I N T R O D U C T I O N I NTRODUCTION I NTRODUCI NG SOU N D FORGE XP Sound Forge XP is a compact, easy-to-use digital audio editing solution for the Windows platform. With a Windows-compatible sound card, Sound Forge XP gives you the ability to record, edit and process professional-quality digital audio files.
I N T R O D U C T I O N This manual is designed to function both as a reference guide and tutorial. It is divided into six chapters and seven appendices; chapters 2-5 contain stepby-step instructions on using Sound Forge XP’s functions, chapter 6 contains reference information. Highlighted throughout the text, you will find Tips outlining particularly important information to help you quickly find what you need to get started.
I N T R O D U C T I O N AP P EN DICES A-G The Appendices are designed to provide in-depth technical and reference information.
I N T R O D U C T I O N I NSTALL ATION The install utility SETUP.EXE on the setup CD creates any necessary directories and copies all files required by Sound Forge XP. 1. After placing the Sound Forge XP CD-ROM in the drive, AutoPlay will bring an installation menu into focus. Simply follow the instructions. 2. If you have disabled the CD-Rom AutoPlay feature, run Setup from the Start menu as indicated below. Click OK to continue.
I N T R O D U C T I O N GET TI NG H ELP ON LI N E H ELP A variety of help functions are included in the Sound Forge XP program.There are three methods for accessing online Help: • Find information about any program function by selecting Contents under the Help menu or pressing F1. This will take you straight to the Help table of contents. From this dialog, you can search by topic or get information about using online Help.
I N T R O D U C T I O N B EFOR E YOU CALL So that we are able to provide you with the best possible support, please check the following before calling: • Make sure you have registered online or sent in your registration card. • Check to see that the information you need isn’t already covered in the manual. Appendix B, Troubleshooting, addresses many commonly asked questions about using Sound Forge XP. • Verify that you’ve installed your sound card properly in Windows.
I N T R O D U C T I O N P HON E (608) 256-5555 Call our technical support line between the hours of 9 AM and 6 PM Central Standard Time, Monday through Friday. FA X ON DEMAN D (608) 256-3133 Our Fax on Demand service is available 24 hours a day as an option on the main Sonic Foundry phone line. OVERVI EW OF DIGITAL SOU N D If you are new to digital sound editing, it will be well worth your time to become familiar with some basic concepts. This section covers the most important fundamentals.
I N T R O D U C T I O N LOU DN ESS AN D P ITCH When the air pressure is constant there is no sound. You perceive constant air pressure as silence. When something causes a sound, the air pressure around your eardrum changes above and below the normal atmospheric level. You perceive the amount of change as the loudness of the sound. The loudness of a sound, called its amplitude, is usually measured as a fraction of a standard level, often in decibels (dB).
I N T R O D U C T I O N The different frequencies in a sound, combined with the varying amplitudes of each frequency, make up the spectral content of a waveform. The spectral content, which you might say is the more scientific term for timbre, usually varies over time. Otherwise, the sound remains static and again sounds dull. The spectral characteristic of a waveform over time is the signature of a tone that allows you to describe it as string-like or horn-like.
I N T R O D U C T I O N DIGITAL R ECOR DI NG With recent advances in computer technology, it has become efficient and economical to record sound waves using a process called digital sampling. In digital sampling, the analog signal of the sound wave is divided and stored as numbers that represent the amplitude of the wave over very small segments of time. For a moment, let’s take a look at another process that is very similar to the way our computer makes sound – the making of movies and television.
I N T R O D U C T I O N TH E PC SP EAKER A simple model for a digital system is one where a speaker cone can be in one of two positions, either in or out, corresponding to the numbers 1 and 0 stored in a computer. The normal position, in, is when the speaker is sitting at rest with no current applied. The speaker isn’t moving and we don’t hear anything. When current is applied the speaker cone moves to the other position, out.
I N T R O D U C T I O N You will often see a sound card referred to as 8-bit or 16-bit. We can directly relate this to the number of positions in which we can place the speaker. With an 8-bit card we can place it in 256 different positions and with a 16-bit card we can place it in any of 65,536 positions. Although you might think that a 16-bit card should have twice as many positions as an 8-bit card, this is not the case. It actually has 256 times as many positions.
I N T R O D U C T I O N ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL EDITI NG The advantages of digital editing far outweigh the enormous storage requirements. Once you’ve recorded a sound as a digital sample on your hard drive, you have the ability to perform edits like copying, cutting, and pasting without losing any fidelity and, as some people like to brag, with accuracy of up to 0.000023 seconds (single sample spacing at 44,100 Hz sampling rate).
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X P B A S I C S CHAPTER 2: SOU N D FORGE XP BASICS Chapter 2 provides an introduction to working within the Sound Forge XP. Use of the interface is illustrated using a combination of descriptions and tutorials.
X P B A S I C S USI NG TH E MOUSE Although using the mouse in Sound Forge XP is not required, it will make your editing sessions easier. Once you become familiar with Sound Forge XP you will probably want to use some of the built-in shortcuts provided by the mouse and the keyboard. (For a complete listing of shortcuts, see Appendix C.) The following list of terms will help you when reading the manual. Pointing Moving the mouse pointer over an item.
X P B A S I C S Shift-clicking Clicking the mouse while holding down the Shift key on the keyboard. Shift-clicking is used mainly to skip dialogs so that you can quickly repeat operations. Control-clicking Clicking the mouse while holding down the Control key on the keyboard. Control-clicking is used to modify the operation of a normal click. Dragging Holding down the mouse button while you move the mouse.
X P B A S I C S TH E MAI N SCR EEN When you start Sound Forge XP, the main screen, or workspace, opens. This is where you will do all of your sound editing. The very first time you open Sound Forge XP, no data windows are open and you will need to either open an existing sound file or create a new one. There are a variety of ways to do this, which are all described below.
X P B A S I C S Menu Bar Shows the menu headings for the available functions. When no data windows are open, the Process, Effects, and Tools menus are not listed; these contain functions that require an open data window. Status Bar On the left, help (see p. 24) and processing information (see p. 21) are displayed. The fields on the right show the playback sample rate, sample size, mono/stereo, total length of the active data window, and the total free storage space.
X P B A S I C S Transport Includes the audio transport buttons: Record, Play All, Play, Pause, Stop, Go to Start, Rewind, Forward, and Go to End. Two more toolbars are also available, but not automatically displayed when Sound Forge XP is opened. Status Contains operations to set the display Status. For a complete reference of these commands, see Chapter 6.
X P B A S I C S To select from the list of available toolbars, select Preferences under the Options menu and look on the Toolbars page (or Toolbars in the View menu). To show a toolbar, check the box next to the toolbar you wish to use and then select OK. The number of open toolbars and their position on the screen is entirely up to you. TH E DATA WI N DOW Data windows contain sound data.
X P N O T E B A S I C S Time Ruler Shows the current location in the data window as well as ruler tags. Right-click to reach the Time Ruler shortcut menu. Drag to scroll the data window. Ruler Tags Indicates the position of region end points and markers. Right-click to reach the Ruler Tag shortcut menu. Drag to change their locations. Double-click anywhere in the region to select. Edit Tool Selector Use this button to toggle between the Edit, Magnify, and Pencil Tools.
X P B A S I C S Overview Allows for quick navigation and playback of any part of the file. Overview also shows the fraction of the waveform on the waveform, as well as the selected region. Left-click to move the cursor. Double-click to center the cursor in the waveform display. Right-click to start playback or pause. Left-click and drag to activate the Audio Event Locator. Time Zoom (Also called Zoom Ratio) Specifies the number of samples of data represented by each point on the screen horizontally.
X P B A S I C S TOOLTI PS If you hold the mouse over a toolbar button or status bar field for more than one second, you will notice a small box appears next to the mouse pointer containing text. This text is a quick description of the button or field’s function. Using ToolTips is an easy way to learn your way around the Sound Forge XP screen. You can disable this function by selecting Toolbars under the View menu and clearing Show ToolTips.
X P B A S I C S • Active Windows vs. Inactive Windows • Copying Data to a New File • Saving a File OP EN I NG AN EXISTI NG SOU N D F I LE To open an existing sound file: 1. Select the Open command from the File menu. Sound Forge XP displays the Open dialog. Use this dialog to select and open a file. 2. By default, Sound Forge XP plays a file when you select it in the dialog.You can turn off this feature by clearing the Auto play check box.
X P B A S I C S P L AYI NG A F I LE To play an opened sound file: 1. Click on the Play All button on the Transport toolbar. 2. While the file is playing, a pointer will move along the data window showing the current position. You will also see the current position in the first selection status field in the playbar. 3. Play the TUTOR1 file now.You will hear the words “Wow, sound editing just gets easier and easier.” You can begin play from any point in the window by moving the cursor. 1.
X P B A S I C S P L AYI NG A SECTION You can also play parts of the sound data by selecting a portion of the waveform display with the mouse. To play a section: 1. Click and drag the left mouse button starting at the section of silence prior to “Wow.” Drag the mouse until you are in the portion after the “Wow.” Notice that as you drag the data, the background appears in another color. Release the mouse button and you will now have a highlighted section of data. 2. Click the Play button.
X P B A S I C S USI NG TH E TR ANSPORT TOOLBAR VS. TH E DATA WI N DOW P L AYBAR There are a number of ways to play your sound files in Sound Forge XP. The most common method is to use one of the Play buttons located either on the Transport toolbar or the playbar in the data window. This section describes both methods. TH E P L AYBAR B UT TONS On the left-side of the playbar at the bottom of every data window are five buttons. These buttons allow you to play the sound data in a variety of ways.
X P B A S I C S The last two buttons play the sound in different ways and, at the same time, set the default play mode. The first button is the Play Normal button. This button plays the currently selected section of data. If there is no data selected, pressing the Play Normal button plays from the current cursor position to the end of the file. The next button is the Play Looped button.
X P B A S I C S TH E TR ANSPORT TOOLBAR The Transport toolbar has nine buttons. The Transport toolbar buttons are described below from left to right: Record Brings up the Record dialog, which allows you to record to either a new or existing window. Shortcut: Control+R Play All Plays the entire sound file from beginning to end. This allows you to hear the entire sound even if you have a selection or the cursor positioned somewhere other than the start of the data.
X P B A S I C S Go to Start Places the cursor at the beginning of the sound file. Shortcut: Control+Home Rewind Shuttles the cursor backward in the sound file. Shortcut: Control+Left Arrow Forward Shuttles the cursor forward in the sound file. Shortcut: Control+Right Arrow Go to End Places the cursor at the end of the sound file. Shortcut: Control+End TH E ACI D TOOL BAR The ACID Toolbar has eight buttons which are detailed from left to right in this section.
X P B A S I C S ON E-SHOT One-Shots do not stretch with tempo or change pitch with the ACID project’s key. Sounds such as cymbal crashes and vocal samples are usually played as One-Shots. LOOP Loops stretch with tempo, and may also change pitch with the ACID project’s key. Loops are the most common types of samples used in ACID. N U M B ER OF B EATS This option determines the length, in beats, of the Loop.
X P B A S I C S To use Edit Tempo, first highlight a selection in the waveform display. The selection made should be equal in size (or an integer multiple) to the length of a beat or measure. The easiest way to tune a selection to be exactly one measure long is to play the selection looped and change the selection points until a constant downbeat is heard. Sound Forge XP uses the current tempo to display measures in the Time Ruler.
X P N O T E B A S I C S The default tempo (Default: 120) can be changed on the Status page of the Preferences folder (Options menu). Double Selection The Double Selection button does exactly what its name implies – it doubles the current selection. When you are creating loops, it is very handy to be able to select (highlight) a single measure and then use the Double Selection tool to automatically increase the selection to two or four measures.
X P B A S I C S For example, if you had a drum part that went BOOM, BOOM, BANG, BOOM and you selected the first BOOM and selected Rotate Audio, the resulting drum part would go BOOM, BANG, BOOM, BOOM. Get it? If there is no selection, the file will rotate by 1/16th of its length. Selection Grid Lines The Selection Grid Lines creates (imagine this!) a grid of lines on the area selected. These lines are superimposed on any selection and divide it into four equal parts.
X P B A S I C S 4. Click the OK button. A new window will appear titled Sound2. This is an empty data window into which you will place data from TUTOR1. ACTIVE WI N DOWS VS. I NACTIVE WI N DOWS When you have multiple windows on the screen, only one window is considered the active window. This is the window in which you are currently working. Any operations you perform will only affect this window. To make a window the active window click anywhere on the window with the left mouse button.
X P B A S I C S SAVI NG A F I LE To save a data window: 1. Make sure the Sound2 window is active. 2. Select the Save command from the File menu. Because the Sound2 window is a new file, Sound Forge XP displays the Save As dialog. If the file had been opened or previously saved by Sound Forge XP, the file would be saved immediately. 3. Type a file name into the File name field in the Save As dialog and select the OK button.
