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The Latest Frontier in Audio Engineering… Photoshop?

DrewWilson — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:33:35 +0000

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but can that picture sing to you? Someone appears to be releasing software that could also put a whole new meaning to the term ‘photo sharing’. Sure, making pictures make sound isn’t entirely new, but it’s apparently possible to take a sound file, turn it into a bitmap and take that bitmap and turn it back into the original sound file.

When you think about it, all a spectral analyzer does is take an existing recording, and interprets it into a visual format. All the frequencies are there in various dots in various opacities. In short, all the information in a song is turned into a picture. What if you could take that image and save it as a bitmap? What if you could take that bitmap and re-interpret it as the original sound file?

Many people are certainly aware of Photoshop being a powerful tool. It’s been used in pretty much every field that deals with the standard image including government and military purposes. Bridging the power of Photoshop to sound seemed like a stretch of the imagination at best, but one video a software developer posted on YouTube clearly demonstrates that you can not only read sound via an image, but manipulate that sound and re-insert it back into the program and create a new sound file out of it.

From the perspective of those who actively engage in sampling, this kind of technology is a very exciting prospect because you don’t actually have to filter down that sound through a series of equalizers to get what you want (this method has been known to leave behind issues such as audio distortion to name one side effect)

From the perspective of security and justice, one can’t help but figure that the prospect of using photoshop could help clear up audio evidence such as clearing out pink or white noise in the background to clearly hear someone speaking. Of course, this kind of thing has happened for quite some time, but still, it could theoretically be one more tool that can be used to solve crime.

From a file-sharing perspective, this could be one more way to thwart anti-piracy methods. Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, the anti-filesharing organizations manage to convince a majority of software developers to install programs onto people’s computers that deletes all sound files that didn’t come with the operating system. File-sharers could easily develop a workaround by playing images instead through these kinds of technology.

Granted, in the foreseeable future, it’s hard to envision the bitmap becoming the standard format for trading music. It should also be worth noting that it’s fairly evident the video shows an example in a very ideal circumstance (a series of high sliding notes being played over some basic drum hits) but it opens a lot of possibilities when discussing music or audio clips.

Have a tip? Want to contact the author? You can do so by sending a PM via the forums or via e-mail at drew@zeropaid.com.

Popularity of digital audio files stunt hi-fi sound

soulxtc — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 16:29:10 +0000

Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system.

Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell’s pitchman is now a relic.

With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of the digital audio files they play is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl.

Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.’s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod “ear buds,” and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes.

WINAMP Remote BETA – a guide to the new P2P music streaming feature

soulxtc — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 16:50:49 +0000

On the road and wish you had your music? Does your friend’s music library suck? Well, Winamp just got a little bit cooler with the new Remote BETA feature that allows you to stream your PC’s music files via the internet browser of you choice.

Anybody who listens to music on their home PC will tell you that Winamp is one of the better media player programs around. From it’s relatively small memory footprint (4,000 K for myself at the moment), to it’s wide variety of plugins, visualizations, and enhancements, Winamp is a great program to have when it comes to playing music files on your home PC.

But, what if you aren’t at home and you still wish to access your home music library without having to setup any complicated FTP or remote access clients or programs? What if you’re using somebody else’s PC or laptop and all you have is a browser and internet connection? Well, Winamp Remote BETA let’s you listen to all of your music anywhere, anytime without having to worry about any of this. Just leave the plugin running when you leave home and then simply login using a browser and connection from wherever you like.

Its perfect for when you’re on vacation or wanting to grab some decent tunes at a friends house whose collection is filled with one too many country-western or death metal albums.

SO HOW DO I GET STARTED?
1. Install Winamp

First of all, if you haven’t already, download and install the Winamp media player (it’s pretty self-explanatory)

2. Install the Winamp Remote BETA plugin.

Next download and install the Winamp Remote BETA plugin, the steps of which I detail for you below.

Here is where you will create a USER ACCOUNT NAME and PASSWORD with which you will you be using to login to your PC remotely.

Be sure when selecting your username and password that they are SECURE as well as easy to remember so as to prevent against unwanted users from accessing your PC.

**PASSWORD SECURITY HINT: A trick I learned a while back that is pretty brilliant I think, is to combine 2 easy to remember words into a single, virtually undecipherable one. For example > CAT & DOG = C+D+A+O+T+G. You simply intertwine the 2 by offsetting their order. Pretty neat right? Who will ever think that CDAOTG is you password?**

When done then select the “Next” tab and submit the information you entered.

