User's Manual

Combined with equalizer controls, these features are extremely powerful, giving you the ability
to precisely shape and define the audio to generally optimize the sound of the master output.
This section describes the expander, gate, compressor and limiter controls.
The dynamics controls can be
opened for each input and the
master output by clicking on its
corresponding dynamics indicator
Common Dynamics Settings
The expander/gate, compressor and limiter share common settings that let you shape
how each function affects the audio. For example the level at which the function
initiates, how long the function is applied, the strength of the function, etc. The settings
available differ depending on the dynamics control you are using.
Threshold – Sets the sound level at which the function activates. For example, setting
the threshold for the compressor to -20dB tells your switcher to activate compression
when the signal rises above -20dB. Alternatively, setting the expander to -40dB means
the switcher will only initiate the expander once the signal level drops below -40dB.
Range – This setting defines the range of decibels affected by the function.
Ratio – Defines the maximum strength of the function once initiated.
Attack – Sets the smoothness of the function when it initiates. For example, a long
attack will allow the function to fade into the signal, blending in better without drawing
too much attention, whereas a short attack may be better for complex sound activity
with many quick variations where a longer attack may cause artifacts.
Hold – Sustains the dynamics function over an adjustable period of time.
Release – Similar to attack but occurs at the end of the function activity. For example,
lets the dynamics function ease out gradually, or fall away rapidly, once the level
moves out of the threshold.
Expander/Gate
The first set of dynamics parameters can be switched between expansion and gating.
Expansion emphasizes differences in volume by lowering the level of soft parts of the signal
relative to the level of louder parts. You can use an expander to emphasize the differences
between quiet and loud parts of a track, or to increase the dynamic range of a signal and
minimize unwanted noise.
Gating is like an exaggerated expander, reducing the level or even silencing parts of a signal
that fall below a certain level in order to reduce or eliminate noise in quiet parts of a recording.
For example, a range of 15 to 20 dB can reduce breathing in a vocal track but leaves just
enough to sound natural.
59Using ATEM Software Control