Normalize causes DP to crash

[dazzjazz]

Hi,

I have a 3 hour wave file (24bit 44.1)that I am trying to Normalize but it's causing DP to crash.
I realise it's a large file - I'm doing an archiving job.
I'm on DP8 with 24GB of RAM.

Am I asking too much?

[mikehalloran]

It shouldn't give you grief.

iMac i5 or i7? What OS? SSD or HD? Bouncing to the same drive or an external?

Are you getting any error message or crash log?

What build of DP 8?

[David Polich]

Why are you normalizing the file? Normalization should never be done to any audio ever.
It's a holdover from the bad old days of digital when maximizers weren't around. Yes it is
still a feature in DP, but man I would never go near it.

[Phil O]

I agree that normalization is pretty much useless nowadays, but the OP experienced a crash that shouldn't have happened. FWIW, I just tried the normalize function in both DP 8.07 and 9.01 - it worked fine without crash. I think dazz should continue to troubleshoot his install as this problem may surface in other areas.

For future use however, if you find yourself in need of an overall gain shift, may I suggest using bite gain. Or, if it's within a reasonable value, just push up the fader. There's also Trim.

FYI, I recently read a normalization thread on GS that had more bad info in it than good. There's so much misunderstanding on this topic that it's difficult to educate yourself. Bottom line, it can save you some time in rare situations but in my opinion, it's just a useless relic not worth considering unless you find yourself needing it for some special, gain change, batch processing thingie type of situation.

JMNSHO
Phil

[NSH=not so humble]

[mikehalloran]

While I agree that normalization is not necessary on properly recorded material, it is a very handy tool to have.

A friend of mine tracks at a local studio and has me do the post. I've normalized every file I ever received from that studio before I went further.

I'd be testing the RAM.

[dazzjazz]

Hi all, thanks for the replies.
I'm normalising some realtime transfers from Minidisc that I'm having trouble getting the right levels out of - I think it's the player...I will investigate the other methods suggested.

Here's some system specs:
DP 8.07
3.4 GHz Intel Core i7
24 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Yosemite 10.10.5 (14F27)
DP project is on an external drive
Bouncing to the same drive
My internal drive is combo SSD/HD.

There are few Console entries once I select normalise - I just get the beach ball and 'Application Not Responding' in the Dock. I have to force quit.

Console output:
26/09/2015 12:03:40.054 pm Dock[254]: Failed to write crash history to file:///Users/dazzjazz2013/Library/Application%20Support/CrashReporter/Digital%20Performer_4D092354-6F36-5361-8E79-0442DB82B4CE.plist.
26/09/2015 12:03:41.082 pm com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.motu.DigitalPerformer.49732[2791]) Service exited due to signal: Terminated: 15
26/09/2015 12:03:46.056 pm MIDIServer[2794]: Bluetooth MIDI driver is stopping ...
26/09/2015 12:03:46.056 pm MIDIServer[2794]: Bluetooth MIDI driver finished stopping.

[David Polich]

Hi all, thanks for the replies.
I'm normalising some realtime transfers from Minidisc that I'm having trouble getting the right levels out of - I think it's the player...I will investigate the other methods suggested.

Here's some system specs:
DP 8.07
3.4 GHz Intel Core i7
24 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Yosemite 10.10.5 (14F27)
DP project is on an external drive
Bouncing to the same drive
My internal drive is combo SSD/HD.

There are few Console entries once I select normalise - I just get the beach ball and 'Application Not Responding' in the Dock. I have to force quit.

Console output:
26/09/2015 12:03:40.054 pm Dock[254]: Failed to write crash history to file:///Users/dazzjazz2013/Library/Application%20Support/CrashReporter/Digital%20Performer_4D092354-6F36-5361-8E79-0442DB82B4CE.plist.
26/09/2015 12:03:41.082 pm com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.motu.DigitalPerformer.49732[2791]) Service exited due to signal: Terminated: 15
26/09/2015 12:03:46.056 pm MIDIServer[2794]: Bluetooth MIDI driver is stopping ...
26/09/2015 12:03:46.056 pm MIDIServer[2794]: Bluetooth MIDI driver finished stopping.

Well IMO the files may simply be too long, or you're trying to transfer them digitally which may be causing problems. But I understand what you want to do...make them "louder".

You can indeed use DP's Soundbite gain to increase level. Personally I'd do this in a separate audio editor, like DSP Quattro. What you're essentially trying to do is simple mastering. Changing gain or using a maximizer to bring up levels is better than normalization any day.