(1)
Your rating: Now say why...
- Download Now
16.1 MB -
Visit Developer's Site
The Conversations Network
Levelator adjusts the audio levels within your podcast or other audio file for variations from one speaker to the next, for example. It's not a compressor, normalizer or limiter although it contains all three. It's much more than those tools, and it's much simpler to use. The UI is dirt-simple: Drag-and-drop any WAV or AIFF file onto The Leveler's application window, and a few moments later you'll find a new version which just sounds better.
Have you ever recorded an interview in which you and your guest ended up at different volumes? How about a panel discussion where some people
Have you ever recorded an interview in which you and your guest ended up at different volumes? How about a panel discussion where some people
What's New
Version 2.1.1:
- If an .mp4 file was submited it was reported as an .mp3 file. (Neither are accepted by The Levelator.)
- Attempts to Levelate compressed files (ie, other than WAV, AIFF, etc.) are now detected and reported in a more friendly manner.
- If the source file can't be opened (eg, due to a permissions problem) a better error message is displayed.
- "New Version" alerts are now displayed even for minor updates if specified on our servers.
- When installing a new version, the program did not always display the "news" file on first startup (OS X only).
- There were a variety of problems under OS X:
- Version 2.0.3: Audio files could not be processed on PowerPC Macs under OS X 10.4.x. (The visible error message began ""Level reports: dyld:lazy symbol binding failed: Symbol not found")
- Version 2.0.3: A permissions error was reported on a variety of OS X versions and configurations.
- Version 2.1.0: Failed on PowerPC Macs (all versions of OS X).
- When installing a new version, the program did not always display the "news" file on first startup (OS X only).
Version 2.1.1:
- If an .mp4 file was submited it was reported as an .mp3 file. (Neither are accepted by The Levelator.)
- Attempts to Levelate compressed files (ie, other than WAV, AIFF, etc.) are now detected and reported in a more friendly manner.
- If the source file can't be opened (eg, due to a permissions problem) a better error message is displayed.
- "New Version" alerts are now more...
Requirements
PPC / Intel, Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later.
PPC / Intel, Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later.
The Levelator User Discussion (Write a Review)
Overall:
(3)
(3)
| Downloads:10,446 |
| Version Downloads:3,082 |
| Type:Multimedia & Design : Audio |
| License:Free |
| Date:14 Feb 2010 |
| Platform:PPC / Intel |
| Price:Free |
Overall (Version 2.x): |
| Features: |
| Ease of Use: |
| Value: |
| Stability: |
-
-
-
Levelator adjusts the audio levels within your podcast or other audio file for variations from one speaker to the next, for example. It's not a compressor, normalizer or limiter although it contains all three. It's much more than those tools, and it's much simpler to use. The UI is dirt-simple: Drag-and-drop any WAV or AIFF file onto The Leveler's application window, and a few moments later you'll find a new version which just sounds better.
Have you ever recorded an interview in which you and your guest ended up at different volumes? How about a panel discussion where some people were close to microphones and others were not? These are the problems the post-production engineers of Team ITC solve every day, and it used to sometimes take them hours of painstaking work with expensive and complex tools like SoundTrack Pro, Audacity, Sound Forge or Audition to solve them. Now it takes mere seconds. Seriously. The Levelator is unlike any other audio tool you've ever seen, heard or used. It's magic. And it's free.
When we developed the IT Conversations component-based show-assembly system (the first generation of GigaVox Audio Lite, see below), we realized all the components had to be of the same loudness or the results would sound awful. We limped along for many months using the RMS normalization functions in various applications, but the results weren't satisfactory and it required tools and skillsets that some of our post-production audio engineers didn't have. One of our best engineers, Bruce Sharpe, offered to write a standalone software RMS normalization utility, which we've been using as part of our production system GVUploader for nearly a year.
The GVUploader's normalizer acts similar to an intelligent RMS-based compressor/limiter combination, and it therefore affects primarily the short-term (transient) sounds and the long-term overall loudness of the file. It doesn't make the kind of adjustments that a skilled audio engineer can perform in software or at a mixing console, riding the levels up and down to compensate for medium-term variations.
There are some hardware devices such as various AGC (automatic-gain control) components that can do moderate leveling, but since they have to operate in real time (i.e., without look-ahead), they can't do much. And they aren't cheap, let alone free. Even a skilled human can only react to changes unless s/he is lucky enough to be present during a recording session and can use visual cues to anticipate coming variations. Software can do better by performing multiple passes over the audio, generating a loudness map of where the volume changes. (It's not actually that simple, but the metaphor is helpful.)
Bruce, with help from his son, Malcolm, had proven that he knew how to tackle these problems in ways that no one else anywhere in the audio/software industry has done to date. So we asked him, "Bruce, do you you think you can write a leveler that corrects for medium-term variations in loudness instead of the short-term and long-term variatons processed by compressor/limiters and normalizers, respectively?" Bruce and Malcolm took on the challenge, and eight months later we began testing The Levelator.
Have you ever recorded an interview in which you and your guest ended up at different volumes? How about a panel discussion where some people were close to microphones and others were not? These are the problems the post-production engineers of Team ITC solve every day, and it used to sometimes take them hours of painstaking work with expensive and complex tools like SoundTrack Pro, Audacity, Sound Forge or Audition to solve them. Now it takes mere seconds. Seriously. The Levelator is unlike any other audio tool you've ever seen, heard or used. It's magic. And it's free.
When we developed the IT Conversations component-based show-assembly system (the first generation of GigaVox Audio Lite, see below), we realized all the components had to be of the same loudness or the results would sound awful. We limped along for many months using the RMS normalization functions in various applications, but the results weren't satisfactory and it required tools and skillsets that some of our post-production audio engineers didn't have. One of our best engineers, Bruce Sharpe, offered to write a standalone software RMS normalization utility, which we've been using as part of our production system GVUploader for nearly a year.
The GVUploader's normalizer acts similar to an intelligent RMS-based compressor/limiter combination, and it therefore affects primarily the short-term (transient) sounds and the long-term overall loudness of the file. It doesn't make the kind of adjustments that a skilled audio engineer can perform in software or at a mixing console, riding the levels up and down to compensate for medium-term variations.
There are some hardware devices such as various AGC (automatic-gain control) components that can do moderate leveling, but since they have to operate in real time (i.e., without look-ahead), they can't do much. And they aren't cheap, let alone free. Even a skilled human can only react to changes unless s/he is lucky enough to be present during a recording session and can use visual cues to anticipate coming variations. Software can do better by performing multiple passes over the audio, generating a loudness map of where the volume changes. (It's not actually that simple, but the metaphor is helpful.)
Bruce, with help from his son, Malcolm, had proven that he knew how to tackle these problems in ways that no one else anywhere in the audio/software industry has done to date. So we asked him, "Bruce, do you you think you can write a leveler that corrects for medium-term variations in loudness instead of the short-term and long-term variatons processed by compressor/limiters and normalizers, respectively?" Bruce and Malcolm took on the challenge, and eight months later we began testing The Levelator.
Copyright © 2012 MacUpdate LLC
- -
+4
+46
Chrischram reviewed on 31 Jan 2010
+4
+151
MisterE reviewed on 13 Oct 2007
+4
+49
MadMacMad reviewed on 24 Dec 2006
Great little Application ! Works better than i thought ! I'm a pro audio engineer. Great for Speak & Podcast's. Will try it on a Vocal Track.
Great Software ! Keep on the good Work !
Thx for keep it free !!!!
MadMac