Audio Metering Display - Blackmagicdesign SmartView Duo Installation And Operation Manual

Using SmartScope Duo
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Audio Metering Display showing peak levels and audio balance.
Select audio channels from the Set drop down menu.

Audio Metering Display

The Audio Metering Displays show you the audio levels in the embedded audio of the SDI video signal. Up
to 16 channels of embedded audio are de-embedded and then displayed in either dBVU or dBFS format.
The VU meter shows average signal levels, is easy to use and very common on older equipment. VU is
calibrated to the SMPTE recommendation of a 1 kHz tone test signal set to -20 dBFS.
dBFS is essentially a meter of the overall digital audio signal and is common on modern digital equipment.
The right hand audio scope can monitor two channels of audio, which can be selected from the Set drop
down menu. e.g., CH 1 & 2, CH 3 & 4, etc. The audio scope presents audio in an X-Y view so you can see
audio balance issues, out of phase conditions and whether an audio track is mono or stereo. Mono audio
should appear as a single vertical "in phase" line. If the line is horizontal, then your audio is "out of phase"
and could cancel out (i.e., loss of audio) when received by downstream equipment. Audio phase is one of
the most common audio faults in large facilities, where cables can be incorrectly connected.
When monitoring stereo signals, the line of the right hand audio scope fans out to represent the difference
between the left and right audio channels. The more stereo sound contained in the audio track, the more
circular the line will appear. If the audio contains minimal stereo content, then the scope will appear more
concentrated around the vertical axis.
Dialog audio tends to appear as a vertical line, whereas music with plenty of stereo content will cause the
scope to puff out. This is because mono audio is L+R, and will display on the vertical axis, whereas stereo
content is L-R, and will display on the horizontal axis to show the stereo difference.