This page describes the Vol column and the measurement behind it. Because of this measurement, you do not need to adjust a fader all the time when a rundown contains files from many different sources.
The column
Each media cue has a volume from 0 to 100 % in the Vol column. Click the field and type a value, or set the volume for a whole selection.
100 % is the normal setting, and a lower value makes the cue quieter. You cannot go above 100 %, for a reason that is explained below.
The correction behind it
Material is often too quiet or too loud. A phone recording, a clip from a video service, a professionally mastered file and an old mp3 can differ by twenty decibels.
For that reason, the program measures each media file once and stores a correction in decibels. The correction is the starting point, and the Vol column works on top of it. In practice, this means that 100 % is a normal level for every file: two clips from different sources, both at 100 %, are about equally loud.
The measurement happens once for each file, in the background, while you continue to work, and the program stores the result with the cue. You do not see the correction and there is nothing to set. You only notice that the levels are consistent.
No boost above 100 %
The correction has already raised the level of a file that needed it. A fader above 100 % would raise the level again, and that causes clipping.
If a cue is too quiet at 100 %, the problem is in the file itself. It is better to correct the file, so that you do not need to correct every rundown that uses it.
Practical notes
Set the volumes while you build the list, not during the show. Because of the measurement, you rarely need to change them.
A music bed has its own volume, which is independent of the cues, and it has the same automatic correction. See music beds.
Speech over music is the one case where you set the levels by hand. Set the music bed to 25–40 % under a voice, and listen to the result once, because the number alone is not enough.