NvMixer Guide
nvmixer guide provided by jkesa
The new and improved version (Ver.1.0, Build 431) of the nvidia control panel is called NvMixer. It adds bass, mid-range and treble controls to the main page as well as being more user friendly. A total of 6 icons are on the bottom of the tab, 5 grouped together on the left and 1 to the far right. They are in order from the left : Main Page, Speaker Page, Equalizer Page, Environment Page, Information Page and finally Meter View option is to the far right.
NvMixer Tips
If Enable ToolTips is checked on the Information Page, you will see ToolTips usage for each of the available options in NvMixer simply by holding the mouse cursor over the desired option. ToolTips may also be enabled by clicking the "?" button in the upper right hand corner.
Meter View
By clicking the icon on the far lower right, you can enable or disable the meter view. The spectrum analyzer meter measures the frequency spectrum of the audio signal. NvMixer displays 20 different frequency spectrums for the audio signal in real-time. The VU meters, volume unit meters or level peak meters as they are sometimes called, display the average volume level of a signal for each of the 6 channels. Shown are left-rear, left, center, LFE (low frequency encoding) or subwoofer, right, right-rear.
Using the RightMark Audio Analyzer 5.3 as
the signal source and nvidia audio driver 4.31 and Nvmixer version 1.0, I
analyzed the 20 bars in Nvmixer to determine the frequency in hertz those bars
represent. As you can see below, the results of the analysis are no where near
linear. These ranges are close approximations of the frequency and could be off
by a few hertz. Results may vary slightly on your system and different driver
and Nvmixer versions.
From Left to Right :
--------------------
Bar 1 - 20hz to 55hz.
Bar 2 - 55hz to 90hz.
Bar 3 - 90hz to 125hz.
Bar 4 - 125hz to 175hz.
Bar 5 - 175hz to 225hz.
Bar 6 - 225hz to 275hz.
Bar 7 - 275hz to 375hz.
Bar 8 - 375hz to 475hz.
Bar 9 - 475hz to 650hz.
Bar 10 - 650hz to 850hz.
Bar 11 - 850hz to 1200hz.
Bar 12 - 1200hz to 1500hz.
Bar 13 - 1500hz to 1800hz.
Bar 14 - 1800hz to 2500hz.
Bar 15 - 2500hz to 3500hz.
Bar 16 - 3500hz to 4500hz.
Bar 17 - 4500hz to 5500hz.
Bar 18 - 5500hz to 7500hz.
Bar 19 - 7500hz to 10,500hz.
Bar 20 - 10,500hz to 20,000hz.
Main Page
The Main tab
includes the primary sliders for adjusting the volume of all sound sources and
recording input levels. Under the Main section are adjustments for the Master
volume level and the bass, mid-range, and treble controls. Under the Output
section are adjustments for Wave, Synthesizer, CD, Line, Aux, Mic, SPDIF output
levels. It should be noted that clicking the speaker icon under any of the
adjustments will put a diagonal bar thru the speaker icon indicating that the
line is now mute. Under the Input section you can choose your input recording
source and have options for Digitize Input and Mic Boost. It should be noted
that the slider for Input recording and digitized input are not levels like the
volumes, but are instead gains (boosts) that go from 0 db (at the bottom) to
infinity (at the top).
Speaker Page
The Speaker Page helps identify how the
speakers are connected to the audio device, as well as what format to use when
sending audio signals out of the PC. Gain controls are available for adjusting
individual speaker output levels for up to a 5.1 stereo system. Clicking on the
Speaker Wizard will take you thru a series of tests to optimize your current
speaker system. It will first test the operation of each speaker by sending
"white noise" to it and asking you if you hear it. Choose yes or no and it will
configure your system properly. If you have rear speakers, it will also ask you
to choose which encoding method sounds best to you by playing some music. Once
finished, your system should be configured properly. Clicking on the Surround
Settings options will let you re-choose the Encoding Options and set the LFE
Crossover Frequency. LFE enabled generates a subwoofer signal for speaker
systems that require it (like Dolby Digital receivers or home theaters with
discreet subwoofer inputs) If enabled, the user can change the crossover
frequency. LFE Crossover Frequency adjusts the amount of bass signal removed
from the main speakers and sent specifically to the subwoofer output (increments
are in hz).
Equalizer Page
On the Equalizer Page, you
have and option to Enable the equalizer and to adjust the 9 various frequency
ranges. There are also 19 standard presets, ranging from classical to Techno,
and to add, remove and rename custom and standard presets. The Night Mode option
changes the dynamic range of all audio. Dynamic range describes the ratio of the
softest sound to the loudest sound.
Environment Page
The Environment page is the
most powerful section of the application. A song or WAV file can be tested, and
an environment can be applied using a preset at the Environment Enable, Presets
drop down box. The power comes in the Preset section, where you have the ability
to add, rename or remove effects to construct an environment of your own liking.
The environments enabled in this area range from Alley to Underwater. In the
Settings, Material drop down box, you have the ability to further customize the
sound effects for each environment using presets of Cloth, Plastic, Metal or
Custom settings. The Custom option allows for the adjustment of the sound
"decay" in seconds and the Volume percentage. The possibilities in this sections
should give the user hours of sound tweaking enjoyment.
Information Page
The Information tab shows the
details of the APU, hardware and software revisions, driver revisions, current
DirectX version, codec information and the DSP and voice utilization. There is
an option to reset to System Defaults and an Enable Taskbar Icon and Enable
Tooltips option discussed earlier. This is the first place to look when you are
verifying what drivers are running and the place to look to know what is going
on at the lower levels of the APU. Clicking on the About option will tell you
the NvMixer version and the copyrighted trademarks.
Additional Digital Tips
In addition to using a
Toslink optical cable, you may also use a coax adapter to connect digitally.
MotherboardFAQs has an excellent article on adding a coaxial SPDIF connector
HERE.
Another good idea is to use the old nvidia control panel in addition to the new
nvmixer. This way you can have the full range of digital options to choose from.
The new nvmixer will be installed in the system tray, but you can make a
shortcut to the control panel, SndStorm.exe, on your desktop. If you do
not already have it on your system, it can be extracted from an older version of
the nvidia drivers with winRAR. It is located in the AudioUtl folder.