How to Use Waves Wlm Loudness Meter Crack to Boost Your Audio Quality
Waves Wlm Loudness Meter Crack: A Review and Comparison with Other Tools
If you are a sound engineer, a podcaster, a musician, or anyone who works with audio, you know how important it is to measure and control the loudness of your sound. Loudness is not the same as volume; it is a subjective perception of how loud a sound is, influenced by factors such as frequency, duration, and dynamic range. Loudness is also affected by the playback device and the listening environment.
Waves Wlm Loudness Meter Crack
Why does loudness matter? Because different platforms and broadcasters have different standards and requirements for loudness levels. If your audio is too loud or too quiet, it can cause distortion, clipping, listener fatigue, or rejection by the platform. To avoid these problems, you need to use a loudness meter that can measure and adjust your audio according to the relevant specifications.
One of the most popular and versatile loudness meters on the market is the Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter plugin. This plugin provides precision loudness measurement and metering for broadcast, movie trailers, games, packaged media, and more. It is fully compatible with SoundGrid and compliant with all current ITU, EBU, and ATSC specifications. It offers comprehensive Momentary, Short Term, Long Term, and True Peak readouts, plus a unique warning and logging system that keeps track of your levels and lets you know when you've exceeded them or fallen short.
In this article, we will review the features and benefits of the Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter plugin, and compare it with some other tools that are available for loudness measurement and correction.
What is Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter?
Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter is a virtual effect audio plugin that can be used in any DAW or audio editor that supports VST, VST3, Audio Unit, or AAX formats. It can also be used as a standalone application or integrated with Waves eMotion LV1 live mixer.
The plugin has four main components: a metering section, a settings panel, a gain and trim section, and a true peak limiter section.
The metering section displays the following parameters:
Short Term: The perceived short term loudness in LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale).
Long Term: The perceived loudness averaged across the program signal in LUFS.
Range: The overall loudness range across the program signal in LU (Loudness Units).
Momentary: The momentary loudness levels in LUFS, according to the momentary scale control settings.
True Peak: The inter-sample peaks that do not register in the sample data but may occur during reproduction of the digital signal in dBTP (Decibels relative to True Peak).
Unders: The number of times the signal goes below the specified Short Term Min value indicated in the settings panel.
Overs: The number of times the signal exceeds the specified Short Term Max value indicated in the settings panel.
The settings panel allows you to choose from various measurement methods, standards, timescales, and weighting types. You can also set your target levels, tolerance ranges, warning thresholds, logging options, and calibration reference.
The gain and trim section allows you to adjust the input gain and output trim of your audio signal to achieve the desired loudness level. You can also use the auto mode to automatically match your audio to the target level.
The true peak limiter section allows you to apply a brickwall limiter to your audio signal to prevent any true peak overshoots that may cause distortion or clipping. You can adjust the threshold, release time, and dithering options of the limiter.
What are the benefits of Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter?
Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter has several benefits that make it a powerful and reliable tool for loudness measurement and correction. Some of these benefits are:
It is compatible with all major platforms and broadcasters' specifications. You can easily switch between different presets for ITU-R BS.1770-4 (the international standard for broadcast), EBU R-128 (the European Broadcasting Union standard), ATSC A/85 (the Advanced Television Systems Committee standard for North America), Netflix (the streaming service's own standard), Spotify (the music streaming service's own standard), YouTube (the video streaming service's own standard), Apple Podcasts (the podcast platform's own standard), AES (the Audio Engineering Society recommendation), TASA (the Trailer Audio Standards Association recommendation), ARIB TR-B32 (the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses standard for Japan), OP-59 (the Australian free-to-air TV standard), AGCOM 219/09/CSP (the Italian communications authority standard), EBU R-128 S1 (the EBU standard for short-form content), EBU R-128 S2 (the EBU standard for streaming services), or create your own custom preset.
It has an intelligent dialog sensor that detects and measures speech in your audio signal. This allows you to use dialog as the loudness anchor for your program material, which is especially useful for podcasts, documentaries, interviews, etc.
It has a warning and logging system that alerts you when your audio exceeds or falls below your target levels or tolerance ranges. You can also export a log file that records all the measurements and events that occurred during your session.
It has a gain and trim section that allows you to easily adjust your audio levels to match your target level. You can also use the auto mode to automatically normalize your audio to your target level.
It has a true peak limiter that prevents any inter-sample peaks from causing distortion or clipping in your audio signal. You can also use the dithering option to reduce quantization noise when reducing bit depth.
How does Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter compare with other tools?
There are many other tools that can measure and control loudness levels for audio production. Some of them are:
Youlean Loudness Meter: A free plugin that offers basic loudness measurement features such as LUFS metering, true peak metering, histogram display, resizable interface, presets for various standards, etc.
