Ursa Broadcast G2 - Understanding Audio Levels

Just got back from a shoot with my Ursa Broadcast G2 where the audio levels were peaking at -10 to -3 on the on-camera LCD / viewfinder meters. Playback in camera shows the same.

When I import the clips into a fresh Resolve project the audio levels peak at -25 to -30db.

There's no problem raising the levels in Resolve. The audio sounds great.

But why the 20db difference?
While shooting I'm doing what I can to protect the audio levels from clipping but... what a waste?

Is there an -18 or -20dB pad set in the camera or an external recorder?

No pads are set. Hardwired mic to camera's XLR.

On the camera's Audio Setup p2 my Audio Meter was set to VU (-18dBFS) which is the default.

Just discovered that if I set that to PPM (-18dBFS) then the on-camera meters reflect the Resolve meters.

Screenshot 2025-02-17 130516.png (88.38 KiB) Viewed 963 times

Further digging shows that other Ursa cameras don't have the VU meter option, just PPM.

Screenshot 2025-02-17 131343.png (82.19 KiB) Viewed 942 times

… On the camera's Audio Setup p2 my Audio Meter was set to VU (-18dBFS) which is the default.

Just discovered that if I set that to PPM (-18dBFS) then the on-camera meters reflect the Resolve meters…

Thanks for the update! I wasn’t aware of that difference.

Just noticed this issue myself. I'll have to change that setting.