User Manual

Table Of Contents
Master Section
OZONE 7 | MASTERING SECTIONS
84
Solo Codec Artifacts:
This option lets you hear what is being lost in the codec conversion. The codec artifact signal is the
codec preview signal subtracted from the unencoded signal.
Performance Notes
CPU usage & Latency:
AAC and MP3 files don’t support sample rates greater than 48kHz. In order to accurately represent
the sound quality changes introduced by AAC and MP3 compression, it may be necessary for real-
time resampling to take place when Codec Preview is enabled. If your session sample rate is set
to a value other than 44.1kHz or 48kHz, Ozone will perform high-quality real-time resampling when
Codec Preview is in use. Real-time resampling uses a lot of CPU, most noticeably within high sample
rate sessions that utilize small buer sizes. To avoid any discontinuities or performance issues when
using this feature within high sample rate sessions, we recommend adjusting the buer size to a larger
value.
Additionally, real time resampling is mathematically intensive and may cause significant latency. Most
hosts should be able to compensate for this latency, but you may notice a slight delay in playback
when Codec Preview is enabled.
Signal chain:
Codec Preview is at the very end of the signal chain within Ozone. When you are using Ozone as a
plug-in, it is important that Ozone is placed after all other inserts if you are using Codec Preview. This
will ensure that the signal going into Codec Preview includes all of the processing being applied to the
mix.
Codec Preview is intended to be used for previewing only and will not apply actual MP3 or AAC
compression when exporting from the Ozone application or a DAW. You can use the Codec Preview
feature to help inform the export settings of your host application, but be sure to disable the feature
prior to exporting.
Headroom & Clipping:
Any lossy encoder introduces an approximation error, a noise which can increase peak levels and
cause clipping in an audio signal, even if the uncompressed source audio file appears to peak under 0
dB.
Therefore, when mastering for compressed audio formats like AAC and MP3, it’s a good idea to leave
between -1 dB and -1.5 dB of headroom to prevent clipping due to file compression. Codec Preview
can help you tailor your processing to avoid clipping that might occur as an artifact of lossy codecs.
The clip indicators above the Ozone output meters will help inform you of clipping caused by a codec
before you export your audio.