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E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N CHAPTER 3: EDITI NG AN D NAVIGATION Chapter 3 provides explanations and tutorials covering Sound Forge XP’s editing functions and how to navigate through sound files. Sections covered include: • Simple Editing and Navigation • Advanced Editing and Navigation • Regions and Markers SI M P LE EDITI NG AN D NAVIGATION This section will describe the basic editing operations of Sound Forge XP.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N Crossfade Crossfades the contents of the clipboard with the current data in a window starting at the current cursor position. Shortcut: Control+F Mix Mixes the contents of the clipboard with the current data in a window starting at the current cursor position or at the start of a selection. Shortcut: Control+M Clear/Delete Deletes a selected portion of data but doesn’t copy it onto the clipboard.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N PASTI NG DATA F ROM TH E CLI P BOAR D To paste data: 1. Move the cursor to the beginning of the TUTOR1 file by selecting the Go to Start button on the playbar 2. Choose the Paste command from the Edit menu. You should now see the data for the word “Wow” appear at the beginning of the window. Press the Play button just to make sure. You should hear “Wow Wow Sound editing just gets easier and easier.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N U N DOI NG AN EDIT OP ER ATION You can reverse the effects of any editing operation. To undo the above “cut”: 1. Select Undo Cut from the Edit menu. You will see the original two “Wow” words in the TUTOR1 window. R EDOI NG AN EDIT OP ER ATION If you change your mind and decide you really liked an edit you undid, you can repeat the edit operation you last undid. To redo an operation: 1. Select Redo Cut from the Edit menu.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N M IXI NG Mixing is a powerful and useful edit operation that you will use often. Mixing allows you to combine two sounds together into one window so you can create composite sounds. To mix data: 1. Open two files, TUTOR1.WAV and TUTOR2.WAV, as described in the previous sections.TUTOR2 is a file that contains the sound of a snare drum and crash cymbal. You are going to mix this sound with TUTOR1, the “Wow, sound editing...” window. 2.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N 7. The Mix dialog now appears. Keep both levels at 0 dB and select OK. 8. The drum hit sound has been mixed into the TUTOR1 window and the length of TUTOR1 is still 5.0 seconds. Press the Play button to hear the results. 9. Select the Undo Mix command from the Edit menu to return TUTOR1 to its original state. 10. This time, mix the drum hit sound closer to the “Wow” portion of TUTOR1. The “Wow” occurs at about 0.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N STATUS FOR MATS By right-clicking on the Time Ruler and selection status fields on the playbar, files can be set to different status formats. By changing the format, you can coordinate sound files with other events measured in that format, or use a timing base most familiar to you. Lengths and positions can be displayed in a variety of formats including Samples, Time, Seconds, Frames, Measures and Beats, and SMPTE.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N 3. In the selection status fields on the playbar (at the lower right-hand side of the data window) you should see the values of 0, 220,506, and 220,507. This means that the first selected sample (Selection Left) is sample 0, the last selected sample (Selection Right) is 220,506, and the total number of samples in the selection (Selection Length) is 220,507. 4. Now select the Time option from Status Format under the Options menu.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N For example, if the setting is 1:1 then each point on the screen is one sample. With this setting, a very short length of time is shown on the waveform display. You might not be able to see the cursor or selection because you are seeing it at such close range. If the setting is 1:1,024, then there are 1,024 samples represented by each point on the screen and a longer length of time can be seen.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N The labels for this axis can be either in decibels or in percent and are switched by right-clicking on the Level Ruler. When zoomed in, only the lower level samples can be seen; the peaks of the waveform will have moved beyond the scope of the data window. To view these peaks, drag the Level Ruler up or down. N O T E To optimize the level scaling of a selection, double-click on the Level Ruler. Double-click again to zoom out to the normal level.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N When the Magnify Tool is enabled, instead of making a selection, the mouse cursor will become a magnifying glass and a dotted square will appear when dragging the cursor. The zoom will take place within this dotted square. The three different modes of operation for the Magnify Tool can be selected by toggle-clicking (see Using the Mouse in chapter 2). These allow you to time zoom, level zoom or zoom both simultaneously.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N GO TO To quickly move the cursor to a specific point and center it in the waveform display, use the Go To command. You can reach the Go To dialog in a number of different ways: • Select the Go To command from the Edit menu • Right-click on the waveform display and select Go To from the shortcut menu • Double-click on the left-most selection status field • Press Control+G The Go To dialog is much like the Set Selection dialog described below.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N In the Set Selection dialog, you can modify the Start, End, Length, and Channel of the selection. Pre-determined regions can also be chosen from the Selection dropdown list. MAKI NG A DATA SELECTION WITH MAR KERS Sound Forge XP has numerous techniques for selecting sound data. The drag and drop method and the Set Selection dialog are described above. The next section covers the various keyboard shortcuts you can use for selecting data.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N For example, you might have a sound clip of three events: a pool cue hitting a ball, the first ball hitting a second one, and the second ball falling into the pocket. Using markers, you can select the middle sound as you listen during playback. After you hear the cue hitting the ball, you would press [ to mark the beginning of the selection. After you hear the first ball hit the second one, you would press ] to mark the end.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N Sound Forge XP allows you to update the selection by grabbing a selection edge and moving it. Once you have established a data selection, place the mouse over the selection start or end point.You will notice that the cursor changes to a bidirectional arrow. Once this arrow appears, you can press the left mouse button and move the selection to a new position. The new position will be updated once you release the mouse button.
E D I T I N G N O T E A N D N A V I G A T I O N Due to a limitation in Windows 95, the last two commands work only in Windows NT. As you can see from the above lists, Sound Forge XP has extensive keyboard support for selecting data. You will find that almost any operation has an equivalent keyboard shortcut which advanced users find invaluable. For a complete listing of keyboard and menu shortcuts, see Appendix C. To see how some of these keys function: 1. Open the file TUTOR1.WAV.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N R ESTOR I NG A SELECTION When you change the cursor position (with the mouse or keyboard) without holding the Shift key down, you lose your selection and only the cursor is displayed. If you want to return to the last selection, select the Toggle Selection command under the Special menu or press the ‘S‘ key. SH I F TI NG A SELECTION Sometimes it is necessary to move a selection’s position without changing the length of the selection.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N 2. Now press the Zoom In button a few times (the large magnifying glass in the lower right-hand corner of the data window) and notice how the brackets become smaller.This corresponds to the smaller fraction of the entire sound file that you can see when you zoom in on the waveform display. The selection size, however, remains the same and does not move.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N You can also play back the sound file starting from the current cursor position by right-clicking anywhere on the overview. Right-clicking again pauses playback. Left-clicking in the overview also moves the cursor position. Also note that left-clicking on the overview during playback moves the cursor to the point where you clicked and continues playback at that point. These navigation tools make it very easy to find sections in large files.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N 4. Let go of the left mouse button. This will bring up the Mix dialog. To perform a crossfade instead of a mix, hold the Control key down while letting go of the mouse button. Holding down the Alt key when dropping performs a paste. N O T E An easier way to select a mix, paste, or crossfade is to drag the block to the destination window.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N DR AG AN D DROP CROSSFADI NG To Crossfade using drag and drop: 1. Undo the last operation. 2. Select all of TUTOR2 and drag it toward the end of TUTOR1. 3. Press and hold the Control key to see the crossfade block.This X-shaped block shows you where one sound begins to fade out and the other to fade in. By dragging the crossfade block left or right from the end of the destination file or the end of a data selection, you can adjust the length of the crossfade. 4.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N SELECTI NG DATA I N STER EO F I LES When selecting data in stereo files, Sound Forge XP allows you to select either the left channel, right channel or both channels for playing, editing, and effects processing. When editing a stereo file, the waveform display showing the two channels is split into three logical sections for selection with the mouse.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N TOGGLI NG CHAN N EL SELECTIONS Once you have made a selection in a stereo file you can switch between channel selections by pressing the Tab key. The Tab key will cycle between selections of Left Channel, Right Channel, and Both Channels. You can also set the channel selection by using the Channel drop-down list in the Set Selection dialog (Edit menu).
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N R EGIONS AN D MAR KERS This section covers Sound Forge XP’s ability to create regions and markers in a data window. Each data window can have its own Regions List stored along with the sound data when saved in the WAV file format. Sections covered are: • Using the Regions List • Creating Regions • Editing a Region • Using Markers USI NG TH E R EGIONS LIST The most basic use of the Regions List is for dividing a sound file into separate named regions.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N 4. Name the region Cymbal Crash and then select OK. A region will be created and placed in the Regions List. Each region in the Regions List has a Play button that you can use to play that particular region. In addition, Region Tags that show the location of the region appear in the Time Ruler. OTH ER WAYS OF CR EATI NG R EGIONS There is also a shortcut menu to let you quickly create regions. 1. Select the beginning part of the TUTFILL.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N 4. In the TUTFILL.WAV file, select the portion of data between the Drum Roll and Cymbal Crash regions and then drag it to the Regions List window and release the mouse button. The Add Marker/Region dialog will immediately appear upon releasing the mouse button. Name this region Toms and press OK. 5. Pressing “R” after making a data selection will create a region as well.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N EDITI NG R EGIONS I N TH E R EGIONS LIST Another way to edit region points is to double-click on a region name in the Regions List.This brings up the Edit Marker/Region dialog, which allows you to type in region parameters. Also, right-clicking on the Regions List allows you to choose from various commands in the Regions List shortcut menu.
E D I T I N G A N D N A V I G A T I O N DROP P I NG MAR KERS WH I LE P L AYI NG OR R ECOR DI NG Another useful feature in Sound Forge XP is the ability to create markers as you listen to the sound file.To do so, first start playback on any sound file. A marker will be created each time you press the ‘M‘ key. When finished, you can then rename each marker to whatever you wish. While recording, you can press the Drop Marker button (to the right of the Play button) in the Record dialog.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S CHAPTER 4: F I LE FOR MATS AN D AT TR I B UTES This chapter describes how to work with file formats, including AVI and Internet files, and file attributes. The sections are: • Working with Sound File Formats • Working with AVI Files • Working with Internet Media Formats WOR KI NG WITH SOU N D F I LE FOR MATS This section will show you how to deal with many different sound formats. You will learn about: • Changing the Format of a Sound File.
F I L E N O T E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S Changing the sample rate will make your sound play faster or slower and with a higher or lower pitch. If you want the file to sound the same at a different sample rate, use the Resample command under the Process menu. When you right-click on any of the three format fields, a shortcut menu will pop up at the current mouse location allowing you to change that parameter.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S CONVERTI NG B ET WEEN MONO AN D STER EO To convert a file from mono to stereo: 1. Open the TUTOR1.WAV file. Right-click on the status field, which has the word Mono, and select Stereo from the shortcut menu. 2. When you convert from mono to stereo, the Mono to Stereo dialog will appear, asking you where you want to put the data.Your choices are: Left Channel The mono data is placed in the left channel. The right channel is set to silence.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S 4. You will now have data in the upper half of the data window (the left channel) and silence in the right channel. Press the Play button and you will hear “Wow, sound editing just gets easier and easier” in only the left channel. N O T E If your sound card supports only mono data you will still be able to play stereo files if you set your playback device to Sound Mapper on the Wave page in the Preferences (Options menu). 5.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S Once you have performed the above operations, you should use Convert to 8-Bit in the Process menu to do the 16- to 8-bit conversion. Sound Forge XP provides three different 16- to 8-bit conversion options; Truncate, Round, and Dither. Truncate removes the lower 8 bits and they are lost forever. Round is similar to Truncate, only some attempt is made to represent the highest of the low bits by rounding up if possible.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S 2. In the Save As dialog, there are three controls that are used for file conversion: Save as type, Format, and Attributes. The Save as type is the list of all available output file types. The Save as type will be set to the type from which the file was opened.The default for new files is Wave (Microsoft) (*.wav). You can change to the type of file you want to save by selecting the new type from the Save as type list.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S The Format drop-down list shows the format of the data that will be saved in the file. Usually this will be PCM (Pulse Code Modulation), which is the standard for most file types. PCM is a standard format for normal uncompressed audio. If you are saving a file to a file type that supports other formats, they are displayed in the drop-down list. Other formats are typically used when saving audio data in a compressed form.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S SU M MARY I N FOR MATION Use the Summary properties to view or change summary information for a file. To see these options, choose Properties from the File menu and select the Summary page. EXTEN DED SU M MARY I N FOR MATION To see the Extended Summary dialog, click Extended on the Summary page. The Extended Summary dialog contains a list of available fields, each of which may or may not have attached text.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S To the left of each field in the list is a check box, which is used to enable or disable fields of this type when saving files. The field is enabled or disabled by clicking on the check box. If a field is empty, i.e., has no text, enabling the check box has no effect on a saved file. Field information is only saved if text information exists for that field. The Save Summary Information in file (.WAV, .AVI, .ASF, .
