![Youlean Loudness Meter 2 - V2.5.5 BETA](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Youlean-Loudness-Meter-2-V2.5.5-BETA.png)
This should be the last update before the official release, well, I hope so. 😁
This update mainly improved the stability of the meter. I have fixed some crashes; hopefully, they won’t pop up this time.
In case you missed the latest BETA update announcements, you can read them by clicking on the links below:
Changed BETA label
Let’s start with the most critical change you’ve requested. The beta label will now include your license type as well. Here’s how it looks:
Old Look:
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 131923](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-131923.png)
New Look:
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 131939](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-131939.png)
Now seriously, some of you had some confusion about the license so I changed that, but you must admit, it is a pretty nice feature. 😁
Added more channel configurations
Oh, this was a tough one! 😰
Up to 5.1 channel configuration, situation is kinda OK, but once you go to 7.1 and up, it starts to be really messy.
There are a gazillion versions of how channel names and channel orders are handled. Why can’t our industry just agree on how 7.1.2 channel orders and names are handled?! 😠
Anyway, 40 papers and links later, I managed to make a list with channel configurations that this version will support. If you feel some channel configuration is missing, please let me know. 👍
In this version, you will have 49 new channel configuration options.
The meter will now support these channel combinations: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16, and 24 channel audio.
What’s really cool is that plugins will now have an auto channel configuration selection feature. That means that the plugin will detect the bus channel configuration and it will automatically select the correct one.
This works in most major DAWs that people usually use to work with multichannel audio like Nuendo, Pro Tools, Logic Pro X, etc. If this is not supported by DAW, the plugin will use the stereo channel configuration by default.
BTW, all possible channel configurations should be supported in Pro Tools, Nuendo, and Logic Pro X.
- Pro Tools supports up to 9.1.6
- Nuendo supports up to 22.2
- Logic Pro X supports up to 7.1.4
Here’s how this looks in practice:
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 134948](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-134948.png)
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 135233](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-135233.png)
The (A) will indicate that the channel configuration was automatically found. If you don’t see it, you will have to manually select the configuration.
This is such a time saver and helps prevent user errors such as selecting the wrong channel configuration, so I am super excited about it. 😄
Normalize will write BWF metadata
I have added an option to add BWF loudness metadata to the normalized file.
Here’s how it looks:
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 140301](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-140301.png)
Multi mono normalization improvemenets
If you normalize multi-mono files, the normalization will produce the multi-mono files back. You can also force multi-mono output for multi-channel files.
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 140756](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-140756.png)
Copy measurements summary to clipboard
Since we already have a text summary export option, I thought it would be nice if you could copy the summary of current measurements to the clipboard.
You can now do this by clicking on this button:
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 143829](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-143829.png)
You will then get this copied to the clipboard:
Youlean Loudness Meter 2 – V2.5.5
14:39:54 11/22/2023
Channel Size: 2
Channel Layout:
1. L
2. R
Timecode Start: 00:00:00:00
Timecode End: 00:00:21:45
Preset Name: DEFAULT
Integrated = -14.3 LUFS
Loudness Range = 9.2 LU
Average Dynamics (PLR) = 13.5 LU
Momentary Max = -10.8 LUFS
Short Term Max = -11.3 LUFS
True Peak Max = -0.8 dBTP
Auto resizable peak meters
Believe it, or not, this was hard to implement and I wasn’t excited to work on it, but this was the top feature request from the previous beta version, so here it is. 😎
Meter bars will resize based on the channel configuration selected.
Here are a couple of examples:
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 141424](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-141424.png)
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 141352](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-141352.png)
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 141409](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-141409.png)
You must admit, the 22.2 channel configuration does look a bit ridiculous, doesn’t it? 😂
You have the option to select automatic resizing, but you can also set the meter to have a fixed number of channels shown. This can be particularly handy if you are not sure how many inputs you have and you want to monitor all channels at once.
Here’s how you can set that up:
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 141844](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-141844.png)
For example, if you set the meter to always display 10 channels, this is how it will look:
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 142031](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-142031.png)
Updated window scaling
Some of you had a problem where the meter interface appeared super small, so I took a look at the code and found that some stuff can be improved there.
