RC1

[Jae.Thomas]

v3.rc.1 - May 19 2009
+ Soundtouch fix for crashes at low buffer sizes
+ Fix for occasional MIDI playback dropouts at loop boundary
+ Simpler layout for MP3 render options
+ Full varispeed support during recording (applies SRC to audio if necessary)

[Tallisman]

nice going!
happy to see this moving along!

greetings to all
.t

[Xenakios]

Thanks Cockos for the update!

[semiquaver]

oooh must play with Varispeed...

[d. gauss]

Originally Posted by Jason Brian Merrill

+ Full varispeed support during recording (applies SRC to audio if necessary)

can someone explain this a bit more?

[semiquaver]

well fr example you can record while the playrate is changing: REAPER will convert your samplerate on the way in to keep things working right. Very cool and unique in the DAW world, no?

[bogo]

+ Fix for occasional MIDI playback dropouts at loop boundary

Ah good. I was wondering what was happening to some of my loops. But that was breaking sometimes in a good way. Reminded me to put some break here and there in the loops!

[heylow]

So....

What does "rc" stand for?




[dt]

[dub3000]

release candidate. if there are no showstopper bugs found than this is reaper v3.00.

[heylow]

Originally Posted by dub3000

release candidate. if there are no showstopper bugs found than this is reaper v3.00.

Ah.....I was guessing at "Really Close". Same difference, I guess!


At any rate....awesome!



[dt]

[Dstruct]

Originally Posted by Jason Brian Merrill

+ Simpler layout for MP3 render options

Still not good enough. Still confusing!

1. These blanks in front of the last "quality" entries look bad (once the entry got loaded).

2. "Fast" mode should be an dedicated ceckbox only availbale if VBR is selected as mode.

3. The "Custom" modes just give me a "?" in my brain. What are these for exactly? Why isn't one "Custom" mode enough? Don't get it.



The LAME 3.98.2 help says this:

OPTIONS:
  Input options:
    --scale <arg>   scale input (multiply PCM data) by <arg>
    --scale-l <arg> scale channel 0 (left) input (multiply PCM data) by <arg>
    --scale-r <arg> scale channel 1 (right) input (multiply PCM data) by <arg>
    --mp1input      input file is a MPEG Layer I   file
    --mp2input      input file is a MPEG Layer II  file
    --mp3input      input file is a MPEG Layer III file
    --nogap <file1> <file2> <...>
                    gapless encoding for a set of contiguous files
    --nogapout <dir>
                    output dir for gapless encoding (must precede --nogap)
    --nogaptags     allow the use of VBR tags in gapless encoding

  Input options for RAW PCM:
    -r              input is raw pcm
    -x              force byte-swapping of input
    -s sfreq        sampling frequency of input file (kHz) - default 44.1 kHz
    --bitwidth w    input bit width is w (default 16)
    --signed        input is signed (default)
    --unsigned      input is unsigned
    --little-endian input is little-endian (default)
    --big-endian    input is big-endian


  Operational options:
    -a              downmix from stereo to mono file for mono encoding
    -m <mode>       (j)oint, (s)imple, (f)orce, (d)dual-mono, (m)ono
                    default is (j) or (s) depending on bitrate
                    joint  = joins the best possible of MS and LR stereo
                    simple = force LR stereo on all frames
                    force  = force MS stereo on all frames.
    --preset type   type must be "medium", "standard", "extreme", "insane",
                    or a value for an average desired bitrate and depending
                    on the value specified, appropriate quality settings will
                    be used.
                    "--preset help" gives more info on these
    --comp  <arg>   choose bitrate to achive a compression ratio of <arg>
    --replaygain-fast   compute RG fast but slightly inaccurately (default)
    --replaygain-accurate   compute RG more accurately and find the peak sample
    --noreplaygain  disable ReplayGain analysis
    --clipdetect    enable --replaygain-accurate and print a message whether
                    clipping occurs and how far the waveform is from full scale
    --flush         flush output stream as soon as possible
    --freeformat    produce a free format bitstream
    --decode        input=mp3 file, output=wav
    -t              disable writing wav header when using --decode


