Audacity Forum

Koz, could you please look at my graph in the file attached below--does it look okay? That is, within parameters for an audio book?

I learned how to take a screenshot, but it would not paste here, I had to save it to dropbox first.

Koz, could you please look at my graph in the file attached below--does it look okay? That is, within parameters for an audio book?

Thank you for the graphic. We can't tell directly from the graphic. That's just a confirmation that your corrections seemed to go OK.

We have to run tests on your sample clip.

I'm fascinated that your spectrum analysis doesn't look anything like mine. It's rough to tell you to make corrections when we're not looking at the same thing. I need to go away for a while. I'm typing this on a dead run on the way out to the car. Are you using Audacity 2.1.0?

Koz

Jan B. wrote:I'm fascinated that your spectrum analysis doesn't look anything like mine. It's rough to tell you to make corrections when we're not looking at the same thing. I need to go away for a while. I'm typing this on a dead run on the way out to the car. Are you using Audacity 2.1.0?

Yes, I just checked again to make sure (I checked once before when Gale asked me the same question), yes, it's 2.1.0 and I just downloaded it May 16. I wonder if it's because I use Vista (need it to print one of my pattern generating software products)?

Well, I am sorry you have to 'go away for awhile' (that's what we used to say about Uncle Clyde whenever he robbed a bank) and hope you will be back safe and sound soon! Be careful! The graph can wait but I hope you won't forget!

I'm back from the bank. I mean I'm back from shopping.

I figured out the graph. Note the Size setting on yours is 512 and mine is 16384. My setting lets you see more of the purple pattern below (to the left) of 100Hz. That's where Steve's LF_rolloff filter does it job, so it's good to see it working.

As I said somewhere up the thread, humans can't hear below 20Hz and most rumble and low pitched voice interference happens from 100 Hz and lower. Steve's filter greatly reduces everything below 100Hz. It doesn't just chop it off because you may be able to hear that working, so it takes interference out gently but firmly.

~~

I think you were trying to send a "docx" file to the forum. That's a Microsoft Windows proprietary document format and I'm pretty sure the forum won't accept it. What you're supposed to do is snap a picture of the screen (PrtScn button? It's been a while) which copies it onto your clipboard. Then you open MS Paint and paste the picture into that. Make any changes you want (cropping, colors, text) and then Save it as a JPEG picture file. The forum will accept those.

Now when you produce a Plot Spectrum before and after LF_rolloff, you should see Steve taking out the purple pattern to the left of 100Hz.

I don't remember if I sent you flynwill's analysis plugin. Select the whole clip by clicking just above MUTE. Analyze > ACX Check.

That will tell you in one sweep whether the clip will pass ACX automated conformance testing.

Koz

kozikowski wrote: As I said somewhere up the thread, humans can't hear below 20Hz and most rumble and low pitched voice interference happens from 100 Hz and lower. Steve's filter greatly reduces everything below 100Hz.

Yes, you did say it before, but I didn't and don't understand it. Is 100Hz 'below' or above 20Hz's? It's calling sounds 'lower' and 'higher' that mess me up. In numbers, 100 is higher than 20 but maybe not in this context. Maybe it's lower. And it wouldn't communicate anything to me anyway. What I need to know, initially, is what it does to the listener's perception of the audio. If we can't hear below 20Hz, why cut off those rumbles at 100Hz's? Presuming they're lower? See my confusion?

Also, Print Screen as it turns out depends on several factors, the keyboard brand, the operating system. In any case, since I successfully uploaded, using Dropbox worked for my combination.

I can't find a mute button anywhere. That is a very useful tool, and you also mentioned that before but I couldn't find the mute button then either, and with so many other challenges (which have been met, thanks to you and the kindness of others on the forum) I had to let it go. I will google 'mute button Audacity' and see if there's a guide anywhere. It must sound stupid, but I've looked at each button and tried to click on everything that looks like a speaker, mute usually being a line through it, but nothing emerges from the dense array.

Communication is so difficult. Like, I should have said we used to remark, in my family, that Uncle Clyde was 'going away for awhile' after he'd been CONVICTED of visiting the bank. How about a new beatitude, Blessed are the careful communicators, for they shall sit right in the lap of God drinking vino.

Oh, I googled mute button and now see it quite clearly, the word Mute on the line with the track, not up in the toolbars. Ok now the truth will out: audio book quality, or not? Thanks!