Loudness Penalty: A free online tool that shows you how much different streaming services will reduce or increase the volume of your audio based on their own loudness normalization algorithms.
iZotope Insight 2: A paid plugin that offers advanced loudness measurement features such as LUFS metering,
How to use Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter?
Using Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter is easy and intuitive. You can follow these simple steps to measure and adjust your audio loudness levels:
Insert the plugin on the master bus of your DAW or audio editor, or launch it as a standalone application.
Select the preset that matches the platform or broadcaster you are targeting, or create your own custom preset.
Play your audio and observe the metering section. You will see the Short Term, Long Term, Range, Momentary, and True Peak values for your audio signal.
If your audio is too loud or too quiet, use the gain and trim section to increase or decrease the input gain and output trim of your audio signal. You can also use the auto mode to automatically match your audio to the target level.
If your audio has any true peak overshoots, use the true peak limiter section to apply a brickwall limiter to your audio signal. You can adjust the threshold, release time, and dithering options of the limiter.
If you want to use dialog as the loudness anchor for your audio, enable the dialog sensor and adjust the sensitivity and threshold settings.
If you want to be alerted when your audio exceeds or falls below your target levels or tolerance ranges, enable the warning system and adjust the warning thresholds.
If you want to export a log file that records all the measurements and events that occurred during your session, enable the logging system and choose the log file name and location.
What are some tips and tricks for using Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter?
Here are some tips and tricks that can help you get the most out of Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter:
Use the metering section as a guide, not a rule. The metering values are not absolute; they are relative to the target level and tolerance range you set. You can adjust these settings according to your own preferences and goals.
Use the range value as an indicator of how dynamic your audio is. A high range value means your audio has a lot of contrast between loud and quiet parts; a low range value means your audio has a more consistent loudness level. Depending on your genre and style, you may want to increase or decrease the dynamic range of your audio.
Use the momentary scale control to zoom in or out on the momentary meter. This can help you see more details or get a broader overview of your momentary loudness levels.
Use the calibration reference control to adjust the reference level for all measurements. This can help you match different sources or standards that use different reference levels.
Use the presets menu to quickly switch between different measurement methods, standards, timescales, and weighting types. You can also save and load your own custom presets.
How to download and install Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter?
If you want to use Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter, you need to purchase it from the Waves website or an authorized dealer. The plugin costs $399, but you can often find it on sale or as part of a bundle. You can also try it for free for 7 days with the Waves Central app.
Once you have purchased the plugin, you need to download and install it on your computer. You can use the Waves Central app to manage your Waves products and licenses. Here are the steps to download and install Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter:
Download and install the Waves Central app from the Waves website.
Launch the Waves Central app and log in with your Waves account.
Go to the Install tab and select WLM Plus Loudness Meter from the list of products.
Click on Install and follow the instructions on the screen.
Once the installation is complete, you can activate your license using the Waves Central app or a USB flash drive.
You can now use Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter in your DAW or audio editor of choice.
What are some alternatives to Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter?
Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter is not the only loudness meter plugin available on the market. There are some alternatives that you may want to consider, depending on your needs and budget. Some of them are:
FabFilter Pro-L 2: A paid plugin that offers advanced loudness metering and limiting features such as LUFS metering, true peak metering, loudness range display, surround sound support, oversampling options, linear-phase processing, etc.
ToneBoosters EBU Loudness: A paid plugin that offers basic loudness metering and correction features such as LUFS metering, true peak metering, loudness range display, gain and trim controls, presets for various standards, etc.
Klangfreund LUFS Meter: A paid plugin that offers basic loudness metering and correction features such as LUFS metering, true peak metering, loudness range display, gain and trim controls, presets for various standards, etc.
MeldaProduction MLoudnessAnalyzer: A free plugin that offers basic loudness metering features such as LUFS metering, true peak metering, loudness range display, etc.
Conclusion
Loudness measurement and correction is an essential part of audio production, especially in the age of digital streaming. You need to use a loudness meter that can help you achieve the optimal loudness level for your target platform or broadcaster.
Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter is one of the best loudness meter plugins on the market. It offers precision loudness measurement and metering, as well as loudness correction and adjustment tools. It is compatible with all major platforms and broadcasters' specifications, and it has an intelligent dialog sensor, a warning and logging system, a gain and trim section, and a true peak limiter. It is easy to use and affordable, and it can help you improve the quality and consistency of your audio.
If you are looking for a powerful and reliable loudness meter plugin, you should definitely check out Waves WLM Plus Loudness Meter. You can purchase it from the Waves website or an authorized dealer, or try it for free for 7 days with the Waves Central app. You won't regret it! b99f773239
