Archive for May, 2006

5.1 Overview

With the proliferation of inexpensive home theater sound systems and the easy access to surround sound authoring tools, theater-style mixing has become a viable option for the home studio musician. Although the 5.1 format is designed for the traditional cinema approach, with a center channel for dialogue and a subwoofer for effects, the creative musician or sound artist can also subvert the medium for other purposes. For example, in the past, electronic musicians wanting to compose in four-chanel sound have had to struggle with expensive or hard-to-come-by technology. Now it’s a simple matter to author a DVD that can play four channels into a quad concert sound system, and even do a reasonable job in many home systems. With a little ingenuity, the 5.1 format can be used for true six-channel sound or for things like stereo sound with multiple click tracks.

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Stupid JS Trick #2: Dragging a Window Around

Welcome to the second installment of Stupid JS Tricks. If you missed the previous installment, you can take trip back in time to see us resize our patcher’s interface. In this trick we will rise to a brave new challenge: to drag a window around on our screen without using the standard drag-able region provided on that window by the operating system.

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Cycling ’74 Releases UpMix

SURROUND PROCESSING AND MIXING PLUG-INS

San Francisco, CA • May 3, 2006 – Cycling ’74, a San Francisco-based music software company, today released UpMix, a surround processing and mixing software package. UpMix has been developed and tested by a team of surround sound professionals and utilizes proprietary algorithms to convert stereo audio into an immersive 6-channel mix suitable for Film, DVD, HD Broadcast and Music surround formats.

The flagship plug-in, named UpMix, provides functionality that can speed the repurposing of stereo or mono audio content into a surround environment. By providing a number of algorithms and advanced positioning control, UpMix offers an easy way to expand an entire mix or individual elements of a mix into immersive surround tracks. Five additional plug-ins handle common surround mixing tasks:

  • Rotator moves a 5.1 mix in a circular fashion—allowing the point of view to follow the on-screen action.
  • ReRoute acts as a universal format router allowing the conversion of any 6 channel format to another.
  • ReBalance provides a set of level controls for each of the 6 channels within an interleaved multichannel file or bus.
  • FoldDown gives you the ability to check your surround mix in stereo, with standards-based center channel and surround channel gain reduction options.
  • ReBalance is a simple set of level controls for each of the six surround channels.
  • LFE-6chan is a low-frequency generator/enhancer for both individual tracks and entire mixes.

These tools provide an unprecedented level of control. When used as part of an engineer’s toolkit, they can aid in the creation of a deep, immersive mix. UpMix promises to be an innovative tool that increases productivity and ease in professional surround productions. UpMix is available for users of Pro Tools TDM (Macintosh OS X or Windows), Steinberg Nuendo and Cubase SX 3 (Macintosh OS X or Windows) and MOTU Digital Performer.

Price and Availability

UpMix MSRP US$495 and is available from Cycling ’74 and its retail dealers and distributors.

About Cycling ’74

Cycling ’74 creates and distributes Mac OS and Windows software for audio, video, and multimedia innovators. Products include the Max/MSP/Jitter graphical programming environment, the Pluggo, Mode and Hipno collections of Max/MSP-based audio plug-ins, the Radial loop-based composition and performance system, the Octirama and UpMix advanced surround design tools, and the interactive algorithmic composition program M. Cycling ’74 also releases creative musical and multimedia works through their c74 recording label and audio source libraries for musicians, sound designers and media producers through its Cycles series. http://www.cycling74.com

Graphics available online at http://www.cycling74.com/pressimages.

Cycling ’74, 379A Clementina Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, 415-974-1818, info@cycling74.com

Copyright © 2012 Cycling '74.