dither

[tstu102]

do i need to dither if I work in 24 bit and then export 16 bit wav? (44.1 for both)...how do I dither in Protools, i've never really understood what this does. also, what are the noticeable artifacts of not dithering?

thanks!

[waltermusik]

The question whether you NEED to dither is philosophical. Anyway:

Dithering from 24 to 16 bits is most highly recommended. The theory of it has been described by people smarter than me, so do a search.

The rounding error introduced by truncating the bits below the 16 is quite audible when you listen to very soft passages in your audio, such as the reverb at the end of a song. I would describe it as a sort of distortion.

The effect of the Dither is that the same 24 bit value will be sometimes rounded up, sometimes down to the next 16bit value, which enhances the resolution of these values. A dithered file will sound a bit noisy in the very soft passages but still much clearer than an un-dithered file.

No idea about protools, sorry.

What is basically does is add some audio (basically noise) to the bits below the target resolution before truncating. Usually it will ask you for the target resolution, which is 16bit in your case. It is crucial that
- you set this value correctly, and,
- you do not apply any effect nor even fading after the Dither; Dither has to be the very last thing in your chain.
If your dither offers more settings, play with them.

Good luck,

Thomas

[tstu102]

thanks! so would i just add a dither plugin at the end of the chain on my master track?

[Flying_Dutchman]

Originally Posted by tstu102

thanks! so would i just add a dither plugin at the end of the chain on my master track?

Every dither sounds different. Try it, judge it, be fine....

[waltermusik]

Originally Posted by tstu102

thanks! so would i just add a dither plugin at the end of the chain on my master track?

Yes. Make sure it is post fader. WaveLab comes with a dedicated dither slot to make sure it is the last thing you do, no idea how PT works in this respect. If PT does not have a post fader slot (which I can't imagine), it may be an idea to bounce to 24bit (or even 32) and use a stand-alone dither program.

I'd say from 24 to 16bit, any dither is better than no dither. But I agree with Flying_Dutchman that there are differences in what dithers sound like (there is a big dither comparison thread somewhere in this forum, do a search).

Cheers, Thomas