MORE-MultiMedia/mmultimedia.iso/bmaster/bmaster.doc

Text File | 1991-12-06 | 21KB | 383 lines

==============================
    Blaster Master V.4.75
  for the CMS Sound Blaster
      and compatibles
 (C) by Gary Maddox 12/10/91
==============================

BLASTER Master is for serious PC soundcard enthusiasts interested in
getting the most from their PC audio card. One of the outstanding features
of the Sound Blaster and other PC audio cards is the ability to sample
sound and play it back. BLASTER Master is a tool kit for working with
Sound Blaster type VOC files, .WAV files and .SND files. BLASTER Master
includes many features available on Digital Audio Workstations costing
many thousands of dollars. BLASTER Master requires EGA/VGA graphics, a
mouse, a hard disk and preferably a fast PC. Unregistered versions will
only process a 25 second sound file. The registered version will process
any size sound file.


OVERVIEW:
This program is a very fast EGA/VGA graphic editor to help you tailor your
sound files. Useless and noisy sample data at the beginning and endings of
VOC files can be quickly removed. Sections from within the sample can be
saved as a new sample file. The entire sample is displayed and a grid is
drawn that divides the sample into seconds to aid in selecting the "cut
points". A zero-crossing/phase approximation method is used to select the
bytes that are displayed to help in choosing the "cleanest" points for pro-
cessing. Where needed, cross-fading is applyed to splice points.
Function keys F1 - F5 changes the pallettes used to control the colors used
to display the screen. During playback, a pulsing index line displays the
position of the file being played. The various digital processes can be sel-
ected using the mouse or in most cases, ALT+the first letter of the option
can be used. Example: ALT-P will select to "PLAY" the currently selected sound
file. (ALT-P means hold down the ALT key and press the "P" key simultaneously)
NOTE: BLASTER Master will function without a soundcard being present, but
      the PLAY, RECORD and SCOPE functions will be disabled.

SELECTING A SOUND FILE:
If a sound file is not specified when starting the editor, a file selection
dialog box will appear. The current path can be changed by selecting the top
input box and entering a new path, such as:  C:\SB\VOC\*.VOC. Specifying
the "*.VOC" will select all files with an extension of VOC in the chosen path.
From this dialog box, you can PLAY the sound file, RECORD a new sound file,
DELETE an unwanted sound file, ACCEPT the file to process or CANCEL the
program and return to DOS. Choosing the PLAY option to Audition a file will
also display useful information about the file. The various options can be
selected using the mouse or in most cases, ALT+the first letter of the option
can be used. Example: ALT-P will select to "PLAY" the currently selected sound
file. (ALT-P means hold down the ALT key and press the "P" key simultaneously)
If you accept a sound file that is multi-blocked, BLASTER Master will allow
you the option of removing the blocks and converting to a RAW VOC file.

IMPORTING A SOUND FILE:
Choosing this option from the File Selection Dialog Box will allow importing
.WAV, .NTI, .8SV and .SND format files into BLASTER Master. A .WAV file is
the Microsoft Multi-Media format and is supported by the Pro Audio Spectrum
and the ATI Stereo F/X sound cards and others. SND files are completely raw
wave data files that do not include any header information. NTI files are Amiga
sample files as used by Tetra Compositor. VOC type files can also be saved in
these three formats. 8SV is the extension normally used for Amiga IFF sound
files. You can import Amiga IFF sound files, but you can not save a file in
Amiga IFF format currently.

RECORDING A SOUND FILE:
Selecting RECORD from the File Selection Dialog Box displays the Record
Dialog Box. Enter the name of the VOC file you wish to record. NOTE: If you
specify a VOC file that already exists, it will be OVER WRITTEN. Using a
mouse, select the sample rate to use when recording (13,000-4000 if using
a Sound Blaster, 22,000-4000 if you are using a Sound Blaster Pro). The
higher the sample rate, the better the file will sound. When using the
various digital processes, a higher sample rate will also produce a much
better sounding file. The SCOPE selection button will display a graphic
scope that is very useful for setting the volume of the device you are
recording directly from. Select the RECORD button to begin recording. Press
the ESC key to stop recording. Your file will be displayed on the Editor
screen for modifying.
NOTE: Users of the ATI Stereo F/X card should start BLASTER Master with a
      command line switch: /SFX . This tells BLASTER Master to set the
      maximum sample rate to 35,000 MONO.

EDITING A SOUND FILE:
To select a section of the sound file to be removed, saved, heard or
zoomed, position the mouse cursor over the graph at the first desired cut
point and press the LEFT mouse button. Position the mouse cursor again
over the second cut point and press the LEFT button. Once a section has
been marked with the blue box, you can HEAR that section, CUT it from the
sample or SAVE it as a new file. The ZOOM option will display the marked
section across the screen and allow you to select a new block from the
zoomed area. You can zoom the file until the resolution reaches 1:1. The
current resolution is displayed just above the options selection box. By
using the ZOOM feature, you should be able to edit sound files with
surgical precision. The MOVE option allows the selected block to moved
to a new section of the same file.

SETTING A MARKER:
Sometimes it is desirable to pre-select a point in the soundfile. Using the
right mouse button will place a white arrow on the blue bar just below the
sound file grid.

TOOLS:
There are special process that operate on a block of data. Selecting the
TOOLS button pops up a selection menu for special block functions:
  LOOP:
  This allows the block to be repeated upto 10 times. This can be used to
  add a Max Headroom type stutter to the file.
  MUTE:
  This replaces the block with silence bytes. Very usefull for removing
  glitches and other un-desirable noises without effecting the playback
  time.
  REVERSE:
  This reverses the block to playback backwards.
  PITCH:
  This changes the pitch of the block. The Pitch can be either lowered or
  raised. This function effects the playback time.
  ECHO:
  This adds echo to the block. The parameters are the same as the Echo
  function for whole files.

* NOTE: The editor program should work on all single block compressed data.
This does not include silence encoding. The graphic representation of the
sound data will not be accurate. The time display should be very close.

SPECIAL PROCESSES:
BLASTER Master includes several special digital processes to modify your
sound files. The special processes supported are: SCOPE, ECHO, REVERSE,
INSERT, FAST, SLOW, RATE, VOLUME, PITCH, PACK, FADE and MIXER. All of the
processes are not displayed at the same time on the Wave Edit screen. Sel-
ecting the MORE button will display the next set of options. The various
options can be selected using the mouse or in most cases, ALT+the first
letter of the option can be used. EXAMPLE: ALT-E will select to "ECHO" the
currently selected sound file. (ALT-E means hold down the ALT key and press
the "E" key simultaneously) The NEW button can be used to select a new file
when in the Editor screen or to un-mark a block when in the Cut/Save/Zoom
screen. The EXIT button will return to DOS immediately.
A list of the special processes are described in detail below:

SCOPE:
This process graphically displays sample input real-time.Speak into a
microphone and see what your voice looks like or play music directly into
the Sound Blaster. This program works particularly well on faster machines.
Any key will cancel the scope and return you back to the editor.

ECHO:
This process adds echo or delay to a VOC file to give it a richer,
fuller sound. It is also g