User Manual

MIXING AUDIO | 211
To choose an output device, click the Output button and choose a bus or hardware output from the menu.
Monitoring bus levels with VU/PPM meters
When the VU/PPM Meters control region is visible, you can display volume unit (VU) and peak program (PPM) meters to help you
determine the perceived loudness of your audio signal (peak program meters provide faster response times to volume increases
than VU meters).
To show or hide the VU/PPM Meters control region, click the VU Meters button in the View Controls pane. For more information, see
The View Controls pane on page 198.
Right-click the meter and choose a setting from the shortcut menu (or hover over the meter and roll your mouse wheel) to change
the resolution and display options.
Important: When you route busses to hardware outputs, the outputs from those busses will not be included in the mix when you
render your project.
Item Description
Show VU/PPM Use this command to show or hide meters for individual channels.
Reset Clip Clears clipping indicators.
Traditional VU The traditional VU meter is displayed with a scale of -10 dB to +2 dB. 0 dB on the VU
meter equals 4 dBu.
Extended VU The extended VU meter is displayed with a scale of -30 dB to +8 dB. 0 dB on the VU
meter equals 4 dBu.
Logarithmic VU Displays the meters in a logarithmic scale (like the Sound Forge peak meters) instead
of the linear scales traditionally associated with VU meters.
UK PPM The UK peak program meter (also known as a BBC meter) is a Type II meter and is
displayed with a scale of 1 to 7, which corresponds to a range of -12 to 12 dBu:
UK Marks dBu
7 12
6 8
5 4
4 0
3 4
2 8
1 -12
EBU PPM The EBU peak program meter is a Type II meter and is displayed with a scale of -12 to
+12, which corresponds to -12 dBu to 12 dBu. 0 on the EBU PPM equals 0 dBu.
The EBU PPM and UK PPM respond identically to increases in volume, but the EBU
PPM decays more slowly.
DIN PPM The DIN peak program meter is a Type I meter and is displayed with a scale of -50 dB to
+5 dB, which corresponds to -44 dBu to 11 dBu. 0 dB on the DIN PPM equals 6 dBu.
Nordic PPM The Nordic peak program meter is a Type I meter and is displayed with a scale of -42
dB to +12 dB, which corresponds to -42 dBu to 12 dBu. 0 dB on the Nordic PPM equals
0 dBu.
Show Labels Toggles the meter level labels on and off.
Show Peaks Toggles peak level indicators on the top of the meter.
Hold Peaks When selected, the highest peak levels are represented by a thin line on the meter.
Hold Valleys When selected, the lowest peak levels are represented by a thin line on the meter.
Vintage Mode When Vintage Mode is selected, the VU meters use a different calculation method to
simulate the response of analog VU meters.