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S DEFAU LT If the Default button is selected, the text in the summary fields is saved with the default fields that are automatically filled when creating a new WAV file. The Creation date field (ICRD) is always filled with the current date for new files. Saving a custom default setup is handy for saving copyright and engineer information for new files created at your site. To view extended summary information: 1. Open the TUTOR1.WAV file. 2.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S WOR KI NG WITH AVI F I LES Sound Forge XP lets you work with Microsoft Audio and Video Interleave (AVI) files. You can edit the audio tracks of a video with single frame accuracy.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S AVI NAVIGATION VI DEO STR I P When you open an AVI file, you will notice the video strip on top of the waveform display. When you use Zoom Out to view the waveform, all of the frames in an AVI will not be displayed.The left edge of the displayed frames are aligned with the audio in time. If you’d like to see the frame numbers appear on the frames, activate the Video Strip shortcut menu by right-clicking on the video strip and select Number Frames.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S 2. Press Open after selecting an AVI file with a video stream. The Video Properties will now display the audio and video streams in the AVI file. An AVI file can contain multiple streams, but in most cases you’ll have one audio stream and one video stream.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S 3. The check box to the left of each stream indicates which streams will be stored when you save your file. The black diamond next to it is the Stream Selector, which indicates which streams are currently being used in Sound Forge XP. 4. Press OK and you should now see the video strip above the waveform display. Once you’re done editing, you must save the file in AVI format if you want to store the video.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S 3. Pressing OK will take you to the Compression Options dialog. Here, you can select a compression scheme for each audio and video stream.To change the options for a stream, select it and press the Options button. By checking the Interleave every _ Frames option, you can specify how frequently the audio chunks are interwoven with the video. 4.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S AVI VI DEO COM P R ESSION If you thought audio files chewed up your hard-disk space quickly, wait until you start using video! CD quality audio takes up about 10 MB of hard-drive space per minute (60 seconds x 44,100 samples per second x 2 tracks for stereo x 2 bytes per 16-bit sample).
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S Also in the Video Compression dialog, you can specify the Data Rate of the video, which relates directly to the final size of the file. Different compressors do different things with this value, since it’s only an expected value. In most cases you should leave this unchecked. If you have very limited playback data rates, such as with a single-spin CD-ROM, you might then want to set this value.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S USI NG SOU N D FORGE XP TO CR EATE R EALM EDIA F I LES Sound Forge XP gives you the ability to save sound files in RealMedia formats (RealAudio and RealVideo) along with editing tools that help maximize the audio’s fidelity.This section first explains how to save files in RealAudio format, then covers saving files in RealVideo format. All of the tips for converting files to RealAudio also apply for converting AVI files to RealVideo.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S 2. Use the defaults or click the New button to change the Sample Rate, Sample Size or number of channels of the source file. 3. Check the Monitor box and play the clip to be encoded. Check for clipping. You want the levels to be mostly in the green area, a little in the yellow and only occasionally in the red. If Sound Forge XP displays a red Clip warning above the Monitor, you should: 4. Stop the input source. 5. Click the Reset button. 6.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S This process ensures that the loudest part of the file is at the maximum level. Follow these steps to normalize a file 1. Press Ctrl-A to select the entire file. 2. Select Normalize from the Process menu. The Normalize dialog appears. 3. Move the Normalize fader to -.50 dB (94.41%). 4. Select OK. Sound Forge XP normalizes the file. Compress If you have not already audio compressed the file you can do so now.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S SET TI NG R EAL AU DIO TEXT F I ELDS RealAudio and RealVideo files can store information about the title, author and copyright of the clip.To set the RealAudio and RealVideo text fields, follow these steps: 1. Choose Properties from the File menu.The Properties window for the current file displays. 2. Click the Summary tab. 3. Enter the Title, Engineer, and Copyright information.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S 4. Next, click the Save button. The RealMedia Save Options dialog box opens. This dialog box is explained in detail in the reference chapter in the “Save As” section. 5. Select the Audio compression type from the drop-down list. A brief description of the highlighted compression type displays below this list. 6. If the file you recorded was stereo, and you selected a mono compression type, select the appropriate Stereo to mono conversion option.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S 8. Click the OK button. After the file has been saved, a message appears, asking whether you want to listen to the saved file through the RealPlayer. This message verifies that you have saved the file in RealVideo format. You can view the file by clicking the Yes button if you have the RealPlayer installed. R EALM EDIA SAVE OPTIONS This dialog is reached when you select RealMedia (*.rm;*.ra) from the Save as type list in the Save as dialog.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S Enable Per fectPlay capabilities When this option is enabled, users connected with standard modems can select to download a higher quality version or the audio and/or video that is normally only available over ISDN or LAN connections. The higher bandwidth RealMedia stream is then played back from the user’s hard disk after the download process is complete. The RealPlayer Plus from Progressive Networks supports PerfectPlay capabilities.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S When a compression type is selected, a brief description of it is displayed below the list box. The frequency response parameter of the description indicates how wide, in Hertz, the bandwidth of the audio in the RealMedia file will be.The bandwidth of a normal human’s hearing is about 20,000 Hz or 20 kHz.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S Desired maximum data rate (1.0 to 500.0 Kbps) This setting is available only if you are saving a video stream. The data rate specifies the desired total kilobits per second (Kbps) for the RealMedia file (including audio and video).To increase the bandwidth available for streaming the video, you can either lower the data rate for the audio, or increase the desired maximum data rate. Note that you must allow some room for inconsistent transfer rates.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S To install the ASF authoring and conversion tools, select Microsoft NetShow Tools from the list in the main setup program on the Sound Forge XP CD-ROM.This will run Microsoft’s setup program for the NetShow Tools. Further documentation for this software is available on the NetShow web page. At this time, the components shipped on the Sound Forge CD-ROM are for the x86 and Pentium platforms only.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S CR EATI NG CUSTOM TEM P L ATES Custom templates can also be created in the NetShow Settings dialog and saved for future use. To create a custom template, follow these steps: 1. Follow steps 1-4 in the section above. 2. Click the Custom button. The NetShow Encoder Template wizard starts and guides you through the template creation process. 3. Type the name of your custom template in the Template Name field. 4. Click the Next button to continue. 5.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S ADDI NG MAR KERS AN D SCR I PT COM MAN DS Sound Forge can embed markers in ASF files. These markers can be used for navigation in the file or for triggering events or custom script commands. ADDI NG NAVIGATION MAR KERS Open Sample1.avi from the Tutorial Files\NetShow folder on the Sound Forge XP CD-ROM if you haven’t already done so.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S ADDI NG SCR I PT COM MAN DS Markers are also used to store script commands that are embedded in the ASF file. The most popular of these is the URL flip. This command causes the opened web browser to open specified pages as the ASF file reaches certain points in the file. Sound Forge has a special function to automatically add certain script commands, but regular markers work just as well.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S SAM P LE HTM L USI NG AN ASF F I LE We have included an example HTML file on the Sound Forge XP CD-ROM, showing how to use the NetShow ActiveX control to add an ASF file to a web page. You can find the example in the \SAMPLES\NETSHOW folder on the CD-ROM. The HTML sample requires Microsoft Internet Explorer v3.0 or better. N O T E Follow these steps to use this example: 1. Copy SAMPLE.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S 2. From the Process menu select the Resample command. The Resample dialog will appear. Set the new sample rate to 8,000 Hz and select OK. 3. From the Process menu select the Normalize command and select OK. 4. Now convert the edited AVI file to an ASF file by saving it on your hard drive. Select the Save As command from the File menu. Select Active Streaming Format (*.asf) from the Save as type drop-down list. 5.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S 10. From the File menu in the NetShow Player select Properties. Note the following Properties pages: The General page contains the general information contained within the AVI file. The Details page shows that the ASF file has a bit-rate of 875,000 bps. The Codecs page displays information about the codecs being used with the file.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S 6. Now add Markers and ASF Script Commands. From the Special menu select Region List/Add. Add the following three Markers: Type Name Time Marker ASF CAPTION:John is here to… 00:00:01.000 Marker This is the middle of my ASF 00:00:09.000 Marker ASF CAPTION:John is not here… 00:00:10.000 7. Note that you can drag and drop the markers along the time line once they have been created and during playback.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S 14. Back at the Video Compression dialog verify that the check box next to the Key Frame Every field is enabled and set the Frames edit field to 60. This will set a key frame every 10 frames. It is necessary to reduce the number of key frames to attain the desired low bit-rate. Select OK. 15. Back in the Compression Options dialog verify that the Interleave Every check box is clear. Select OK to start building the ASF file.
F I L E F O R M A T S A N D A T T R I B U T E S CALCU L ATI NG AP P ROP R IATE B IT-R ATES FOR TH E I NTER N ET When authoring Internet file formats, it is important that the content not exceed the bit-rates of your targeted modem connection. The reason is that modem connections to the Internet are often less than 14.4 Kbps or 28.8 Kbps. It is important not to consume all the bandwidth available to the browser, control protocols, etc.
R E C O R D I N G CHAPTER 5: R ECOR DI NG AN D SOU N D P ROCESSI NG In this chapter, you will be introduced to the recording functions of Sound Forge XP and how to work with processes and effects. The chapter is divided into three sections: • Recording • Applying Sound Processing Functions • Sound Processing Techniques R ECOR DI NG Sound Forge XP has a variety of sound recording modes and options. Each one has features designed for specific recording situations.
R E C O R D I N G To start a record session you can either select Transport then Record from the Special menu or press the Record button on the Transport toolbar (the first toolbar button). N O T E If you experience problems recording, refer to Appendix B, Troubleshooting for information on common recording problems. After pressing the Record button or selecting Transport/Record from the Special menu, the Record dialog appears.
R E C O R D I N G In the upper left corner of the dialog are the Recording attributes. These are the sample rate, sample size, and number of channels that will be used when recording.These attributes are applied to the data window into which you will be recording. If you want to change these attributes, exit the Record dialog and change them in the data window (using the Status Bar shortcut menus), record to a new window, or record to a different existing window.
R E C O R D I N G R ECOR DI NG TO A N EW WI N DOW If you want to record to a new window rather than the currently selected record window, select the New button at the upper right of the Record dialog. This brings up the New Window dialog where you can specify the Sample rate, Sample size, and Channels for the new data window. These attributes will be applied while recording.
R E C O R D I N G AVAI L AB LE R ECOR DI NG TI M E Near the bottom of the Record dialog you will see the Time recorded and Time left on drive fields. These two boxes show how much time you have recorded and how much time is available on your hard drive for additional recording. If your Time left on drive field shows a limited amount of available time, you may want to free up some space on your hard drive or pick an alternate drive where Sound Forge XP stores its temporary files.
R E C O R D I N G ADJ USTI NG LEVELS USI NG TH E P EAK The peak values displayed above the level meters are useful for maximizing your input level without distortion. When recording, you generally want your input signal to be as ‘hot’ as possible without clipping. This means you want your input levels to be as high as possible without exceeding the range of values that can be stored digitally when recording. When you clip, the peaks of your waveform become clipped off resulting in distortion.
R E C O R D I N G USI NG TH E P R EPAR E B UT TON The Prepare button is used when you need Sound Forge XP to begin recording as soon as possible after selecting the Record button.The Prepare button opens the wave device and loads all recording buffers in order to minimize the time between selecting the Record button and the time the sound actually begins recording. Using the Prepare button is optional.
R E C O R D I N G M U LTI P LE TAKES The Multiple takes mode allows you to record multiple takes. Recording starts at the position shown in the Start field when you select the Record button, and continues until you select the Stop button. Any data, which is currently after the position in the Start field, will be replaced. When recording is stopped, the start position remains at the end of the take allowing the next take to be recorded immediately.
R E C O R D I N G CHANGI NG TH E START POSITION The Start position determines where playback or recording begins from the time you press the Play or Record button. Four button controls − Go to Start, Rewind, Forward, and Go to End − allow you to quickly change the Start position. Although potentially confusing at first, these controls are convenient when you’re doing multiple recordings.
R E C O R D I N G R EMOTE R ECOR DI NG By selecting the Remote button you enter Remote Recording mode. Remote Recording mode hides the main Sound Forge XP window and puts up the small Record Remote dialog which always stays as the top-most window. The Remote dialog is a fully functional but condensed version of the regular Record dialog. It’s particularly useful when using applications that control your input sources, sound levels, or CD audio.
R E C O R D I N G AP P LYI NG SOU N D P ROCESSI NG F U NCTIONS The Effects, Process, and Tools menus contain a variety of functions you can use to apply an effect to the sound data, display information, or even synthesize new sounds. Each function is documented in detail in chapter 6, Sound Forge XP Reference. In this section, you will see examples of a few of the functions to help you become accustomed to using them.
