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Author Topic: "Volume Level" or "Gain Value"?  (Read 5496 times)

ulwie7

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"Volume Level" or "Gain Value"?
« on: December 15, 2017, 10:47:57 am »

Hi,

"Audio Analysis" is a great feature in JRiver MC, but I think the results are a bit misleading. Can anyone explain why a "volume level (R128)" of -6 dB is obviously louder than one of +6 dB? I guess what JRiver means here isn't the volume level but the gain correction value to reach the target loudness of R128 (i.e. -23 LUFS). Am I right? Then please don't call it "volume level" anymore. Or, if you prefer to stick with the name "volume level", then just reverse the plus and minus signs. In that case a "volume level (R128)" of for instance + 6 dB would be 6 dB too loud and would have to be reduced by 6 dB to reach the R128 target. So "volume level (R128)" would indicate the level relative to -23 LUFS.
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RD James

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Re: "Volume Level" or "Gain Value"?
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2017, 06:42:33 pm »

The track is 6dB below the target, therefore its volume level is -6 LU because it is too quiet.
 
An expression column or custom field will do what you want:
Code: [Select]
FormatNumber(Math([Volume Level (R128),0]-2*[Volume Level (R128),0]), 1,,/ LU,)
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RoderickGI

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Re: "Volume Level" or "Gain Value"?
« Reply #2 on: December 15, 2017, 07:05:25 pm »

A simple search before posting your first post based on assumptions and requesting a change to the software might have been a good idea.

https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Volume_Leveling

What you are hearing as a louder track (the -6 dB track) is probably a larger Dynamic Range. The +6dB track is probably a victim of the Loudness War and has a compressed Dynamic Range, which means lower peaks and so it sounds quieter.

Do you have Volume Leveling turned on in MC's DSP? Because if you do, MC would adjust the volume during playback as per the R128 tags, and they should be played at the same volume. But the -6dB track with the larger Dynamic Range could sound louder to your ears.
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What specific version of MC you are running:MC27.0.27 @ Oct 27, 2020 and updating regularly Jim!                        MC Release Notes: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes
What OS(s) and Version you are running:     Windows 10 Pro 64bit Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.572).
The JRMark score of the PC with an issue:    JRMark (version 26.0.52 64 bit): 3419
Important relevant info about your environment:     
  Using the HTPC as a MC Server & a Workstation as a MC Client plus some DLNA clients.
  Running JRiver for Android, JRemote2, Gizmo, & MO 4Media on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium Android 9.
  Playing video out to a Sony 65" TV connected via HDMI, playing digital audio out via motherboard sound card, PCIe TV tuner

ulwie7

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Re: "Volume Level" or "Gain Value"?
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2017, 04:29:01 am »

A simple search before posting your first post based on assumptions and requesting a change to the software might have been a good idea.

https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Volume_Leveling

What you are hearing as a louder track (the -6 dB track) is probably a larger Dynamic Range. The +6dB track is probably a victim of the Loudness War and has a compressed Dynamic Range, which means lower peaks and so it sounds quieter.

Do you have Volume Leveling turned on in MC's DSP? Because if you do, MC would adjust the volume during playback as per the R128 tags, and they should be played at the same volume. But the -6dB track with the larger Dynamic Range could sound louder to your ears.

No volume levelling turned on. I did a comparison with the R128 loudness meter plug-in from audiocation: It indicates nearly the same (integrated) LU values as JRiver MC but with the plus/minus signs reversed. So the track with the louder perception shows the "+" value.

BTW: I didn't manage to get the audiocation plug-in (32 bit) to work in JRiver MC (32 bit), but it did work in Foobar instead.
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bodiebill

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Re: "Volume Level" or "Gain Value"?
« Reply #4 on: December 29, 2021, 03:25:30 am »

I realize this is a very old thread about Volume Leveling, but the answers it contains appear to be wrong, so I am posting anyway.

As confirmed in the following thread:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=103933.0
this is the formula for calculating the Volume Level (R128):

    [Volume Level (R128)] = -23 - {R128 Average Loudness}

Example: if a track is 6 dB louder than the R128 target of -23, it has an R128 Average Loudness of -17. Therefore

     [Volume Level (R128)] = -23 - (-17) = -23 + 17 = -6.

Hence the volume level of a track that is too loud is negative. Hence the OP was right that a track with VL -6 sounds louder than one with a VL of 6, and the answers that followed are confusing or simply wrong.

This is also confirmed by the fact that peak levels of tracks with negative VL are always higher than peak levels of tracks with negative VL.

Unless I have misundersood something of course, so please correct me if I am wrong.

P S Reposted in the MC28 section.
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