Howdy!

This isn't exactly an ad - I've been here before (although only posted a handful of times). I'm posting not because anyone on this site is the target audience, but because it's cool, and because it may help your non-audio friends who complain about shifting volume levels .

So anyway, I write dynamics processing algorithms for a living. Previous ones include OctiMax, Volume Logic, Aeromax Line of products (Linear Acoustic), AudioStocker (a long long time ago). They're in use on countless places, HDTV networks, internet radio stations (AOL and Yahoo music services too).

This time, I made one for consumers. It's still got my flagship algorithm (codename Breakaway, which is incidentally the name of the product, I couldn't think of anything better), but I made it easy to use.



It's got a fully scalable custom gui, which contains not only meters but two *very* accurate oscilloscopes. The oscilloscopes are for a purely selfish reason - I want normal people to become aware of all the squarewaves in the music they paid for so that maybe something will happen. I know, it's a long shot, but what can you do.

The gui has 5 audio controls (not including Volume, Bypass, Mute and Core Preset) - Range, Power, Speed, Bass Level, Bass Shape. Each control modifies several parameters inside the multiband (4 - 7 bands depending on chosen preset) core, to make it extremely easy to adjust and play.

And, it's system wide - not a plugin. It fixes ALL audio someone plays, no matter if it's Winamp, WMP, iTunes, YouTube, or a DVD movie.


What it's supposed to do for consumers is to just FIX the damn volume control. It's something EVERYONE complains about, especially when watching movies. Things play at the level you set, without completely squashing the dynamics or pumping, and it sounds good.

The oscilloscopes are just icing on the cake -- they look neat, and when somebody understands how they work and what they're looking at (why does my CD have squarewaves?) all the better for us who actually HEAR this crap without having to look at it.

Anyway. Really, it's neat. (It had better be, spent 5 months non-stop on just this consumer implementation -- the core algorithm was already done, but took another 5 months earlier).

We're selling it for $29.95, 30-day free trial, but it never stops working even when the trial ends - it just nags much much more.


If anyone would like to check it out and offer comments, it's here (along with a ton of screenshots and stuff):

http://claessonedwards.com/winmore.htm

I'm hoping this isn't against the rules, especially #14.

///Leif

Well you posted it twice without a meaningful title and it's got a link to software you're selling.....to me that strikes of being an advert!

Well I for one don't have a problem with bending the rules a little from time to time, and this looks like a useful product.

What are the requirements for the system that it runs on? It looks like it would be fairly compute intensive.

The double post was a mistake (i blame it on my crappy thai isp), and I did thoroughly mess up the title. It made much more sense in its full form, before it got clipped with no ability to edit. I even used preview, but I must not have noticed the title. Sorry about that .



System reqs are actually very modest. The audio processing itself should use around 4% on a modern PC, maybe 8% on an average decent P4.

The GUI cpu usage depends on size, but is highly optimized - at normal sizes it barely shows up on task manager at all.

Maximizing the GUI on a high-res screen will drastically increase cpu usage, but it will never completely max out the cpu, the gui limits itself to 80% or so (which I've only hit on my Pentium-M laptop, and it runs great even then).

It runs on Windows 2000, Windows XP (32+64), Windows Vista 32, but NOT yet Windows Vista 64.


Hey, if admins have the ability to edit titles, could someone please change the title to just "New Audio Processor for Consumers"?

///Leif

Duplicate thread deleted and topic title amended.

The duplicate was a genuine mistake, and the OP is a long time member with a few posts under his belt. I think the main concern with advertising is generally with first time posters, which one immediately assumes will never post again/contribute (i.e.: spammers).

We can forget all that and stay on topic now...

"Error installing breakaway pipeline driver.

This driver is required to route audio from Windows into Breakaway.

Setup cannot continue. Your computer has not been modified."

XP64 -> MAudio Audiophile 2496 soundcard.