R E C O R D I N G AP P LYI NG AN EF F ECT TO A SECTION OF TH E SOU N D F I LE To apply an effect to a selection: 1. Select Undo Reverse from the Edit menu to put TUTOR1 back to its original state. 2. Select (highlight) only the word “Wow” in the data window. 3. Select Reverse in the Process menu. Play the file again and notice how only the word “Wow” is played backwards. After you have listened to the effect, undo Reverse again so you can try another effect. 1.
R E C O R D I N G AP P LYI NG F U NCTIONS TO STER EO F I LES In a stereo file, only the selected region in the channel that you’ve selected is processed. Most functions can be applied to the left, right, or both channels. The only functions that cannot be applied to separate left and right channels are functions affecting the length of the data, since each track in a stereo file must be of the same length. These include Insert Silence, Resample, Time Compress/Expand, and Pitch Bend.
R E C O R D I N G N O T E If you want more information on how to use a function, press the F1 key while selecting the function title in the menus.Also, you can press the F1 key or the Help button in all function dialogs. USI NG SOU N D P ROCESSI NG CONTROLS Before learning more about applying specific sound processing techniques, it would be helpful first to become familiar with Sound Forge XP’s processing controls.
R E C O R D I N G You can fine tune a control’s value by holding down both the left and right mouse buttons at the same time (or holding down Control on the keyboard) There are many keyboard shortcuts for use with faders and trackbars. You can use the Up,Down,Left and Right arrow keys to change the value in small increments or the Page Up and Page Down keys to change the value in larger increments. The Home and End keys change the parameter value to its maximum or minimum.
R E C O R D I N G DROP-DOWN LIST For an example of this control, display the Pitch Bend dialog. Choose Pitch Bend from the Effects menu. To select an item from a drop-down list, click on the drop-down list and select (highlight) the item. If you have to scroll through a large list, click on the scroll buttons or use the arrow keys. The Pitch Bend dialog uses a drop-down list to select the channels of a stereo source.
R E C O R D I N G CH ECK BOX A check box, as its name implies, is a square box you can check or leave blank. They are used to turn a feature on or off.The Create Undo and Show Wave controls on the Pitch Bend dialog are check boxes. ENVELOP E GR AP H Envelope graphs are used to draw the shape of a frequency or amplitude envelope that will be applied.
R E C O R D I N G MOVI NG M U LTI P LE ENVELOP E POI NTS To select and move more than one envelope point at once: 1. Click on an unused section of the Envelope Graph in the Pitch Bend dialog. 2. While holding the mouse button down, drag the mouse. A dotted-line selection square will appear. 3. Move the mouse to surround the points to move with the selection square. 4. Release the mouse button. The selected points will now be colored red. 5.
R E C O R D I N G P ROCESSI NG SHORTCUTS R EP EATI NG AN OP ER ATION In some situations, you may want to perform the same operation twice. For example, you might want to add reverb to one section of a file and then do the same thing with another section. Sound Forge XP has two techniques for quickly repeating an operation. The first is known as shift-clicking. As the name implies, you hold down the Shift key before you click a button or choose a menu option.
R E C O R D I N G DEL AY/ECHO The Delay/Echo effect creates copies of the original sound, which are then mixed with the sound file to create simple echo effects. To apply Delay/Echo: 1. Open TUTOR1.WAV. Select Delay/Echo from the Effects menu. The Simple Delay/Echo dialog will appear. 2. Enter 0.4 in the Delay time field and click OK. When you play the sound, you hear a second copy 0.4 seconds after the original. The Delay time determines the time between the original and echoed sound. 3.
R E C O R D I N G R EVER B The Reverb function is used to simulate the acoustics of different environments. When a sound is generated inside a room, you first hear the original sound, followed by a quick succession of echoes.These echoes are the early reflections. Then, as the echoes accumulate, you hear thousands of echoes combined into a smoothly decaying reverberation. To apply Reverb: 1. Open TUTOR1.WAV. Select Reverb from the Effects menu. The Reverb dialog will appear. 2.
R E C O R D I N G CHOR US The Chorus function is used to simulate multiple sound sources from a single sound. This is achieved by mixing a delayed, pitch-modulated copy of itself to the sound source. To apply the Chorus effect: 1. Open TUTOR1.WAV. Select Chorus from the Effects menu. The Chorus dialog will appear. 2. The buttons on the Chorus dialog provide variations on the chorus effect. For an introduction to this feature, select the Vibrato option.
R E C O R D I N G 2. The buttons on the dialog offer three flanging speeds and two warbling effects. For a good example of flanging, choose the Fast option, click OK, and play the sound. DYNAM ICS Dynamics processing is used to change volume levels within a sound file. Applying dynamics specifically adjusts the lower levels and higher levels in the file to create more of a dynamic range, less of a dynamic range, or to keep the amplitude of a file within a certain range.
R E C O R D I N G 5. To remove the noise during silent breaks, first analyze the amplitude of the noise. In TUTOR1, select a region with only noise (no voice), and run the Statistics function under the Tools menu.Take note of the Maximum sample value percentage. If you followed the preceding steps, it should be close to -60 dB. 6. Next, select Noise Gate from the Effects menu. The Noise Gate dialog will appear. 7.
R E C O R D I N G COM P R ESSION Compressing a sound lowers the dynamic range. When you compress a sound, you lower the volume of loud sections and then raise the overall volume to compensate. This is done to keep the volume level from fluctuating too much over time. Compression and Normalization can be used together to increase the apparent loudness of a file. This is currently a popular mastering technique. To apply Compression: 1. Open the file TUTMUSIC.WAV.
R E C O R D I N G 4. In this example, sounds above the Threshold (-18 dB) are attenuated at an input to output ratio of 2:1. The compressor does not affect sounds below the Threshold. 5. Undo the previous operation and select Dynamics again. Now, increase the Ratio to 7:1 and select OK. The sound will be even more compressed, meaning that more attenuation and boosting will be applied to compressed signals.
R E C O R D I N G 2. This process is very simple to use. In Time Compress/Expand dialog, you have the ability to specify the final duration of a sound, from 50% to 500% of the original length.You can select a mode of time compression to match the type of material you’re processing. The Solo instruments mode does a good job with this sound file. Select it from the Mode list. Change the Final length from 2.5 to 2.0 seconds (80% of original) and select OK.
R E C O R D I N G 2. Select Synthesis from the Tools menu. The Simple Synthesis dialog will appear. 3. Select the Sine option from the Waveform shape list. Enter 3 in the Length field and 261.52 in the Frequency field. Press OK to generate a sine wave in the window that is 3 seconds long and has a pitch of 261.52 Hz (Middle C). Press the Play button to hear your reference tone. DTM F SYNTH ESIS The DTMF Synthesis tool is used to generate the dial tones used by telephone companies.
R E C O R D I N G 3. Enter a phone number in the Dial string field. The Amplitude control determines how loud the tones will be. Press OK to generate the tones. 4. Play back the sound file − you will hear the tones that would dial the number you specified. F I LTER I NG What can you do when you have a sound that is not quite perfect, but not bad enough to throw away? Sometimes, judicious use of filtering can keep a favorite sound bite from losing favor.
R E C O R D I N G Many factors such as the frequency response characteristic of your speakers and sound card can also affect which frequencies are more prominent during the playback of a sound. In general, the goal is to make a recording sound as close to the original as possible. However, filtering is also commonly used to remove unwanted sounds such as noise, or make individual instruments in a recording sound louder.
R E F E R E N C E CHAPTER 6: SOU N D FORGE XP R EF ER ENCE This chapter contains a detailed explanation of every Sound Forge XP operation. It is organized in the same order as the on-screen menus to allow for quick reference to information about every Sound Forge XP menu and dialog option. Where applicable, descriptions include shortcut methods for performing an operation, either by using toolbar buttons, drag and drop functions, shortcut menus (right-clicking), or shortcut keys.
R E F E R E N C E SAM P LE R ATE Select a standard sample rate from the drop-down list or type in a custom rate. SAM P LE SIZE Check the button to select whether the new data will be 8-bit or 16-bit. N O T E Open files are edited in 16-bit format and are only converted to 8-bit or compressed audio when saving the file. CHAN N ELS Check the button to select whether the new data will be mono or stereo.
R E F E R E N C E OP EN Use this command to load a sound file into Sound Forge XP. LOOK I N Lists available drives and directories. F I LE NAM E Type the File name you want to open or *. and an extension to see a list of files with the corresponding extension in the current directory. F I LES OF T YP E Shows the type of files displayed. Choose a type from the drop-down list. If you select All Types (*.*), Sound Forge XP will try to auto-detect the file format.
R E F E R E N C E N O T E Whenever you open a file in Sound Forge XP, a backup copy is created so that the original file is not affected until you elect to save your work. When you open a file as read-only or direct, Sound Forge XP will not create a backup copy of the file, which makes opening files quicker and uses less disk space. AUTO P L AY When checked, a file selected in the window will automatically begin playback without opening it in Sound Forge XP.
R E F E R E N C E 16-B IT PCM Uncompressed linear format. G.711 Μ-L AW Compressed format commonly used for telecommunications in the United States. G.711 A-L AW Compressed format commonly used for telecommunications in Europe. FOR MAT (U NSIGN ED, SIGN ED, SIGN B IT) Shows the sample format of data storage. Used when saving files in 8- or 16bit PCM format. CHAN N ELS (MONO/STER EO) Number of channels, or tracks, stored in the file.
R E F E R E N C E STR EAM Selecting the black diamond to the left of a stream will open it. More than one audio or video stream can be selected. Additional information about each stream is available by clicking on the + area to expand the list. CLOSE Use this command to close the current sound file. If the data has not been saved since the last edit you will be asked if you wish to save your changes. SAVE Use this command to save the current sound data.
R E F E R E N C E SAVE I N Lists available drives and directories. F I LE NAM E Type the file name you want to save. SAVE AS T YP E Shows the file types available. Choose a type from the drop-down list. When saving as a Raw File, the Save Raw File Type dialog will open. Specify format parameters for the file using this dialog. (More information about saving Raw Files and other specific file formats is included at the end of the Save As section.) M R U FOLDERS Lists recently used folders.
R E F E R E N C E SAVE SU M MARY I N FOR MATION I N F I LE (WAV, AVI, ASF, R M) Check if you want summary information (such as author and copyright) stored in the file. R ETAI N SAM P LER I N FOR MATION I N F I LE Check if you want sampler information (such as note assignment and loops) stored in the file. M R U FOLDERS Lists recently used folders. Use to speed the opening of regularly used files. FOR MAT Shows the sample format in which the data will be saved.
R E F E R E N C E SAVE R AW F I LE T YP E This dialog opens when you select Raw from the Save as type list in the Save As dialog. Use this to save an opened file into a file format that is not one of the standard sound file formats supported by Sound Forge XP. SAM P LE T YP E (8-B IT PCM, 16-B IT PCM, G.711 µ-L AW, G.711 A-L AW) Format used to store each sample. FOR MAT (U NSIGN ED, SIGN ED, SIGN B IT) Binary format of each sample value. Used when saving files in 8- or 16-bit PCM format.
R E F E R E N C E SAVE AU DIO TO N EW STR EAM If this option is checked, the audio track currently open in Sound Forge XP will be saved to a newly created stream. COM P R ESSION OPTIONS This dialog opens when you select Video for Windows (.avi) from the Save as type list in the Save As dialog and then press OK in the Video Save Options dialog. CHOOSE A STR EAM Check the audio or video stream for which you want to set the compression formats.
R E F E R E N C E If the file is already compressed, you should select No Recompression. This will be faster and will also avoid the loss of quality inherent in most recompression. COM P R ESSION QUALIT Y (0 TO 100) Determines the final output quality. Usually, higher quality (close to 100) means less compression and fewer visual artifacts. KEY F R AM ES EVERY Some compression formats are based on key frames (sometimes called temporal compression).
R E F E R E N C E R EALM EDIA SAVE OPTIONS This dialog displays when you select RealMedia (*.rm;*.ra) from the Save as type list in the Save As dialog, and then click the Save button. This feature is only available for Windows 9x and NT running on x86 processors. ENAB LE SELECTIVE R ECOR D CAPAB I LITI ES When this option is enabled, RealMedia-compatible players can allow users to save (record) RealMedia streams to their hard drive.
R E F E R E N C E For example, if you create a marker with the label RM URL:http:// www.sonicfoundry.com, the RealPlayer would open the Sonic Foundry home page at the marker’s location in the file during playback.You can just as easily open specific web pages. For example, RM URL:http://www.sonicfoundry.com/ realaudio.html would open the realaudio.html page on Sonic Foundry’s web site. RealNetworks publishes extensive information on RealMedia events on their web site (www.real.com).
