iZotope Dialogue Match

[Guy Rowland]

This might only be of interest to a few hear as it looks mostly a Post tool, but iZotope are set to release Dialogue Match shortly. It is a new tool that captures profiles of EQ, Reverb and Ambience from one source and can apply it to another, mostly designed for matching lavalier mics with voiceovers, boom mics etc.



The big new feature in it is Reverb Match, something I've been praying for for many years. EDIT - the full product page is now live, with links to some audio and video examples: https://www.izotope.com/en/products/dialogue-match.html

It might have some specific musical applications if you ever need to overdub an instrument recorded in one place with others recorded elsewhere perhaps.

EDIT - actually the Post Production Suite 4 upgrade is already in my iZotope account:

The revolutionary new Dialogue Match, mixing powerhouse Neutron 3 Advanced, and impeccable Stratus 3D and Symphony 3D reverbs join RX 7 Advanced, Insight 2, and RX Loudness Control to bring you the most comprehensive post production software package on earth.

Your loyalty pricing ends December 10.
$399

Was
$499.00

There's also a slightly cheaper RX7 Advanced Reverb bundle at $349.

ANOTHER EDIT: Note, this plugin is AAX ONLY.

[Guy Rowland]

For anyone curious, I've just posted the following demo experience over at the Avid DUC:

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I just did a quick test on a bit audio for a factual series. The boom was very distant and had quite loud buzzy aircon. The radio mic was typically middish and not very nice sounding. iZotope say to clean a reference source first, so did that using Spectral Denoise, then tried the radio mic out on Dialogue Match. It performed well, I found I wanted to increase the EQ module by another 50%. The reverb match seemed natural. Ambience match was fine.

I then did a much more difficult test just to see what happened. Same factual show, some dialogue from within a noisy and very live-sounding interior of a prototype car, with a very short and distinctive reverb, then applying this reference to material recorded on a boom. EQ match was again very good, Reverb Match utterly hopeless and Ambiance Match suffered from that distinctive Frozen effect you get on anything more than a very constant wash.

I was disappointed that Reverb Match failed so badly, reccommending a tail of over a second and the Early Reflection component sounded totally wrong too. You can put some of this down to the internal reverb engine I guess, but I think most of it must be the detection engine wasn't doing a good job. I wonder how well it has been tested in very tight environments requiring only a specific Early Relection profile.

I guess the thing is that of the three modules, only one is new. EQ match - in different versions - I have in Ozone and RX, and ambiance match in RX. Since you have to denoise a reference first for good effect, that actually reduces some of the "it just works" factor for Dialogue Match by adding another hurdle - it would be nice for them to incorporate this engine within Dialogue Match itself and automatically denoise a reference. Typically I don't use Ambience Match all that often, using other tools to get the noise floor low.

So on an initial test, my feeling it is a good tool and well worth it for those routinely doing this kind of work, but its not yet able to handle the very wide variety of environments to make it a no-brainer. EQ Match is oven ready; Reverb Match doesnt work on very tight environments well but good for larger ones; Ambience Match needs a real tech boost to get rid of the frozen effect.

[soundbylaura]

Thanks Guy. I've got a post-prod gig coming up so I'll need to really think about getting this.

I have a $299 "loyalty" offer at iZotope, and it's $280.26 at BestService. That price is good through December 2 so it's worth waiting to see what Black Friday things the re-sellers come up with.

[Guy Rowland]

Laura - the cheapest I've found thus far is Audideluxe, when you put it the cart it drops to $254.

There's a review up now on Pro Tools Expert, haven't had time to look at it yet myself.

[Quasar]

A bit pricey for me, but this kind of thing is something I've been asked to do by others on several occasions lately.

Have people seen Alex Knickerbocker? He's a film audio guy, and really knows his audio... I subscribed to his YT channel immediately:

[soundbylaura]

Laura - the cheapest I've found thus far is Audideluxe, when you put it the cart it drops to $254.

There's a review up now on Pro Tools Expert, haven't had time to look at it yet myself.

OOooooOO! And JRRShop doesn't have it up yet. EDIT: JRR has it for $251.16 with coupon "GROUP".

Truth be told, I'd be better off investing (time and/or money) in a deep-dive tutorial series for RX7 Advanced.

[soundbylaura]

... she said, until she tried it on a post project with interviews done on different days and different gear, and it worked well. Now I want it.

[Guy Rowland]

... she said, until she tried it on a post project with interviews done on different days and different gear, and it worked well. Now I want it.

How did the reverb-match work out for you Laura? Did it have to tackle any of those small spaces that I found so troublesome?

[soundbylaura]

... she said, until she tried it on a post project with interviews done on different days and different gear, and it worked well. Now I want it.

How did the reverb-match work out for you Laura? Did it have to tackle any of those small spaces that I found so troublesome?

I'm pleased with the two things I used it on. I did have to bring it down a little.

It's a short film that should be released in the next few weeks. I think it's a very cool project, and I'll post links once it's up.

[soundbylaura]

It's here!

Unladylike2020 - Episode 101 - Bessie Coleman: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmaster ... dylike2020

Best example of Dialog Match is at 3:31: "harsh, harsh, soul-crushing times". "Harsh, harsh" is from one interview; "soul-crushing times" from another. Separate days/locations/etc. Very pleased with how well Dialogue Match worked there.

[Guy Rowland]

Dammit Laura! Not viewable in my country due to rights restrictions...

Did you buy it in the end or did you just use it on trial?

[soundbylaura]

Aw, man. Probably same result here, but you can try: https://unladylike2020.com/profile/bessie-coleman/

I bought it. I have at least 5 more episodes coming my way.

[Guy Rowland]

Yeah, same restrictions. Good for you though

[Guy Rowland]

Upgrade sales now on - the upgrade for me from PPS3 to PPS4 is $199 ($169 from JRR shop).

Juuuust have a feeling we'll see Dialogue Match 2 later this year, which might well be more appealing to me if they address those v1 glaring errors. Not sure if getting this deal now will make sense or not.