-
-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 1
Oscilloscope and Waveform
Oscilloscope and Waveform both draw amplitude over time. Oscilloscope shows a short, rapidly refreshed signal shape; Waveform keeps a longer scrolling history.
Use Oscilloscope to inspect periodic wave shape, transients, polarity, clipping, and changes within individual cycles.
Pitch Lock is on by default. Prism estimates a stable pitch and aligns the time window to it, which makes periodic signals appear steadier instead of sliding horizontally.
Pitch lock works best on clear, pitched material. Chords, drums, noise, silence, and rapidly changing notes may not produce a stable lock. Turn it off when you want an unaligned view of the incoming sample window.
| Control | Range | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitch Lock | On/Off | On | Stabilizes periodic signals around the detected pitch. |
| Underfill | On/Off | Off | Fills the area between the trace and center line. |
| Grid | On/Off | On | Shows time/amplitude reference guides. |
| Line Width |
0.5–4 px |
2 px |
Changes trace weight only. |
Pitch Lock changes the selected time window. Underfill, Grid, and Line Width are visual choices.
Use Waveform to follow amplitude and density over a longer period. It is especially useful for seeing sections, silence, transients, channel balance, and broad changes in dynamics.
| Control | Choices | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Channels | Mono, Stereo | Mono | Combines the channels or gives left and right separate lanes. |
| Multiband | On/Off | Off | Splits the history into frequency bands so their activity can be compared. |
| Speed |
1–8
|
1 |
Changes the scroll rate and amount of time retained on-screen. |
Mono view is a display combination; it does not convert the captured source to mono. Stereo is better for spotting left/right differences. Multiband is useful for seeing whether an event is concentrated in lows, mids, or highs, but a Spectrum or Spectrogram is better for exact frequency inspection.
At higher speed values, new events move through the display faster. Use a slower value for longer structural history and a faster value for close inspection of recent changes.
Both modules support 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270° rotation and horizontal mirroring. These are canvas transforms only: they do not reverse audio samples, exchange channels, or change polarity.
A 90-degree rotation makes either display useful as a tall stream overlay. Mirroring changes the visual direction in which history or trace progression is read.
Press and drag on either module to activate a crosshair and live readout.
- Oscilloscope measurement relates a horizontal point to time within the short sample window and a vertical point to amplitude.
- Waveform measurement relates a point to its position in the retained history and displayed amplitude.
The measurement follows the transformed canvas when rotation or mirroring is active. Release the pointer to dismiss it.
- A flat edge near full scale may suggest clipping, but use the peak meters as confirmation.
- An asymmetric trace can be intentional and does not by itself prove harmful DC offset.
- A dense Waveform history usually indicates less short-term dynamic variation; it does not measure perceived loudness.
- A steady Oscilloscope image with Pitch Lock shows periodicity, not necessarily correct tuning or clean phase relationships.
Use Level and Loudness Meters for calibrated levels and Vectorscope for channel relationship.