Import Audio - bit depth changed?

[eheilner]

New user here. I'm importing 96k 24 bit stereo file into PT12. This file has a wide dynamic range - some peaks are very close to maximum (0 db). I know this because I can see it in two other tools (Audacity & WavePad). But after I import into PT, it appears that I have a whole lot more headroom than before. The peaks are well below max.

If I do nothing else to the file and just bounce it to another file - everything is preserved as it was in the original file..

My session bit depth is 24 bits. My waveforms setting is peak. My rendered File Bit Depth is 'Follow Session Settings'

Now having additional headroom is not necessarily a bad things, but it's confusing. All I want to do with this file is to compress it, add some reverb, and clean it up a bit.

I've read that internally PT does it's processing into 32 bit floating point, perhaps this is somewhat related? Or perhaps I'm misreading the edit window. I would assume that 0 db is the maximum height in the edit window.

I've tried (or I think I've tried) every different combination of options on the import and preferences panel.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, suggestion?

[Drew Mazurek]

Option-A.

or double click the Magnifying Glass tool.

[Wizzoboy]

0db or 0vu on the PT meter scale is -20. The top of the scale is 0db full scale . Between -20 & 0dbfs is your available headroom before clipping. Most plugins are optimized for an input of around 0vu. You can bring your final mix level up after processing.

[janmuths]

Right click the meters in the mixer. It may be set to RMS, VU or something else that does not reflect peak levels.

[eheilner]

Thanks for replies. Maybe I haven't been clear. I've attached two screen screen shots -

One from Audacity (you see the same thing in WavePad) which shows that my peak is right near the limit

The other from PT - after I did Option A - seems to show headroom. There's a clear gap between that peak and the top of the display.

[Stig Eliassen]

Originally Posted by eheilner

Thanks for replies. Maybe I haven't been clear. I've attached two screen screen shots -

One from Audacity (you see the same thing in WavePad) which shows that my peak is right near the limit

The other from PT - after I did Option A - seems to show headroom. There's a clear gap between that peak and the top of the display.

There is no headroom in PT either. The small horizontal marking you see at the top left is 0 (zero) dbFS.

[eheilner]

Stig - Thanks for the prompt response. So is there any way of either

1- Getting rid of the "air" - in other words getting the 0 DB 'ticks' aligned to the top & bottom of the track

OR

2 - Getting horizontal lines to show across the track display so it's easy to see where I'm close to 0 db? I've attached screen shot from WavePad showing what I mean.

Ideally you could do both.

[Stig Eliassen]

Originally Posted by eheilner

Stig - Thanks for the prompt response. So is there any way of either

1- Getting rid of the "air" - in other words getting the 0 DB 'ticks' aligned to the top & bottom of the track

OR

2 - Getting horizontal lines to show across the track display so it's easy to see where I'm close to 0 db? I've attached screen shot from WavePad showing what I mean.

Ideally you could do both.

No, not to my knowledge. I'm so used to the way PT works and displays things, that I don't think about it.

[john1192]

are you saying that that little line in PT is "0" ... ??

would that mean over the line shows overs ??

[Stig Eliassen]

Originally Posted by john1192

are you saying that that little line in PT is "0" ... ??

would that mean over the line shows overs ??

Yes, that's what I'm saying. I regard the gap as visual headroom/separation, and I love it, but I have no clue as to why it is so.