Audio too Loud on final DVD

Altair 4 wrote on 5/12/2008, 8:11 PM
I'm using VMS Platinum 6. I'm working on a video of a friend's birthday party recorded in a noisy restaurant. I had adjusted the audio levels by dragging down the individual sound levels within each clip. But the overall volume is still way too loud when playing the final disc (created with DVDA 3).

What is the best way to adjust the audio levels across all clips so that the final product will play at normal levels through a DVD player. As an example, my test disc is so loud that I have my receiver turned down to -45 to -50 on the volume, whereas most commercial discs would be played at -30 to achieve the same volume. Commercial discs would almost not be heard at all at that setting on my receiver.

I don't want to blast my friend's family out of their seats when this thing starts to play! I searched, but I'm finding ways to raise the volume, not lower it. Thanks!

Comments

OhMyGosh wrote on 5/12/2008, 11:04 PM
Hi Altair,
You said you adjusted the individual sound levels. Are you aware that you can adjust the overall sound level with the volume slider in the track header? Be sure you are viewing the audio in the mixer so you can view and monitor the levels within acceptable limits. Let us know if that helps. Cin
Altair 4 wrote on 5/13/2008, 4:03 AM
I'm really weak on how to handle sound within VMS. Yes, I know I can adjust the sound level at the track header. Then there are the sliders down in the mixer, too.

I guess it comes down to this. I adjusted the individual sound levels in the clips to even out the roar of noise with those clips that were quieter.

What I need is some guidance on how high to let the peaks and the general sound level go on the monitor in the mixer. How high is too high? Any general guidance in that area? Should it stay in the green zone? Should it peak in the yellow but never go into the red?

If I use the header slider, is it simple math here? Is setting it at, say -(minus) 10dB, going to result in a + (plus) 10 dB on final playback to reach the same volume out of my receiver? If that's the case, then I know just what to do.

Thanks for your help - I appreciated your very speedy reply!
MSmart wrote on 5/13/2008, 4:22 PM
not at editing computer now....

Right click on each event and choose Properties, check "normalize audio", this may help.

You can also fade in the audio so it's not abrupt. Hover over the leading edge of the audio track (top left corner) until cursor changes, drag transition out to the right about a second or two.
Altair 4 wrote on 5/14/2008, 12:06 PM
MSmart -

I've been reading the manual on normalization. I don't think that we help me with my issue. The problem is that the entire final product is too loud - the end-user will get blown out of their chairs if they haven't already turned down the volume prior to playback.

Maybe I need to start a new topic on what the maximum dB level should be on the mixer for a project. The manual is pretty vague on this and the on-screen help, even moreso.

What is the recommended maximum value for audio, as presented on the mixer?
Altair 4 wrote on 5/15/2008, 3:42 AM
I stand corrected - normalize did work (I didn't fully understand what it did previously). I set the level in the audio tab in preferences to -5 and selected all audio clips simultaneously that helped. I should have set it lower, but now I know how to approach the problem. I guess it is "hit or miss" until I get the level exactly where I want it. Thanks to all that helped.