True Peak
The peak of the reconstructed waveform, read in dBTP with a little ceiling margin
Related
True peak is the peak of the reconstructed continuous waveform, not the highest sample value. Conversion joins samples into a smooth curve, and that curve can rise above the neighbouring samples, creating an inter-sample peak.
It is expressed in dBTP and estimated with several times oversampling, following the methods of ITU-R BS.1770 and EBU R128. Masters often set the ceiling near -1 dBTP to leave room for lossy encoding; a limiter watching only sample peaks may still clip after export.
The usual mistake is assuming a sample peak below 0 dBFS is safe. Converters and codecs interpolate between samples, so a true peak over the ceiling distorts just the same. Read dBTP, not dBFS.
Sources
- 真峰值测量与上限设置，参 Bob Katz, Mastering Audio 与 Huber & Runstein, Modern Recording Techniques；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.