Peak Levels and Clipping

L

LuckyProducer

Well-known member
Hey guys, I just got my DVX and I am having a weird problem with the DVX. You know when you're recording and it shows the peak of the mic level? It even goes on red sometimes to tell you when it's clipping? Do you guys ever pay attention to this? Where do you leave you mic levels? Because I am watching it so it won't go on red and I turn it down if it does to avoid clipping. Although, when I watch it on TV or when I capture it on my PC, the levels are really. I get very low signal. Where should I leave my levels at? (the right and left turning knobs below the LCD screen (when closed). Thanks!
 
the red aria does not have anything with clipping , this is only mark the -12dbfs to -0dbfs aria.
to avoid clipping you need supply good signal in analog stage since the Meter show the indication of digital only ( the potentiometers on the camera ride digital level stage)
for normal dialog recording - ride your level so the evereg picks would hit the 5th red as long you don't clip the preamp( mike level) or line input stage before A2D
to prevent hitting the brick wall ()0dbfs - you can open the hard limiter( alc-"on" -nothing to do with automatic level control ) which kicks on -6dbfs and ends on -4,5dbfs
 
is this for dialogue? simple. set one channel high and one channel low. pick the best one in post. add compression (not like MP3; the dynamic range kind) and normalize before you burn a DVD.
 
Hey exile, thanks for the explanation but I still don't understand what you mean about not letting the preamp clip. I am just using the DVX. nothing else. How do I know if it's clipping?

"ride your level so the evereg picks would hit the 5th red as long you don't clip the preamp( mike level) or line input stage before A2D"

I don't get that part.

What do you mean alc-on has nothing to do with automatic level control?

So hitting the brick wall means that it is clipping then? 0db doesn't mean clipping does it? I'm confused. Lol!
 
Analog Stage ( Mike Preamplifier Or Line In ----analog To Digital Converter ------------------digital Oscillation( Potentiometers)- )-------alc( Hard Limiter)------tape

Your Mike Level To High ---you Clip ----no Alc -you Digitizing Already Clipped Signal ----you Are Good On Miters - You Have Clipped Signal On Tape .

With Alc -you Digitize Clipped Signal You Have Alc - You Still Have Clipped Signal On Tape

To High Microphone Level Need To Be Reduced Before Analog To Digital Convertion Stage ( Usually With External Attenuation) , Then If You Don't Put Alc The Signal Would Hit The Brick Wall.
 
All that a brick wall limiter can do is keep the signal from going to zero. This will prevent you from recording a digital clip (which sounds really really bad), but this does not mean you should let the signal get this hot. When a limiter kicks in like this, it will seriously alter the character of the sound you are recording. When recording dialog or sound effects, this would generally be bad, and you should avoid it.
 
Wow, Exile, sorry but you just made it all more confusing. Lol! I don't work with uncomplete sentences. That didn't make a bit of sense to me. Sorry, I know you're trying to help, I'm trying to understand, but it was just really confusing. You can give up if you want. I don't want to keep bothering you.
 
this is not incomplete sentences , its your working chain
look at your camera as 4 stage chain
the first one - is the analog preamp if you are using mike , or line amplifiere if you are using line input
the second stage is your a to d converter
the 3rd is the digital oscillation ( potentiometers)
the 4th is the alc ( digital) hard limiter - which prevents you to hit the brick wall ( digital zero)

now ,to prevent analog clip you must supply voltage that would not clip your first stage.
if you have very loud signal you must attenuate it in the first stage - otherwise your chain would deal with already clipped signal

thats why working directly with microphone directly to the camera is usually sucks
even sony lerned the lesson on their z-1:-)
 
aha!
so the alc is a limiter! dude, that rocks!

so where is the agc (auto gain) on the dvx? just trying to think cuz i havent worked with one in a while, and was wondering...
 
Calibrating a good mixer with a good limiter to the camera is a great way to go.

Keep peaks out of the red.


Ty Ford
 
i found a great article on locationsound.com under their tech tips that gives very specific instructions on how to setup the levels on your camera when using a mixer.

matthew
 
The DVX is a weird thing with the meter - the first red dot is -10Dbfs, so that means you should be aiming at ONE RED at your peak on dialogue most of the time, but dont freak if you see like 4 or 5 red because its just audio approaching zero, not "IN THE RED" like some older type meters (PD150 etc)...
 
the first red is -12 dbfs , each dot is 2 dbfs , there is no harm to go higher when you have unexpected pick signals , thats why you left the headroom for , later in editing you can compress the signal during final mix normalizing .
there is big difference if you are picking jam setion where the dynamics could be 6-8 db or then recording dialog which could be with 20 and more db of dynamic range
 
Ok, guys. I am using a DVX, not a mixer or preamp. you guys are gettin waaay to technical here. lol. All I want to know is how do I know if the audio is clipping? You said if it's in the red it doesn't mean it clipping, so how do I know if something is clipping. If my alc is on, should I never worry about it, and just put my levels to max? Is that where I should always leave my levels because I tried it putting it to max with the alc on and it's hard for it to reach the red brick, but I still don't know if touching the red brick means clipping or not. Like how do i know?
 
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