VU Meter

About VU and Peak Metering

VU metering and peak metering are two types of audio level meters commonly used in recording studios and live sound applications. VU stands for Volume Units, and the meter displays the signal level in decibels relative to a reference level. VU meters measure the average level of an audio signal over time, providing a visual representation of the perceived loudness of the signal. Peak meters, on the other hand, measure the highest level of an audio signal, indicating the maximum level that the signal has reached. While VU meters are useful for monitoring overall levels and ensuring that a signal is not too quiet or too loud, peak meters are essential for preventing distortion and clipping, which can occur when a signal exceeds the maximum level that a system can handle. Together, VU and peak metering provide a comprehensive view of an audio signal's level and dynamics, allowing engineers to make informed decisions about gain staging and signal processing.

Switchboard Editor example

This example plays an audio file and calculates the RMS level and amplitude peak value of the audio signal real-time by using a VU meter node.

Code Example

JSON

{
  "nodes": {
    { "id": "audioPlayerNode", "type": "AudioPlayerNode" },
    { "id": "splitterNode", "type": "BusSplitterNode" },
    { "id": "multiChannelToMonoNode", "type": "MultiChannelToMonoNode" },
    { "id": "vuMeterNode", "type": "VUMeterNode" }
  },
  "connections": {
    { "sourceNode": "audioPlayerNode", "destinationNode": "splitterNode" },
    { "sourceNode": "splitterNode", "destinationNode": "multiChannelToMonoNode" },
    { "sourceNode": "multiChannelToMonoNode", "destinationNode": "vuMeterNode" },
    { "sourceNode": "splitterNode", "destinationNode": "OutputNode" }
  },
  "tracks": {
    "audioPlayerNode": "example.mp3"
  }
}

Swift

import SwitchboardSDK

class VUMeterExample {

	let audioEngine = SBAudioEngine()
	let audioGraph = SBAudioGraph()
	let audioPlayerNode = SBAudioPlayerNode()
    let splitterNode = SBBusSplitterNode()
    let multiChannelToMonoNode = SBMultiChannelToMonoNode()
    let vuMeterNode = SBVUMeterNode()

	init() {
		audioGraph.addNode(audioPlayerNode)
		audioGraph.addNode(splitterNode)
		audioGraph.addNode(multiChannelToMonoNode)
		audioGraph.addNode(vuMeterNode)

        audioGraph.connect(audioPlayerNode, to: splitterNode)
        audioGraph.connect(splitterNode, to: multiChannelToMonoNode)
        audioGraph.connect(multiChannelToMonoNode, to: vuMeterNode)
        audioGraph.connect(splitterNode, to: audioGraph.outputNode)

		audioPlayerNode.load("example.mp3", withFormat: .mp3)
		audioPlayerNode.isLoopingEnabled = true
	}

	func start() {
		audioEngine.start(audioGraph)
		audioPlayerNode.play()
	}

	func stop() {
		audioPlayerNode.stop()
		audioEngine.stop()
	}

    var level: Float {
        vuMeterNode.level
    }

    var peak: Float {
        vuMeterNode.peak
    }
}

Kotlin

import com.synervoz.switchboard.sdk.AudioEngine
import com.synervoz.switchboard.sdk.Codec
import com.synervoz.switchboard.sdk.audiograph.AudioGraph
import com.synervoz.switchboard.sdk.audiographnodes.AudioPlayerNode
import com.synervoz.switchboard.sdk.audiographnodes.BusSplitterNode
import com.synervoz.switchboard.sdk.audiographnodes.MultiChannelToMonoNode
import com.synervoz.switchboard.sdk.audiographnodes.VUMeterNode

class VUMeterExample(context: Context) {

	val audioEngine = AudioEngine(context)
	val audioGraph = AudioGraph()
	val audioPlayerNode = AudioPlayerNode()
    val splitterNode = BusSplitterNode()
    val multiChannelToMonoNode = MultiChannelToMonoNode()
	val vuMeterNode = VUMeterNode()

	init() {
		audioGraph.addNode(audioPlayerNode)
		audioGraph.addNode(splitterNode)
		audioGraph.addNode(multiChannelToMonoNode)
		audioGraph.addNode(vuMeterNode)

        audioGraph.connect(audioPlayerNode, splitterNode)
        audioGraph.connect(splitterNode, multiChannelToMonoNode)
        audioGraph.connect(multiChannelToMonoNode, vuMeterNode)
        audioGraph.connect(splitterNode, audioGraph.outputNode)

		audioPlayerNode.load("example.mp3", Codec.MP3)
		audioPlayerNode.isLoopingEnabled = true
	}

	fun start() {
		audioEngine.start(audioGraph)
		audioPlayerNode.play()
	}

	fun stop() {
		audioPlayerNode.stop()
		audioEngine.stop()
	}

    val level: Float
        get() = vuMeterNode.level

    val peak: Float
        get() = vuMeterNode.peak
}

C++

#include "AudioGraph.hpp"
#include "AudioPlayerNode.hpp"
#include "BusSplitterNode.hpp"
#include "MultiChannelToMonoNode.hpp"
#include "VUMeterNode.hpp"

using namespace switchboard;

class VUMeterExample {
public:
    VUMeterExample() {
        // Adding nodes to audio graph
		audioGraph.addNode(audioPlayerNode);
		audioGraph.addNode(splitterNode);
		audioGraph.addNode(multiChannelToMonoNode);
		audioGraph.addNode(vuMeterNode);

