FLAC Files

Free Lossless Audio Codec files are audio files that are typically 50 % to 60 % smaller than regular Wave files.

  • To open the settings for FLAC files, select FLAC in the File Type pop-up menu.

Sample Rate

Sets the sample rate for the mixdown file.

Note

If you set the value lower than the project sample rate, the audio quality degrades and the high-frequency content is reduced. If you set the value higher than the project sample rate, the file size increases without increasing the audio quality. For CD burning, select 44.100 kHz, because this is the sample rate used on audio CDs.

Bit Depth

Allows you to select a bit depth for the mixdown file. You can select 8 bit, 16 bit, 24 bit, 32 bit, 32 bit float, or 64 bit float. If you plan to re-import the mixdown file into Cubase, select 32 bit float. This is the resolution used for audio processing in Cubase. 32 bit (float) files are twice the size of 16 bit files. For CD burning, use the 16 bit option, as CD audio is always 16 bit. In this case, we recommend dithering.

Activating the UV-22HR dithering plug-in reduces the effects of quantization noise and artifacts when converting the audio to 16 bit. A resolution of 8 bit results in limited audio quality and should only be used if required.

Export as

Allows you to select a channel mode for the mixdown file:

  • Interleaved

    Allows you to export to an interleaved file.

  • Split Channels

    Allows you to export the 2 channels of a stereo bus or all subchannels of a multi-channel bus as separate mono files.

  • Mono Downmix

    Allows you to downmix all the subchannels of a stereo or surround channel or bus to a single mono file.

    For stereo, the Stereo Pan Law as defined in the Project Setup dialog is applied to avoid clipping.

    For surround, the channels are summed and divided through the number of channels used (in case of a 5.1 channel = (L+R+C+LFE+Ls+Rs)/6).

  • L/R Channels from Surround

    Allows you to export only the left and right subchannels of a multi-channel bus into a stereo file.

Compression Level

Sets the compression level for the FLAC file. Since FLAC is a lossless format, the level has more influence on the encoding speed than on the file size.