R E F E R E N C E GEN ER ATE R EDI R ECTOR F I LES When this option is checked, ASX redirector files will be generated. Click the ASX Settings button for more options. ASF SERVER PATH This option specifies a path for the server that will be accessed to play the NetShow file. USE ALTER NATE DESTI NATION FOLDER FOR ASX F I LES When this option is checked, the ASX files will be created in the directory you enter in the field below, rather than the destination directory, for the encoded ASF files.
R E F E R E N C E N ET WOR K BAN DWI DTH Internet 14.4(10 kbps actual) This bandwidth selection supports streaming of both audio and video content to clients using a network connection that operates at a minimum of 14.4 Kbps. Internet 28.8(22 kbps actual) This bandwidth selection supports streaming of both audio and video content to clients using a network connection that operates at a minimum of 28.8 Kbps.
R E F E R E N C E AU DIO PAN EL Codec and Format Because some of the audio codecs have multiple formats, the Audio panel has options for both the codec and the format. Use the Codec list to select the audio codec. If the codec has multiple formats, use the Format list to select the amount or type of compression.The format of a codec is the sampling rate (in kilohertz [KHz] or hertz [Hz]) and sample depth (in bits). The larger the sampling rate and sample depth, the more information is recorded.
R E F E R E N C E Advanced To adjust advanced video settings, such as the size of the window for Microsoft Media Player, the number of frames per second, and the number of I-frames, click the Advanced button. General Tab Image Size: To determine the height and width of the Advanced Streaming Format (ASF) content when it is viewed, use the Image Size panel.
R E F E R E N C E Second/I-Frames: The Second / I-frames field displays the number of seconds that separate I-frames. All frames in between I-frames are called delta frames. Delta frames contain only the information used to display change, and are considerably smaller than I-frames; however, the visual quality of delta frames is poor. As I-frames get farther apart, the size of the video (in bytes) gets smaller.
R E F E R E N C E Image Quality: The Image Quality slider lets you fine-tune the image quality. You can emphasize either video smoothness or image crispness. Video content is smooth when movement shown on the screen has easy transition from one position to another and the edges of objects are not jagged. Video content is crisp when images and motion are well-defined and clearly delineated. As you increase the image crispness, the video becomes less smooth.
R E F E R E N C E Microsoft WAV files are composed of sections called RIFF chunks.These chunks contain the sound data plus other embedded information. If there are any non-standard chunks found in the current file, the junk, padding, and additional chunks fields will be checked. These chunks might be used by other sound utilities, or might just be garbage that can cause problems like glitching in some less intelligent programs.
R E F E R E N C E ICMT Comments Provides general comments about the file or the subject of the file. If the comment is several sentences long, end each sentence with a period. Do not include newline characters. ICOP Copyright Records the copyright information for the file. For example, “© Copyright Sonic Foundry, Inc. 1997.” If there are multiple copyrights, separate them by a semicolon followed by a space. ICRD Creation Date Specifies the date the subject of the file was created.
R E F E R E N C E ILGT Lightness Describes the changes in lightness settings on the digitizer required to produce the file. Note that the format of this information depends on hardware used. IMED Medium Describes the original subject of the file, such as, “computer image,” “drawing,” “lithograph,” etc. INAM Name/Title Stores the title of the subject of the file, such as, “Madison From Above.” IPLT Palette Setting Specifies the number of colors requested when digitizing an image, such as, “256.
R E F E R E N C E DISP Sound Scheme Title Sets the title that is displayed for MS Sound Systems. Contents Shows the text associated with the selected field. The text can be changed by typing in this box. Default Sets the default fields to the current file’s field information. Use this to save information that will be used in a number of different files, like copyright and engineer information at your recording site. Load Sets the current file’s summary information fields to the default settings.
R E F E R E N C E P EAK DATA R ATIO Ratio at which the peak data is stored. This means that when zoomed out beyond 1:512, the peak file instead of the entire file is scanned when drawing the waveform. SOU N D DATA SIZE Amount of storage space being used by the sound data. VI DEO SOU RCE FOR MAT Frame size (height, width, bits per pixel) and compression algorithm of the original AVI file.
R E F E R E N C E STR EAM Displays information about the video and/or audio streams present in the AVI file, such as name, compression format, frame rate, and language. The black diamond to the left of the streams indicate the active streams. You can view and edit additional information (stream name, language, and priority of the active audio stream) by clicking on the + sign to expand the list. Rightclicking on a field allows you to edit it.
R E F E R E N C E N O T E Sound files are generally very large. An email message containing an embedded sound file can take a considerable amount of time to send and receive, especially if you are using a modem and not a high-speed network. EXIT Use this command to exit Sound Forge XP. You will be asked whether you would like to save any sound files that you have modified during the editing session.
R E F E R E N C E U N DO Use this command to undo the last edit operation. For instance, if you deleted a section of data by accident, choose the Undo option from the Edit menu to put the data back. When working on large selections, it takes Sound Forge XP longer to create an undo buffer.To save time and file space, you can disable the undo feature.This is done by selecting Disable Undo/Redo under the Edit menu or from within most processing dialogs.
R E F E R E N C E CUT Use this command to remove selected sound data and put it onto the clipboard. This command has no effect if there is no selected data. Cutting sound data replaces the previous contents of the clipboard. Cutting data from the beginning of a very large file will take a long time to process. This is because large amounts of data need to be moved. N O T E You cannot cut from a single channel in a stereo file since the two channels in a stereo file must always be equal in length.
R E F E R E N C E Object links are references to existing sound files on your hard disk or network server. If you embed an object link to a sound file in a document, the sound file is not actually inserted into the document, just a reference. Therefore, if you copy the document to another computer, any sound file(s) that are embedded will not be available on the other computer unless the sound file is stored on a common network server.
R E F E R E N C E Drag Paste Specifies that dropping the data here will perform a paste operation. The data will be pasted at the current cursor position within the data window.The paste operation is used rather than mix when the Alt key is held down while dragging. A small “L” or “R” will appear next to the cursor when pasting only to a left or right channel respectively. Instead of using the Alt key while dropping, you can also hit the right mouse button while dragging.
R E F E R E N C E Drag Crossfade Specifies that dropping the data here will perform a Crossfade operation. The crossfade will occur at the current insertion point within the data window on which the data is dropped.The Crossfade operation is used rather than Mix when the Control key is held down while dragging.
R E F E R E N C E When mixing two sound files together, phase cancellation of some frequencies often occurs. Very small delays can cause very audible differences in tone quality. Mixing data of different sample rates will cause the data on the clipboard to play at the same rate as that in the current sound file with which the data is mixed. This command has no effect if the clipboard is empty. Shor tcut: Control+M Drag and drop a data selection from the source to the destination data window.
R E F E R E N C E WHOLE COP I ES Selecting this option will use only whole copies of the clipboard, and will not fill the selected region completely if its length is not an exact multiple of the clipboard length. Example: 1. Copy a 1 second section of sound data onto the clipboard. 2. Insert 5.5 seconds of silence in the data waveform. 3. Select the 5.5 second area and select Replicate.
R E F E R E N C E CLEAR/DELETE Use this command to remove selected sound data without copying it onto the clipboard. N O T E You cannot clear data from a single channel in a stereo file since the two channels in a stereo file must always be equal in length.This command has no effect if there is no selected data. Shor tcut: Delete SELECT ALL Use this command to select all data in the current data window.
R E F E R E N C E DATA MAGN I F Y MODE When you are working in the data window using Magnify, this cursor shows that you can select an area to magnify. There are three modes of operation for the Magnify Tool. These can be chosen by toggle-clicking while the Magnify Tool is selected. (Refer to chapter 2, Sound Forge XP Basics for an explanation of toggle-clicking.) These modes allow for Zoom Time only, Zoom Level only or Time/Zoom Level.
R E F E R E N C E POSITION (0 TO TOTAL LENGTH) The position where the cursor will be moved can be specified here. I N P UT FOR MAT Determines the input format that will be used to enter the position. N O T E If you have a data selection, you can switch the cursor between selection points with the ` key (reverse quote, normally above Tab key).
R E F E R E N C E LENGTH (0 TO TOTAL LENGTH) The total length of the selection is specified here. CHAN N EL (LEF T, R IGHT, BOTH) If the sound file is stereo, you can specify which channel of the data will be selected. I N P UT FOR MAT Determines the input format that will be used to enter the Start, End, and Length. P L AY LOOP ED Check this box to play the selection repeatedly.
R E F E R E N C E Remember to turn the Disable Undo feature off when you wish to be able to undo operations. N O T E Since Sound Forge XP doesn’t modify the original file unless the file is opened direct or read-only, you can always recover it by re-opening it. However, saved changes are permanent. Shor tcut: Control+U VI EW M EN U MA XI M IZE WI DTH This command stretches the active data window to fit between the extents of the Sound Forge XP window.
R E F E R E N C E TOOLBARS This command brings up the Toolbars page in the Preferences folder (Options menu) and allows you to quickly display any toolbars on the Sound Forge XP workspace. Placing a check next to the toolbar title will display it. CLI P BOAR D Use this command to display information on the current contents of the clipboard. CONTENTS Information includes Format, Attributes, Length, Samples, and Total bytes. If no data is in the clipboard you will be notified with a message box.
R E F E R E N C E Shor tcut: Control+Up arrow (when a selection is active) Level Ruler shortcut menu Double-click on the Level Ruler N O T E To zoom in and out vertically by small increments, you can use Shift+Up or Shift+Down arrow keys or the Level Zoom In/Out buttons on the lower left-hand side of the data window. ZOOM TI M E (HOR IZONTAL) I N F U LL Use this command to maximize the horizontal magnification to one sample per pixel on the screen.
R E F E R E N C E SELECTION Use this command to maximize a selected area in the data window. The Zoom Selection command will calculate the maximum zoom factor for the size of a selection area, draw the data at this zoom factor, and center the selection in the data window.
R E F E R E N C E SP ECIAL M EN U TR ANSPORT Use this to perform playback and record operations. R ECOR D Use this dialog to record to an existing or new data window.To record directly to a specific file, use the Window button in this dialog (see below). N O T E If the current window is opened direct, opening the Record dialog will default recording to a new window. MODE Selects the current recording mode.
R E F E R E N C E Automatic Retake (automatically rewind) In this mode, recording begins at the specified Start position and replaces any sound data that already exists after that position. When recording is stopped, the next record start position is automatically rewound to the original starting position, allowing you to immediately do a retake which replaces the last take if necessary. Multiple Takes This mode will record successive takes of data.
R E F E R E N C E R ECOR D M ETERS A number of commands and options affect what the Record Meters will display. Each is described below. To activate the Record Meters options: • Right-click anywhere in the dialog, or • Use Alt+Spacebar • Choose Record Meters from the pop-up menu that appears. • For direct access, right-click anywhere in the meters. Reset Clip This function resets the clip indication on the Record Meters.
R E F E R E N C E P R EPAR E Pressing the Prepare button prepares your system for recording. This means that the record device is opened and all preparation that can be done prior to recording is completed.This allows the system to begin recording as quickly as possible after the Record button is pressed. You do not need to use the Prepare button unless you are trying to begin recording immediately after pressing the Record button. R ECOR D Pressing the Record button starts recording.
R E F E R E N C E FORWAR D Pressing this button moves the cursor forward, take by take in the current sound file. Use to navigate through several takes either to review, or record over them. GO TO EN D Pressing this button puts the cursor at the end of the current sound file. Use to quickly continue recording from the end of the current sound file if the cursor was moved to review the previously recorded material.
R E F E R E N C E R ESET Press this button to reset the peak values on the record meters. P L AY ALL Use this function to play the entire sound file from beginning to end, regardless of cursor position or selection. Shortcut: Shift+Spacebar P L AY Playback file in current playback mode (Normal or Looped mode) Shortcut: Alt+P Spacebar Right-click on overview bar PAUSE Pause playback and keep the cursor at its current position.
R E F E R E N C E GO TO START Move the cursor to the start of file. Shor tcut: Control+Home R EWI N D Pressing this button moves the cursor backwards, take by take, in the current sound file. FORWAR D Pressing this button moves the cursor forward, take by take, in the current sound file. GO TO EN D Move the cursor to the end of file. Shor tcut: Control+End P L AY NOR MAL MODE Sets playback to Normal mode.
R E F E R E N C E Shor tcut: To switch between playback modes, use Control+Spacebar R EGIONS LIST The Regions List is used to store region and marker positions in a file. (To view and edit the Regions List, display it first by selecting it from the View menu.) ADD Use this dialog to add a selection to the Regions List. T YP E (MAR KER/R EGION) A Marker is a single point, a Region is a start and end point with an associated length. START, EN D, LENGTH, I N P UT FOR MAT Use to change the selection.
