Results for analyser and monitor

Blue Cat Audio has announced DP Meter Pro 4.0, a multi-purpose audio levels meter and envelope generator, formerly known as Blue Cat’s Digital Peak Meter Pro.

The DP Meter Pro plug-in has been completely redesigned in version 4.0.

The plug-in now comes with a brand new user interface with many new features and enhancements: fully customizable meters, crest factor display, levels histograms for precise dynamic range analysis, surround support, a new presets manager, Windows AAX support, multiple display sizes, new MIDI and automation mapping capabilities, and much more…

Blue Cat’s DP Meter Pro 4.0 is available to purchase at a 16% discount off the regular price of 59 EUR / $79 USD until March 10th, 2013. The upgrade for Digital Peak Meter Pro users is 11 EUR / $15 USD. Users who have purchased the plug-in in the past 6 months can upgrade at no cost.

More information: Blue Cat Audio / DP Meter Pro

NUGEN Audio has announced the release of VisLM version 1.6, a significant update to the company’s visual loudness monitoring tool. For the first time, VisLM is now available in the Avid® AAX format. Additionally, VisLM is now available in a 64-bit OS X® version.

“The availability of a plug-in that’s compatible with both AAX and 64-bit OS X means that our customers can continue editing as they always have, even as systems and technologies evolve,” said Jon Schorah, NUGEN Audio creative director. “VisLM 1.6 also has a number of other new features and usability improvements that our customers have been eagerly anticipating.”

VisLM 1.6 includes a new dialog gate option that enables automatic measurement of dialog sections within the source material. Measurements can now be written to automation tracks so that the loudness profile and true-peak clips can be seen against the waveform in the digital audio workstation timeline for diagnostic referencing. Also, the short-term sliding-window value is now adjustable.

Editors will see enhancements to usability, including a simple “global reset” option and automatic start/stop/reset of the integrated program measurement following the transport bar. Maximum and minimum alerts settings are now available independently, and users can switch to the compact version from within the plug-in with a resizable interface.

With detailed, objective loudness measurement, history, and logging facilities, VisLM provides an easy-to-use ITU, ATSC (Calm Act), and EBU standard-compliant way to measure, compare, and contrast loudness during production, broadcast, and post-production, on the fly or for entire sections of audio. Offering true-peak level metering (inter-sample accurate level measurement), loudness range (to help decide if and how much dynamic compression to apply), momentary “instantaneous loudness” for mixing by ear, short-term loudness (three-second time window), and program loudness (long-term integrated loudness measurement), VisLM is a comprehensive tool that helps audio professionals cut through the complexity of loudness compliance.

VisLM-C is available to purchase for $299 USD, VisLM-H is $449 USD.

More information: NUGEN Audio / VisLM

PreSonus has announced the PRM1, a new precision reference microphone.

With PreSonus®’ new PRM1 reference (measurement) microphone and the company’s free Virtual StudioLive™ (VSL) mixer-control software with Smaart® Measurement Technology, StudioLive 24.4.2 and 16.4.2 digital mixer owners can have a complete, powerful, and affordable, audio-analysis and correction system.

A reference, or “measurement,” microphone is special type of condenser microphone that is designed to provide an accurate reproduction of a room’s sound characteristics for use with audio-analysis tools, such as real-time analyzers (RTAs) and spectrographs. While measurement microphones can be quite expensive, the affordable PreSonus PRM1 delivers high-quality results.

Because measurement mics do not color the sound, we would not employ a PRM1 to fatten up a recording of our CFO’s reaction when he saw our proposed marketing budget for this year. But it’s the right mic for tuning a sound system to reproduce those sounds accurately in a room.

The PRM1 employs a ¼” pre-polarized electret-condenser capsule and delivers a linear frequency response between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. Like most measurement mics, it has an omnidirectional polar pattern. Sensitivity is rated at -37 dB/Pa, EIN (A-weighted) at 26 dB, S/N ratio at 70 dB, dynamic range at 106 dB, and maximum SPL at 132 dB SPL.

The mic has an all-metal chassis and comes with a clip, foam windscreen, and hard case.

VSL’s Smaart System Check Wizards step StudioLive 24.4.2 and 16.4.2 users through the process of viewing the frequency-response trace of a venue, calculating and setting delay-system timing, and verifying output connectivity. To use them, you need to connect a measurement microphone to the StudioLive mixer’s Talkback input. That’s where the PRM1 comes in. With the PRM1 mic, a StudioLive mixer, and VSL with Smaart, it’s easy to do tasks that once required extensive engineering know-how.

The PRM1 is expected to ship in early January 2013, with an anticipated MAP/street price of $79.95 USD.

More information: PreSonus

ToneBoosters has updated its effect plugins for Windows and Mac to version 2.8.4.

All plugins have been updated to version 2.8.4; new downloads are available at www.toneboosters.com. Happy new year!

The ReelBus analog tape simulation plugin gets a new tape model.

Changes in v2.8.4

• ReelBus – Added a new tape model.
• TimeMachine – Improved noise and dithering processing in TB TimeMachine – bit depth reduction sounds much more musical now.
• EBULoudness – Added PLR (Peak-to-Loudness Ratio) readout; Added k16v2 dynamic preset.

