© Copyright 1995 Jeff Moore & Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., All rights reserved.
Legal Speak
You may make copies for personal use. You may NOT
upload this utility to any online service, network,
bulletin board, or the Internet. You may NOT make
copies for any comercial purpose. Distribution is
limited to Ziff Communications online services and
electronic publishing projects. This software is provided
"as is" and in no event shall Jeff Moore
or Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. be liable for any damages.
Purpose
This drag and drop application will convert from one
sound file format to another optionally changing the
sample rate, byte depth, number of channels, start
point and end point. Note that SoundSmith is also
scriptable and recordable via AppleScript. See the
application dictionary for more information.
System Requirements
Processor: 68020, 68030, 68040, PPC601
RAM: 1MB
Minimum System Required: System 7.1, ObjectSupportLib
(PowerMacs only), for Audio CDs: Apple CD-ROM driver
4.0, Foreign File Access 4.0 (with the Audio CD translator)
& QuickTime 1.5
Recommended System: System 7.5, ObjectSupportLib (PowerMacs
only), for Audio CDs: Apple CD-ROM driver 5.0.1. Foreign
File Access 5.0 (with the Audio CD translator) &
QuickTime 2.0
Disk Space: more
PowerMac Users Only
If you don't already have the ObjectSupportLib installed,
place the ObjectSupportLib into your Extensions folder
on your startup drive. Do this by dragging and dropping
the ObjectSupportLib file onto the closed System Folder
icon in the Finder.
Supported Formats
-Sound Designer II (file type: 'Sd2f')
-Audio CD (file type: 'trak', read only)
-AIFF (file type: 'AIFF')
-Microsoft WAVE (file type: 'WAVE')
-System 7 Sound Files (file type: 'sfil')
-QuickTime Movies (file type: 'MooV')
Dialog
How To Use
1. Find an audio file that you want to process that
is in one of the above formats.
2. Drag and drop the file's icon on the application's
icon.
- or -
Launch the application and select "Open..."
from the File menu.
3. Use the dialog that comes up to adjust the parameters of the process.
4. Use the play back controls to listen to the sound.
5. Click on "Apply" to apply the current
settings to the current file.
- or -
Click on "Apply to all" to apply the
current settings to all the pending files.
- or -
Click on "Skip" to skip processing the
current file.
- or -
Click on "Skip All" to skip the current
file and all pending files.
6. Use the ensuing Standard File dialog to choose where to save the output.
While using the transform dialog keep the following
in mind:
1. All times are given in samples
3. Any sample rate between 1 and 100000 samples per
second is valid.
4. Cropping doesn't apply to multiple files (ie. when
you hit "Apply to all," the cropping setting
does not apply to the following files).
5. When you select "Apply to all", the application
uses the chosen directory to save all the following
files.
6. When entering numbers into the edit text items,
the value doesn't become "active" until either
a click occurs outside of the edit text box or the
Enter or Return key is pressed.
A word about Audio CDs
In order to read audio data stored on an Audio CD, you
must have either the Apple CD-ROM driver or a driver
that is 100% compatible. Also required is the Foreign
File Access system extension with its Audio CD support
file. I recommend version 5.0.1 or later of these
pieces of software for best results. If you get an
error while trying to access an Audio CD, it most likely
means that you are either missing one of the above
pieces of software or you do not have the correct version.
Also note that the conversion dialog is slightly different for Audio CDs. All times in this dialog are in minutes and seconds (it isn't possible to access Audio CDs at the sample level). Other than this minor difference the dialog functions basically the same.