I confess, I downloaded it just to watch the oscilliscopes

Set it on 'bypass;' loaded up one of the recent Prince CDs (replaygain values routinely >10) in foobar2k, set f2k output to Kernal Streaming to Breakaway , and hit play. Man, lookit all those flat peaks go by!


But let me try to understand, Breakaway is supposed to be a dynamic , real-time gain rider, unlike, say, 'preset' global peak level adjustment using replaygain values? It's not itself a compressor?

Evereux, I'll try to reproduce it. Likely a bug - I guess nobody (including me) bothered to try it on XP64 yet. It should be able to work, I'll get back to you when I've fixed it. Thanks

Krabapple, it is indeed supposed to be a compressor (=dynamic gain rider).

Algorithms like ReplayGain and Sound Check, while they work okay for listening to popular music (or in a quiet room with a good sound system), do not help at all when you're trying to listen in normal environments like an office, or a house with kids playing downstairs, or trying to watch a movie late at night.

The one thing I hear consumers complain about most is DVDs. SO many people complain that they can't hear the dialog without the effects being WAY too loud.


The problem with dynamic compression is that it comes with so many side effects. Pumping, breathing, dynamics inversion (=it got quieter when it was really supposed to get louder), and of course multiband phasing issues or excessive coloration.

My goal in all this was to carefully write and tune an algorithm to completely solve the dynamics problem, as well as sweeten the sound a bit, but without overenhancing, and trying to avoid all the artifacts that are inherent to compression.

Of course, it decreases the dynamic range. It's supposed to, that's on top of the job description. However.. If, when listening to the compressed output without being intimately familiar with the original, nothing obviously wrong pops out, then I consider it a success. You should be able to just turn it on and forget about it, without ever being reminded of the normalization in progress.

Check it out . Try unbypassing and actually listen to what it sounds like. See how it handles quiet versus loud songs, as well as classical music. Try the Range, Power and Speed controls -- if it's doing too much, turn them down. Zenith is a good preset to start with for someone very sensitive to dynamics compression (while Reference Heavy is good for the average consumer).

Would love to hear some comments about the performance of the processing itself .

Try the bass boost too, it's wonderfully over-the-top.

///Leif

This is what I get when I hit the link:

Our Website Is Currently Being Moved


Dear Visitor,

Our web hosting company is currently relocating their data center to a new location. We apologize that for the duration of this move, you can't reach our website.

We should be up and running again by 8:00am EST Sunday morning or earlier. Please check back soon.

Thank you for your understanding.

Regards,
Your Webmaster

Now THAT is timing.

Thank you, dear hosting company, for not.. say.. planning ahead and copying data BEFORE switching over.

Sorry about that.

Mirror of installer only here:
http://bredband.leif.cx/browse/bap

///Leif

Ah, ok then. Nice work.

This is the sort of feature/tool that should be BUILT IN to today's a/v receivers, automotive CD/mp3 decks etc, as a user-selectable option to apply compression, instead of having compression 'built in' to the music itself during mastering.

I've had the pleasure of working with Leif's 'Breakaway' for the last couple of years and it's still the best sounding automatic audio processor I've ever heard

Edit: and I've just bought the consumer version!

Thanks, enVias! And two copies nonetheless! Very much appreciated. Let me know if you find any bugs or have any other comments.

Evereux, I fixed the XP64 related bug. Turns out the environment variable PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE contains x86 even under XP64. Wow, that really justifies that variables existence doesn't it .

New version is at http://bredband.leif.cx/browse/bap

Will be published on the official site in a day or two.



Krabapple, incidentally, if all you want is the oscilloscope, you can use it free indefinitely.

The Trial lasts 30 days. However, after the trial is over, Breakaway will bypass itself after half an hour of processing - but everything else (oscilloscopes included) will keep running. Also, you won't get any more reminders while it's already bypassed, so unless you un-bypass it manually, it'll just keep running without bugging you.

///Leif