R E F E R E N C E EDIT Use this function to modify a region in the Regions List. T YP E (MAR KER/R EGION) A Marker is a single point, a Region is a start and end point with an associated length. START, EN D, LENGTH, I N P UT FOR MAT Use to change the selection. Sound Forge XP automatically fills in the values depending on your selection or cursor position.The Input Format determines the recording format for the Start, End, and Length of the file.
R E F E R E N C E COPY ONTO CLI P BOAR D Use this function to copy the text of the Regions List onto the clipboard for use with a text editor. Excellent for making a hard copy of the Regions List. Shor tcut: Region List shortcut menu ACI D LOOP I NG TOOLS HALF SELECTION Halve the currently selected area. Shor tcut: Semi-Colon DOU B LE SELECTION Doubles the current selection.
R E F E R E N C E TH E ROTATE AU DIO The selected audio at the beginning or end of the file is moved to the other end of the file. Shor tcut: Colon EDIT ACI D P ROP ERTI ES Use this menu option to change ACID specific information in the wave file. ON E-SHOT One-Shots do not stretch with tempo or change pitch with the ACID project’s key. Sounds such as cymbal crashes and vocal samples are usually played as One-Shots.
R E F E R E N C E N U M B ER OF B EATS This option determines the length, in beats, of the Loop. If a 16-beat Loop is specified as an eight beat Loop, it will play twice as fast as it should in ACID. You can type a new length number directly in the field, or use the up and down arrows to the right of the field to change the length number. ROOT NOTE FOR TR ANSPOSI NG This option determines the root note that ACID will use to pitch the Loop to the project key.
R E F E R E N C E SET F R AM E R ATE TO: HALF NTSC VI DEO (14.985 F PS) This is one half of the standard rate for video broadcasts. NTSC VI DEO (29.970 F PS) This is the standard rate for video broadcasts. R ED BOOK DIGITAL AU DIO (75.000 F PS) When recorded to CDs, audio tracks are divided into frames, which occur at about every 8 ms.
R E F E R E N C E START, EN D, LENGTH, I N P UT FOR MAT Determines the selection used to calculate the tempo based on the Input Format. B EATS P ER M EASU R E (1 TO 32) Use to specify the number of beats in a measure when selecting a measure (e.g., 4 for most pop music). It can also be used to specify beats per selection length if the selection is larger than one measure. B EATS P ER M I N UTE (1.0 TO 1000.
R E F E R E N C E DROP MAR KER The Drop Marker command is a way to mark positions in a sound file. You can drop a marker at the current cursor position while editing or on the fly during file playback. Markers can also be created by pressing ‘M’ on the keyboard. Markers can be quickly selected from the list in the Go To dialog located in Edit menu. Also, markers are placed in the Regions List for quick playback.
R E F E R E N C E MAR K I N This item lets you mark the start (or “in point”) of a new selection while the sound file is playing back.You can also use this as a method of marking the in point of a new selection while editing by moving the cursor to where you want the selection to start. This is a good way to accurately set the start of a selection. For greatest accuracy you should use the keyboard shortcut key ‘[’ when Marking In during playback.
R E F E R E N C E TOGGLE SELECTION By using the ‘S‘ key (or this menu item), you can toggle back and forth between the last selection and last cursor position. For instance, you may be setting the cursor in various places while navigating throughout a sound file. If you then hit ‘S’, the last selected region will immediately return to the display. Shor tcut: S U N DO/R EDO H ISTORY CLEAR Use this function to erase the temporary files created in the undo history for the active file.
R E F E R E N C E P ROCESS M EN U The Process menu contains commands that perform various standard audio processes. CONVERT TO 8-B IT Use this dialog to convert 16-bit sound files to an 8-bit format. Because the signal-to-noise ratio of 8-bit audio is so small (42 instead of 96 dB), it is suggested that the volume of the sound file be maximized by using Volume or Normalize (Process menu) before performing the conversion.
R E F E R E N C E DITH ER (0.01 TO 2.00 B ITS) Dithering is used to reduce the audible effects of quantization noise which are most audible in 8-bit samples. This is accomplished by adding a small amount of noise to the signal to mask the more obtrusive 8-bit quantization distortion. The dither depth is the amplitude of the added noise in terms of the least significant bits of the sound file. For most cases, a value between 0.5 and 1.2 is sufficient.
R E F E R E N C E An approximation of the DC offset of the waveform can be obtained by running the Statistics function under the Tools menu. For example, if a DC offset of 100 exists, then you should apply a -100 DC offset to cancel out the existing offset. COM P UTE DC OF FSET F ROM F I RST 5 SECON DS ON LY (ON/OF F) When this option is enabled, only the first 5 seconds of a sound file are analyzed when measuring the DC offset.
R E F E R E N C E OUT Use this command to linearly fade a selection from a volume of -Inf. to a volume of 0 dB. GR AP H IC EQ Use the Graphic Equalizer dialog to boost or attenuate selected frequency bands to alter a signal’s frequency spectrum. BAN D AT TEN UATION/GAI N FADERS (-60 DB TO 20 DB) Each of the ten faders corresponds to the gain or attenuation factor that will be applied to the specified frequency band.
R E F E R E N C E End of File Inserts the silence at the end of the file. Cursor Inserts the silence at the current insertion point. You cannot insert silence to a single channel of a stereo file since the length of each channel must always remain equal. If you wish to shift in time a single channel of a stereo file, you can use the Delay/Echo function (Effects menu) to delay one channel backward or forward in time.
R E F E R E N C E When using RMS levels, normalizing to 0 dB means boosting the signal so that it has the same apparent loudness as a 0 dB square wave, meaning incredibly loud. If you were to do so, all of the dynamic range of the signal would be squashed and all the peaks would either be clipped or seriously compressed (see below). The lesson is, normalizing a peak to 0 dB is all right, but normalizing RMS to anything above -6 dB is playing with fire.
R E F E R E N C E R ESET ENVELOP E Press this button to return the pan envelope to its default shape. LEF T TO R IGHT Select this option to create a smooth panning effect from the left channel to the right. If the original source data is mono, Sound Forge XP automatically converts it to stereo. R IGHT TO LEF T Select this option to create a smooth panning effect from the right channel to the left. If the original source data is mono, Sound Forge XP automatically converts it to stereo.
R E F E R E N C E I NTER POL ATION ACCU R ACY (1 - 4) The Interpolation Accuracy parameter determines the complexity of the method used during the resampling process. The audible difference between the different values can be subtle without the use of test tones and is most apparent in high frequencies. In general, a setting of 1 is more than adequate for general purpose audio. Settings of 2 and 3 are good for high-end audio. Setting this parameter to 4 forces some heavy duty number crunching (i.e.
R E F E R E N C E For a very drastic high frequency boost or cut, repeat the effect 2 or 3 times with the amount set to either limit. Note that since the Enhance function boosts frequencies near the Nyquist rate, the current sample rate will determine what frequencies will be affected. At 44,100 Hz, the effect can be very subtle (unless you repeat it a few times until your ears ring). SWAP CHAN N ELS Select this option to exchange the contents of the right and left channels of a stereo recording.
R E F E R E N C E N O T E You cannot perform this function to a single channel of a stereo file since the length of each channel must always remain equal. To change the Original tempo displayed at the bottom of the dialog, you must go to the Edit Tempo dialog (Special menu). B LEN D EDGES WITH ADJOI N I NG DATA (ON\OF F) When this option is turned on, the beginning and end of the selections will be crossfaded with the original sound data. This is used to minimize glitching.
R E F E R E N C E CHOR US The Chorus effect creates the illusion of two or more sound sources playing together. This is done by adding a pitch-modulated and delayed version of the input signal to the unprocessed input signal. The effect simulates the variances in pitch and timing that occur naturally when two or more people try to play or sing the same thing at the same time. Use the Chorus dialog to choose between five preset chorus effects: Light, Heavy, Vibrato, Reverberant, and Echo-Vibrato.
R E F E R E N C E DEL AY TI M E (0.00001 TO 5.0 SECON DS) Determines the amount of time between the delayed copy and the original sound. Also, if Multiple delays/echoes is checked, subsequent echoes occur at intervals specified by the Delay time. DECAY TI M E (0.00001 TO 20.0 SECON DS) Determines the time it takes the multiple echoes to become nearly inaudible. Technically speaking, this is the time it takes an echo to decrease in amplitude by a factor of 30 dB.
R E F E R E N C E A compressor lowers the dynamic range of a signal by reducing the level of high volume signals and applying an overall gain to raise the level up again. Compression is often used in vocals and music to get even volume levels which often results in a smoother, fuller sound. TH R ESHOLD LEVEL (-60 TO 0 DB) Signal level that differentiates the Attack and Release modes. In a simple compressor or gate, the threshold is the level at which the gain begins to deviate from 1.
R E F E R E N C E F L ANGE The flanging effect is heard in many 60s and 70s recordings. It is the result of mixing a modulated delay signal with the original signal to create a sweeping sound much like an airplane taking off. Use the Flange dialog to choose between five preset effects: Slow, Medium, Fast, Warble 1, and Warble 2. N O T E Flange effects are best heard with long, sustaining sounds so that the entire sweep can be heard.
R E F E R E N C E P ITCH B EN D Pitch Bend is used to draw an envelope that corresponds to increasing or decreasing the pitch of a sound file over time. ENVELOP E (2 TO 16 POI NTS, -R ANGE TO +R ANGE) Specifies Pitch Bend over time. The vertical axis represents pitch change, with zero being no change. The horizontal axis represents the length of the selected region. Click the left mouse button to define a point and drag to change its position.
R E F E R E N C E R EVER B Reverb simulates various acoustic spaces. It consists of early reflections, which are the first reflections that arrive back to your ear, and the reverb itself. Use the Reverb dialog to choose from five preset reverberation effects: Medium room, Small hall, Bright hall, Cathedral, and Metal tank. TOOLS M EN U The Tools menu contains an assortment of utilities for various purposes.
R E F E R E N C E MF CCITT R1 signals are used internally by the telephone networks. They are generated by a combination of 700, 900, 1100, 1300, 1500, and 1700 Hz sine waves. SI NGLE TON E LENGTH (0.001 TO 2 SECON DS) Output length of individual tones. B R EAK LENGTH (0.001 TO 2 SECON DS) Length of the silence between tones. PAUSE LENGTH (0.001 TO 5 SECON DS) Length of silence to insert when the pause character is found.
R E F E R E N C E SAM P LE VALU E AT CU RSOR This value represents the instantaneous amplitude at this position. For 16-bit sound files, the range of values is -32,768 to 32,767. For 8-bit sound files, the range of values is -128 to 127. MA XI M U M/M I N I M U M POSITION AN D SAM P LE VALU E Maximum and minimum sample values and the location, in samples, where they occur. This is useful for determining if any clipping occurs in the sound file.
R E F E R E N C E SYNTH ESIS Use the Synthesis dialog to generate a simple waveform of a given shape, pitch, and length. AM P LITU DE (-I N F. TO 0 DB) Peak level of the waveform to be generated. When generating Noise, the amplitude is affected by the cutoff frequency selected. WAVEFOR M SHAP E (SI N E, SQUAR E, SAW, TR IANGLE, NOISE, ABSOLUTE SI N E) Shape of a single period of the waveform. LENGTH (0.001 TO 60.0 SECON DS) Output length of the generated waveform. F R EQU ENCY (0.
R E F E R E N C E OPTIONS M EN U STATUS FOR MAT The current Status Format determines how Sound Forge XP displays position and length information for the waveform in the active data window. SAM P LES Use this option to set the status format to samples. TI M E Use this option to set the status format to show Hour:Minutes:Seconds: Milliseconds. SECON DS Use this option to set the status format to show seconds with six decimal place precision.
R E F E R E N C E TI M E & F R AM ES Use this option to set the status format to Hour:Minutes:Seconds:Frames. The frame rate is adjustable from the Edit Frame Rate dialog (Special menu). In this mode, the hour, minutes, and seconds are in real time, independent of the frame rate. ABSOLUTE F R AM ES Use this option to set the status format to show frames and fractions of a frame. M EASU R ES & B EATS Use this option to set the status format to show Measures:Beats.Quarter notes.
R E F E R E N C E AN NOTATIONS The names of markers and regions can be shown on the waveform display, along with dotted lines that run the entire height of the window. MAR KER NAM ES Displays marker names on the waveform display. MAR KER LI N ES Displays dotted lines on the waveform display showing where markers exist. R EGION NAM ES Displays region names on the waveform display. R EGION LI N ES Displays dotted lines on the waveform display showing where regions exist.
