Hi all,
I have a bit of a quandary and would very much appreciate input from the audio experts on here.
The TL:DR version is that I am looking for an accessible way to know if the sound levels in an audio file clip in the waveform, besides just listening to it and giving my best guess.
I am streaming some audio from a line-level source and have been adjusting the volume by ear, mainly by raising it in the program I am using. I really was hoping there was a way to actually know if my audio is clipping, even slightly, before it is so bad that you can hear it. As I raise the volume, the sound appears to be slightly compressed, and that to me suggests that there may be some clipping going on already even if it isn’t appearing as distortion.
While I am streaming this audio, I can download archives of the recordings and could then analyze it in an audio editor.
I know that a sighted person can just look at the waveform and see if there are any clipped peaks, and this is what I want to be able to do. Is there any type of solution (JAWS script, NVDA ad-on, etc.) to make that waveform accessible to screen reader users? I have licenses for a couple versions of Sound Forge and Gold Wave and am open to any other suggestions.
Thanks!
Comments
I didn't know I needed this but I do
Even if I have sold it, I had a zoom h1 xlr for a few weeks and I encountered a similar issue where if a solution to what Michael is asking exists it would have been appreciated a lot.
Clipping
Hi Michael, would it be an option for you to analyze audio files with some command-line tools like ffmpeg or sox? If yes, I have an idea how this might be done.
Before I go into detail, let me ask a question for clarification: Are the clipped peaks already present in the audio file - or does the clipping only happen during playback when the volume is set too high?
What I'm Looking For
Hi Teele,
What I'm looking for is a tool or process to be able to tell if there are clipped peaks present in an audio file regardless of playback volume level.
It's my understanding that sighted people can view the waveform and tell if there is something in a file that goes over 0DB. With all of the various audio programs and scripts available, I figured there has to be something out there that would provide spoken output of this information.
If you know of anything that might do what I am looking for, I would greatly appreciate any info. I have limited experience with Command Prompt and am not opposed to learning something new.
Thanks,
Michael