Ableton Forum

Hi, all...

I have a question that will probably get the "it just does, deal with it" type of answer, (bracing myself) but my curiosity is bugging me... and couldn't find the answer anywhere else...

Can anyone explain exactly what Live is doing when it is "preparing the rendering process", before it actually renders to disk, and why it does?

If my memory serves me correctly, I don't remember Live doing a pre-render process in versions previous to 8. Am I mistaken, or was this added? (I know i'm a bit late asking since we are on the cusp of 9, but i've actually been wondering this for years).

If so, why does 8 need to do it, when it didn't before? (Or are my settings different than I had them in 7 somewhere and i'm not noticing?)

Additionally, if the answer reveals that process as not entirely absolutely necessary, is there a way to skip it? Possibly a tall order, I know.. but, worth a shot!

Thanks!

I think the dither algorithms were added in live 8.

Note-

Dither: to add low level noise to reduce distortion when changing bit rate.

Not

Dither (verb): to be uncertain or indecisive.

Well that's what they say

it probably checks the tracks status as well: if You have any external device in session, the rendering procedure differs, also if You choose the "render as a loop" option, the rendering goes a bit different way (before actual rendering, Live plays the chosen loop and plays it just to feed the fx devices).
There may few other things to check before proceeding too.

It happens when you have normalize or record as loop selected. Live has to do the render once to find the peak level, then again to raise the level to 0db as part of the normalization process. Same for record as loop.