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  1. I am using CyberLink PowerDirector 11 to capture audio and video from a usb capture card. PowerDirector 11 doesn't have a loudness meter, so I use Orban Loudness Meter 2.8.8 in order to ensure a proper volume level before capturing. The content I want to capture contains mostly speech/dialogue.

    Many people suggest that the recommended level for dialogue is -12dB to -15dB. I don't know if I understand this correctly, but I assume this means that I should increase the volume until the loudness meter doesn't exceed -12dB. And in case I increased the volume too much and the loudness meter goes to -10dB, then I should lower the volume a bit, until the loudness meter goes to -12dB but not further than -12dB.

    The problem is that I don't know which meter to use in Orban Loudness Meter, because in Orban Loudness Meter there are 6 meters:
    1. CBS
    2. ITU BS.1770 Momentary
    3. ITU BS.1770 Short Term & Integrated
    4. VU
    5. PPM
    6. Reconstructed Peak

    Which of these 6 meters should I look at when I check if level exceeds -12dB or not? It's confusing because when the "Reconstructed Peak" meter shows -9dBFS, the "VU" meter shows -19dBFS, and I don't know which one to use.
    Last edited by codemaster; 18th Mar 2017 at 06:14.
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  2. VU (Volume Unit) meters have a slow response, for an "average level" reading. Speech should normally be -12 to -3, music -6 to +6 (ish).

    PPM (Peak Program) meters have a fast (but not instant) response. Like VU, they are also old and widely used. Speech is commonly set at -15, more or less.

    Digital peak (dBFS) meters are instantaneous. Reading must never reach zero or you get clipping distortion.

    Peak readings do not correlate to perceived loudness very well. VU readings do better in that respect, but can't detect digital clipping.
    Loudness meters are newer. I haven't used them. They are supposed to measure perceived loudness better, including the effects of frequency weighting.

    Here's a good article with a chart showing the relationships between the meter scale values
    http://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-whats-difference-between-ppm-and-vu-meters

    More scale charts
    http://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-what-are-reference-levels-digital-audio-systems

    According to this, target Peak level should be -15 more or less
    http://transom.org/2015/the-audio-producers-guide-to-loudness/

    The EBU recommends ITU BS.1770 Loudness at -24 LUFS (which flavor? possibly "Short Term & Integrated"?)
    https://www.itu.int/dms_pubrec/itu-r/rec/bs/R-REC-BS.1770-3-201208-S!!PDF-E.pdf

    All the Orban meter modes are explained in excruciating detail here
    http://www.orban.com/orban/meter/FreeOrbanLoudnessMeter_2.8.8_Readme.pdf



    So to answer your question,
    >Which of these 6 meters should I look at when I check if level exceeds -12dB or not?
    PPM I guess.
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  3. Member
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    I use the Reconstructed Peak meter. It shows what your levels will be when the digital stream is converted back to analog for playback. The very loudest sounds in your program must stay below zero on this meter. If you want to follow regulatory loudness standards, then set your level so the main audio element (usually dialogue) reads around -23 to -24 in the box to the right of the Short Term & Integrated meter.
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