Introducing DialogCheck: Nugen Audio's New Software for Enhancing Speech Clarity and Understandability
Unleashing Clarity: Nugen Audio's DialogCheck – The Ultimate Speech Intelligibility Solution
LEEDS, UK – Nugen Audio has unleashed their state-of-the-art speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck, boasting endorsements from tech wizards at Netflix and beyond.
This innovative solution offers a versatile dialog clarity meter for mono, stereo, and multichannel applications. By providing an objective measure of speech audio intelligibility, it's designed to revolutionize film, television, radio, podcasting, and game audio production, as well as post-production environments. You can find them showcasing DialogCheck at MPTS 2025 (HHB, Stand F40).
In a press release, Dr. Paul Tapper, CEO, Nugen Audio, highlighted the increasing importance of dialog intelligibility in today's media landscape, stating, "Poor speech clarity is commonly cited as a major source of television audience complaints… DialogCheck provides an objective measure of speech in a portion of the audio file or through an entire project."
The listener's ability to comprehend speech is heavily influenced by factors such as language, dialect, enunciation, reverb and effects, volume, and background noise, as well as the listener's hearing ability, listening environment, speaker placement, and visuals. DialogCheck empowers users to effortlessly evaluate their audio, pinpointing sections that may prove difficult for listeners to understand.
DialogCheck offers a suite of user-friendly interface tools for smooth dialog editing, including an integrated real-time bar meter, history graph, distribution view, and numerical statistical values. These tools offer an overview of the speech intelligibility of the entire program, enabling engineers to make corrections and retest for optimal results. The tracking function syncs the views with the audio playback in the DAW, while the 'Macro View' highlights the current audio section within the broader historical view.
Dubbing mixer and sound designer Mike Aiton, who has worked on BBC One's Panorama, The History Channel, and Robot Wars, raves about DialogCheck, saying, "Dialog intelligibility is where the drama either unfolds or falls flat on its face. With metering savants Nugen Audio, you can ensure that your dialog is actually heard and not just seen."
The tool also caters to pre-production needs by assessing different mic configurations, performance styles, room setups, and more to ensure raw production audio is as close to desirable clarity levels as possible.
Netflix's team shared their enthusiasm for DialogCheck, stating, "Understanding dialogue intelligibility across Netflix titles is invaluable, but our mission goes beyond analysis – we strive to empower creators with the tools to craft mixes that resonate seamlessly with audiences at home."
DialogCheck incorporates the Listening Effort Meter (LE-Meter) developed by Fraunhofer IDMT. This ultra-tech tool allows sound engineers to visualize listening effort during mixing and perform post-mixing checks to optimize audio quality. Designed to objectively assess the listening effort of dialog in broadcast material, LE-Meter utilizes automatic speech recognition and psychoacoustic modeling with metrics to evaluate the intelligibility of dialog.
Prof. Dr. Jan Rennies-Hochmuth, group leader for personal hearing systems at the Branch for Hearing, Speech and Audio Technology at Fraunhofer IDMT, applauded the tool, saying, "Our LE-Meter enables the objective measurement and display of speech intelligibility and listening effort. This provides media producers with a precise tool for analyzing and implementing audio content. For example, difficult sections can be identified automatically for improvement with respect to listening enjoyment and accessibility."
For more information, head over to www.nugenaudio.com.
Sources:
- Nugen Audio – DialogCheck
- DialogCheck: A New Plug-In By Nugen Audio Revealed
- Nugen Audio DialogCheck: Measure Speech Intelligibility
- Improve Dialog Intelligibility with Nugen Audio's DialogCheck
- NEW Nugen Audio DialogCheck Measures Speech Intelligibility
- Nugen Audio's DialogCheck, a groundbreaking speech intelligibility solution, is set to revolutionize various media industries, including film, television, radio, podcasting, and game audio production, as well as post-production environments.
- The innovative plug-in, DialogCheck, offers an objective measure of speech audio intelligibility, making it a valuable tool in film, television, and broadcast production, where dialog clarity is crucial for maintaining audience engagement.
- In pre-production settings, DialogCheck can assess different microphone configurations, performance styles, room setups, and more, ensuring the raw production audio is as close to desired clarity levels as possible.
- DialogCheck's suite of user-friendly interface tools includes an integrated real-time bar meter, history graph, distribution view, and numerical statistical values, helping engineers evaluate their audio and identify sections that may be difficult for listeners to understand.
- Incorporating Fraunhofer IDMT's Listening Effort Meter (LE-Meter), DialogCheck allows sound engineers to visualize listening effort during mixing and perform post-mixing checks to optimize audio quality, ensuring dialog is heard clearly and not just seen on screen.
- The Listening Effort Meter, developed by Fraunhofer IDMT, provides media producers with a precise tool for analyzing and implementing audio content, identifying difficult sections automatically for improvement with regards to listening enjoyment and accessibility.
