Comments on: To Dither or Not http://www.wiretotheear.com/2011/04/02/to-dither-or-not/ Mon, 20 May 2013 18:44:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Adam S http://www.wiretotheear.com/2011/04/02/to-dither-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-29282 Adam S Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:45:26 +0000 http://www.wiretotheear.com/?p=6990#comment-29282 @Mark - I was going to post a link to that video, too! The video Oliver posted is totally unscientific. Sure, you can hear a difference when going to 8 bit, but you probably can't when going to 16. The Weiner video demonstrates a null test between dithered and un-dithered files. The files almost completely null each other out, proving that dithering is not necessary. However, dithering can't *hurt* either, so it is still recommended as a general practice. @Mark – I was going to post a link to that video, too! The video Oliver posted is totally unscientific. Sure, you can hear a difference when going to 8 bit, but you probably can’t when going to 16. The Weiner video demonstrates a null test between dithered and un-dithered files. The files almost completely null each other out, proving that dithering is not necessary. However, dithering can’t *hurt* either, so it is still recommended as a general practice.

]]> By: strangenotez http://www.wiretotheear.com/2011/04/02/to-dither-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-29139 strangenotez Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:41:36 +0000 http://www.wiretotheear.com/?p=6990#comment-29139 @Mark - a good stance to take, unless someone else is relying on you to be their final step before going to Disk. as a music producer, I would agree with that statement 100% .The Recording Engineer in me also agrees, but a mixing (sometimes called upon to be mastering) engineer definitely needs to at least have an Idea of what Dithering is and what options are out there so they can make an informed decision, or be informed enough to leave Dithering alone so that the next person in the chain has the most options to make the final product sound the best. --Rock On @Mark – a good stance to take, unless someone else is relying on you to be their final step before going to Disk. as a music producer, I would agree with that statement 100% .The Recording Engineer in me also agrees, but a mixing (sometimes called upon to be mastering) engineer definitely needs to at least have an Idea of what Dithering is and what options are out there so they can make an informed decision, or be informed enough to leave Dithering alone so that the next person in the chain has the most options to make the final product sound the best.
–Rock On

]]> By: Mark http://www.wiretotheear.com/2011/04/02/to-dither-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-29138 Mark Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:32:05 +0000 http://www.wiretotheear.com/?p=6990#comment-29138 No harm in dithering in the final mixdown render, but it's entirely not worth worrying about. Save that mental energy for focusing on the music itself. Highly recommend Ethan Winer's very informative Audio Myths presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTlN6wjcvQ No harm in dithering in the final mixdown render, but it’s entirely not worth worrying about. Save that mental energy for focusing on the music itself.

Highly recommend Ethan Winer’s very informative Audio Myths presentation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTlN6wjcvQ

]]> By: Philipp http://www.wiretotheear.com/2011/04/02/to-dither-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-29053 Philipp Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:41:11 +0000 http://www.wiretotheear.com/?p=6990#comment-29053 Interesting. I always wondered, if dithering was a good idea. By the way, Oliver, while you are at it. Why don't you let us all participate in the process of having your album given the final finish. Starting from mixdown, mastering, artwork to delivering the final product. I bet we are all eager to see how you do it. Can't wait for the album. Cheers. Philipp Interesting.

I always wondered, if dithering was a good idea.

By the way, Oliver, while you are at it. Why don’t you let us all participate in the process of having your album given the final finish. Starting from mixdown, mastering, artwork to delivering the final product.
I bet we are all eager to see how you do it.
Can’t wait for the album.

Cheers. Philipp

]]> By: Strangenotez http://www.wiretotheear.com/2011/04/02/to-dither-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-29024 Strangenotez Sun, 03 Apr 2011 21:15:08 +0000 http://www.wiretotheear.com/?p=6990#comment-29024 -to say that it was more preferred with the sample material given might be more accurate. (also the mbit+ technology can be found in soundforge 10 and some other licencees) Different algorithms do better on certain types of program material- just because it shines on one piece doesn't mean it's the best choice for another. When doing Quick and dirty projects, of course we choose what sounds best and keep it moving. However, it is usually not a good idea to dither your projects if they're going to be sent to a mastering engineer. POW-R has been around for quite some time (want to say since the 90's) and IMO it's age shows a bit when compared with more modern alternatives. Still probably the most licensed with PT, Logic, Waves, and others under it's belt! Hey if it sounds good, do it I say. -to say that it was more preferred with the sample material given might be more accurate. (also the mbit+ technology can be found in soundforge 10 and some other licencees) Different algorithms do better on certain types of program material- just because it shines on one piece doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for another. When doing Quick and dirty projects, of course we choose what sounds best and keep it moving. However, it is usually not a good idea to dither your projects if they’re going to be sent to a mastering engineer. POW-R has been around for quite some time (want to say since the 90′s) and IMO it’s age shows a bit when compared with more modern alternatives. Still probably the most licensed with PT, Logic, Waves, and others under it’s belt! Hey if it sounds good, do it I say.

]]> By: Oliver Chesler http://www.wiretotheear.com/2011/04/02/to-dither-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-29017 Oliver Chesler Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:39:29 +0000 http://www.wiretotheear.com/?p=6990#comment-29017 Great thank you for the link... Izotope Ozone wins it seems! Great thank you for the link… Izotope Ozone wins it seems!

]]> By: Strangenotez http://www.wiretotheear.com/2011/04/02/to-dither-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-29016 Strangenotez Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:33:22 +0000 http://www.wiretotheear.com/?p=6990#comment-29016 If you want to, give this site a shot and see what your ears think about some of the other players out there. http://www.24-96.net/dither/ it's the great 24bit96kHz shootout!! If you want to, give this site a shot and see what your ears think about some of the other players out there. http://www.24-96.net/dither/ it’s the great 24bit96kHz shootout!!

]]> By: Raytrace http://www.wiretotheear.com/2011/04/02/to-dither-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-28982 Raytrace Sun, 03 Apr 2011 09:12:12 +0000 http://www.wiretotheear.com/?p=6990#comment-28982 nowadays I never dither untill the very final stage before upload - I use r8brain samplerate convertor (free) by Voxengo - I find its quality way nicer than most other methods I've tried - reverbs dont go all weird and crashes/cymbal/HH dont tend to turn into (unpleasant) white noise bursts. nowadays I never dither untill the very final stage before upload – I use r8brain samplerate convertor (free) by Voxengo – I find its quality way nicer than most other methods I’ve tried – reverbs dont go all weird and crashes/cymbal/HH dont tend to turn into (unpleasant) white noise bursts.

]]> By: synthetic http://www.wiretotheear.com/2011/04/02/to-dither-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-28958 synthetic Sun, 03 Apr 2011 02:09:20 +0000 http://www.wiretotheear.com/?p=6990#comment-28958 The rule of thumb is to only dither once, the last step should be dithering. The rule of thumb is to only dither once, the last step should be dithering.

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