There was a bug that caused window scaling to reset to the minimum on macOS, which should now be fixed with this update. Also, I took the opportunity to update the Windows scaling. The meter now supports per-monitor window scaling in DAWs that support it. I’ve also added support for HiDPI for some DAWs that require the plugin to explicitly signal its HiDPI compatibility. Hopefully, plugins will now always open in HiDPI.
Here’s a look at how it appears in Bitwig with 150% Windows scaling:
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 143023](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-143023.png)
It’s finally clean.
The only downside with this update is that window scaling will be reset to default, but you can always change it in the view settings:
![Screenshot 2023-11-22 143258](https://cdn.youlean.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-143258-2.png)
The final BETA
I know that I am boring with these BETAs, but it was important to test these updates publicly as there were so many changes added to the meter.
I’m hoping this will be the last beta update. No more new features until I release a stable one. 😄
Please let me know what you think, and let me know how window scaling and channel configurations work for you.
Changelog:
– Added 49 new channel configuration options
– Added a button to quickly copy current measurements summary in the clipboard
– Added a system to check if audio input is detected, and host playback is paused preventing measurements in Elapsed histogram mode
– Added ability to analyze up to 24 channel audio
– Added ability to register the PRO version from the command line tool
– Added option to always show all channels for peak meters
– Added option to force multi-mono export for normalized file
– Added option to hide full file paths in exports
– Added option to write BWF metadata to normalized files
– Drag and drop file info text will show file name only
– Fixed crash when GPU acceleration is disabled.
– Fixed message box showing the same messages concurrently
– Fixed resetting bug when rendering in SADiE
– GUI scaling was reset to a default value
– Holding CTRL + ALT on Windows, or Command + Option on macOS and dragging the resize corner will scale the meter interface
– Improved compatibility with SADiE
– Improved design for standalone app preferences
– Improved general stability
– Peak meters will now automatically resize based on the channel count.
– Plugins and standalone app will now automatically select the best audio channel preset for you (if the feature is available in the host)
– Updated GUI scaling code. Windows will now support per-monitor DPI scaling
– Using multi-mono files for normalization will now export multi-mono files instead of the single file
– You can now analyze and normalize 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16, and 24 channel audio.
Every update for YLM is always fabulous, deeply loaded with cool new features and things I didn’t know I needed! Thank you for your hard work! We’re fans =)
Thank you so much Morfi!
Wow! This is super impressive. Loading it today for the film I’m currently mixing.
Thank you so much Ben!
Always my number one tool when mastering and checking mix levels. Thanks for the continued updates. It keeps getting better and better.
Thank you so much! 100+ new features were added since the release. Can’t wait to implement the rest 200+ features sitting on my todo list. 😂
Big fan of your work dating back to KVR only years. I bought the PRO version as soon as it was available, but I still have to use competing product. Basically the only feature I miss is a realtime re-metering. I work on features and TV shows and having an option to make a small change in the mix here and there and an immediate integrated LUFS value updates instantly is a must for me. Are you considering adding this feature in the future? Keep it up, as I said, big fan here.
Thank you for the support!
Oh, that feature was present from the V1!
Just switch to Time Code histogram mode and disable auto reset (auto button next to the reset button)
This version will disable auto reset automatically though.
B R I L L I A N T !! Thank you for the coolest, most feature-packed and best looking loudness meter in town! (The dark mode with rainbows was the deal-maker for me! lol :))
Thank you! I like the vertical rainbow colors too. 😉
Thanks as ever one of the most important tools in my audio tool box
Thanks!
Thanks very much for all of your impressive work and improvements. It is appreciated !
Thanks Gregory!
You’re doing a wonderful job! 🙂 IMHO still miss a drop-multiple-files auto analyze-and-export img and I’m golden 😀
Thanks. That might be added in the future update.
HI, in a comment on an earlier one of your blog posts I read the request for leq(m). Do you have any news on when this might be added? I have a project that requires 82dB leq (m) (dolby norm) for my 5.1 cinema advertisement mix.
That should come in the near future (hopefully). 😀
Incredible work !
That was the exact features we needed to use Youlean in our postprod workflow. Thank you so much.
Will it be added to the lite version ? I really like the idea of running Youlean on an iPad while mixing, with colors and DAW time code histogram.
Keep on the great work !
Thank you so much! Lite version will be lighter with the features.