Level Meters

   Throughout our applications, there are a variety of audio level meters. The most common of which, are the "status" meters, which are meant to show you if things are working at a glance. The status meters are typically in a prominent spot, the toolbar in Audio Hijack 2, the top control area in Audio Hijack Pro 2, and the center of the Broadcast window in Nicecast. The second type of meters are "reference" meters, meant for showing accurate readings of the audio signal level. These are in the Effects areas of Audio Hijack Pro, and Nicecast.

   Some, but not all, of our level meters support multiple modes of operation. For meters that support it, clicking on the meter (or the meters title bar) will present a menu of modes to choose from. The following matrix describes the available modes:

   Off - Turns the meters off entirely. This is useful if you are using a slower computer, or just want to save on CPU resource usage. Most level meters can take anywhere from 1-3% of a CPU, depending on the CPU.

   In [RMS/Peak] - Input modes measure the raw input signal, before any processing is applied.

   Out [RMS/Peak] - Output modes measure the level of the processed signal, after all Effects have been applied. The Output level is the level at which the audio will be recorded/broadcasted/etc. Note that this is before any "speaker volume/mute" adjustments are made, so Muting the speaker volume will not affect the level the Output meters display.

   [In/Out] RMS - RMS modes are basically the "average" signal level (really the Root-Mean-Square). This is the most common mode for casual usage.

   [In/Out] Peak - Peak modes show the highest signal level. They can be used to see if any distortion in the audio is being caused by clipping.

   The reference meters feature an accurate scale (-0 dB at the top, -oo dB on the bottom) and clip warning lights, while most status meters do not, but are fairly accurate anyway. VU Meters and MenuBar Meters are not accurate at all, but they look the coolest (so no complaints please).