1.  LKFS level mode seems broke, produces unnaturally low dB values (-20dB) from all plugin types and music.  Previously always read just slightly below RMS,
2.  LEDS on AIMP skins now work correctly
3.  Just a Q on the removal of the "Linear" level option--I had asked previously what that was meant to measure but never got an answer; hate to lose an option without even knowing what it was in the first place!

• Not broken. In previous versions, before there were preamp gain settings, I artificially boosted the LKFS by +15 dB to move it into the realm of the other modes. I've removed that boost. So, what you're seeing more closely follows the standard. If you look at the table mid-way down this page, you can find what standard mixing levels would be when using LKFS/LUFS in different environments. For streaming (YouTube, Netflix, Apple, Disney) my understanding is that the mixing range is somewhere between -18 and -14 dB.
• Good. Glad it works as expected.
• Linear was there when I was trying to improve displaying on non-dB scale panels like for example those modeled around voltmeters or ammeters. In these, 0 dB is meaningless and they should behave more like a 0-100% displays, not logarithmically. It was a way to compress and map the audio range into these scales. You can achieve the exact same effect of the "Linear" mode by using "Peak" and tuning the "Range" (where 0% starts) and "Zero" (where 100% is) settings to control/linearize the full-scale range. For those math-inclined, it is this equation:
  f(t) = c + ((d - c) / (b - a)) * (t - a) maps [a,b] to [c,d]; where a,b are 0,1 and c,d are controlled by range,zero
  Sorry I missed answering this question previously.

As shown above, what I think will be the final release candidate before a full public release is out: 0.4.0
It includes the last batch of features and fixes and barring any major bugs, the code is frozen. The documentation I'll work to publish next week is based on this feature set.

I've fine-tuned the roots of the galvanometer differential equations to get the needle movement looking as real as I could in both rise and decay. Hope you like it, if not, tune to your heart's content.

In case you want to replicate the original foobar2000 VU meter component behavior and look, the closest settings for that are:

• Mode: Stereo
• Levels: RMS
• Decay: Normal (1.00)
• Zero: 0.00 frames
• Range: 0.00
• Rise: 0.20
• Jitter: 0.00
• Gain: 0.00 dB (skin-dependent)
• Window: 200.00 ms
• FPS: 60.00 fps
• Corner: 0.00 pixels
• Downmix Channels: disabled
• Cubic Interpolation: disabled

Speaking of the background, some AIMP skins include a background. If it doesn't, the component falls back on the edge sampling method to determine the background color. In oddly-shaped skins, this might not be ideal due to the transparent pixels. Instead of guessing or trying to replicate other music players' behavior, my recommendation is to just add a bg.png file with the appropriate size and colors to the ZIP archive. Any solution I bake into the component will likely be wrong for some skin and it's just easier/quicker to modify the skin.

On the topic of the path to the panels folder, an alternative implementation is to use a symbolic link. Here is what you can do in PowerShell to point to a more convenient folder, instead of modifying the Advanced Options:

Code: [Select]

Set-Location -Path "<foobar2000 profile folder>"
Remove-Item -Path "vumeter" -Recurse -Force
New-Item -Type SymbolicLink -Path "vumeter -Target "<full path to more conveniently-located, possibly shared folder>"

Note: adding the folder on initialization if it doesn't exist is there to a) guide new users on where to place the panels and b) prevent crashes on first install.

Finally, I haven't run AIMP in many years. I don't know how the skins look or what is their behavior. What you see in this component is my "artistic" interpretation. Specifically, the LEDs in LVU skins the light is continuous and the position is interpolated in between the skin's "dbs" entries; while in the AIMP analog skins, the LEDs are discrete (i.e., they don't turn on partially).

With that, thanks for reading and sharing your feedback!

Updated version with mostly complete AIMP analog VU meter skin support: 0.2.0

This version went through a large refactor to merge everything but the initial loading and device drawing functionality between the foobar2000 BIN files and the AIMP ZIP files. So, if you decide to try it and see a functionality regression let me know. This is not "current" so manual download and install is necessary.

Quick notes:

• Unfortunately, the needle behavior for the AIMP skins is bad and inaccurate; especially around 0dB. That is likely the next thing I'll work on improving.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

• Some skins are transparent at the edges (mainly at the bottom) which makes the needle show through--I've increased the "glass" size by 4 pixels to cover it on some skins. Removing this "edge trim" might not look the best or some elements might overflow. Let me know if you run a skin where it looks bad.
• I added SHIFT and CTRL modifiers for more granular control of the preamplifier gain setting. Use them alongside the mouse wheel to step in hundredths or tenths of a dB, respectively. None-modified mouse wheel steps in unit increments.
• Lasty, if you use a "vertical" stack AIMP skin, there is only 1 layout option: LEFT+RIGHT H. No other options make sense so they are not selectable. Vertical stack means that the left or right channel needle origin in the Y-axis is negative and the opposite channel's is positive.

Quote from: Air KEN on 2024-10-19 09:54:27

"DejaVU Compact Calibrated Bright"
I like it better than "DejaVU Compact Calibrated".
The way the needle moves is really cool.

Thanks, Air KEN!  BTW I did some additional changes to the body to add definition:


If you'd rather use this one, download the attached zip and overwrite the existing BIN files.

You'll notice that when used with the old 32-bit foo_vis_vumeter.dll (if you've got a second 32-bit portable Foobar like I do!), the LEDs follow the Peaks while the needle uses an RMS averaging.  With the new 64-bit foo_vis_vumeter, both the LEDs and the needle seem to always follow together.  If that is because of the new DLL instead of how the BIN was made, I recommend to oops that he allow the old behavior of "untied LEDs" again, if possible.

I have just played some songs using AIMP to quickly observe the VU Meter
...
A = Am * (0.5 - 10^((L - Lm)/20))) + 90

Hello everyone, @sveakul this is what I see in my foobar with your vu meter skin (.bin)...

¹ Referring to the AIMP skin by hiccup. The @sveakul port to the ".bin" format and the AIMP modifications work just as well and are also properly calibrated.

Quote from: ilovefb2k on 2024-10-30 21:26:24

I have just played some songs using AIMP to quickly observe the VU Meter
...
A = Am * (0.5 - 10^((L - Lm)/20))) + 90

Only a few skins in AIMP are "calibrated" to the dB scale and only those will match the right levels. The one for which the formula applies is one of those and matches perfectly. Another is "DejaVU Compact LED Calibrated Elemental" linked a few posts back¹. For those seeking more information, I calculate the display angle from the audio level using the point-slope equation; a generalized version of what is linked in the quoted post that works with non-symmetric VU meter skins.

As promised, I've created some documentation. I hope it is useful.

Apologize in advance to friends in other locales as I've used the North American convention of a point as the decimal separator. And it is only available in rather technical English.

I included the file specifications in the documentation for the ".bin" as well as both forms of AIMP ".zip" files. It is as I understand them. I tried to be thorough, but I'm sure there is something that was missed.