SweejTech 004: An Overview of SweejTech HDR Audio in Unreal Engine 5

00:00:00 - Intro
01:39 - Loudness Definitions
02:07 - Overshoot
03:07 - Post Gain
03:41 - Culling
04:25 - Modes (Read/Write)
05:41 - Outro

Gustav Rathsman showcases the workflow for SweejTech's HDR audio system for Unreal Engine 5. For more info, please visit https://sweej.tech/technologies/hdr/ or email us at hello@sweej.tech

Mixing is essential to ensure player agency; when we hear better, we play better. Too many competing sounds and the message is obfuscated; reason and meaning are lost. HDR mixing enhances the gameplay experience by making each sound impactful, and ensuring that all your hard work is heard and appreciated.

HDR prioritises more important, or generally ‘louder’ sounds. It preserves relationships between adjacent sounds and scales the output signal to the ‘loudest’ perceived sound. A moving HDR window maps the active sounds to the dynamic range of the playback system, automatically culling sounds that are below its lower threshold. HDR makes loud sounds sound louder, and quieter sounds sound as loud as loud sounds sound!

A holistic approach that simplifies the mixing process by focusing on what's important.

Customisable settings and easy workflows, made by sound designers for sound designers, with effortless project integration.

Envelopes are automatically generated with all calculations handled at run-time. No offline baking required.

Monitor all sound activity with real-time HDR debug displays.

Improve runtime performance and reduce sonic clutter with sound prioritisation and culling.