WHAT DO I DO BEFORE I LEAVE MY HOUSE?
CHECK PLUGIN STATUS

First of all, before you leave home, make sure the Winamp Remote BETA plugin is running. You should see the icon displayed in the system icon try at the bottom left-hand part of your screen. This is what acts as the remote server allowing you to access your PC.

HOW DO I CONNECT?
1. Go to http://www.orb.com/winamp/index.html
2. Log in

Lastly, type in your USERNAME and PASSWORD and select the “Sign In” tab.

HOW DO I LISTEN TO MY MUSIC?
Once logged in, the user interface is pretty straightforward.

The left-hand part of the screen will list the directory of your home music library. This will be the “My Music” folder on your PC (C:Documents and SettingsAdministratorMy DocumentsMy Music).

Scrolling through my “Comedy” music selection, I selected the new Andy Dick album “Do Your Shows Always Suck.” Double-click on the track you wish to play, as I have done as shown below.

This will automatically launch and load the track in the Winamp media player.

IS THAT IT? IS IT THAT EASY?

Pretty much. Winamp Remote BETA offers a few other options like streaming video and picture viewing but, they are both still too complicated and buggy to recommend for you here. When they become better supported I will let you know.

In the meantime enjoy Winamp Remote BETA. Now you can take your music library with you everywhere,

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/software/WINAMP_Remote_BETA_a_guide_to_the_new_P2P_music_streaming_feature’;

SOULXTC: “walkin’ the streets of P2P”

Audio flags could conflict with fair use

soulxtc — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 15:38:14 +0000

New radio technologies have music industry and radio officials at odds over fair use of audio and video digital transmissions.

The implementation of audio and video flags to block unauthorized distribution and replication could be one solution, experts testified Tuesday before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. However, opponents of the flags say they would still block even legal use of music by consumers.

The Audio Broadcast Flag Licensing Act, currently pending before the committee, would authorize the Federal Communications Commission to implement technologies to prohibit unlawful transmission and copying from satellite and HD radio.

“Specifically, it provides that technical licensing agreements currently taking place between satellite/HD radio and developers of digital audio broadcast systems include a broadcast flag or similar technology that limits the unauthorized dissemination, duplication and redistribution of the content,” said Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-N.J., sponsor of the proposed bill.

Mvix Player – Portable Multimedia Revolution

soulxtc — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 03:47:23 +0000

The Mvix (MV-5000U) Media Center w/FM is basically a portable external hard drive with the remarkable ability to play “…dozens of video, audio and digital image (i.e. JPEG) formats over your TV, projector or home-theater system.” Even better, the (MV-5000U) unit comes with the added ability to transmit audio to one of 4 FM stations of your own choosing. Thus one could purchase the power adapter or souped up Car Pack and thereby use with your car audio system. It’s genius baby, simply genius! You could have your entire digital music library at your fingertips wherever you go.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

VIDEO FILE PLAYBACK

AUDIO FILE PLAYBACK

BELLS & WHISTLES (Cool Features)

DEMO VIDEO

SPECIFICATIONS

VIDEO FILE PLAYBACK

The Mvix media center makes it so that one no longer has to burn or convert video files onto disc in order to watch them on a TV. It is an all-in-one video storage and playback device that already contains all the codecs necessary for proper playback.

What’s also amazing is that it will play ISO and VCD (.DAT) files as well, noting once again that one no longer needs to burn video discs of almost any shape or form.

The Mivx media center supports a variety of video files that includes the following:

DivX 5.x, Divx 4.x, Divx 3.11, XxiD, Mpeg – 1, Mpeg – 2, Mpeg – 4, .AVI, DVD (.IFO/ .VOB),ISO, VCD (.DAT)

Trying it out for myself, thanks to the great guys over at Mvix who allowed me to take one of their fine units for a little “test drive,” I was taken aback by the ease with which I was no able to watch a downloaded movie. Now I have one of those cool home theater projector setups, so even when I download an XviD file, I always have to convert and burn it to DVD to watch the movie on it. Unless I have a feeling the movie’s going to be terrible that is, in which case I’ll relegate it to the confines of my PC to watch. Either way, the Mivx media center makes the whole process a piece of cake, and makes the hole affair considerably less of a hassle to deal with. If there’s a flic or even a simple video short I have on my PC that I want to watch on my TV all I have to do is “drag and drop” it onto the Mivx media player’s HD folder and I’m done. Then all I have to do is take it, plug it into my TV, and press play. No tiresome conversion or burning process whatsoever, just drag, drop, and play. Who knew watching downloaded movies could be so easy?

