WHY Wide Range of Audio Volume on YT, Vimeo, etc.?

Soniclight wrote on 11/11/2014, 8:48 PM
Yes, of course it's the source file.
But I feel I'm doing all the right things.
Reason I'm mentioning these two sites:

I'm getting somewhat frustrated with trying to make my JW video player crossplatform (computers to smartphones, etc.) at my site, that I'm considering embedding from -- most likely Vimeo. I uploaded the same file to both YouTube and Vimeo in which the audio/music had been mixed down to a master .wav in Vegas, normalized and even given a small +2db boost, and yet...

I've seen videos at YT and elsewhere that seem to have more volume = are louder (but not distorted, etc). I don't understand how this happens for I'd assume that either and other such site would include some form of normalization during their processing phase.

So how can I make my Vegas rendered videos have more volume for such platforms?

To be honest, I've only uploaded a couple of test 1280p WMV files, not the final Handbrake MP4 though even in the Vegas .WMV settings I have the audio at 320 kbps,/44.1 Hz CBR. Maybe MP4 has better sound quality or I'm missing something here.

If you're a Handbrake wizard, overall settings for these site welcomed. The short video tutorial at Vimeo for Handbrake suggests the 320kbps for audio but not an "RF" value -- 5000 average overall video bitrate. So sounds like VBR, not CBR to me--which should it be for upload?

Thanks

Comments

Byron K wrote on 11/11/2014, 10:40 PM
From what I've seen is, the normalize feature maximizes to the max peaks of the overall audio track which may reduce the level of the rest of the track. I've had to find the "peaks" and reduce them or use compressor to level out the mix. If you can find the peaks on individual tracks on the, audio tracks, if they are on separate channels, you can either ride the fader or use compression on the track that has more dynamics, then re-mix the audio at higher levels.

There's usually one or two sections of audio that are higher that is causing the levels to be lower. The trick is to find these "peaks" and manually lower them then increase the overall track level. I find this a challenge on live recordings especially the percussion tracks, which tend to peak higher than other audio tracks.
Soniclight wrote on 11/12/2014, 4:26 AM
OK, thanks for the advice.
musicvid10 wrote on 11/12/2014, 7:08 AM
People make audio for internet too loud and too compressed because -- they can.
I would advise anyone tempted to compete for attention this way -- don't.
rraud wrote on 11/12/2014, 9:36 AM
The comp/limiter is a dangerous tool. And most inexperienced folks think 'if some's good, more is better' or they just use a preset based on it's name.
Byron K wrote on 11/12/2014, 2:39 PM
Posted by: musicvid10
I would advise anyone tempted to compete for attention this way -- don't.
Yes, very sound advice. Which is why I generally prefer to find the peaks and manually lower them, rather than squishing the life out of the whole mix w/ a compressor or limiter. (;
Soniclight wrote on 11/12/2014, 5:33 PM
Thanks for more input. I'm not a compression fan except (IF it sounds better) for drum and percussion tracks. Now...

What about the kHz and bit depth factor?

I've assumed that 44.1/16 was the mainstream consumer listening baseline norm since most CDs use that; so that's what I've been doing until now. But doing some research, incl. YouTube's recommendations, they give you 96 or 48 kHz. I haven't looked into the Vimeo equivalent best recommendations.

The U.K. Sound on Sound (one of my fave online magazines about all things recording and music) has a good article on what to chose that states the the average listener won't notice the difference between a 96/24 or 48/24 and a 44.1/16. I tend to agree. They do also end with saying that if you can do it in 96, use it.

Naturally the higher the digits here, the somewhat bigger the upload file in terms of Vimeo and YouTube.

Q:

Thanks.
musicvid10 wrote on 11/12/2014, 6:05 PM
Vimeo and Youtube are 48KHz 16 bit. Still 160-192 Kbps AAC unless something's changed.
Soniclight wrote on 11/12/2014, 6:59 PM
Since I'm going to go with Vimeo, here is what they state in terms of the audio and so I'm setting them accordingly in Handbrake:

"Codec: AAC-LC (Advanced Audio Codec)

For best results, we recommend using AAC-LC (low complexity) for the audio codec.

Here is the whole guidelines page for Vimeo:
Video Compression Guidelines
Andy_L wrote on 11/12/2014, 7:10 PM
try googling "loudness wars audio mastering" that should get you started on understanding this issue
Soniclight wrote on 11/13/2014, 12:10 AM
To my embarrassment...

I realized today why I seemed to have a quieter/less volume video: for some reason the audio bus volume envelope in my VP10e was way down. So I fixed that, and dragged my master render temporarily back into its .veg to see that the audio waveform was at its max/normalized before Handbrake-ing it.

I don't remember touching the bus, but then who knows, may have been late at night slip-and-click of my mouse... :)
Steve Mann wrote on 11/13/2014, 7:30 PM
"So how can I make my Vegas rendered videos have more volume for such platforms? "
Try Levelator. It's free and works magic.
Soniclight wrote on 11/15/2014, 2:07 PM
Steve -- Thanks for referral. I downloaded and Levalator and while I'm a bit leery of what I may do to a full mix one fine tunes for hours, definitely worth a try.