SoundEdit 16

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Sound recording/editing/mixing application for the Macintosh. Released by Macromedia.

Requirements:

  • 68030 processor or faster, including PowerBook, AV, and Power Macintosh native
  • System 7.1 or higher
  • Hard drive with 15 MB free disk space
  • 16-bit sound input hardware required to record 16-bit sound
  • Apple Sound Manager 3.1, AppleScript 1.1, and QuickTime 2.1 (all three included)
  • 13" monitor or larger

Originally developed by Farallon as a digitizing and sound editing application for 8-bit, 22KHz audio, over the years SoundEdit 16 has been upgraded so that now it supports CD quality (16-bit, 44.1KHz), and you can even open and edit QuickTime movie sound tracks. SoundEdit 16 cannot control an audio CD, but it is possible to open a CD audio track and convert it to a QuickTime movie.

Sound is digitized and edited in a waveform window. You select, cut, copy, and paste sections of the audio track. The number of tracks that can be opened at once are limited only by disk space and available RAM. SoundEdit 16 provides basic mixing capabilities — you can choose multiple tracks and mix them together, adjusting their relationship and the volume of each track. This is acceptable for mixing sound effects, but if you want to perform complex mixing, either Deck II or DigiTrax would probably be a better choice.

SoundEdit 16 offers 3D frequency displays, which look amazing on-screen (and may be useful for scientific research comparing different sounds), but they're of limited use to most digitizing and editing applications. SoundEdit 16 also comes with a CD containing sound effects and music clips.

File formats

Opens and saves sound files in the following formats: SoundEdit 16, AIFF/AIFC, Windows Wave (.WAV), Sound Designer II, QuickTime, Sound Edit, System 7 Sound (.SND), Sun .AU, Resource, and Instrument.

Compression support

MA4:1, µ-Law encoding, MACE, MacroMind.

Overview

Create multitrack audio documents

SoundEdit 16's multitrack document allows you to edit unlimited audio tracks and output to any of fourteen file formats and compression schemes. Edit at 16-bit for the highest possible quality, then output finished soundtracks in the format that best satisfies your needs. And deliver on every medium from CD-ROM to the Internet.

Apply powerful signal processing

Eighteen special effects, four tone generators, and powerful editing features provide sound processing without expensive digital signal processing (DSP) hardware. Shape sounds with features like delay, normalize, fade-in, fade-out, and envelope. Shorten or lengthen sound files using the Tempo effect to change the duration of a sound without changing its frequency.

Edit QuickTime audio

Add sound effects and music to QuickTime movies. The SoundEdit 16 movie window lets you synchronize audio to QuickTime video thumbnails with frame accuracy.

Supports 14 file formats and compression schemes

Including SoundEdit 16, AIFF/AIFC, Windows Wave (.WAV), Sound Designer II, SoundEdit, QuickTime, System 7 Sound (.SND), Sun .AU, Resource, and Instrument. Compression support includes IMA 4:1 and µ-law encoding.

Visual analysis

Use spectral views and Fast Fourier transforms for sophisticated visualization of sound to identify frequency patterns or distinguish between two similar sounds. Two- and three-dimensional views can be displayed simultaneously.

SoundEdit automator batch processor

Ease your end-of-project woes with batch processing. Convert bit depth, sample resolution, file format-even apply compression. The SoundEdit Automator can convert any number of files with a single mouse-click. For instance, convert any number of Macintosh AIFF files at 16-bit, 44kHz to Windows WAVE files at 8-bit, 22kHz in a single session.

Professional downsampling options

Space and bandwidth are two of the biggest issues facing digital sound designers. Our new dither and brighten options help you create high quality 8-bit, 11kHz and 8-bit, 22kHz files from 16-bit files-perfect for delivery on CD-ROM and the Internet.

Xtras support

Add new effects, importers/exporters, DSP capabilities, or other useful extensions with Xtras. SoundEdit 16 ships with two Xtras: a loop tuner and a multi-tap preverb.

Advanced compression support

SoundEdit 16 now supports IMA compression, a 4:1 compression algorithm for 16-bit sounds. A wide range of sampling rates and compression algorithms help achieve the best balance between file size and sound quality.

CD audio capture

Import standard audio CD tracks directly into SoundEdit 16, then edit, process, and apply effects just as you would any standard file format. Choose to import an entire CD track or just a selection.

Stereo mixer

The new stereo mixer gives you even more control when mixing sounds, with pan and volume controls. For example, create a sound that moves from the left to right speaker and background to foreground in a multimedia environment.

Internet file format support

SoundEdit 16 imports and exports the Sun .AU file format frequently used on the Internet.

Input level controls

You can now adjust input levels to ensure the best quality audio while recording.

User interface enhancements

The new Macromedia User Interface (MUI) features fully customizable toolbars, a consistent Control Panel interface, and floating palettes for frequently used cue points and labels that make SoundEdit 16 even easier to use. Online instructional materials and a complete context-sensitive help system answer your questions instantly.

Includes over 300 MB of clip sounds

From the EARSHOT SFX Library of professional quality foley, looped, and ambient sounds. The SoundEdit 16 sampler includes hundreds of 16-bit, 44kHz, royalty-free clip sounds ranging from camera shutters and animal howls to designed and textured sounds.

Downloads