AUDIO FILE PLAYBACK

This is potentially the biggest overlooked potential of the Mivx media player, for depending on the storage size of the HDD you put into it, you could theoretically have your entire library of music at your fingertips wherever you go. I put a 300GB HDD in it, which goes for a fairly reasonable price of $139 bucks on their site, and put half of music library in it, about 80GB. The newfound portability of my music library was awesome to say the least. It comes with a canvas “man pouch” also so was convenient and easy to take wherever I went. Those of you who have the crazy 100GB+ MP3 libraries may end up driving in circles around the block just to try and hear them all.

What the Mivx media center is also able to do, at least with the MV-5000U unit that I took a look at, is playback audio via an FM transmitter. Thus, in conjunction with the auto-power adapter you can use the player on yur car-audio system and have your own endless stream of digital music. That’s a huge kicker for those who have a large music library that is more often than not confined to the limits of their PC. A quickly burned audio disc is usually the most light of day that their library ever sees, and so the ability to take it anywhere, anyplace, and at anytime opens up a whole new genre of listening opportunities.

“What kinds of audio files can it play?” you ask. Well, the Mvix (MV-5000U) Media Center supports a number of different audio files, a list of which I include below:

MP3, AC3, M3U (Playlist), OGG, WMA, DTS Passthrough, MP2

So as you can see, it pretty much supports them all.

BELLS & WHISTLES (Cool Features)

I wanted to take the opportunity to go over some of the neater features of the Mivx media center.

The first is the fact that it comes with a remote so once you plug it into the back of your TV, a video jack, and left / right audio jacks, you can sit back and control the media center with the touch of a remote. It offers all the functionality of a regular remote, with volume control, fast-forward, rewind, stop, pause, etc. It also has a zoom feature as well.

The second is the fact that, which can be easily overlooked, that you could use it as in external data storage device as well. Though not able to do anything with them on the media center, of course, one can still put data on it for later retrieval and so too justify buying it as way to have a backup storage location. Too boot, you can literally use the Mivx media center to hold an endless amount of video, audio, image, or even data files, and literally take and play or transfer them anywhere.

Thirdly, if you take a look at the picture below, it shows the menu that will appear on your TV screen after you plug-in and power up the device. It shows just how easy the Mivx media center allows you to hear and watch all of your favorite video and audio files from the comfort of your living rather than from behind a desktop PC. Using the remote, you simple scroll down the menu list and select whatever it is that you wish to play. Forgot a video or something just finish downloading? All you have to is power it off real quick, plug it into your PC, drag and drop, and reconnect to your TV. No annoying converting or burning is necessary with this little bad boy.

(click on image to enlarge)

Moreover, it;’s going to be tough to part with this groundbreaking piece of technology. It literally bridges the gap between my PC and TV. No to mention the fact that I can take all my music and movies with me wherever I go and either broadcast the music over a car or home stereo, or watch a flic without worrying if my buddy’s DVD player will support VCDs. The Mivx media center takes all the headache out of getting ones video and audio to view or play in a different location. “Drag and drop,” it’s that easy.

WATCH THE DEMONSTRATION VIDEO

(click on image to view )

SPECIFICATIONS

Model No.: MV-5000U
TV System Compatibility: NTSC / PAL / AUTO
Video and Audio Output: RCA L/R, Coaxial, Optical(5.1ch), RCA Y, Pr, Pb, S-Video, IR-Ext
PC Interface: USB 2.0 (Backward Compatible with USB 1.1)
Subtitle Format Compatibility: SMI, SRT, SUB
Video Formats: MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI, DivX3.11, 4x, 5x, XviD, DVD(IFO, VOB), ISO
Screen Aspect Ratio: 16:9 / 4:3 Letter Box / Pan Scan
Audio Formats: AC3, MP2, MP3, DTS pass through, WMA, OGG, M3U
Digital Image Formats: JPEG
FM Transmitter: YES
LCD display: 128 X 64 mm
UP Scaling: 1920 X 1080i, 1280 X 720p
Dimension: 7.5 x 6 x 2.5 inches
Power: External 12V DC Adapter
Package: MV-5000U, Stand, Remote control, Bag, A/V cables, USB cable.

Digg It!

UPDATE: Are currently holding a drawing to win one of these Mvix units. For drawing details please check out THIS FORUM POSTING. THX.

