- This topic has 21 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 11 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Breakway is a real accomplishment, with astonishing performance, but it lacks what I need most: the capacity to save processed audio, preferably in batch mode. I don’t use my computer as a music player; like, I’d guess, at least half of music lovers nowadays, I use mostly portable devices or recorded media. So I use Winamp’s Disk Writer mode with a few DSPs to equalize/compress/normalize my music in order to make it portable. Breakaway is much better than anything I have now and I would gladly buy it if there were at least a promise to offer this feature in the near future. The way I see it, it could be done in several ways: as a Winamp DSP, as a Winamp output plugin (like the former Volume Logic, which could channel the processed audio to Disk Writer) or simply as a standalone product, as it is now, but with disk writing capability. Is there any intention to add a disk writing feature to Breakway at some point?
Hi Aleph!
Thanks for your comments!
You know, I’m thinking about it. Wouldn’t it be nice to drop a bunch of files into a batch processing window, and have Breakaway just breeze through them way faster than realtime, outputting to a separate folder in the format you prefer, with the settings you’ve made while listening normally? Heck, it could even have command line tool support so that you could plug in any encoder you like if you were so inclined.
I’m starting to think that it’d be a real nice feature to have. I might just do it, when I have the time between all the projects currently stacked up.
Best,
///LeifThanks for the prompt reply, Leif. Since you’ve shown interest in my suggestion – which, I believe, would be highly feasible commercially, as there are many people who have the same requirements as mine and, as far as I know, there is no product that does this explicitly and one has to resort to manual procedures to save processed music files – I have a couple of suggestions:
1. I have been using for years a product called dbPowerAmp for format conversion. It is (mostly) free, very easy to use (no need to open the program, you just right-click on the file or group of files) and can convert to/from practically any format available, lossless or not, with excellent quality. On top of that, it has a DSP feature that allows stacking processors to be applied to the converted audio. Should you wish to avoid the batch processing programming chore, perhaps Breakaway could just be added to dbPowerAmp’s DSP library. In my opinion, it would be even better than having it as a Winamp DSP or a standalone converter because of the conversion flexibility dbPowerAmp affords.
2. Should you really add the disk writing/batch conversion feature, it would be clever to add a signalling byte somewhere in the converted file to turn off subsequent processing by Breakaway when it is played back in a Breakaway-equipped computer. Presently I have to maintain two sets of files – unprocessed ones to be played with my DSP-charged Winamp and processed ones to be used only with external players. It would be great to have a processor that detects already processed audio and simply keeps out of the way. Again, it would be a very useful feature that apparently doesn’t exist anywhere.
Aleph, no problem 🙂. I’ve been thinking about it for quite a while.
1) Because of the transient nature of plug-ins, it’s extremely difficult to properly protect one. For this reason, I prefer to keep it a standalone program.
2) It can’t be done, for a few different reasons:
1. Breakaway doesn’t play files. It only processes audio as it’s coming through. A signalling (metadata) byte in an MP3 will not end up in the output audio. If implemented, it would have to be as an audio watermark, which is a HUGE project, and very difficult to make it inaudible and robust (=survives mp3 compression) at the same time.
2. Even if I got the detection part perfect, what happens when we detect a pre-processed file? Imagine that the file was processed with French Kiss with the bass turned up, but you’re running Reference Settings with all defaults. If we all of a sudden bypass, it would essentially be an automatic preset change — the subwoofer would blast the listener out of his/her chair. And, what about if you’re using a crossfading player?
It really can’t be done. The only way is to be absolutely disciplined, and NOT let the files go anywhere other than your portable device.. There’s just no other way, in theory OR practice.
Best,
///LeifLeif,
I’m also one of the people that have asked you about this feature and you’ve responded to me before as well. Except, I only asked it to be a winamp DSP plugin. Technically, aleph99, has a great point about just skipping this plug in idea and making a stand alone ‘batch’ converter of regular mp3’s to breakaway processed mp3’s.
This would be so so helpful since a lot of people do like to listen to music in the car on their mp3 players, but compression is a necessity due to background noise. The only other software that, I still presently use to do this, is octimax (developed by yourself) through winamp. I tried some other ‘normalization’ software but it was no match.