The updated plugins are available now.

More information: ToneBoosters

PreSonus has announced the upcoming version 1.7 of its Universal Control software.

This free update to the company’s control-panel software features a significant expansion of the Rational Acoustics Smaart Measurement Technology that is integrated into the Virtual StudioLive section of Universal Control.

In Universal Control 1.6, PreSonus added Smaart Measurement Technology’s Spectra module to its Virtual StudioLive control/editor/librarian software for all StudioLive mixers, which is part of Universal Control. This version gave StudioLive owners access to an RTA and Spectrograph.

With Universal Control 1.7, StudioLive 24.4.2 and 16.4.2 users gain the abilities to easily view the frequency response of a venue, quickly calculate and set delay-system timing, and verify output connectivity. (Note that these additional capabilities are not available for the StudioLive 16.0.2 due to its different architecture.)

To accomplish this, PreSonus has added three Smaart system-check wizards to VSL. To use these tools, you need to connect a measurement microphone to the StudioLive mixer’s Talkback input. A high-end mic is not required; most measurement mics can do the job.

PreSonus Virtual StudioLive with Smaart System Delay in Universal Control 1.7.

New Smaart system-check wizards in Virtual StudioLive

• The Smaart Room Analysis (SRA) Wizard is an automated process that guides you through the steps of acquiring a frequency-response trace and then overlays the resulting trace on the VSL display for a StudioLive 24.4.2 or StudioLive 16.4.2 Fat Channel parametric EQ. (A frequency-response trace is the plotted result-frequency and amplitude-of the system measurement.) You can then adjust the parametric EQ to get rid of unwanted anomalies in the room. The SRA Wizard can do a basic analysis, which requires a single-point measurement, or an advanced analysis employing three separate mic position measurements and averaging them together.
• The Smaart System Delay (SSD) Wizard calculates and sets the correct amount of delay time between two full-range speaker systems, using the StudioLive’s subgroup-output delays. This helps you to synchronize the outputs of secondary (generally, side and rear) speaker systems with the output of the main front speakers in a front-of-house P.A. system. You can synchronize multiple secondary systems using this tool and the StudioLive 24.4.2/16.4.2 mixer’s four subgroup outputs.
• The Smaart Output Check (SOC) Wizard verifies that your system outputs are routed correctly and are passing signal. By momentarily taking over the routing and volume control of an output and patching pink noise to it, this tool lets you quickly discover which speaker is connected where and helps you quickly get to the root of a routing problem.

More information: PreSonus / Smaart

iZotope has announced the release of its Insight essential metering suite for post production and broadcast applications.

Insight provides a full suite of audio analysis and metering tools, perfect for visualizing changes made during the mixing process, troubleshooting problematic mixes, and ensuring compliance with broadcast loudness standards. Fully customizable and scalable, Insight allows audio engineers to visually monitor all relevant information from a mix in a convenient floating window, empowering users to look deeper into their audio with intelligent analysis tools and real-time monitoring capabilities.

Insight helps ensure adherence to current broadcast standards using the most advanced metering technology available today, with meters for immediate loudness calculation and True Peak detection, loudness calculation over time, and faster than real-time offline loudness calculation. Advanced visualization and spatialization displays further aid in detecting problems that the ears cannot perceive, like the innovative new Surround Scope and the 3D Spectrogram. Also included are convenient user presets, designed for an array of engineering applications, for quick and easy access to common metering and loudness configurations. Alternatively, users can define new presets with their own preferred customizations, giving Insight unmatched flexibility in the metering space. The perfect tool for post, broadcast, and music engineers, video editors, and sound designers, Insight allows users to keep an eye as well as an ear on the mix at all times.

“iZotope is excited to offer broadcast, post and audio engineers an elegant metering solution that can be custom fit to any workspace and workflow,” says Brett Bunting, Insight Product Manager. “Unlike other metering products, Insight integrates a full collection of state-of-the-art meters into one customizable window, allowing you to easily monitor and visualize all aspects of your audio.”

Insight visually guides you throughout the mixing process, empowering you to look deeper into your audio with intelligent analysis tools and real-time monitoring capabilities.

Insight features

• Immediately detect potential mix problems through real-time visual monitoring and color-coded alerts.
• Ensure audio is fully compliant with current loudness standards with forward-thinking tools that adhere to standards like BS.1770-1/2/3, then document adherence with an exportable log or graph.
• Perform deep and flexible analysis with zoomable meters and the ability to route audio from any tracks or buses to Insight.
• Design your ideal metering view by choosing the meters you want to see, customizing them, and resizing the Insight window to fit your current workflow.
• Get an extensive suite of metering tools in a single plug-in, including True Peak Meters, Loudness Meters, Loudness History Graph, Stereo Vectorscope, Surround Scope, 2D/3D Spectrogram, and Spectrum Analyzer.

Insight is available for the introductory price of $399 USD through November 29, 2012 (Regular MSRP: $499 USD / €449 EUR) or for free to Ozone 5 Advanced Customers. Ozone 5 Standard customers can upgrade to Ozone 5 Advanced for $399 USD through November 29, 2012 and receive Insight for free. Customers who already own Ozone 5 Advanced will be notified via email with details to install Insight for free.

More information: iZotope / Insight