100 likes | 294 Views
Audio System Basics Part II. Review. Audio input/output (i/o) is generally handled through system extensions. Audio systems define the bounds of what is possible. Applications must be written to use specific audio systems.
E N D
Review • Audio input/output (i/o) is generally handled through system extensions. • Audio systems define the bounds of what is possible. • Applications must be written to use specific audio systems. • Applications communicate with hardware through the use of device drivers. • The audio system in use determines what drivers are available to an application. • Device drivers are usually located in the extensions folder.
Other Possibilities • Proprietary • ASIO
Proprietary Audio Drivers • Proprietary audio drivers are generally designed to be used only by software from one company. • ProTools is a prime example. Non-Digi applications must use a 3rd-party system to access Digi hardware. • MOTU and Digital Performer.
ASIO • The opposite of Proprietary. • Audio Stream Input/Output (Steinberg) • An example of what happens when OS developers fail to address certain computing features that many users want. • 3rd-Party mediator between application and hardware • Applications can be written to use ASIO as their “audio system.”
ASIO cont’d • Applications communicate with an ASIO driver written for either a specific audio interface, or a family of interfaces made by a single manufacturer. • Once ASIO has been chosen as the Audio Output, a pop-up menu appears asking you to select from a list of ASIO drivers contained in that application’s ASIO Drivers folder. • The specific chosen ASIO driver communicates with a device driver in the extensions folder. • Each ASIO-aware app has it’s own ASIO Drivers folder. Drivers must be copied and placed in each folder.
Audio Communication • Software applications communicate with the audio system (extension), ASIO, or a proprietary driver. • Drivers allow an audio system (extension) or application to communicate with a specific hardware interface. • Settings for the system and interface are usually changed with a control panel, except for ASIO drivers. • Settings for ASIO drivers are changed through the ASIO Drivers pop-up window in each application. • Audio setup in an application usually involves choosing what audio driver you want to use as your audio out.
One Potential Problem • Some audio device drivers are “single-client”—that is, only one application at a time can be using it. • MOTU Firewire Audio, MOTU PCI-324 Audio, and Digidesign Direct I/O are all single-client. • If one application is open and has selected any of these drivers, then another application cannot use them. If you try, you might find that neither app can use it. • Since ASIO drivers and Sound Manager drivers both access the proprietary driver, the same limitations apply. • The built-in sound out of the first four Mac’s are all hooked into the mixers as tape in.
Examples • Sound Manager (Sound Manager Drivers) • Peak (Sound Manager—direct to Driver, ASIO, MAS) • Digital Performer (MAS Proprietary, ASIO, Sound Manager) • ProTools and PT/LE (Proprietary) • ProTools Free (Sound Manager) • Max/MSP (Sound Manager, ASIO) • Kontakt (Sound Manager, ASIO, MAS) • Windows—future presentation
Homework • Reading (All from Roads) • Ch. 1, Oversampling, pp. 41 - 42 (multiple-bit only) • Ch. 3, Background through Table-lookup Noise and Interpolating Oscillators, pp. 87 - 95 • Ch. 5, Subractive Synthesis, pp. 184 - 197Pay attention to the Math!