Known Bugs
-can only convert Audio CD audio to QuickTime movies
(with QuickTime 1.6.1 and earlier) or AIFF files (with
QuickTime 2.0)
Mechanisms that are known to work:
-Apple CD300 (all varieties)
-Sony 561, 7811, and 55S
-Toshiba 3401 and higher numbers
-Plextor 4X
-NEC 3x and 4x models
Mechanisms known not to work:
-Apple CD SC (all varieties)
-Apple CD150
-most single speed mechanisms
Chart indicating sound quality and file size for some
common hardware
(note: file size is indicated in units of megabytes
per minute of audio)
Quality | Sample Rate | Bit Depth | # Channels |
File Size|
CD audio | 44100 | 16 | 2 |
10 |
Mac IIci* | 22254.545 | 8 | 1 |
1.25 |
Mac Q605* | 22254.545 | 8 | 2 |
2.5 |
PowerMac* | 44100 | 16 | 2 |
10 |
Mac Q840AV*| 44100 | 16 | 2 |
10 |
* = stats for capability of built in hardware
Version History
1.1.3, 4/2/95
-fixed a math bug that occasionally caused glitches
when doing sample rate conversion
1.1.2, 3/29/95
-found some initialization code that was inadvertantly
left commented out (caused -2020 errors when reading
from an audio CD)
-fixed some miscellaneous cosmetic bugs
1.1.1, 3/24/95
-fixed major flaw in the logic of the translation from
16 bits to 8 bits and from 8 bits to 16 bits
1.1, 3/13/95
-added QuickTime support of sorts (doesn't support direct
cropping and previewing and can only output AIFF files)
1.0.1b1, 2/12/95
-added support for recursively processing folders and
disks
-fixed nasty crash bug that occurred when cetain limit
case errors occured
1.0, 1/27/95
-changed Byte Depth to Bit Depth
-changed Byte Depth & Number of Channels edit text
items into pop up menus
-fixed the problem with saving the output file over
the input file
1.0b9, 1/26/95
-fixed some problems with the PowerMac implementation
1.0b8, 1/26/95
-did some code optimization
-fixed some bugs related to optimization
-added a pop up that enters common sample rates
-made the entire start and end indicators active for
dragging
-turned on compiler optimization
1.0b7, 1/25/95
-Added System 7 Sound File support
-Fixed play back bugs that dealt with updating the current
indicators and looping
-Fixed dealing with 8 bit files
1.0b6, 1/24/95
-Added WAVE support
-reverted to original QuickTime based Audio CD handling
1.0b5, 1/23/95
-Added AIFF support
-fixed more playback bugs
-fixed a few translation bugs
1.0b4, 1/20/94
-fixed a few playback bugs
1.0b3, 1/19/94
-added Audio CD support
-fixed several bugs in the playback code
1.0b2, 1/13/95
-fixed bug that caused non 8 bit mono files to playback
incorrectly
-adjusted playback buffers for better performance on
slower machines
-hooked up range slider to file player
-fixed some miscellaneous control bugs
-app now quits when started by a drop from the Finder
1.0b1, 1/12/95
-initial release
Contacting the Author
Please report all bugs to:
Jeff Moore
Internet: JCM10@aol.com
America Online: JCM10
Distribution Information
ZMac's SoundSmith is © Copyright 1995 Jeff Moore
& Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., All rights reserved.
ZMac's SoundSmith is distributed as Ziffware, and is
NOT public domain or shareware. You may make copies
for personal use. You may NOT upload this utility to
any online service, network, bulletin board, or the
Internet. You may NOT make copies for any commercial
purpose. Distribution is limited to Ziff Communications
online services and electronic publishing projects.
If you obtained ZMac's SoundSmith from any source other than MacUser, ZiffNet/Mac or a Ziff-Davis Publishing division please contact:
ZiffNet/Mac
301 Howard Street, 15th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
USA
ZiffNet/CompuServe: 72511,75
Internet: 72511.75@compuserve.com
Limitations of Remedies
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS.
IN NO EVENT SHALL JEFF MOORE OR ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING
COMPANY (HEREAFTER "COPYRIGHT HOLDERS") BE
LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT OR
SIMILAR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST
DATA ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE
SOFTWARE OR ANY DATA SUPPLIED THEREWITH EVEN IF THE
COPYRIGHT HOLDERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY
OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY.
SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
IN NO CASE SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS' LIABILITY EXCEED THE PURCHASE PRICE FOR THE SOFTWARE.
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