Thanks for keeping this idea in mind and for listening to all of our requests!! Breakaway rocks!
Hi Leif,
Before tossing out the option of incorporating your processor somehow in dbPoweramp, take a look at the software. It features a very simple UI, but is extremely powerful. Many broadcast and studio professionals use it to convert their files from one format to another. Nothing else touches it for the price. Spoon, the developer, is just as dedicated to dbPoweramp as you are about Breakaway. If you could figure out a way to combine forces….WOW!!
Leif,
While the batch processing idea sounds totally rockin, I would like to request an even simpler feature: the option to set Breakaway’s output to a software source.
I know faster-than-realtime would be ideal, but for those of us who create our own music or who wish to make well balanced compilations from a variety of source material, a real-time output that could be read and recorded by another program could be even more valuable, and I can’t imagine it would require a significant retooling of the way the program operates. Indeed, it could be based on ReWire or another already existent software protocol.
Please let me know if you have any plans to include such an option in the future, as it would be greatly appreciated.
-N
Hi Bucketh3ad!
The feature you’re requesting is in Breakaway Live. You can use a pipeline to connect the output of Breakaway to any other software, whether the software is a broadcast encoder or a recorder.
Best regards,
///LeifHey Leif,
I have wanted this functionality ever since I became aware of Breakaway. If you recall, I’ve been in need of recording sound processed by BAE but have not been able to do it so far. I’m another dreaded OtsAV fanatic. You suggested last year that I record my sound card’s output with Audacity by using the "What U Hear" driver, but my sound card’s drivers (Waveterminal 192L) don’t give me that option. I’m operating under Win XP Pro. So now you’re saying that I can do what I’d like (capture Breakaway’s signal processing) with Breakaway Live, right?
I know I should probably update my sound card…after all, the 192L is from 2003. But breaking down and buying Breakaway Live would be a solution too, right?
Yes. Breakaway Live is the solution. 🙂
Really, it wasn’t a matter of "how limited can I make Breakaway Audio Enhancer to force people to upgrade". It was a purely matter of "what do I have to do to be able to sell a broadcast quality audio processor for $29.95 to people who aren’t pro’s and don’t want to pay for all these features they don’t need".
Even Breakaway Live is extremely inexpensive compared to other solutions of its caliber, so it’s really not that big of a deal. If you need it, buy it. 🙂
Best,
///LeifHmmm… I downloaded Breakaway Live yesterday and installed it, but no matter what I did I could not get rid of snaps, crackles, and pops, so I uninstalled it and went back to BAE. Maybe I gave up too quickly. But all I want to do is send Breakaway’s output to a file. Seems like that would be a much easier thing to do than to send it to a sound card, but maybe I’m mistaken.
Hi Bryan,
Check the buffer size (for input and output) you’re using in BAE, and set Breakaway Live to the same buffer size. That should take care of it. You can use the Test feature inside the I/O configuration window to easily try different sizes. If there’s snaps/crackles, you probably need a larger buffer size, more buffers, or both.
Best,
///Leif@ All
If you are tired of waiting for Leif’s batch processing feature, you can try my alternative Winamp DSP chain (for audiophile computer expert freaks only), see here:
viewtopic.php?p=2917#p2917Just casting another vote for the recording feature. I’d love to be able to play Led Zeppelin in my car w/o constantly adjusting the volume and something tells me "Radio Magic" would do the trick!
And if this ever gets implemented, one specific request – enable BA to read lossless audio formats (flac).
Thanks for considering it!
Hi Leif,
I tried BAE for the first time yesterday and it’s excellent. For a few years now I’ve been processing my recordings using Winamp with Volume Logic and Output Stacker, which works well (doesn’t seem to be bothered by latency problems). But Volume Logic often sounds too obviously compressed and choppy, so I had a look to see if there was something better.
BAE sounds very much better! So, as there’s no chance of a Winamp plugin to replace Volume Logic, I would love to buy your BAE batch processor when it’s ready.
I’ll keep watching this space.
All the best to you – sorry I hadn’t discovered your work before now.
Nick
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.