wavcheck 0.9.3

Check WAV files for Broadcast Wave Format issues

wavcheck

Free little command-line tool to check audio WAV files in Broadcast Wave Format (BWF) for issues (timecode, UMID, etc.). Designed especially for film & TV composers to use before sending out mix tracks or stems that need to remain precisely synchronized.

Also can automatically add the BWF embedded starting timecode into filenames (like yourtune_TC01020304.wav) and fix duplicate UMID problems (which can cause warnings when importing into Pro Tools, for example).

How to Install

PREREQUISITE: requires Python 3.6 or later installed on your system. You can download the latest verion here. See Requirements for Installing Packages if you need more help.

Open a terminal program (Terminal, PowerShell, Command Prompt, etc.) and install wavcheck with these commands (you may need to restart your terminal after ensurepath):

python3 -m pip install --user pipx
python3 -m pipx ensurepath
pipx install wavcheck

For Windows users, Python 3 might be installed as the py program:

py -m pip install --user pipx
py -m pipx ensurepath
pipx install wavcheck

Upgrading to a New Version

pipx upgrade wavcheck

Quick Start

Put all the .wav files you want to check in the same directory and change to it. Then just run wavcheck:

cd path/to/your/audio/dir
wavcheck

It will ask you to choose a frame rate, report any warnings, and offer to automatically fix certain problems if possible.

To print more verbose output, including all the Broadcast Wave Format (BWF) embedded metadata for every WAV file, add -v or --verbose:

wavcheck --verbose

To print out help information with a complete list of possible command-line arguments:

wavcheck -h

Issues Checked

Warns about these potential problems:

• Non-standard WAV formats.
• Low bit depths (< 16) or sample rates (< 44.1k).
• Some files using different bit depths or sample rates than others.
• Very short audio files (< 1s).
• Missing Broadcast Wave Format (BWF) metadata.
• Audio files that start at time 00:00:00:00.
• Audio files that start at a fractional timecode frame position.
• Missing or duplicate SMPTE Unique Material Identifiers (UMIDs) within BWF metadata.
• Unnaturally loud BWF loudness stats (achievement unlocked—but please don't), or true peaks above 0 dBTP.
• Timecode in filename doesn't match BWF start time.

Automatically Reading Framerate

When you first run wavcheck and choose a frame rate, it will ask if you want to write that choice into a file called FRAMERATE.txt in the same directory. Then on any subsequent runs, it will read the frame rate from that file. (I recommend including this file along with your audio files to avoid any confusion, since BWF metadata does NOT encode the frame rate standard in any way).

Alternatively, you can put the framerate directly in the file name, like FRAMERATE 24.000 non-drop.txt.

Or if you have another existing file where you already have your frame rate written, you can use it instead. For example, you could have a file called _IMPORTANT INFO.txt:

Picture Version: XYZ_2022-02-22
Frame Rate: 29.970 drop
Anything else you want...

Then tell wavcheck to find the framerate within that file:

wavcheck --framerate="_IMPORTANT INFO.txt"

Run into any problems (with this wavcheck tool)?

Look for an existing bug report or file a new issue here.