Mono sound > Center channel?

[gdavisloop]

Hi, my film has mono sound and I'd like to send it all to the center channel - does DCP-o-matic have a feature to do that?

Will selecting the M/S option put my mono sound in all three front channels, or mostly in the center?

Also, how loud should my sound be? I imagine full volume would be much too loud! -10dB peak? -10dB average?

Thanks for guidance! My movie is only going to play once so I only have one shot to get it right
--Gary

[gdavisloop]

I actually found a big part of my answer in the manual! (audio section). Apparently there's an "audio map" that will let you send any channel to any channel. (Although I did not see mention of the M/S derived center channel that is mentioned in the audio overview).

I still need opinions on volume, thanks!
--Gary

[Carsten]

If your sound is actually mono, the M/S option will not improve things. You need to choose at least 4ch under audio, as the center goes to channel 3, DCP-o-matic will automatically set channels 1,2 and 4 silent. It may be safer to choose a standard 5.1 channel setting, though, even with only channel 3 carrying signal.

For leveling, you should have the loudness analysis option enabled in prefs (R128/LEQ).

Then aim for a LUFS value of roughly -20 LUFS, or an LEQ(m) value of around 80dB. As a rule of thumb, -15LUFS is too loud, -25LUFS is too soft for most content. Always best to check in a theatre, but these values will get you into the right ballpark.

Your peak/true peak values should stay slightly below the 0dB mark, it doesn't matter if DCP-o-matic signals them yellow or red, as long as they don't hit the 0dB line.

- Carsten