Strange Phenomenom...

[Bob Romano]

I took the ac3. file for the new Dream Theater and split it so I could make a DVD-A for the car. When playing the files back on the computer (in Wavelab) or making a disc it sounds like there is a limiter on everything. For instance, on Dark Eternal Night the guitars are nice and loud at the beginning but as soon as the drums kick in the guitars almost disappear. I have no auto gain on my system at all so this one is a stumper.

Any ideas??

 

[JonUrban]

Whoa. Very strange. Maybe you'll have to "play" the thing into your PC and record it in real time.

Does it playback OK?

 

[Bob Romano]

Yep... playing the DD5.1 sounds great on my system. I decoded the ac3 file in Nuendo at 48k and then took those straight to Wavelab. Weird...

 

[neil wilkes]

Sounds as if there is a DynRng setting in the DD file.
Very rare in Music, but these days with boys doing mens work all the time, it is quite possible someone fucked up somewhere.
The Nuendo DD Decoder would take this into account when decoding.
On playback, it will only work or kick in if you have it turned ON in the player.
If dynamic range compression is OFF in your player or amplifier (whatever is doing the decoding) then this would completely explain it.

 

[Bob Romano]

so I guess I need to record it in instead of using Nuendo. I think I had the same problem with the Peter Gabriel or Genesis.will recordi.g it in take care of the problem?

 

[neil wilkes]

Sorry bob - I edited your post instead of replying to it. Oops.
Put it all back now though (embarrassed)

Recording it in should work as long as the players Dynrng setting is off.
I'll check with Nuendo development to be sure it isn't a bug - there was an update to the DDE at one point.

 

[Bob Romano]

It's ok. I actually recorded it in to the computer and it sounds nice!! None of the ducking that the ripped copy had.

 

[neil wilkes]

It's a bugger right enough - the first time it happened to me I was appalled.
Just didn't think straight for a couple of dayswondering what I had done wrong, then I tried to re-import it - this time I saw the dynrng compression profile was set to Movie, with a dialnorm of -27 which promptly attenuates L,R,Ls & Rs by -4dB relative to the centre channel.
Nightmare.
It's a problem with most automatic decoding tools unless the writer allowed for this (lets you turn it all off)

 

[timbre4]

What a PITA; the default on my Denon player is DRC = OFF. It must've been on since I got it (used) because I sure didn't engage it.