Clipping Event
The purpose of the Clipping event is to report the detection of suspected distortion that occurs when the amplitude of a signal exceeds a digital systems ability to represent it accurately. Clipping is a type of amplitude distortion.
The system reports a Clipping event when consecutive samples at the maximum value that can be represented by the digital system have been detected. Note that the maximum value that can be represented is different depending on the number of bits per sample (i.e. bits of resolution) of the audio stream. The system limits the number of reported Clipping events to typically 10 to 20 per sec.
The number of consecutive samples needed to qualify as a clipping event depends on both sample rate and number of bits per sample. "Clipping Event Threshold" specifies the number of consecutive samples at the maximum value level that will generate a Clipping event.
| Consecutive Samples | Sample Rate, samples/sec | Resolution, bits |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 8000 | 16 |
| 5 | 16000 | 16 |
| 11 | 41000 | 16 |
| 2 | 64000 | 16 |
| 12 | 48000 | 16 |
| 24 | 96000 | 16 |
The info reported with the Clipping event is listed below:
- Info1: Contains an integer value representing the RMS average audio level when the clipping event was detected. The value can be converted to a decibel level via the relationship 20 * LOG 10 (info1 / 32767).
- Info2: Not used.
- Msg: Not used.