13-12
Configuring Pro Audio for 18-, 20-, and 24-bit
Operation
When Þrst installed, Pro Audio is conÞgured to create 16-bit audio
sampled at 44.1kHz. Nearly all sound cards support this kind of audio
data. A growing number of "professional" cards are capable of recording
and playing back audio at higher bit depths (18-, 20-, and 24-bit) and
sampling rates (48 kHz and 96 kHz). Pro Audio allows you to take
advantage of these higher bit depths and sampling rates. In order to get
the best results, do the following:
¥ Set the desired audio driver bit depth and sampling rate
before recording or importing audio.
¥ Choose a Þle bit depth of 24 if you intend to use your sound
card at an audio driver bit depth of 18, 20 or 24.
Buffer Characteristics These fields list the buffer characteristics
for each sound card that the Wave
Device profiler has come up with. In
general, it is better not to change these
settings without consulting Cakewalk’s
support page at http://
www.cakewalk.com/Support/Docs/
DMASettings.htm or Cakewalk technical
support.
It is important to set the audio driver bit depth and sampling rate
before you import or record any audio. Changing audio driver bit
depth degrades the quality of your projectÕs existing audio. Also, a
project's sampling rate can only be altered before you add any audio.
To set the audio driver bit depth and sampling rate, open the Direct-
Show Audio dialog box (Options-Audio command), click the Gen-
eral tab, and choose values from the Audio Driver Bit Depth and
Sampling Rate Þelds.
Pro Audio allocates memory in bytes (8-bits). If you do not choose a
24-bit Þle depth (3 bytes), Pro Audio truncates your 18-, 20- or 24-bit
data down to 16 bits (2 bytes), defeating the beneÞts of your sound
card's higher bit depth capability. Set the Þle bit depth by opening
the DirectShow Audio dialog box (Options-Audio command), click-
ing the General tab, and choosing a value from the File Bit Depth
Þeld.
To Next Page
Loading...