Thank you for purchasing Macromedia SoundEdit 16 1.0.1.
This ReadMe contains information on the following topics:
Version 1.0.1 changes
16-bit sound playback
QuickTime soundtracks
Performance Tips
Opening Windows files
Sound digitizing hardware
Disk Full Conditions
Cancelling Playback
SMPTE Timecode
SoundEdit 16 Help file
Version 1.0.1 Changes
----------------------
Version 1.0.1 of SoundEdit 16 fixes three bugs:
• A bug that prevented some users from recording from built-in CD drives.
• Editing 8-bit sound tracks in certain QuickTime movies did not work correctly.
• Saving compressed sounds in some formats did not work correctly.
16-bit sound playback
-------------------
Playback of 16-bit sounds or QuickTime movies containing 16-bit soundtracks requires Apple Sound Manager 3.0 or an A/V Macintosh (Sound Manager 3.0 is included in this package). 16-bit sounds will sound distorted on Macintosh computers that do not have Apple Sound Manager 3.0. The Sound Manager 3.0 will automatically convert 16-bit sounds to 8-bit sounds at playback time if 16-bit sound hardware is not present.
QuickTime Soundtracks
---------------------
SoundEdit 16 supports multi-track QuickTime soundtracks. An unlimited number of SoundEdit 16 files may be saved into one QuickTime soundtrack, but once saved into a QuickTime movie, the SoundEdit 16 tracks will always be mixed down into one monophonic or stereo track.
Performance tips
----------------
AppleTalk - Unless you are connected to an Ethernet network you should turn off AppleTalk in the Chooser when recording in stereo.
Stereo metering - The sound level meter will only display the level for both stereo channels after the first stereo recording has finished. In order to set levels before recording an important stereo sound, record a short scratch stereo sound and delete it. Now the sound level meter will display the recording level for both channels and you can adjust the gain control until you find a satisfactory input level.
Background processing - Avoid running SoundEdit 16 in the background as you may encounter problems if you run another application in the foreground.
Fragmented disk - As with any time-dependent media files such as sound and QuickTime, a fragmented disk will cause slower recording to and playback from disk. For best sound quality use a disk drive that is not fragmented.
Color depth - On slower machines, you may get better performance by reducing your color depth to black and white using the Monitors control panel.
Opening Windows Files
---------------------
SoundEdit 16 can open Windows files in the .WAV and .MOV formats. These files must be loaded into the Macintosh via one of the standard PC file access utilities: Apple File Exchange, AccessPC, PC Exchange, ProDOS File System, or DOS Mounter. Files cannot be directly imported into SoundEdit 16 from PC-formatted CD ROM discs, networks, or BBS. If SoundEdit 16 cannot recognize a .WAV or .MOV file, you must copy it onto a DOS-formatted diskette, eject the diskette, and reinsert the disk into the PC. Files loaded this way will be stamped with a Macintosh resource that SoundEdit 16 can recognize.
Sound digitizing hardware
------------------------
Although Macromedia has made every effort to ensure compatibility with existing third-party hardware, we have identified some incompatibilities. If you experience problems with any of the boards listed below, please contact the manufacturer for the latest driver updates.
Digidesign Audiomedia and Audiomedia II - Executing commands during playback of sound files can cause the sound to stop playing. Using the 1.2B5 drivers from Digidesign you may experience noisy recording that is outside the scope of SoundEdit 16. Contact Digidesign for updated drivers.
Spectral Innovations NuMedia - The 1.0 driver does not make its presence known to SoundEdit 16. Contact Spectral Innovations to obtain the 1.1 driver or the latest update.
SuperMac DigitalFilm - This digitizing board is able to digitize sound at 8 bits ONLY. However, the DigitalFilm board will attempt to digitize sound at 16 bits, resulting in unpleasant sound recordings.
MediaVision ProAudio Spectrum 16 - To assure best performance make certain that the card settings in the Sound control panel "Sound In" and "Sound Out" dialogs match the format of your sound document.
Disk Full Conditions
------------------
Recording, especially of 16-bit, 44 or 48kHz stereo sound use large amounts of disk space (approximately 180KB per second). You should always try to assure that you have enough disk space available before you begin recording. Should you run out of disk space while recording, SoundEdit 16 does its best to recover cleanly.
In rare circumstances, when playing back on a disk with little or no space left, you may get a set of repeating error alerts. You can escape this by hitting the command-period key combination twice.
Cancelling Playback
------------------
Since playback gets CPU priority, you may occasionally be unable to stop playback using the play button or space bar. You can hold down the command-period key combination to stop the playback.
SMPTE Timecode
----------------
SoundEdit 16 supports SMPTE timecode in the 30fps, 29.97 fps, 25fps, and 24fps formats, as well as a modified version of timecode that is based on the frame rate of the movie being edited. SoundEdit 16 defaults to the modified timecode. Timecode settings of 30fps, 25fps, and 24 fps function normally, but 29.97 fps timecode is not based on true SMPTE Drop Frame timecode. SoundEdit 16 uses a true 29.97 fps time scale, which will result in a maximum inaccuracy of one frame in movies of any length. This modified version of timecode, based on the frame rate of the movie being edited, allows the most accurate QuickTime editing, as a given timecode value will always position you at the start of a movie frame. However, this setting does not allow you to select fine increments of time because resolution will be limited by the frame rate (i.e. a 10fps movie will allow a minimum time increment of 1/10 second). As a result, when adjusting durations of effects, it may be preferable to specify time in other time scales (seconds, milleseconds, or samples).
SoundEdit 16 Help file
----------------------
Contains System 7 balloon help. This is installed in the same folder as the application. It contains the text that will be used when you turn on Macintosh balloon help.