Getting to Know Your Audio Files

soulxtc — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 01:57:38 +0000

If you ever wondered what the heck a FLAC or an OGG file is, this guide will tell you everything you need to know, as well as compare and discuss the quality of audio file conversion rates.

This is a guide to all the different types of audio files out there, as well as a look at what variables are involved in making them. From turning audio files into the type of your choosing, to simply making better audio CDs, we’ll cover all the audio basics.

Many times I’m sure you’ve come across a .FLAC or .OGG file and wondered what the heck it is, well wonder no more.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
AUDIO FILE TYPES
WHAT FORMAT IS BEST?
COMPARING AUDIO CONVERSION BITRATES
CONVERTING AUDIO FILES

To start, we’ll go over the basic audio files one usually encounters when downloading. We’ll cover the variety of types and forms and what they mean in terms of quality, size, and meaning.

wav
WAV (or WAVE), short for WAVE form audio format, is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing audio on PCs. WAV files store music in exactly the same format as on a CD. They’re the highest quality sound files, but by far the largest in size. To note, Audio CDs do not use WAV as their storage format. WAV is a data file format for computer use only.

.aif/.aiff
Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) files are the same as WAV files, but are read as such by the Macintosh OSX. Thus, for it’s profile and characteristics please see the WAV description above.

.flac
Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) is similar to MP3, but lossless, meaning that the audio is compressed without any loss in quality. Unlike lossy codecs such as MP3 and AAC, it does not remove any information from the audio stream. Simply put, FLAC files are identical in quality to those of the WAV file format, but are smaller in size from their compression.

.ape
Monkey’s Audio (APE) is a lossless audio compression codec. Unlike lossy formats, such as MP3, Monkey’s Audio does not permanently discard data during compression. A file compressed with Monkey’s Audio sounds the same as the original file, no matter how many times it is uncompressed and reencoded. Monkey’s Audio achieves compression rates of around 40–50% without loss of data. So like FLAC , APE files are identical to those of the WAV file format, but are smaller in size from their compression.

.wma
Windows Media Audio (WMA) is a proprietary format developed by Microsoft. It can be either lossy or lossless. Though not as popular as MP3, some say that lossy WMA tends to outperform MP3 in the area of sound quality, particularly with files encoded at lower bitrates like 64 or 96 Kbps. This performance advantage makes it handy for applications like portable digital audio players, where total play time is limited by a finite amount of internal memory. The Windows Media Audio format features built-in copy protection abilities, unlike MP3, so one is faced with challenges if the file is copy protected. Currently there is no known software that exists which will allow non-licensed users the ability to “crack” the Microsoft DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology other than by using real-time recording to “convert” the file to another of your choosing.

.ogg
OGG refers to the audio file format Ogg Vorbis, that is, Vorbis-encoded audio in an Ogg container. It is a patent and royalty-free, lossy audio compression technology from the Xiph.Org Foundation (www.xiph.org), which is dedicated to open source multimedia standards for the Internet. Ogg Vorbis is considered comparable to AAC and better than MP3 in sound quality as well as providing lower bit rates and smaller file sizes.

.aac
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), also known as MPEG-2 Part 7, is a digital audio encoding and lossy compression format. It was popularized by Apple computer through its iPod and iTunes Music Store. AAC offers the listener a better and more stable quality than MP3 at equivalent or slightly lower bitrates. AAC files encoded at lower bitrates (like 96 Kbps) sound as good or better than MP3s encoded at higher bitrates (like 128 Kbps) despite their notably smaller size. Thus, one can have smaller file sizes with comparable sound quality to that of MP3.

.mp3
MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3) is an audio compression technology that is part of the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 specifications. MP3 compresses CD-quality sound by a factor of roughly 10, while retaining most of the original fidelity. For example, a 30MB CD track is turned into a 3MB MP3 file. Like other lossy files, MP3 files are much smaller than the recordings they’re made from. That’s because some less-audible information is discarded when the file is made. The encoding bit rate, measured in kilobits per second (kbps), is important to the quality of the sound. In general, the higher the bitrate the better the sound quality.

So now that you know a little more about the audio files you’ve downloaded, the question arises, “Which format do I want my audio files to be in?”

All things considered, more often than not, the MP3 audio file format is the one that you will want to use. From simply conserving storage space on your computer, to ease of transfer to a portable music player, it’s the format of choice. As such, the process of turning different audio files into the MP3 format will be our next task.

Our first step is to determine the desired quality and size of our MP3, as better the quality means bigger the size. This means we must decide at what bit rate, or the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time, we will reencode the audio file. We will discuss the 112 to 256 kbit/s range, which represents an 8%(1:12) to 18.2%(1:5) compression size of a CD-quality, or WAV, audio file.

