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Bitter Manual

This document summarizes the features of the Bitter plugin, which analyzes audio signal bit usage and detects clipping. It displays a bit tree showing usage of each bit in audio samples. It also indicates when samples exceed full code (clipping) and may cause inter-sample clipping during digital-to-analog conversion. Typical uses are verifying dithering and checking for reduced bit depth or faulty audio.

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113 views2 pages

Bitter Manual

This document summarizes the features of the Bitter plugin, which analyzes audio signal bit usage and detects clipping. It displays a bit tree showing usage of each bit in audio samples. It also indicates when samples exceed full code (clipping) and may cause inter-sample clipping during digital-to-analog conversion. Typical uses are verifying dithering and checking for reduced bit depth or faulty audio.

Uploaded by

JonEaton
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Bitter

Bitscope and Intersample Clip Monitor


(c) 2008 Schwa
Bitter shows how many of the available bits are being used by the audio signal,
reports clipping samples, and estimates when digital-to-analog conversion would
cause inter-sample clips.
Typical uses for a bitscope include: verifying that a render dither is working p
roperly; verifying that a particular plugin is not reducing the signal bit depth
; testing for faulty audio source data.
You can open this README from the plugin at any time by clicking on the BITTER l
ogo.
Bit Tree Display.
The bit tree display shows the usage density for each bit in the audio samples.
Each bit's usage in each stereo channel is shown by a horizontal line: the shor
ter the line, the less the audio signal uses that bit. A missing line indicates
a bit that is not used at all. A line the full width of the window (unusual) i
ndicates a stuck-bit error.
The lowest nonzero line in the bit tree display represents the total bit depth o
f the audio signal. This the the total information value of the signal, not the
file format.
For example, consider an audio signal recorded from a a 24-bit A/D, saved in 32bit float format, and played back in a DAW with a 64-bit float audio engine. If
there is no processing done by the DAW, Bitter will display this signal as 24 b
its of information, despite the fact that the file contains 32-bit samples. If
there is any processing at all done by the DAW (including sample rate conversion
, or any nonzero fader setting), Bitter will display this signal as 64 bits of i
nformation.
Within a given bit depth, the bit tree display can be read as a dynamic range me
ter. A signal that is always loud and never quiet will have longer lines at the
top of the display than the bottom (because the higher bits are used more often
than the lower ones). A signal that is always quiet and never loud will have s
horter lines at the top of the display (because the higher bits are not used at
all).
Keep in mind that the audio host program will reset the bit depth whenever it pr
ocesses the signal at all. A dither (or other plugin that changes the signal bi
t depth, either intentionally or unintentionally) will change the signal only as
long as it remains unprocessed by the host program. Any host processing, inclu
ding sample rate conversion, or any nonzero fader setting, will reset the audio
signal to the host's native bit depth.
Clip indicator display.
The sample clip indicator lights when a sample that is greater than full code is
seen. The intersample clip indicator lights when the plugin estimates that a d
igital-to-analog conversion would cause an intersample peak to exceed full code.
The intersample clip calculation is just an estimate, however, because the spe
cific method for digital-to-analog conversion depends on the particular hardware
doing the conversion. The intersample clip calculation is only performed when

the oversample switch is on.


Sample rate.
If you hover the mouse over the Bitter display screen, the audio stream sample r
ate will be displayed.
If you have any support needs, or any other questions about this software, pleas
e visit the forums at www.stillwellaudio.com.
Thanks!

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