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PPM scales are useful for monitoring peak levels. The meters use a fixed integration time (5 or 10 ms) that is sensitive to increases in volume, but the meters are less sensitive to decreases in volume than the VU scales, which produces less meter activity and decreased eyestrain.

Displaying VU/PPM meters

Sound Forge provides peak and VU/PPM (peak program) meters that you can use to monitor your audio levels.

You can toggle the display of the meter’s VU/PPM scale on and off. Right-click the meter and choose Show VU/PPM from the shortcut menu.

Adjusting the VU meters’ sensitivity

Unlike peak meters — which read instantaneous changes in your audio signal — the VU/PPM meters read a portion of the signal and calculate the average level. The size of the signal that the meters read is determined by the meters’ integration time.

To set the amount of data surrounding the cursor that will be used to calculate levels in the VU meters, specify a value in the VU meter integration time box on the Other tab of the Preferences dialog (to access the Preferences dialog, choose Preferences from the Options menu).

The PPM scales use a fixed integration time:

Scale

Integration time

UK PPM

10 ms

EBU PPM

10 ms

 

 

DIN PPM

5 ms

Nordic PPM

5 ms

 

 

Showing labels

Right-click the meters and choose Show Labels from the shortcut menu to toggle the meter dB markings on and off.

Holding peaks and valleys

Right-click the meters to access the Hold Peaks and Hold Valleys commands in the shortcut menu.

•Choose Hold Peaks to display a marker on the meters indicating the highest reading.

•Choose Hold Valleys to display a marker on the meters indicating the lowest reading.

LEARNING THE SOUND FORGE WORKSPACE

CHP. 3