In this picture here we see an MP3 file converted at a bitrate of 112kbit/s. Notice the extreme dropoff in the 15KHz range. This bitrate should be avoided, obviously, unless circumstances dictate otherwise, i.e. radio show(podcast) for use on a portable music player of minimal storage space.

This next picture is of a an MP3 file converted at a bitrate of 128kbit/s. It is 9.1% of the original CD quality file size, or a 1:11 ratio. Notice again the sound quality dropoff, though this time in the 17KHz range.

This picture is of an MP3 file converted at a bitrate of 160kbit/s. It is 11.4% of the original CD quality audio file size, or a 1:9 ratio. This bitrate shows marked improvement in sound quality, for if you notice, the results mirror CD quality fairly well, dropping of gradually towards 20KHz.

Now for the 192kbit/s conversion bitrate. Notice the improved quality through the 20KHz range over 160kbit/s. It is 13.7% of the original CD quality audio file size, or a 1:7 ratio. This means an increase of 150% over the 128kbit/s conversion bitrate and 120% over the 160kbit/s conversion bitrate, so increased quality comes with a price. But note, for uploading audio files to the major BitTorrent file-sharing sites like OINK, for instance, this is the minimum bitrate that is deemed acceptable. So for continuity of your audio files this may be your preferred choice, as it strikes a healthy balance between size and quality, not to mention “acceptability.”

The last picture here is of a 256kbit/s convesion bitrate. It is 18.2% of the original CD quality audio file size, or a 1:5 ratio. It is nearly identical through the 17KHz range, and even after that follows the original closely through 21KHz. A dropoff in this range will be imperceptible to to all but only the most fervent of audiophiles. So if you want the best of the best and have ample storage space, this may be your bitrate of choice.

Now that you’ve had a chance to see the difference in bitrate conversions, it’s time for a quick run through on reencoding them. Now keep in mind that you can only go “down” in birate converions, as once audio data is discarded it cannot be recovered.

We’ll use NERO, a popular all-in-one media tool that offers everything from DVD authoring to DATA disc creation.

To begin OPEN NERO.

Then select ENCODE AUDIO FILES from the AUDIO TAB.

The next step is to “DRAG AND DROP” the desired file to convert in the main conversion utility window and select PowerPack Lame MP3 Encoder as the desired “Output file format.”

For the desired settings, i.e. conversion bitrate, select the SETTINGS TAB.

Here it’s time to choose at what what bitrate we wish to convert our audio file, in this case a WAV file as pictured above, into an MP3 at. We’ll select 192kBit for the reasons previously mentioned in terms of minimum acceptability by file-sharing websites.

Click “OK to finish.

And then “GO” to go convert (ha ha).

Presto, you should have successfully converted a WAV file into an MP3 file at a bitrate of 192kbit/s.

Well, we’ve come a long way in this guide, and hopefully you find it useful when both downloading audio files from the internet and then putting them to use. Whether it be simply archving your music or making those “phat beat” discs for the car, this guide should give you an extra dose of good ol’ fashioned know-how. Good luck and have fun.

SOULXTC: “walkin’ the streets of P2P”

Audio Video CODECS

soulxtc — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:31:40 +0000

CODECS have long plagued those simply wanting to play video files either on their PC or home entertainment system. The term CODEC means Compressor-Decompressor’, ‘Coder-Decoder’, or ‘Compression/Decompression algorithm.

It basically applies to the ability of a program to transform a data stream or signal. CODECS encode a stream or signal for transmission, storage or encryption and decode it for viewing or editing.

The main problem obviously is having the right audio or video CODEC for encrypting or decrypting data for a particluar task or program.

To be thorough I am going to include a complete list of both, and show you how to answer the timeless CODEC quandry afterwards.

Most codecs are lossy, meaning that some quality is lost in the encryption or decryption process in order to get a reasonably small file size. There are lossless codecs as well, but for most purposes the almost imperceptible increase in quality is not worth the considerable increase in data size. The main exception is if the data will undergo more processing in thefuture, in which case the repeated lossy encoding would degrade the quality over time.

QUICK LINKS:
**AUDIO
**VIDEO
**What’s the best way to solve my CODEC issues?

Audio codecs
a) Non-compression formats

AIFF – Audio Interchange File Format
RIFF – Resource Interchange File Format
WAV – Microsoft “WAVE” format (format supports compression, but it is rarely used)