You kind of have to tell us what you did to change the volume level and how you're measuring the change both in and outside the program.

Are you using VU meters are just judging by listening to your computer speakers?

Quote You kind of have to tell us what you did to change the volume level and how you're measuring the change both in and outside the program.

Are you using VU meters are just judging by listening to your computer speakers?

As per the attached. I adjusted Audio 1 and Audio 2 until they sounded the right levels. Basically I raised the vocal and reduced the music background. Am I supposed to save the settings in some way?

It sounded fine on playback but the produced video was no different. Is this enough?

The attached screenshot show that the audio in track 1 volume is set too high and is clipping (distortion) as shown by the yellow tips on the waveform. That is why the volume indicator is in the red.

Quote The attached screenshot show that the audio in track 1 volume is set too high and is clipping (distortion) as shown by the yellow tips on the waveform. That is why the volume indicator is in the red.

I feel good. Why because it takes so long to find out what is happening. The answer really has nothing to do with the question. I tried every level but nothing changed on production. It played in edit exactly as I wanted but the production didn't change. The image was in response to a previous answer which asked how I was changing the sound. I took that one so it could clearly be seen what I was using because the screen is rediculously dark and difficut to see.

The question is really simple. I want to increase the vocal and reduce the music levels. I did it as per instructions but the production doesn't change.

Perhaps someone out there would be able to tell me if there is something else I should be doing to make it take effect on the production.

Hi,

Two things to mention:

The audio of a produced video may "sound" different to the preview. This may be because of the audio profile used in production, but also it may depend on the playback system. I preview my edits on Koss headphones but I know from experience that the ideal preview balance between a vocal track, especially a VO, and the audio bed (as per my headphones) does not transfer directly to the produced .mp4 played on my TV - I have to make the VO/audio bed difference much more significant for it to sound "correct" on the TV. Dont know why - it just does!

The screen cap would indicate to me that the audio bed is way too high to allow a VO to come through clearly, and therefore boosting the VO results in too much volume and clipping etc. Difficult to be precise but I would lower the track gain of audio 2 with the horizontal slider. The small waveform produced may lead to more difficult visual editing, but this can be mitigated by expanding the audio track size vertically, by grabbing the lower border in the track ID column.

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

For customer support related issues, please contact:
- Customer service: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/customer-services.do
- Technical support: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/service/technical-support.do

Quote Hi,

Two things to mention:

The audio of a produced video may "sound" different to the preview. This may be because of the audio profile used in production, but also it may depend on the playback system. I preview my edits on Koss headphones but I know from experience that the ideal preview balance between a vocal track, especially a VO, and the audio bed (as per my headphones) does not transfer directly to the produced .mp4 played on my TV - I have to make the VO/audio bed difference much more significant for it to sound "correct" on the TV. Dont know why - it just does!

The screen cap would indicate to me that the audio bed is way too high to allow a VO to come through clearly, and therefore boosting the VO results in too much volume and clipping etc. Difficult to be precise but I would lower the track gain of audio 2 with the horizontal slider. The small waveform produced may lead to more difficult visual editing, but this can be mitigated by expanding the audio track size vertically, by grabbing the lower border in the track ID column.

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

Let me be honest. That's a load of bunkum. Technical jargon to explain something that is quite simple. Are you saying the audio functionality of PowerDirector 16 is crap?

Apart from anything else this is 3 days trying to get an answer to a simple issue. I said that was an image I used to respond with the process I was following. The actual indicators have nothing to do with my problem. Are you listening! It si so frustrating when I ask if its raining and you say it depends on what you mean by raining.

BOTTOM LINE. I FOLLOWED THE PROCESS. THE IMAGE IS JUST TO SHOW THE FUNCTION I USED. I TURNED DOWN THE MUSIC BY 50% AND INCREASED THE VOCAL BY 10%. IT SOUNDED GREAT. NOW WHAT IS THE POINT IF WHEN IT"S RECORDED IT REVERTS TO THE ORIGINAL.

I ASKED IF THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE I SHOULD HAVE DONE? IF WHAT I WANT TO DO DOESN'T WORK WHY IS IT AVAILABLE IN THE SOFTWARE AND THE SOFTWARE MUST BE CRAP WHICH IS BAD BECAUSE IT SAYS IT CAN BE DONE. I ASSUME I MISSED SOMETHING OUT. I DIDN'T NEED A BIBLE OF TECNOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS.

I AM HUMAN BUT EVEN MY DOG COULD TELL THE DIFFERENCE IN VOLUME.

Thank you for your considered feedback.

I'm sure members will offer further help if they can.

PowerDirector Moderator

For customer support related issues, please contact:
- Customer service: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/customer-services.do
- Technical support: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/service/technical-support.do

Quote Thank you for your considered feedback.

I'm sure members will offer further help if they can.

PowerDirector Moderator

Please I know you do a valuable job but please do not get involved if you don't understand the question or don't know the answer.

Would be appreciated. Thank you

Quote


Please I know you do a valuable job but please do not get involved if you don't understand the question or don't know the answer.

Would be appreciated. Thank you

Thank you for your appreciation.