R E F E R E N C E AN I MATE VI DEO STR I P When this option is turned on, the video strip above the waveform display will come to life at the current cursor or play position. This feature is frame accurate, meaning that when you move the cursor, the correct frame corresponding to the cursor position will be displayed instead of the static overview frame. When off, the video strip always shows the frame that corresponds to the left edge of each image in the video strip.
R E F E R E N C E SCROLL P L AYBACK Checking this option makes the data window scroll automatically during playback. When the cursor moves off of the current window it will quickly scroll to show another full window of data. Shor tcut: F6 DR AG AN D DROP SNAP P I NG This command toggles on and off the ability to snap to objects when dragging and dropping from window to window. With this on you can snap to major time ticks on the Time Ruler and cursor positions.
R E F E R E N C E GEN ER AL Use to select general user options. SHOW A TI P OF TH E DAY ON STARTU P DEFAU LT: CH ECKED When this option is enabled, a handy Tip of the Day will appear every time you run Sound Forge XP. ALWAYS ASK FOR R EGION AN D MAR KER NAM ES DEFAU LT: CH ECKED When creating regions, markers, or loop points and this option is turned off, the Edit Region or Loop dialog will not automatically appear. A default name based on location will be used.
R E F E R E N C E WAR N WH EN M IX OR CROSSFADE R ATES M ISMATCH DEFAU LT: CH ECKED Enabling this option tells Sound Forge XP to warn you with a dialog prior to mixing or crossfading data having different sample rates. Mixing or Crossfading data of different sample rates may produce unintended results. ALWAYS OP EN F U LL-SCR EEN DEFAU LT: U NCH ECKED Enabling this option forces Sound Forge XP to always open in full-screen mode.
R E F E R E N C E SHOW ALL ACM CONVERT FOR MATS I N SAVE AS DEFAU LT: CH ECKED When enabled, Sound Forge XP will enumerate all compression formats available for each ACM compressor. However, this enumeration process can take long on slow machines. For simple ACM codecs (Microsoft ADPCM, IMA ADPCM, etc.), this option is unnecessary (they have only one compression type per input) and could be disabled to speed up the selection of ACM formats.
R E F E R E N C E DEFAU LT SOU N D F I LE WI N DOW H EIGHT DEFAU LT: 12 Specifies the default data window height for a sound file on open. DEFAU LT VI DEO STR I P H EIGHT DEFAU LT: 4 Specifies the height of the video strip, from small (1 line) to big (25 lines). COLOR P R EF ER ENCE FOR The color preferences section allows you set a custom color for a variety of graphics within Sound Forge XP.
R E F E R E N C E Normal: -6.0 D B Line Specifies the color used to draw the line at half volume for the wave axis. Normal: Play Cursor Specifies the color of the cursor that is drawn while playing a file. Direct: Data Left Specifies the color used to draw the left channel or mono wave data in each data window. Direct: Data Left Selected Specifies the color used to draw the left channel or mono selected wave data in each data window.
R E F E R E N C E Read Only: Data Left Specifies the color used to draw the left-channel or mono wave data in each data window. Read Only: Data Left Selected Specifies the color used to draw the left channel or mono selected wave data in each data window. Read Only: Data Right Specifies the color used to draw the right channel wave data in each data window. Read Only: Data Right Selected Specifies the color used to draw the right channel selected wave data in each data window.
R E F E R E N C E Sample Loop: Sustaining Specifies the color used to display sustaining loop tabs on the data window Time Ruler. Sample Loop: Release Specifies the color used to display release loop tabs on the data window Time Ruler. Record Prepared Specifies the color used in the Record dialog to indicate record prepared status. Record Pre-roll Specifies the color used in the Record dialog to indicate record pre-roll status.
R E F E R E N C E EDITI NG Use this to set preferences related to editing and undo operations. LI M IT N U M B ER OF U N DO B U F F ERS TO (0 TO 999) DEFAU LT: 100 If this is checked, it determines the maximum number of Undo operations that will be saved before they start to get deleted. Having many Undo operations available will use a lot of hard-disk space.
R E F E R E N C E AUTOMATICALLY R E-OP EN I F SAVE CHANGES TH E SOU N D DATA DEFAU LT: U NCH ECKED If this option is on, when you save a file to a different format Sound Forge XP will save the file and then re-open it. This will happen when you change bit size, channels, or compression format and it will allow you to listen to any changes in sound quality.
R E F E R E N C E DEFAU LT SDS CHAN N EL WH EN SAVI NG (1 TO 16) DEFAU LT: 1 Specifies the channel used in SDS packets when saving audio as an SDS file. DEFAU LT SDS PATCH WH EN SAVI NG (0 TO 127) DEFAU LT: 0 Specifies the patch used in SDS packets when saving audio as an SDS file. DEFAU LT DIALOGIC VOX SAM P LE R ATE FOR OP EN (HZ) DEFAU LT: 8,000 HZ Specifies the default sample rate used when opening Dialogic VOX sound files in Sound Forge XP.
R E F E R E N C E P ER FOR MANCE Use this to set preferences related to opening and saving files. TEMPORARY STORAGE FOLDER DEFAULT: C:\PROGRAM FILES\SOUND FORGE XP The specified directory is used to store temporary files used by Sound Forge XP. Sound Forge XP stores its temporary data in a temporary directory on your hard drive. Using temporary file space allows you to edit very large files and keeps Sound Forge XP from eating up large portions of RAM on your computer.
R E F E R E N C E P EAK R ATIO DEFAU LT FOR N EW SOU N D F I LES DEFAU LT: 1:256 When drawing the waveform display, Sound Forge XP will use a peak file instead of scanning all of the data when the zoom ratio is above this level. Lower values allow for faster scrolling at those ratios, but increases the peak file’s size.
R E F E R E N C E Drop 29.97 F PS Calculates status values using a 29.97 frames per second SMPTE code. This is accomplished by dropping two frames every minute except for minutes 00, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50. EB U 25 F PS Calculates status values using a 25 frames per second SMPTE code. This format is the European Broadcast Union time code. Film Sync 24 F PS Calculates status values using a 24 frames per second SMPTE code. This format is for standard 24 frames per second film media.
R E F E R E N C E DISP L AY FOR MAT FOR SM PTE CODE DEFAU LT: 00:00:00.00 Specifies how SMPTE values will be formatted for display by Sound Forge XP. Select one of the available preferences from the drop-down list. TOOLBARS Use to select which toolbars are displayed on the main screen. A check in the box before the toolbar means that the toolbar is turned on. The following toolbars are available: STAN DAR D DEFAU LT: CH ECKED Contains standard file and edit operations.
R E F E R E N C E SHOW TOOLTI PS DEFAU LT: CH ECKED The Show ToolTips check box turns on or off the help information box displayed next to the mouse when it is held over certain items. WAVE Use this page to specify what wave devices Sound Forge XP should use for recording and playback. The capabilities of these devices may limit you from playing some files. P L AYBACK Specifies the device to be used when playing sound data.
R E F E R E N C E Many sound card drivers do not report their position accurately. When you play sounds back, the position of the play pointer may seem to lag or precede the actual sound you are hearing. If this is the case, you may want to adjust this value. Most sound card drivers that report incorrect position give a value ahead of the actual sound.
R E F E R E N C E WI N DOW M EN U N EW WI N DOW Use this command to create a new data window that will be given a generic name. This command uses the sound parameters that were set when the New dialog in the File menu was last used. Shor tcut: Control+Shift+N CASCADE Use this command to arrange the data windows so they overlap with the title bar of each window remaining visible.
R E F E R E N C E TI LE VERTICALLY Use this command to arrange the data windows top to bottom without them overlapping. Shor tcut: Shift+F4 AR R ANGE ICONS Use this command to arrange the minimized data icons in the Sound Forge XP workspace. M I N I M IZE ALL Use this command to minimize all open data windows in the Sound Forge XP workspace. R ESTOR E ALL Use this command to restore all minimized windows to their previous window size and position.
R E F E R E N C E H ELP M EN U CONTENTS Takes you to the online help table of contents. Shor tcut: F1 SEARCH FOR H ELP ON Search the online help index using key words. Related topics are linked. KEYBOAR D SHORTCUTS Displays a list of shortcuts – and Sound Forge XP is loaded with them. TROU B LESHOOTI NG Use this before calling the Tech Support line. TI P OF TH E DAY This command will bring up the Tip of the Day pages in the help file.
R E F E R E N C E TH E SON IC FOU N DRY HOM E PAGE This is a direct link to our home page on the World Wide Web. Invoking this command automatically launches your default web browser and takes you to the Sonic Foundry Home Page (www.sonicfoundry.com). Here you will find downloadable demos and updates, technical information, and news of what’s new with the folks at Sonic Foundry. You can also send us comments, suggestions, questions, sound files, gossip, whatever…via email from our web page.
A P P E N D I X A AP P EN DIX A: OPTI M IZI NG SOU N D FORGE XP This appendix contains information on configuring your system to maximize Sound Forge XP’s performance.
A P P E N D I X A Because Sound Forge XP is hard-drive intensive, the faster your disk access, the faster Sound Forge XP will be. The easiest thing to do to improve your performance without buying new hardware is to defragment your hard drive. Over time, and especially with heavy use, a hard drive can become fragmented. This means the data stored on the hard drive gets scattered across the surface of the disk making your files noncontinuous.
A P P E N D I X A EDITI NG I N DI R ECT MODE Whenever you open a file in Sound Forge XP, a backup copy is created so that the original file is not affected until you select to save your work. When you open a file as read-only or direct, Sound Forge XP will not create a backup copy of the file, which makes opening files quicker and uses less disk space. In fact, editing in direct mode can make opening a file almost instantaneous.
A P P E N D I X A SET TI NG U P WAVE DEVICES TH E SOU N D MAP P ER/WAVE MAP P ER Sound Forge XP allows you to choose any installed Windows compatible sound card for playback and recording. It also provides one more option for playback and record called the Sound Mapper (depending on your configuration, this may be called the Wave Mapper). The Sound Mapper is a special device that attempts to select the most appropriate sound card (map) on which to play a sound.
A P P E N D I X A There are some drawbacks to increasing the Total buffer size. It requires more of your computer’s memory and, if you have set a large Preload size, there can be small delays when starting and stopping playback. P R ELOAD SIZE The Preload size option in the Wave page (Preferences folder, Options menu), tells Sound Forge XP how much sound data it should prepare and load into your sound card driver before starting playback.
A P P E N D I X A BACKGROU N D P ROCESSI NG When Sound Forge XP is performing operations that take a long time, such as opening a file or performing audio processing, a Progress Meter is displayed on the status bar. While this Progress Meter is visible, Sound Forge XP is doing its work.You can cancel the operation at any time by pressing the Cancel button to the left of the Progress Meter, or you can press the Escape key. All processing performed by Sound Forge XP is done in the background.
A P P E N D I X A After you open an AVI file you may be notified that your video has very few key frames. This is generally representative of tutorial videos captured with a program that saves the video as a Run Length Encoded (RLE) stream with a single key frame. Due to non-linear access requirements of Sound Forge XP, this may result in difficulty with audio synchronization. It is recommended that you save your file with more key frames and re-open it for better performance during digital editing.
A P P E N D I X A CR ASH R ECOVERY When restarting Sound Forge XP, any temporary files in your temporary file directory will indicate to the program that something went wrong. Sound Forge XP prompts you with the Crash Recovery dialog to either recover, delete or ignore these files. R ECOVER Use this to change the ending of all file names from FORGExxx.TMP to FORGExxx.WAV. You can then open these WAV files using the Open dialog (File menu).
A P P E N D I X B AP P EN DIX B: TROU B LESHOOTI NG This appendix provides answers to a number of frequently asked questions about Sound Forge XP functionality.
A P P E N D I X B determine the wave playback and record devices Sound Forge XP will use. By default, Sound Forge XP uses the Microsoft Sound Mapper (it may also be called the Wave Mapper) device. The Sound Mapper should automatically pick an appropriate wave device for use by Sound Forge XP. If either the Playback or Record device is set to (None) then Sound Forge XP can not execute the corresponding operation.
A P P E N D I X B WHY CAN’T I GET SOU N D FORGE XP TO R ESPON D TO LEVELS F ROM MY M ICROP HON E OR MY CD P L AYER? Most sound cards come with multiple inputs from which you can record sound. These may include microphone, CD, auxiliary, MIDI, and line inputs. Although some cards record from all of these inputs at the same time, many cards make you choose which device is currently your record device (also known as the input source).
A P P E N D I X B • Setting your Storage directory to a slow device like a network drive or a Compressed hard drive. If at all possible, use the fastest uncompressed storage device available with Sound Forge XP. For more information on configuring your system, see Appendix A, Optimizing Sound Forge XP. WH EN P L AYI NG SOU N D F I LES WITH R ATES ABOVE 44,100 HZ ON MY TU RTLE B EACH M U LTISOU N D OR TAH ITI, MY SYSTEM CR ASH ES.
