NUGEN Audio DialogCheck v1.2: What’s New in Dialog Intelligibility Measurement

POSTED 9th OF Sep, 2026, Posted by Summer Magdaraog

Clear dialog is essential in film, television, streaming, broadcast, and other spoken-word content. A mix can meet loudness requirements and still be difficult for audiences to understand. NUGEN Audio DialogCheck addresses this challenge by providing an objective way to measure dialog intelligibility during audio production and post-production.

With DialogCheck v1.2, NUGEN Audio continues to develop its approach to speech intelligibility measurement while supporting the industry's move toward a more consistent framework for evaluating dialog clarity.

What's New in DialogCheck v1.2?

DialogCheck v1.2 adds support for the emerging LMMG Dialogue Intelligibility Implementation Agreement, a framework designed to provide a more consistent approach to dialog intelligibility measurement.

A common implementation framework can help make intelligibility measurements more consistent across compatible tools and workflows. This is increasingly relevant as broadcasters, streaming platforms, and post-production teams look beyond loudness and pay greater attention to how easily audiences can understand spoken content.

The framework is still developing, so it is more accurate to view it as an emerging industry approach to dialog intelligibility measurement, rather than a universal replacement for existing audio standards.

NUGEN Audio is presenting DialogCheck v1.2 at IBC 2026, where dialog intelligibility is a key focus of the company's latest developments.

Building on DialogCheck v1.1

DialogCheck v1.2 builds on capabilities introduced in the previous release. DialogCheck v1.1 added support for up to 9.1.6 channels and introduced Session Timeline Offset, making the plug-in better suited to immersive audio projects and sessions with non-zero starting timecodes.

These capabilities remain part of the current DialogCheck workflow.

What Is NUGEN Audio DialogCheck?

NUGEN Audio DialogCheck is an AI-powered dialog intelligibility meter that measures speech clarity and listening effort.

Unlike a dialog-enhancement or noise-reduction plug-in, DialogCheck does not process the audio signal. Instead, it provides measurements that can help audio professionals identify sections where dialog may be difficult to understand and decide whether the mix or source audio needs further attention.

This provides a useful second reference during mixing. After an engineer has listened to the same scene repeatedly, it can become difficult to judge how easily someone hearing the material for the first time will understand the dialog. An objective measurement can help identify potential problem areas without replacing the engineer's judgment.

DialogCheck combines dual AI neural networks with Listening Effort technology developed by Fraunhofer IDMT. Its time-based history view also allows engineers to review intelligibility changes throughout a session.

Dialog Intelligibility vs. Loudness

Loudness and intelligibility measure different aspects of an audio mix.

Loudness measures the level of an audio signal or program. Dialog intelligibility concerns how easily a listener can understand spoken content.

This distinction matters because simply increasing dialog level does not always solve an intelligibility problem. Music, sound effects, background noise, reverb, source-recording quality, and other elements can affect how easily speech can be understood.

Dialog intelligibility measurement can therefore complement established loudness and audio-quality checks rather than replace them.

How DialogCheck Helps With Dialog Mixing

DialogCheck is a measurement tool, not an audio-processing plug-in. It does not automatically fix unclear speech. Instead, its readings can help identify where an engineer should investigate further.

Depending on the cause, improvements may include:

Adjusting the balance between dialog, music, and sound effects
Reviewing dialog processing
Applying noise reduction or audio cleanup
Reducing excessive reverb or competing effects
Improving the source recording where possible
Using ADR when the original recording cannot provide sufficient clarity

DialogCheck can also be used earlier in the production process to evaluate source audio before final mixing.

Key DialogCheck Features

DialogCheck combines real-time measurements with historical and statistical information for evaluating dialog throughout a session.

Key features include:

Up to 9.1.6 channel support for surround and immersive audio workflows
Real-time bar meter for immediate intelligibility monitoring
Timecode-locked history graph for reviewing clarity over time
Session Timeline Offset for aligning measurements with projects that use non-zero starting timecodes
Real-time momentary clarity readout
Median clarity readout for a broader view of measured clarity
User-defined upper and lower percentile readouts for evaluating the distribution of measurements

Together, these tools allow engineers to examine individual moments as well as broader trends across a piece of content.

Fraunhofer IDMT Listening Effort Technology

DialogCheck incorporates Listening Effort technology developed by Fraunhofer IDMT's Oldenburg Branch for Hearing, Speech and Audio Technology (HSA).

The technology uses automatic speech recognition and psychoacoustic modeling to assess listening effort. The Listening Effort Meter has been validated through systematic listening tests, with its metrics showing a high correlation with subjective assessments of listening effort.

This is important because determining whether speech is audible is not the same as determining how easy it is to understand. A listener may hear speech while still having to make considerable effort to follow what is being said.

DialogCheck uses this technology as part of its objective approach to evaluating dialog intelligibility.

How DialogCheck Fits Into an Audio Workflow

DialogCheck can be used as an additional measurement stage during mixing, review, and quality control.

A typical workflow can involve:

Monitor dialog in the mix using DialogCheck's real-time measurement.
Identify problem sections through the meter and time-based history graph.
Review the cause of reduced intelligibility, such as competing music, effects, noise, processing, or the source recording.
Make the appropriate mix or audio-restoration adjustment.
Measure again to evaluate the result.

This makes DialogCheck a measurement and decision-support tool rather than an automatic dialog-processing solution.

Who Can Use DialogCheck?

DialogCheck is designed for workflows where spoken-word clarity is important, including:

Film and television post-production
Broadcast and streaming audio
Radio
Podcast production
Game audio
Audio quality control

Its support for up to 9.1.6 channels also makes it relevant to surround and immersive production environments.

Why Dialog Intelligibility Matters

Audiences now consume content through a wide range of systems, from televisions and soundbars to headphones, laptops, and mobile devices. A dialog mix that works well in one environment may be more difficult to understand in another.

This makes objective intelligibility measurement increasingly useful for audio professionals who need to evaluate speech clarity consistently.

DialogCheck v1.2 brings this measurement approach into the wider conversation around developing dialog intelligibility standards, giving mixers and post-production teams another way to assess speech clarity alongside established audio measurements such as loudness.

Get NUGEN Audio DialogCheck

For audio professionals working in film, television, broadcast, streaming, podcasting, or immersive production, NUGEN Audio DialogCheck v1.2 provides an objective measurement tool for evaluating dialog intelligibility and listening effort.

As an authorized NUGEN Audio reseller, Motion Media offers DialogCheck and other NUGEN Audio solutions for professional audio and post-production workflows.

Explore NUGEN Audio DialogCheck at Motion Media to review the plug-in, licensing options, and how it fits into professional audio post-production workflows.