NuGen Audio are given away their Visualizer plugin for free here.
This is a LE version of the full deal, you can get the full version for not too much but what you get for free is well worth having if you don't have SF.
The meters and realtime spectrum analyser, well, if you really know what they're for you've probably already got something, they're kind of pretty though.
The one that's usefull is the phase correlation meter. Visually not the most exciting thing however having one can save some serious head scratching that's caught out a few video guys. Typical symptoms are "my audio sounds fine in Vegas but when I play the DVD on my Aunts old TV I cannot hear the dialogue".
Basically if this meter sits at +1, your mix is mono. If it dances between 0 and +1 you've got stereo. If it goes well into the -1 region that means when the two stereo channels are combined (like in your aunt's old TV) part of the spectrum is going to get cancelled out. If it sits at -1 you've really got a problem, in a mono mixdown you'll get silence.
Nice thing is you can add this VST plug at the track or bus level to dig into things to see where you might have a problemo.
Now Vegas also has a mono mixdown icon in the mixer pane and it's another way you could check you final mix but if you want a visual indication the NuGen Audio one seems to work OK in V8 and SF9.
One warning. You still have to register the plugin, which means giving NuGen your email address. If that doesn't sit well with you give it a miss.
Bob.
This is a LE version of the full deal, you can get the full version for not too much but what you get for free is well worth having if you don't have SF.
The meters and realtime spectrum analyser, well, if you really know what they're for you've probably already got something, they're kind of pretty though.
The one that's usefull is the phase correlation meter. Visually not the most exciting thing however having one can save some serious head scratching that's caught out a few video guys. Typical symptoms are "my audio sounds fine in Vegas but when I play the DVD on my Aunts old TV I cannot hear the dialogue".
Basically if this meter sits at +1, your mix is mono. If it dances between 0 and +1 you've got stereo. If it goes well into the -1 region that means when the two stereo channels are combined (like in your aunt's old TV) part of the spectrum is going to get cancelled out. If it sits at -1 you've really got a problem, in a mono mixdown you'll get silence.
Nice thing is you can add this VST plug at the track or bus level to dig into things to see where you might have a problemo.
Now Vegas also has a mono mixdown icon in the mixer pane and it's another way you could check you final mix but if you want a visual indication the NuGen Audio one seems to work OK in V8 and SF9.
One warning. You still have to register the plugin, which means giving NuGen your email address. If that doesn't sit well with you give it a miss.
Bob.