Vu (Volume Units); Peak Only; Peak/Vu; Peak Hold Time - Sound Devices 788T-SSD User Manual And Technical Information

788T/788T-SSD User Guide and Technical Information

VU (Volume Units)

Ballistics correspond closely to how the human ear perceives loudness and provides a good visual
indication of how loud a signal will be. In VU mode, the attack and decay of the meter signal is
300 msec. While giving a very good visual indication of perceived loudness, VU meters give poor in-
formation on actual signal peaks and thus not ideal for use during recording. In VU mode, the front
panel meter labeling is in volume units.

Peak Only

Peak-reading ballistics correspond to actual signal maximums, but don't necessarily correspond to
perceived signal loudness. A peak meter has a near-instantaneous attack to display maximum signal
amplitude and a slow decay to allow the user to see them. Peak metering is essential for digital re-
cording, since signal overload can cause immediate distortion. The peak meters front panel markings
are calibrated in dBFS, decibels relative to full-scale digital signal.

Peak/VU

Peak/VU mode will display VU and Peak level information simultaneously. In this mode, the per-
ceived loudness (VU) is displayed as it is in VU mode, and the Peak level is indicated by the upper-
most LED. With this combination the user gets the best of both VU and Peak metering by seeing both
the perceived loudness and the peaks of the signal at the same time. Peak/VU is the factory default.

Peak Hold Time

Peak-hold indicators are useful for metering in applications when an overload condition is unac-
ceptable or when program material must not exceed a prescribed threshold. The Peak Hold Time is
user selectable in the Setup Menu option METER: PEAK HOLD TIME. The peak LED will hold its
position for the selected duration from 0 to 5 seconds in .1 second increments. This allows for easy
viewing of peak values that could otherwise go unnoticed.

Input Activity Ring LEDs

The LEDs surrounding the Input gain pots indicate the input activity for each input respectively. The
LEDs illuminate in various colors and intensities to represent the state of each input
LED Color
Green
Red
Solid Red
Yellow
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v. 1.71 Features and specifications are subject to change. Visit www.sounddevices.com for the latest documentation.
Analog and digital input signal presence. LED brightness intensifies as the amplitude of the input
signal increases.
Input signal has reached the user-defined Input Peak Threshold. The threshold level is set in the
Setup Menu option Meter: Input Peak Threshold from -20 to -1 dBFS.
Input has been muted from the Input Settings Window for the respective input.
Input limiter is attenuating. LED brightness intensifies as the input signal increases.
Description