Otto

JELSTUDIO's "Otto"

An automatic amplitude wave-shape equalizer for LIVE or mixing/mastering use.

Otto normalizes audio automatically by re-shaping the wave-form to its largest possible size, thereby minimizing the amount of unused headroom.

It is not exactly a dynamic gain-stager, auto-leveler, compressor, DC offset remover, asymmetry remover, dynamic tonal equalizer or limiter, but those would be terms that are not too far off what Otto can be used for.

Technically it is a 32/64-bit VST2 audio-effect plugin mainly for DAWs and sound/video-editors on Windows, but it can also be used in a LIVE VST-host (for example with LIVE stage-performance audio, or with music/TV home-stereo audio)

A few ideas of what Otto can be used for: to balance dialog and sound-effects when watching movies, to avoid loud commercials when watching TV-shows, to balance loudness between songs when listening to music, to balance and maximize track-volume when mixing, to even the levels between songs when mastering a demo.

It is suitable for all music-styles (ranging from delicate classical music, over soft singer/songwriter or country, to hard-hitting techno, drum'n'bass and even hardcore gabber)

Some of Otto's key-points:

• Average RMS volume (flat, unweighted) is adjusted to ~ -18 dB FS (can vary with settings).
• Runaway volume peaks are clipped at -0.1 dB FS.
• Zero latency (for LIVE use or for tracking).
• DC offset is removed.
• Stereo imbalance can be canceled (when stereo-channels are unlinked).
• Stereo image can be dynamically widened to the maximum mono-safe width (when Mid/Side mode is activated).
• Waveform asymmetry can be minimized (this is the only mode with latency, about 1/5th of a second or ~8000 samples).
• Can handle incoming audio-signals that has 'overs' (internally handles signals hotter than 0dB, either real peaks or ISPs).
• Program-dependent THD+N (~0.01% distortion in Classical-music mode).
• Program-dependent harmonic-response curves (Flat in Classical-music mode, 'Smiley'-curve in HappyHardcore-music mode).
• Works on mono and stereo signals.
• Can be locked ('glued') to incoming audio's amp-envelope.
• Can dynamically EQ the tonal sound in various ways.
• GUI layout is optimized for 'peripheral vision overview' (when looking at the center of the GUI; all important displays can be read at a glance with peripheral vision).
• Auto Loudness (inspired by ITU-R BS.1770-4, but with some differences (see manual for info)).