[Ultrus]

Hello,
I was discussing this topic in another area and was pointed in this
direction. My other post can be seen he
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...ead/thread/a8b...

What kind of math are you using to mix values from one audio file with
another? In the post above, one suggestion was to add the values of 2
or more audio samples, and find the average of them and use the
resulting value for each value set (excuse my lack of terminology). In
another forum, I was told this was not a good idea. Instead, I was
strictly to add values (but this could cause clipping). The main point
I understand now is mixing is an art, not just a science.

As I am attempting to automate the process of combining voice over
music from my server (for fast podcast polishing), I need to science
up. What are your thoughts on the following brainstorms?

Option 1
Sample A is the voice. Sample B is the music, pre-volume adjusted to
be a bit softer. For the length of the voice content, Values from
sample A are added to sample B. If clipping occurs when adding two
values together, that extra amount is subtracted from the music value
before getting added to the voice value.

One problem I can think of using this method is that the resulting
music volume will jump around when the voice picks up. Would this be
noticeable or an issue?

Option 2
Both sample A and B are analyzed, and the highest values are returned
from each. As a result, every value in the music sample is lowered or
highered based on ((highest A + highest B) - clip value);

A problem I see here is if the voice clipped at some point, there
would be no music through the whole thing!

Option 3
Perhaps there is a way to smooth out option 1. Let's say that the
voice clipped somewhere, and the audio disappears. The music would
then fade back gradually to its normal level. I'm not quite sure yet
on how to solve this one, but some late night mocha and loud music may
resolve this.

The main thing here is giving voice priority over music, or one audio
sample over the other. I wonder what I would do to get both samples
equal priority when mixing. Average?

I appreciate your feedback on this.