I'm sure other members will labour hard to understand your question better and provide you with their suggestions.

PowerDirector Moderator

For customer support related issues, please contact:
- Customer service: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/customer-services.do
- Technical support: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/service/technical-support.do

Something remembered from a while ago that applies to Win 7 pc's but should be found on other Windows systems.

Only takes moments so worth a try ...


Control Panel - Sound.

Right click your (ticked) playback device and select 'Properties'.

Drop down the 'Advanced' tab.

Un-tick 'Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device'

'Apply' and exit.

Cheers - Don Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit,
Processor: Intel i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz (8 CPUs)
Memory: 16 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
120 GB SSD
Drift Ghost S Headcam

It’s interesting. I asked a simple question, and nobody checked the process I followed. The only person who did was the first person who responded asked for more information and then disappeared after I replied with an image.

Nodeedon asked me to check something and I did. It is already ticked.

Over a week and my problem is not fixed. Cyberlink have asked for loads of files and information and yet nobody so far has asked about my process or made any suggestions just in case I was missing something. I used to be in charge of IT for a large organisation and service like this would be embarrassing.

I decided to check more for myself. You can see the tune Butchers has been put in the timeline 4 times. I did nothing except place them there. Why therefore is the second one half the volume of the other 3? I then added another tune and added it to two different sound levels on the timeline. I adjusted one and then produced the whole lot. It worked but I’m still unsure of what actual process I should have followed. I am uncomfortable because I can’t guarantee that after an hour what I produce will have the sound at the correct level. I have no idea why one of the 4 pieces on the same timeline level was a much lower volume than the other three.

I am now coming to the conclusion there are a lot of bugs in this system that show up and even worse they are inconsistent. Work sometimes and not others. I also have a concern that the template is very difficult to read because it’s mostly black and has little contrast in the colours.

My confidence in PD16 is waning rapidly, especially as what I want to do is a simple basic operation.

Quote: 'Nodeedon asked me to check something and I did. It is already ticked.'


With respect strifemit I suggested that you removed the tick (un-tick).

Whilst it might not help your issue it is an avenue worth exploring I feel.

Don Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit,
Processor: Intel i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz (8 CPUs)
Memory: 16 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
120 GB SSD
Drift Ghost S Headcam

Quote Quote: 'Nodeedon asked me to check something and I did. It is already ticked.'


With respect strifemit I suggested that you removed the tick (un-tick).

Whilst it might not help your issue it is an avenue worth exploring I feel.

Don

Thanks for that correction. I will bear that in mind. If you notice I did some tests and it worked but there were some unexplained issues. Cyberlink have everything now apart from actual laptop. Hopefully they will come back with something. In the meantime I believe I can work around although it's a pain in the neck and wastes time. If I get stuck I will try the uuntick but my problem is I believe other things I do need that.

Thanks once more.

Quote
I am now coming to the conclusion there are a lot of bugs in this system

There are serious problems in the audio area. To be fair, this is an area that is a complete mess as far as the video industry is concerned. I come from the audio side where we have strong standards and complete control over the audio that goes out the door. In the video world, audio is thought of as an "accessory" and not terribly important. There is a hodge-podge of standards in use and lots of really crappy converters.

I am working on an audition tape for a student applying to some of the best conservatories. The audio recording is flawless, but unfortunately, the universities all require submission in video format. When I run it through PD17, some of the audio is noticeably distorted. That caused me to search these forums, where one finds dozens of similar threads over the years and no real improvement.

A common suggestion is to lower the volume level several dB. Sorry, I mastered my audio to broadcast standards, staying significantly below integrated LU of -14. That should never be too loud. And even when I do lower it, there is still very audible degredation, like converting to MP3 at 128 Kb (which nobody would ever do on purpose).

One thing I do not see mentioned in any of these threads is the dithering process. If your audio has been mastered at CD standard (44.1 kHz), then PD will convert it to 48 kHz, I believe, and they are using a poor algorithm. The quality is improved (but not good) if you master the auto at 48K before running it through PD.

Thank you

All good stuff to know.

Quote


There are serious problems in the audio area. To be fair, this is an area that is a complete mess as far as the video industry is concerned. I come from the audio side where we have strong standards and complete control over the audio that goes out the door. In the video world, audio is thought of as an "accessory" and not terribly important. There is a hodge-podge of standards in use and lots of really crappy converters.

I am working on an audition tape for a student applying to some of the best conservatories. The audio recording is flawless, but unfortunately, the universities all require submission in video format. When I run it through PD17, some of the audio is noticeably distorted. That caused me to search these forums, where one finds dozens of similar threads over the years and no real improvement.

A common suggestion is to lower the volume level several dB. Sorry, I mastered my audio to broadcast standards, staying significantly below integrated LU of -14. That should never be too loud. And even when I do lower it, there is still very audible degredation, like converting to MP3 at 128 Kb (which nobody would ever do on purpose).

One thing I do not see mentioned in any of these threads is the dithering process. If your audio has been mastered at CD standard (44.1 kHz), then PD will convert it to 48 kHz, I believe, and they are using a poor algorithm. The quality is improved (but not good) if you master the auto at 48K before running it through PD.