Dear Koz, I was able to complete the Analysis/Contrast step, but I do not have anything called ACX check and it's probably because I never got that file to download. It does pass the WCAG2 test. 49.9 dB Average RMS--that's the difference between the background noise and the speech.

I read through a thread with you and Santina724 and hardly understood a word, but did notice that the numbers you gave for that person's Noise Reduction Step 2 were different than you gave me for mine, which were 12/6/6 with the level all the way to the right on that last item. Did you give me those numbers based on the sample file I uploaded, and will they be good for all my chapters as long as I don't change the room, mic, etc.? Also, may I ask, does the number of times I do any noise reduction reduce the volume? I have been doing this, if I found some breathing noise or whatever, I just selected the whole file and ran the noise reduction for that sound (rationale, it would find all the times I took a breath like that one and I wouldn't have to look for them and manually delete them) but I think I reduced the volume. The peaks on the file seemed to get smaller anyway. Should you just run noise reduction as seldom as possible, only for typical, not atypical, noises? And find the others noises and manually delete them?

Anyway, I didn't test all my finished chapters, the four of them, but the one I was checking I think failed the loudness test. It was 3.1. I don't know if 'passing' the WCAG2 test includes loudness, so if not, could you tell me what number to put in the New Peak Amplitude box in Amplify, if there is one?

Right now this is the routine: I'm recording, then applying Steve's magic LF file, then Equalization, Normalization, and Noise Reduction (several times on that last step), not necessarily in that order, plus I tighten up any pauses--takes a while, that last step. I will add that ACX check when I have the file (I'm gonna go look for it), and meanwhile will do Analyze/Contrast and see if each file passes the WCAG2 test at least. So I'm asking, is this routine okay? You and Santina talked about so many other things!!!

Thank you!

I need to read through that carefully to catch all the points. Yes, there's nothing at all simple about this and it does use its own language.

Remember that oboe note at the beginning of the orchestra? Thats 440Hz (normally). High-pitch baby screaming on a jet? That's around 3000Hz. Fingernails on blackboard is even higher, say 5000Hz. Thunder, earthquakes and bass violins live around 50-200Hz. Actually, earthquakes can be even lower than that, so low you don't even hear them. You know the sound is there because it shakes the bookcases.

There are some microphones that produce thunder tones by accident when you record. The computer sees these tones as a part of the show and they take part in sound processing whether you want them to or not. LF_rolloff suppresses them.

I need to go do weekend things for a while.
Koz

You can just about see the question marks over my head.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 have to do with building a web page or display system so the most possible people can use it. Did someone say that was a sound test?

OK, anyway, I enclosed flynwill's sound analyzer, acx-check.ny. He programmed it in Nyquist language, so that's the ".ny" at the end of the name. He didn't write it in New York. Windows may or may not let you see the .ny when you download the file.

This is where it gets fuzzy because I'm not a Windows user. The Audacity application has a folder called "plug-ins." Drag acx-check.ny into that folder (example picture attached) and start or restart Audacity.

Open Audacity normally with one of your chapters or performances. Select the whole thing by clicking just above MUTE.

Analyze > ACX Check (example picture attached. ACX Check is fourth down.).

As I think I said before, this is simple steps once you have everything installed. Getting it installed is the pages of instructions.

Once you get everything settled, post a sound segment what you and ACX-Check thinks passed and I'll run it through my tests here and we'll see if we agree. If it's much over about fifteen seconds, you may need to post it through DropBox.

Koz

I'm stuck on Step One. I can't seem to download the acx-check file. The computer gives me two options, it asks me what program I want to use to download it, or do I want to use a program on the computer already--Browse. Neither option works for me. Microsoft (the web option took me there) suggest Nyquist, in the Audacity folder, so I tried that one, but the error message said No Items Found in Folder, and there was nowhere to go from there. I tried Browse and saving it directly to the Plug-In folder, but again got the message No Items Found in Folder. I didn't try just browsing for the Download folder, because the computer seems to want a program to open the file, not a folder to download it in.

Is there any tutorial to download it?

Regarding the WCAG 'test,' that's a result on the Analyze/Contrast screen, which collects sound data and then gives some numbers about background noise compared to foreground, so one might think it's a sound test. Newbies might.