Topic by varpa

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Topic: Standalone "high quality" vs plugin quality

I'm making a recording with Pianoteq.  So far I am recording midi in a DAW and using Pianoteq as a plugin to create the audio.
But I see that standalone Pianoteq has an export option "high quality setting".   Is this standalone option higher quality than the
plugin ?   There does not seem to be a way to select a "high quality setting" in the plugin.    (of course one answer to this question is to create audio with DAQ+Pianoteq plugin and compare to standalone Pianoteq at "High Quality Setting"  and see if I can hear a difference).

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Reply by Key Fumbler

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Re: Standalone "high quality" vs plugin quality

Using the plugin in a DAW the render quality for the audio track is down to the DAW, not the plugin. There's no "draft" and "divine" settings here to worry about.

That said only Pianoteq Pro internal sample rate goes beyond 48 khz, hence the Nyquist frequency 24 khz (half the sample rate to fully recreate accurately the waveform). IOW way above the highest human hearing limit of around 20 khz, and that's for the youngest and healthiest amongst us, and we'll above the meaningful output of the frequency range of a piano anyway ( there's little above 10 kHz to reproduce as pianos working range go to about 4 KHz).

You can still set it above 48khz, render your projects above 48 kHz but internally the piano sound will be limited to 48 KHz.

Reply by Coises

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Re: Standalone "high quality" vs plugin quality

varpa wrote:

I'm making a recording with Pianoteq.  So far I am recording midi in a DAW and using Pianoteq as a plugin to create the audio.
But I see that standalone Pianoteq has an export option "high quality setting".   Is this standalone option higher quality than the
plugin ?   There does not seem to be a way to select a "high quality setting" in the plugin.    (of course one answer to this question is to create audio with DAQ+Pianoteq plugin and compare to standalone Pianoteq at "High Quality Setting"  and see if I can hear a difference).

The manual does not expand upon the "File / Export to audio file / Rendering quality" settings, but I think "Use current settings" and "Use high quality settings" refer to the settings on the Performance ("Perf") tab of the "Options" dialog. If I'm right, the idea is that when rendering to a file, there is no need to make any compromises that may be necessary to play in real time on a particular machine; it doesn't matter if it takes more time to render the audio that it would to play it.

Curious, though... if that were correct, there should be a similar setting designated something like "Use high quality settings for offline render" in the VST3, and I don't see one. Perhaps it's automatic, or perhaps one must manually change the settings on the performance tab if they've been reduced for "draft" work.

Anyone know?

Reply by varpa

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Re: Standalone "high quality" vs plugin quality

Perhaps the "high quality" setting refers to the sampling rate, but I might expect high quality more likely refers to using more computationally intensive algorithms to render the sound.    Many synths have different quality settings, say a "draft" setting for use with live play where latency/CPU use is at a premium, vs high quality for use in rendering the best quality audio in a DAW where latency is not an issue.

Last edited by varpa (03-01-2022 19:39)

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Reply by julien

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Re: Standalone "high quality" vs plugin quality

Hi, I think the tooltip contains a description of what it does, but basically, when checked, it uses an internal sample rate that matches the wav file sample rate, and switches the polyphony to its max value (256).

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Reply by varpa

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Re: Standalone "high quality" vs plugin quality

Hi Julien,  Thanks for the information.  I had not noticed the tooltip before.  So it seems the "high quality settings" mainly just sets the polyphony to max, though
since I am using polyphony of 48, I doubt this makes any difference.  I seems both the "current" and "high quality" settings use internal sample rate.   I use 48kHz which I think should be fine, unless the Pianoteq experts recommend something higher.

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Reply by Key Fumbler

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Re: Standalone "high quality" vs plugin quality

varpa wrote:

Hi Julien,  Thanks for the information.  I had not noticed the tooltip before.  So it seems the "high quality settings" mainly just sets the polyphony to max, though
since I am using polyphony of 48, I doubt this makes any difference.  I seems both the "current" and "high quality" settings use internal sample rate.   I use 48kHz which I think should be fine, unless the Pianoteq experts recommend something higher.

If you are in the position of recording piano for a Hollywood movie then you might want to switch to 24/96 or 192 Khz, considering the standards set in that industry. That said they might insist on you using a real grand piano anyway - at least if they found out. 

It's not like using a software synthesizer where you have to avoid audible high frequency aliasing.