mwall
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How does 24- vs 16-bit work?
Can someone explain what's happening in this scenario:
I started one project with 24-bit settings, and recording some things, then closed it. I started a new project, changed the settings in Audio Settings to 16-bit, recorded and closed. Now when I open my original 24-bit project, and I look under Audio Settings, it is now set at 16-bit. Does this mean all my 24-bit clips have been converted to 16-bit? And vice versa, when I open an original 16-bit recording when my settings are now set at 24-bit, is SONAR padding my recordings with extra wasted bits?
Why doesn't SONAR automatically follow the project's original settings? This is quite stupid in my opinion, unless I'm just not understanding what's going on, in which case that would make me quite stupid, I guess.
--Mark
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bitflipper
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Re:How does 24- vs 16-bit work?
2011/08/06 16:18:58
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Select a clip and press ALT-Enter or right-click and select Properties. This will tell you whether a given clip is 16 or 24 bits.
If you load 16-bit files into a 24-bit project, the files are simply padded out to 24 bits with zeroes. Those aren't really "wasted bits", though, as they provide more wiggle room for signal processing without losing resolution.
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Cactus Music
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Re:How does 24- vs 16-bit work?
2011/08/06 19:57:58
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You can change the global settings for word length in Sonar and it will not effect other projects. Look at the bottom of the screen and it will show you the resolution. I have used a few different settings over time and those projects will open in the word length they were recorded in,,, but if you go to record new tracks they will record at the global default. Word length is OK , but Word clock cannot be changed. As Bit flipper says and he should know...:>
post edited by Cactus Music - 2011/08/06 19:59:22
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jhughs
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Re:How does 24- vs 16-bit work?
2011/08/07 11:01:11
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So, with that questions resolved, the underlying question is why are you changing from 24 back to 16? (Just curious and perhaps you have some insights others had not considered.)
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brundlefly
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Re:How does 24- vs 16-bit work?
2011/08/07 12:25:27
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I started a new project, changed the settings in Audio Settings to 16-bit, recorded and closed. Now when I open my original 24-bit project, and I look under Audio Settings, it is now set at 16-bit. That setting affects only playback - i.e. what is sent to the interface. Record bit depth is determined by the setting under File > Audio Data.
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mwall
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Re:How does 24- vs 16-bit work?
2011/08/10 21:01:00
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Oh my. I thought the recording bit level was set through Audio Options / Audio Driver Bit Depth. That was what I was changing from 24 to 16 and back, but when I looked under Global / Audio Data, it said 16 for recording bit depth. Crap ... so I guess I've been recording everything at 16 bit. I've now changed it to 24, but render bit depth says 32. Not sure what that means. Also, I'm confused now about the Audio Options / Audio Driver Bit Depth setting. Is there any advantage to having that set one way over the other?
To answer someone's earlier question about why I was changing the settings, I had intended for all my original projects to be recorded at 24 bit, but I was transfering some old cassette tapes to mp3 format and didn't see a need to record them as 24-bit, so I thought I was changing the recording bit level for those.
Mark
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mwall
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Re:How does 24- vs 16-bit work?
2011/08/10 21:04:37
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Wait, I just right clicked on a clip that I recorded, and looked at the properties. It said 24-bit. Another track that I recorded in the same project says 16 bit. So, once again, I'm really confused. The only thing I've been changed back and forth is the Audio Options / Audio Driver Bit Depth setting.
Mark
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bitflipper
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Re:How does 24- vs 16-bit work?
2011/08/11 00:31:54
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Once a clip has been recorded at 16 bits into a project with the render depth set to 16 bits, it stays at 16 bits until you bounce it. If you have set the render depth to 24 bits after recording that clip, just bounce it. It will then be a 24-bit file.
All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. My Stuff
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