Change audio gain in C#

Note: This example was written in Visual Studio 2010.

This example shows how you can re-encode a video to change its audio gain. Earlier examples such as Change video quality in C# show how to use Microsoft Expression Encoder to work with videos. This example follows a similar pattern.

This example requires the following references:

• Microsoft.Expression.Encoder
• Microsoft.Expression.Encoder.Api2
• Microsoft.Expression.Encoder.Types
• Microsoft.Expression.Encoder.Utilities

It uses the following using directives to make using the Encoder objects and methods easier.

using Microsoft.Expression.Encoder;
using Microsoft.Expression.Encoder.Profiles;
using System.IO;

The following code shows how the program does its most interesting work (re-encoding the video to change the sound gain).

private void btnCreate_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (sfdMerged.ShowDialog() != DialogResult.OK) return;
    Cursor = Cursors.WaitCursor;
    prgEncode.Value = 0;
    prgEncode.Visible = true;
    Refresh();

    try
    {
        // Create a job.
        using (Job job = new Job())
        {
            // Make a MediaItem containing the splash video.
            MediaItem media_item = new MediaItem(txtMovie.Text);
            job.MediaItems.Add(media_item);

            // Use the original size.
            media_item.OutputFormat.VideoProfile.Size =
                media_item.OriginalVideoSize;

            // Set the quality.
            double gain;
            if (trkGain.Value <= 0)
                gain = (10.0 + trkGain.Value) / 10.0;
            else
                gain = trkGain.Value;
            Console.WriteLine("Gain: " + gain);
            media_item.AudioGainLevel = gain;

            // Set the output directory.
            FileInfo file_info = new FileInfo(sfdMerged.FileName);
            job.OutputDirectory = file_info.DirectoryName;

            // Set the output file name.
            media_item.OutputFileName = file_info.Name;

            // Don't create a subdirectory.
            job.CreateSubfolder = false;

            // Install the progress event handler.
            job.EncodeProgress += job_EncodeProgress;

            // Encode.
            job.Encode();
        }
    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
        MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
    }

    Cursor = Cursors.Default;
    prgEncode.Visible = false;
}

Ths code displays a dialog to let you select the name of the output file. If you don’t pick a video file and click Save, the method returns.

If you do pick a file, the code creates a new Job object and adds a MediaItem representing the video you selected for input.

The code sets the media item’s size so it uses the original size. It then sets the item’s AudioGainLevel. This is a multiplicative factor. For example, the value 0.5 decreases the video’s volume by half and the value 3 increases it by a factor of 3.

The program uses a simple calculation to convert from the slider’s value between -5 and +5 into the factor. If the value is less than or equal to 0, the code adds the value to 10 and divides by 10. For example, suppose the value is -3. Then the code uses (10 – 3) / 10 = 0.7 for he gain.

If the slider’s value is greater than 0, the program uses it directly as a multiplier. For example, if the value is 3, the code sets the gain to 3.

After setting AudioGainLevel, the code sets the output directory and the output file name, installs a progress event handler, and calls the Encode method to create the output video. Download the example to see additional details.