Sound buffer

Praat for Beginners
The Sound buffer

The Sound buffer is the amount of computer memory set aside by Praat for sound recording.
The size of the Sound Buffer thus determines the maximum possible size of a sound recording.
Note that Praat does not record indefinitely until you stop. When the Sound buffer is full the recording automatically stops.
The absolute size of a recording depends on the sampling rate and the number of channels. The more data you record per sec, the less time you will have available for recording. Changes in the sampling rate or mono/stereo status affect the recording proportionately. Doubling the sampling rate halves the available recording time, a stereo recording rather than mono also halves the available recording time, all with the same Sound buffer size.
The default 20 Mb buffer allows 440 seconds in mono or 220 seconds in stereo, both at 22050 Hz sampling rate.

The Sound buffer size can be changed (make it larger if you want more recording time, make it smaller if you’re short of computer memory).

In the Objects window click Praat>Preferences>Sound recording preferences.

The Sound recording preferences dialogue opens:

A different buffer size can be entered here.

Top