        // Connecting audio nodes
        audioGraph.connect(audioPlayerNode, splitterNode);
        audioGraph.connect(splitterNode, multiChannelToMonoNode);
        audioGraph.connect(multiChannelToMonoNode, vuMeterNode);
        audioGraph.connect(splitterNode, audioGraph.getOutputNode());

        // Loading the track and starting the player
        audioPlayerNode.load("example.mp3", ::Mp3);
        audioPlayerNode.setLoopingEnabled(true);
        audioPlayerNode.play();

        // Starting the graph
        audioGraph.start();
    }

    float getLevel() const {
        return vuMeterNode.getLevel();
    }

    float getPeak() const {
        return vuMeterNode.getPeak();
    }

    // Example method called by the audio processing pipeline on each buffer
    bool process(float** buffers, const uint numberOfChannels, const uint numberOfFrames, const uint sampleRate) {
        AudioBuffer<float> outBuffer = AudioBuffer<float>(numberOfChannels, numberOfFrames, false, sampleRate, buffers);
        const bool result = audioGraph->processBuffer(nullptr, &outBuffer);
        return result;
    }

private:
    AudioGraph audioGraph;
    AudioPlayerNode audioPlayerNode;
    BusSplitterNode splitterNode;
    MultiChannelToMonoNode multiChannelToMonoNode
    VUMeterNode vuMeterNode;
};

JavaScript

// Change the import to reflect the location of library
// relative to this publically accessible AudioWorklet
import { SwitchboardSDK } from '/libs/switchboard-sdk/index.js'

class VUMeterWorkletProcessor extends AudioWorkletProcessor {
  constructor(options) {
    super()
    console.log(options)
    this.port.onmessage = (e) => {
      let event = e.data.event
      if (event === 'wasmLoaded') {
        let sdkConfig = e.data.data
        console.log('VUMeterWorkletProcessor - wasmLoaded', sdkConfig)
        this.configure(sdkConfig)
      } else if (event === 'destruct') {
        console.log('VUMeterWorkletProcessor - destruct')
        this.destruct()
      } else if (event === 'requestVUMeterLevels') {
        this.sendMessage({
          event: 'vuMeterLevelsData',
          data: {
            level: this.vuMeterNode.getLevel(),
            peak: this.vuMeterNode.getPeak(),
          },
        })
      }
    }
  }

  sendMessage(message, transfer = []) {
    this.port.postMessage(message, transfer)
  }

  configure(sdkConfig) {
    this.switchboard = new SwitchboardSDK()
    this.switchboard.configure(sdkConfig).then((response) => {
      this.constructAudioGraph()
    })
  }

  constructAudioGraph() {
    const inputChannelLayout = [2]
    const outputChannelLayout = [2]
    const sampleRate = 48000
    const maxNumFrames = 128

    let audioGraph = this.switchboard.createAudioGraph(
      inputChannelLayout,
      outputChannelLayout,
      maxNumFrames,
      sampleRate
    )

    let audioGraphInputNode = audioGraph.getInputNode()
    let audioGraphOutputNode = audioGraph.getOutputNode()

    let multiChannelToMonoNode =
      new this.switchboard.classes.MultiChannelToMonoNode()
    let musicSplitterNode = new this.switchboard.classes.BusSplitterNode()
    let vuMeterNode = new this.switchboard.classes.VUMeterNode()

    audioGraph.addNode(multiChannelToMonoNode)
    audioGraph.addNode(musicSplitterNode)
    audioGraph.addNode(vuMeterNode)

    audioGraph.connect(audioGraphInputNode, musicSplitterNode)
    audioGraph.connect(musicSplitterNode, multiChannelToMonoNode)
    audioGraph.connect(multiChannelToMonoNode, vuMeterNode)
    audioGraph.connect(musicSplitterNode, audioGraphOutputNode)

    audioGraph.start()

    this.audioGraph = audioGraph
    this.multiChannelToMonoNode = multiChannelToMonoNode
    this.musicSplitterNode = musicSplitterNode
    this.vuMeterNode = vuMeterNode
  }

  destruct() {
    this.audioGraph.destruct()
    this.multiChannelToMonoNode.destruct()
    this.musicSplitterNode.destruct()
    this.vuMeterNode.destruct()
  }

  process(inputs, outputs, parameters) {
    return this.audioGraph.processGraph(inputs, outputs)
  }
}

registerProcessor('vu-meter-worklet-processor', VUMeterWorkletProcessor)