Loudness Meta Normalizer Dialog

In this dialog, you can adjust the loudness of each clip in the audio montage so that they get the same loudness. You can also adjust the whole output, while taking the EBU R-128 audio measurement recommendation and a true peak analysis into account.

  • To open the Loudness Meta Normalizer dialog, select the Process tab in the Audio Montage window, and click Meta Normalizer in the Loudness section.

Clips, Master Section Output, and Audio Montage Output

  • If Clips is activated, the gain settings of all clips in the audio montage are adjusted individually so that all clips play back at equal loudness.

  • If Audio Montage Output is activated, the gain setting of the audio montage is modified so that the audio montage mixdown matches a specific loudness.

  • If Master Section Output is activated, the Master Section gain is adjusted so that the audio montage mixdown that is processed through all Master Section plug-ins matches a specific loudness. The audio montage itself is not modified by this operation.

The following options are available for the gain settings of clips, the audio montage output, and the Master Section output.

Match loudness menu

Select whether the audio montage output should match a specific loudness. The following options are available:

  • Do Not Change Loudness

  • Match Loudest Clip

  • Match Loudness of Active Clip

  • Match Specific Loudness

  • Equalize Peak Levels

    The highest peak is used as reference.

Loudness

Determines the loudness to match. For example, specify -23 LUFS if you want to follow the EBU R-128 recommendation for broadcast.

Reference menu

Select the loudness that WaveLab Pro should reference:

  • Loudness of Entire Clip (EBU R-128 recommendation)

  • Top of Loudness Range (average loudest 3 second audio section)

  • Maximum Short-Term Loudness (loudest 3 seconds audio section)

Peaks menu

Select whether WaveLab Pro should limit the sample values (digital peaks), the analog reconstructed samples (true peaks), or ignore the peaks.

Maximum Peak

Determines the maximum peak value that must not be exceeded.

Force Equal Loudness

If Limit True Peaks or Limit Digital Peaks is selected, some clip might not reach the required gain for the reference loudness. In that case, activate Force Equal Loudness to reduce the loudness of the clip that is used as a reference to achieve equal loudness across all clips.

Additional Options

Exclude Audio Montage Effects

If this option is activated, audio montage effects are not taken into account when you use the Loudness Meta Normalizer.

This option also affects the Pre-Gain and Post-Gain options in the Clips window.

  • If Exclude Audio Montage Effects is activated, the Loudness Meta Normalizer changes the Pre-Gain value of the clips.

  • If Exclude Audio Montage Effects is deactivated, the Loudness Meta Normalizer changes the Post-Gain value of the clips.

Only Selected Clips

If this option is activated, only the selected clips are processed with the Loudness Meta Normalizer.

Show Log

If this option is activated, a log window opens after the process to show the analysis result.

Test Only

If this option is activated, a test analysis is performed. A log window opens to show the result of this analysis. The test analysis does not apply the loudness settings to the audio.