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Principle of operation
Nebula / Spatial Spectrogram provides a unique representation of the audio material in terms of spectral content and localization in the stereo and/or surround space. Its combines the functionality of a spectrum analyzer and a vector scope in a novel real-time display. As such it provides to be an invaluable tool to get a complete and detailed overview of your mix, which you can finely tune in many aspects to suit your particular needs and preferences. A lot of work has gone into optimizing the real-time rendering of the display, not solely for aesthetic reasons, but because we wanted the display to react instantly to all the details in the incoming audio. The idea is literally for you to be able to see what you hear and feel, and not some gross simplification wrapped into shiny eye-candy, however pleasing to the eye.
The overall principles behind Nebula / Spatial Spectrogram are quite straightforward:
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At any given time, and for every frequency, the engine computes the position of a frequency in space (2D in stereo , ND for N channel-surround). This position is taken as the center of gravity of the various channels, weighted by the relative amplitude of the signal in their corresponding channel.
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A projection onto an LR-spectrum plane is computed, giving a spectrum-space frame constrained to the stereo field.
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Incoming spectrum-space frames are added back to the previous frames.
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Past frames are progressively “forgotten”, using blur and dimming, in order to make place for new information, and increase legibility.
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| Nebula / Spatial Spectrogram display with stereo input | Nebula / Spatial Spectrogram display with surround input |
Nebula / Spatial Spectrogram setup options