Advanced Settings

This page has various settings that are intended for advanced users to further customize the program:

System

Reopen last session at startup

If this is checked, VoceVista Video will remember which files were open when it was last closed, and open those files again on the next startup.

Number of uncompressed files to cache

When VoceVista Video loads compressed files such as Mp3 or Ogg files, it first converts them into an uncompressed file that will be stored in your temp folder. This allows much faster access for scrolling and editing the file, but it might use up a lot of hard drive space. This setting determines how many uncompressed files will be stored in the temp folder. If you open a file that has already been uncompressed and is still in the cache, VoceVista Video will skip the uncompression, which will be much faster.

Automatically check for updates

When this setting is checked, VoceVista Video will periodically check if a new version is available, which will require an internet connection.

Logging Level

This specifies the amount of detail that is written to the log file.

Language

Set the language in which the user interface of VoceVista Video is displayed. Changing this requires a restart of the app for all changes to take effect.

Display

Waveform

The Waveform settings control the appearance of the Waveform and the Timeline Views. They are also available by right-clicking on either of those views.

Waveform uses Decibel

If checked, the Waveform and the Timeline will display intensity on a logarithmic scale.

Use symmetric waveform

If checked, the Waveform and Timeline will display intensity symmetrically.

Scales

Use vertical scale labels

Determines if the text on all scales along the Y-Axis will be vertical or horizontal. Vertical text uses less screen space, but horizontal text is easier to read. You can also access this setting by right-clicking on the actual scale.

Y-Scale with horizontal text Scale with vertical text
Show only scale units

By default, the scales will display the name of the scale and the unit, such as Time (s) and Frequency (Hz).

If this option is checked, the scales will only display their unit, such as s and Hz.

Markers

This settings control the visibility of Markers on different windows. This allows to further refine the Marker visibility in addition to setting the visibility of Markers by type.

Draw marker heads on timeline

If checked, the labels of Markers will be shown on the Timeline. If this option is not checked, only the boundaries of the Markers will be shown.

Show markers above the spectrogram

If checked, Markers will be drawn above the Spectrogram (the visibility for each marker type must also be enabled in the Markers menu).

Initial Time Range (in seconds)

This is the time range that will be set for new empty documents. By default it is 10 seconds.

Fixed Timeline Range (in minutes)

By default, the Timeline range starts with a range of 10 seconds for new recordings and expands as a recording grows longer. If the Timeline range is fixed by setting this option, it will stay the same length at all times.

Initial number of Overtone Sliders

Sets the number of visible overtone sliders for new empty documents, or for existing documents that are loaded for the first time.

Show Timeline on top

Shows the Timeline above the Spectrogramm instead of below it.

Spectrogram Scroll Mode

The Scroll Mode determines what happens when the time cursor reaches the end of the visible range during recording and playback.

Scrolling

Keeps the time cursor at fixed position and scrolls the window to the left.

Paging

Switches to a new empty page and then moves the time cursor across the page.

Decibel distance for background lines on spectrum

This setting allows background lines to be drawn on the Spectrum that mark different intensity levels. By default, these lines are draw 10 decibels apart from each other.

Decibel range of normalized spectrum

The dynamic range of intensities that is shown on the Spectrum when it is normalized.

Toolbar Icon Size

Allows to set the size of the Toolbar Icons to make them larger or smaller.

Recording

Insert silence after each take

This allows to specify an amount of silence that will be added to a file each time recording is stopped.

Automatically start recording when program starts

If this option is checked, the program will automatically start recording into a new empty file after it is started. This can also be achieved by starting the program with the /record command line parameter.

Clear recording after this many minutes

Setting this option can allow the program to run continuously without filling up the harddrive. For example, if this value is set to “10”, the program will record and visualize sound for 10 minutes and then delete the current file and start over.

Signal Generator

The Signal Generator can be used to play back a test signal over a separate sound card. This feature is specifically intended to measure the resonance of the oral cavity by playing a sound into it, whose echo can then by analyzed.

Play signal while recording

If this option is checked, the test signal will always be played during recording.

Wave Output Device

If you have multiple sound cards, you can use a separate output device to play the test signal, while the recorded sound can be played back with the main speakers.

Frequency (Hz)

The frequency in Hz of the test signal. Right now the only available signal is a square wave at maximum amplitude.

Signal Phase Ratio

This ratio determines the width of the up and down phases of the square wave signal. A value of 0.5 creates a symmetric signal. A smaller value will create a shorter up spike followed by a longer down period.

Cursor Lines

When moving the mouse across the Analyzer View, helper lines appear to make it easier to read the current cursor position on all scales. These settings allow to individually control the visibility of those lines.

Show Playback Cursor Line

Show the green playback cursor line. Turning this off is mostly useful for taking screenshots where the playback cursor would be in the way.

Show Time Cursor Line

Show the time of the cursor location across all views that have a time scale.

Show Frequency Cursor Line

Show the frequency of the cursor location across all views.

Show Intensity Cursor Line

Show the intensity line for the cursor location on the Spectrum.

Show time range on crosshair

Mark the time ranges on the cursor that are used to calculate the spectrum and the pitch.

Vowel Chart

These settings control the frequency ranges and scale mode of the Vowel Chart.

Audio Performance

Enable WASAPI Audio API

This setting applies to Windows only, not to Mac. On Windows, the default Audio API to be used is DirectSound. WASAPI is an alternative, more low level API that may offer slightly better performance. It also allows to record the output of playback devices via Loopback Recording. For example, if WASAPI is enabled, you can record “What you hear”, in other words, what is currently being played, if you select your current output device as recording source. The drawback of WASAPI is that, unlike DirectSound, it has no automatic sample rate conversion. For example, if the audio device is set to a sampling rate of 48kHz, you can only record from it with that sampling rate.

Recording Latency

This is the approximate time in milliseconds that passes from the moment a signal arrives in the microphone until it is displayed on the screen. A lower latency means that the screen is updated more frequently. Therefore this value should be as low as possible to ensure that the analyzer display is responsive. However, if the value is too low, your computer may be unable to process the incoming data quickly enough, and some parts of the recording my be lost. This will appear as clicks or gaps in the recording. If you have a fast computer, you can try to lower this value and see if the recording still appears correct.

File Playback Latency

This setting is similar to the Recording Latency, but for playback. A lower number will mean there is less delay between performing an action such as changing the playback position and hearing the result, but if the value is too low you may hear clicks or gaps during playback. If that is the case, raise the value until playback sounds smooth and continuous.

Tone Generator

These settings affect only the Sine Wave Generator that can be used to play overtones and piano keys. You can change the sampling rate and the playback latency. A lower latency value will make the program appear more responsive to changes of the pitch of a slider when you move it.

Input Level Meter

The Input Level Meter is the slider on the toolbar that controls input volume and shows the strength of the current input signal. Here you can change its parameters.

Enable monitoring

When the Input Level Meter is on, VoceVista Video will always record sound from your sound card, which could be undesirable in some cases, so you can turn it off here. You can also right-click on the Input Level Meter on the toolbar to enable or disable it.

Displayed range

This is the dynamic range shown on the Input Level Meter.

Max updates per second

This number determines how often the Input Level Meter is redrawn. You could lower this value if your computer is very slow, because every redraw uses up a small amount of CPU time.

Peak History

This is the amount of time (in seconds) that the peak display is using. For example, if the peak history is 3 seconds, the Level Meter will show the maximum value from the last 3 seconds.