New product: Breakaway FM (BETA) !

[drshane]

Hi Leif,
Love what you are doing with this so far. 2 things,
1.) can there be multiple instances for us webcasters who run multiple streams?
2.) The pipeline seems to not like Window Server 2003 64bit, I was finally able to get two pipelines after rebooting the server. It says operation not allowed in WOW64 when trying to restart the pipeline.

I’ll be emailing you about a temp key as well.

Thanks,
Shane

[Leif]

Hi Shane!

That’s interesting regarding 2003-64. I guess I’ll have to install a version myself and try it. The Not allowed in WOW64 message means that the Installer installed the 32-bit version of the Breakaway Pipeline Config application even though you’re on a 64-bit system. This is definitely a bug in the installer, and it’s real strange because I know it works properly in Vista64.

The basic webcaster version will be single instance, but multi-stream versions will be available for not much more.

///Leif

[Leif]

Hi Shane!

I installed Windows 2003 Enterprise R2 x64, and I was unable to reproduce the problem — the Breakaway Pipeline control panel worked beautifully.

So, I think the problem may be that you installed a much earlier beta, one where the installation was NOT so painless. And, once the pipeline is installed, installing a newer Breakaway version on top will not alter it.

So, to remedy the situation, I recommend uninstalling both Breakaway FM and Breakaway Personal, rebooting the computer, and then install the latest versions.

That should take care of it. 🙂

///Leif

[drshane]

Leif,
Even though the version number was the same, uninstalling and reinstalling with a fresh download solved the pipeline issue.

A couple more questions, is the bandwidth out the l/r limited to 16k? or is/can that be 20k? I know it’s not much of a difference, but I can notice the difference between an FM station I stream out of their fm processor (15k limited) and other streams that are not.

Will there be a little more control over multi-band balance in future versions?

Will the multi-stream version have all the power of the FM version? One of my streams I will want to get loud 😀

Thanks!

[Leif]

Hi Shane!

Good news regarding the pipeline!

The L/R bandwidth is indeed limited to 16k. If we make a full control version in the future, it will have options to go all the way up to 20, and full control over every parameter. It will be excellent value for broadcasters who need to really fine-tune their sound, and for whom extremely low price is not the key purchasing decision. 🙂

To my ears, though, the difference between 15 and 16 is much bigger than the difference between 16 and 20. I can hear up to 18 (just barely), but 16 still sounds pretty much like full frequency response. 15, on the other hand, distinctly lacks high-end.

The stream version will have the same back-end as Breakaway Personal, except that the whole chain will be phase linear. The FM back-end is indeed more powerful, but also uses much greater resources.

Good news though, you will definitely be able to use the stream version and the FM version at the same time, on the same machine!

///Leif

[drshane]

Leif,
I’ve been using Breakaway FM for a few days with the trial key, and having an issue. After what seems to be a random amount of time (typically 6-12 hours), the l/r output will go away (I don’t know about the MPX since I am not using that). It’s done it twice while I was listening and it sounds like a quick fade and not a cut off, the only solution has been to exit and restart Breakaway FM. When this happens the meters and scope still shows signal from my automation, but the encoders stop recieving audio.

I love the way it sounds on air, but had to pull it when I am not listening, can’t sit for hours silent.

*update
I just realized there is a newer version online, going to try to upgrade to it and see if it happens with it as well.

[Leif]

Hi Shane!

I found that bug 2 days ago. It eluded me for days!

The exact time of failure is 13.5 hours. After 13.5 hours, audio would mute, because a 32-bit counter wrapped around to a negative number, making Breakaway FM think it had just been started, and thus muting the output (to avoid clicks and pops).

I changed it to a 64-bit counter — it will now mute after 6 million years instead of 13.5 hours. (Yes, I calculated) 🙂.

It’s fixed since 0.90.38.

Good catch, and I apologize for any inconvenience. This is why it says "beta" after the version number 😉.

///Leif

[drshane]

Leif,
Thanks, the version I updated with yesterday has been running for almost 24 hours non stop. I understand it’s beta and I expect that there will be bugs, but love how it sounds and I was just disappointed I was going to have to go back to the old processing. Breakaway just sounds so much better, I would buy it today if it was available for purchase…

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