A P P E N D I X B F I LE SU P PORT WH EN SAVI NG F I LES AS MACI NTOSH AI F F AN D TR ANSF ER R I NG TH EM TO MY MACI NTOSH, WHY DOESN’T TH E MACI NTOSH R ECOGN IZE TH EM AS SOU N D F I LES? The Macintosh uses special information within its operating system to keep track of the types of files it can access. Sound Forge XP for Windows can save the audio data in the correct file format, but it can’t tell the Macintosh what type it is.
A P P E N D I X B MY COM PACT DISC R ECOR DER USES A F I LE T YP E WITH AN R B K EXTENSION. WHAT IS AN R B K F I LE AN D CAN I OP EN IT WITH SOU N D FORGE XP? RBK files are raw PCM sound data files. These files are used by some compact disc recorders to store Red Book audio onto a compact disc. RBK files are dataonly and contain no other information. They are stored as 16-bit, stereo data with a sample rate of 44,100 Hz.
A P P E N D I X B AVI F I LES WH EN OP EN I NG AN AVI F I LE, I F TH E AU DIO STR EAM FOR MAT IS 44.1 KHZ STER EO F I LE M ICROSOF T OR I MA ADPCM, TH E AU DIO TR ACK DOES NOT OP EN COR R ECTLY. This is due to a known bug in Video for Windows. It only happens if the file is both 44.1 kHz, stereo, and compressed using Microsoft ADPCM. To get around this problem, resample the audio to 22 kHz before saving (Resample dialog, Process menu).
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A P P E N D I X C AP P EN DIX C: SHORTCUTS This appendix contains a list of available shortcuts including: • Keyboard Shortcuts • Shortcut Menus • Drag and Drop Shortcuts • Other Mouse Shortcuts KEYBOAR D SHORTCUTS The following is a comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts available in Sound Forge XP.
A P P E N D I X C DATA WI N DOW MANAGEM ENT COM MAN DS P R ESS TO Alt+F10 Maximize the Sound Forge XP application window Control+F5 Restore the active data window Control+F6 Go to the next data window Control+F10 Maximize the active data window Control+Shift+F6 Go to the previous data window Shift+F4 Tile the data windows vertically Shift+F5 Cascade the data windows EDIT COM MAN DS P R ESS TO Control+A Select all data in the active window Control+C Copy the selected data onto the
A P P E N D I X C ACI D LOOP I NG TOOLS P R ESS TO Semi-Colon Halve the currently selected area. Apostrophe Double the current selection. Less Than Symbol Shift the highlighted portion of a track left the exact distance of the highlighted selection. Greater Than Symbol Shift the highlighted portion of a track right the exact distance of the highlighted selection. Colon Move the selected audio at the beginning or end of the file to the other end of the file. M ISC.
A P P E N D I X C WAVEFOR M DISP L AY KEYBOAR D SHORTCUTS CU RSOR MOVEM ENT N O T E P R ESS TO MOVE TO Right Arrow The next screen pixel Left Arrow The previous screen pixel End The last sample visible in the waveform display Home The first sample visible in the waveform display Control+End The last sample in the data window Control+Home The first sample in the data window Page Up 10% of the current view previous to the cursor position Page Down 10% of the current view past the curs
A P P E N D I X C SELECTI NG DATA P R ESS TO SELECT F ROM TH E CU RSOR TO Shift+Right Arrow The next screen pixel Shift+Left Arrow The previous screen pixel Shift+End The last sample visible in the waveform display Shift+Home The first sample visible in the waveform display Control+Shift+End The last sample in the data window Control+Shift+Home The first sample in the data window Shift+Page Up 10% of the current view previous to the cursor position Shift+Page Down 10% of the current v
A P P E N D I X C NAVIGATION AN D P L AYBACK P R ESS TO Up Arrow Increase time magnification (zoom in closer to data) Down Arrow Decrease time magnification (zoom out farther from data) Shift+Up Arrow Increase level magnification Shift+Down Arrow Decrease level magnification Control+Up Arrow Zoom Selection if a selection exists, Zoom In Full if no selection Control+Down Arrow Zoom Normal (zooms to default zoom ratio set in Preferences/Options menu) Control+Shift+Up Arrow Pan data window
A P P E N D I X C Enter Pause playback; keep the cursor at the current position Escape Stop playback of the current data window R EGIONS LIST SHORTCUTS P R ESS TO Spacebar Play or Stop the active marker or region Enter Edit the active marker or region Delete Delete the active marker or region ` (grave accent) Cycle through the Regions List display formats R Create region from the current selection Shift+R Create region without bringing up dialog SHORTCUT M EN US Shortcut menus are me
A P P E N D I X C P L AYBAR SELECTION STATUS SHORTCUT M EN U This shortcut menu is reached by right-clicking on any of the playbar’s selection status fields. It allows you to set the current status format (Samples, Time, Seconds, Time & Frames, Absolute Frames, Measures & Beats, SMPTE Non-Drop/Drop, SMPTE EBU, SMPTE Film Synch). TI M E R U LER SHORTCUT M EN U This shortcut menu is reached by right-clicking on the Time Ruler.
A P P E N D I X C SELECT Makes the selection equal to the region end points. DELETE Removes the region from the Regions List. EDIT Takes you to the Edit Region/Marker dialog. U P DATE Makes region end points equal to the current selection. DISP L AY P ROP ERTI ES SHORTCUT M EN U This shortcut menu is reached by right-clicking on the Edit Tool selector at the upper left-hand corner of the data window. It allows you to set options described under Properties/Display in the File Menu.
A P P E N D I X C L AB EL I N DB When checked, the Level Ruler will be labeled in decibels. STATUS BAR SHORTCUT M EN US These shortcut menus allow you to change the playback rate, sample size, channels (Stereo/Mono), and status format (Samples, Time, Seconds, Time & Frames, Absolute Frames, Measures & Beats, SMPTE Non-Drop/Drop, SMPTE EBU, SMPTE Film Synch) by right-clicking on the status bar fields.
A P P E N D I X C AN I MATE Displays the frame closest to the cursor position. N U M B ER F R AM ES Displays frame number on each frame. VI DEO P R EVI EW SHORTCUT M EN U This shortcut menu is reached by right-clicking on the Video Preview window. It allows you to set various options of the video display. For a complete list and explanation of these options, refer to the Video command (Options menu) in chapter 6, Sound Forge XP Reference.
A P P E N D I X C selection on the destination centerline. Otherwise, the selection will be crossfaded into either the left or right channel only. DR AG PASTE To paste a selection into another data window, drag the selection from the source to the destination window. Press the Alt key while holding the cursor in the destination window. Processing begins at the point where you drop the region in the destination file.
A P P E N D I X C F I N E TU N E CONTROL VALU E To fine tune a trackbar, fader, or spinner, hold down both right and left mouse buttons when dragging. This can also be done if you hold down the Control key while dragging. MAI N STATUS BAR Double-click on the Sample Rate, Sample Size, or Channels (Stereo/Mono) field to reach the Properties folder. SELECTION STATUS BAR Double-click on the Selection Left field to reach the Go To dialog.
A P P E N D I X D AP P EN DIX D: SOU N D FOR MATS The file formats recognized by Sound Forge XP are listed below along with the extension used to identify them to the user. An arbitrary extension has been assigned for each of the formats used by computers other than the PC. Many of these formats when found on another type of computer will tend to use the extension SND. Thus, even if a file has the SND extension it may not be a Sounder/SoundTool file.
A P P E N D I X D Creative Labs VOC (.VOC) This is one of the more common sound formats on PC-compatible computers. The VOC format supports packed data that Sound Forge XP will unpack prior to importing the file. The VOC format also supports information for silence, looping, and varying sample rates. When Sound Forge XP imports a VOC file it uses the first sample rate found and ignores such information as looping and silence.
A P P E N D I X Macintosh Resource D (.SN D) This format is used on the Apple Macintosh to save sound resources. When reading a file of this type it must have a Mac-Binary header. This header is attached to binary files transferred with common Macintosh file transfer programs. Sound Forge XP does not save to this file format. M I DI SDS (.SDS) This format is a file that contains the exact data that would be transferred to a sampler when using the MIDI Sample Dump Standard (SDS) protocol.
A P P E N D I X D Video for Windows (.AVI) This is a Microsoft digital video file format. It supports multiple channel audio, but Sound Forge XP will only allow you to open one audio and one video stream at a time. When saving as an AVI file, many compression schemes are available for both the video and audio streams. Wave (Microsoft) (.WAV) This is the format for sampled sounds defined by Microsoft for use with Windows.
A P P E N D I X E AP P EN DIX E: SOU N D FORGE XP AN D TH E M ICROSOF T AU DIO COM P R ESSION MANAGER TH E AU DIO COM P R ESSION MANAGER (ACM) The Microsoft Audio Compression Manager (more commonly referred to as the ACM) is a standard interface for audio compression and filtering tool in Windows. This interface allows applications like Sound Forge XP to use compression and filtering algorithms provided by other companies. Sound Forge XP fully supports audio compression and filtering through the ACM.
A P P E N D I X E • Most audio compression algorithms will degrade the quality of the sound. This is referred to as lossy compression since information contained in the sound is lost when it is compressed. The amount of sound degradation is dependent on the algorithm. • Audio compression requires more processing time than uncompressed data. The amount of processing time is dependent on the algorithm as well as your hardware setup.
A P P E N D I X E Sound Forge XP does not come with any ACM Filters; you must obtain them from other sources. However, since the ACM Filter architecture is fully documented by Microsoft, it is possible that many types of filters will become available on BBSs and other places for use with Sound Forge XP. If any ACM Filters are installed in your computer, you will see the ACM Filter option under the Tools menu.
A P P E N D I X E Other examples include the ability to play 16-bit sounds on an 8-bit-only sound card, or playing stereo sounds on a mono-only sound card.You can also record stereo files on a mono-only sound card. However, this last example is essentially useless because the Sound Mapper will duplicate the mono input of your sound card in both channels. So keep in mind that the Sound Mapper cannot create something that is better than what the sound card can supply.
A P P E N D I X E Notes on Sound Forge XP’s sound file compression support: • The Open dialog (File menu) allows you to preview compressed WAV files if you have an appropriate ACM driver installed. However, you must have your Playback device set to the Sound Mapper for this to work (Preferences/Wave in the Options menu). • When saving uncompressed audio data to a compressed format with the Save As dialog (File menu), it is a good idea to close the file and re-open it after saving.
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A P P E N D I X F AP P EN DIX F: OB J ECT LI N KI NG AN D EM B EDDI NG (OLE) Sound Forge XP supports Microsoft’s Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) technology for improved integration with other applications. This appendix discusses the implementation details and different uses for the OLE technology supported by Sound Forge XP.
A P P E N D I X F USI NG OLE WITH SOU N D FORGE XP Sound Forge XP is an OLE server. What this means is Sound Forge XP can create OLE objects (serve them up, if you will) that can be embedded (inserted) into applications that are OLE containers (the consumers of objects supplied by servers). The OLE objects that are created by Sound Forge XP are called Sound Forge XP Audio objects. These objects are really just links to a sound file on your hard disk or network server.
A P P E N D I X F Follow these steps to embed a Sound Forge XP Audio object into WordPad (Windows 9x) or Microsoft Word 7.0 (Windows NT) using drag and drop: 1. Run WordPad (Windows 9x) or Word 7.0 (Windows NT). 2. Now run Sound Forge XP and open a sound file (TUTOR1.WAV in your Sound Forge XP directory will suffice). 3.
A P P E N D I X F 2. Select the Copy Object Link command under the Edit menu of Sound Forge XP. If the sound file needs to be saved, you will be prompted to do so. 3. At this point, a Sound Forge XP Audio object is on the clipboard and ready to be pasted into a document. 4. Run WordPad (Windows 9x) or Write (Windows NT) and select the Paste command from the Edit menu. If you did everything correctly, a Sound Forge XP Audio object will now be embedded in your document.
A P P E N D I X F TI PS AN D LI M ITATIONS As mentioned above, Sound Forge XP Audio objects are implemented as links to existing sound files on your hard disk or network server. Because of this, there are some limitations you should be aware of before using the OLE support in Sound Forge XP. LI N KS CAN B E B ROKEN, B UT NOT M EN DED The most important rule to bear in mind when using OLE with Sound Forge XP is that links can be broken, but not mended.
USI NG A N ET WOR K SERVER To ease the problems associated with moving or sharing documents between computers, it is suggested that you use a network server to store all sound files that are embedded in the documents. If you do this, all computers that have access to the network server will be able to open and edit the Sound Forge XP Audio objects. There are two methods of ensuring a common network server will work with shared documents.
