?) Anyways... Thank you everybody for your input and advice, always greatly appriciated.

[Edward Troxel]

Do a search here for "Dialog Normalization". You'll find lots of pages talking about this. Bottom line - the AC3 encoder is working as designed. You can override the effect by using the above settings.

[Duane Adam]

[QUOTE=Carl Downs;634095]I took the time and got all my sounds (dailog, music, effects, ect) to hit right between 3 and 6 db without any clipping or anything too low.

Do you know where your average RMS figures are? I assume -3 to -6dbfs is peak and not RMS. You may need to put a limiter on the master buss and raise the RMS levels while holding the peak output between -1 to -2 dbfs.
That should help significantly. Commercial CD's have RMS levels as high as -8 dbfs although the results usually sound terrible. If you can get your RMS levels to around -14dbfs your levels should be in the ballpark of commercial releases while still retaining decent sound quality.

[Christian de Godzinsky]

Hi,

THX Edward, it worked for me. I searched for the "Dialog Normalization" as you recommended, and actually I read through most of what I found. Dolby encoding is tricky!

Still I do not understand why the -31dB setting is such a "magic number". Do you have an explanation for this? I would like to understand (if possible) why things work the way they work...

After all - I think DVDA should offer a factory preset (in addition to all the others) where AC3 stereo material is just converted as is (1:1). As it seems, this would be a very much used preset among most of us. And reading the posts, it seems that this issue is a recurring subject. At least this audio level issue should be somehow clearly adressed in the documentation... Well - nobody's perfect...

regards,

Christian

[Christian de Godzinsky]

Hi,

Sorry to bother with this detail - but - I cannot find where in DVDA to adjust the custom setting for AC3 audio encoding (dialog level etc). Please guide me where to find this control. I am totally lost...

Christian

[Edward Troxel]

You don't do it in DVD Architect. You do it in Vegas. When you go to File - Render As, pick AC3 as the file type, pick Stereo DVD as the preset, and then click on "Custom". From there you can change these settings.

[Christian de Godzinsky]

Hi,

Thanks Edward - no wonder why I felt like an idiot.

BUT - how do I cope with already rendered AVI material imported into DVDA - if there's no control for the proper AC3 audio level setting in DVDA? Must all this material be re-rendered to MPG2 in Vegas first - just to be able to render the audio at a correct level? I refuse to accept that.

If AVI files can not be rendered to proper AC3 audio level in DVDA - isn't this a severe shortcoming of the program - a problem that should be rectified by Sony?? Sony brags about render capabilityie from practically any format to any format. The reality seems not tobe all that rosy...

best regards,

Christian

[Edward Troxel]

Originally Posted by Christian de Godzinsky

If AVI files can not be rendered to proper AC3 audio level in DVDA - isn't this a severe shortcoming of the program - a problem that should be rectified by Sony??

No it's not. You have a very simple solution - drop the AVI file back on the Vegas timeline and render to AC3 format.

It is recommended that you render from the original project to MPEG2 and AC3 straight from Vegas. This will give you the highest quality rendering. Going to DV-AVI first and then to MPEG2/AC3 can give a decrease in video quality depending on where you started and what you did.