Volume Leveling
Media Center can analyze your audio files so that you can play them back at the same volume. The information is stored in the database and in the file itself, so that playing the file with any player will play it back at the volume set here.
Use the functionality of Smartlists to tell you which files still have to be analyzed. Create a Smartlist with the following rules:
- mediatype=[audio] filetype=mp3 -artist=[] (replaygain==0 or peaklevel==0 or bpm==0 or intensity==0)
It's a two-step process. First, the program analyzes your files and adjusts the gain levels. Second, you select to playback your files using those levels.
Step 1: Analyze Audio Files
Select files to be analyzed.
- To analyze all files, select files using one of the following methods then go to Tools > Advanced Tools > Analyze Audio:
- Use the smartlist mentioned above; or
- Select Audio Mode, then select all files in the content list (Ctrl + A)
- To analyze a few files, select the files in the content pane, right-click and select Library Tools > Analyze Audio.
The Audio Analysis screen shows the files selected. Make sure that "Skip analyzed files" is checked, and select "Analyze".
Wait for the analysis to be complete. This could take a while, depending on the number of files it is analyzing. If you have many files (over 5,000), perhaps you can do this overnight.
Step 2: Set your Playback Mode to Read the Replay Gain Values
- Go to Player > Playback Options > DSP Studio on the Menu bar.
- Place a check mark in the box next to Replay Gain in the tree.
Auto Analyze during Rip
You can set the program to automatically analyze files when you rip them from a CD to your computer. This setting is enabled to default. For information on how to disable this setting, see CD Settings.
Note: DSP functions are only available during the playback of an Audio CD if you have "Use Digital Playback" selected under Tools > Options > CD. Some CD drives do not recognize digital playback. If you have a problem playing Audio CDs, try disabling this option.
For more information about replay gain, see Replay Gain - A Proposed Standard.
Technical Information on Replay Gain
The program does "radio gain" analysis. It uses 83dB as the target gain, rather than 89dB used by MP3gain, Vorbisgain and replay gain for MPC.
For other options, including Adjustment and Overflow Handling, see below.