  Noise shaping & psycho acoustic algorithms:
    -q <arg>        <arg> = 0...9.  Default  -q 5
                    -q 0:  Highest quality, very slow
                    -q 9:  Poor quality, but fast
    -h              Same as -q 2.   Recommended.
    -f              Same as -q 7.   Fast, ok quality


  CBR (constant bitrate, the default) options:
    -b <bitrate>    set the bitrate in kbps, default 128 kbps
    --cbr           enforce use of constant bitrate

  ABR options:
    --abr <bitrate> specify average bitrate desired (instead of quality)

  VBR options:
    -V n            quality setting for VBR.  default n=4
                    0=high quality,bigger files. 9=smaller files
    -v              the same as -V 4
    --vbr-old       use old variable bitrate (VBR) routine
    --vbr-new       use new variable bitrate (VBR) routine (default)
    -b <bitrate>    specify minimum allowed bitrate, default  32 kbps
    -B <bitrate>    specify maximum allowed bitrate, default 320 kbps
    -F              strictly enforce the -b option, for use with players that
                    do not support low bitrate mp3
    -t              disable writing LAME Tag
    -T              enable and force writing LAME Tag

  MP3 header/stream options:
    -e <emp>        de-emphasis n/5/c  (obsolete)
    -c              mark as copyright
    -o              mark as non-original
    -p              error protection.  adds 16 bit checksum to every frame
                    (the checksum is computed correctly)
    --nores         disable the bit reservoir
    --strictly-enforce-ISO   comply as much as possible to ISO MPEG spec

The --preset switches are aliases over LAME settings.


To activate these presets:

   For VBR modes (generally highest quality):

     "--preset medium" This preset should provide near transparency
                             to most people on most music.

     "--preset standard" This preset should generally be transparent
                             to most people on most music and is already
                             quite high in quality.

     "--preset extreme" If you have extremely good hearing and similar
                             equipment, this preset will generally provide
                             slightly higher quality than the "standard"
                             mode.

   For CBR 320kbps (highest quality possible from the --preset switches):

     "--preset insane"  This preset will usually be overkill for most
                             people and most situations, but if you must
                             have the absolute highest quality with no
                             regard to filesize, this is the way to go.

   For ABR modes (high quality per given bitrate but not as high as VBR):

     "--preset <kbps>"  Using this preset will usually give you good
                             quality at a specified bitrate. Depending on the
                             bitrate entered, this preset will determine the
                             optimal settings for that particular situation.
                             While this approach works, it is not nearly as
                             flexible as VBR, and usually will not attain the
                             same level of quality as VBR at higher bitrates.

The following options are also available for the corresponding profiles:

   <fast>        standard
   <fast>        extreme
                 insane
   <cbr> (ABR Mode) - The ABR Mode is implied. To use it,
                      simply specify a bitrate. For example:
                      "--preset 185" activates this
                      preset and uses 185 as an average kbps.

   "fast" - Enables the fast VBR mode for a particular profile.

   "cbr"  - If you use the ABR mode (read above) with a significant
            bitrate such as 80, 96, 112, 128, 160, 192, 224, 256, 320,
            you can use the "cbr" option to force CBR mode encoding
            instead of the standard abr mode. ABR does provide higher
            quality but CBR may be useful in situations such as when
            streaming an mp3 over the internet may be important.

    For example:

    "--preset fast standard <input file> <output file>"
 or "--preset cbr 192 <input file> <output file>"
 or "--preset 172 <input file> <output file>"
 or "--preset extreme <input file> <output file>"


A few aliases are also available for ABR mode:
phone => 16kbps/mono        phon+/lw/mw-eu/sw => 24kbps/mono
mw-us => 40kbps/mono        voice => 56kbps/mono
fm/radio/tape => 112kbps    hifi => 160kbps
cd => 192kbps               studio => 256kbps

LAME User Interface Guidelines:

You should try to provide an user interface as simple as possible, avoiding too many options.

* "target" bitrate/quality allows choice betwen VBR or CBR/ABR. According to selection, CBR/ABR or VBR options should be grayed out.
* "encoding engine quality" allows 3 choices: fast, standard or high. This option is not mandatory.
* a checkbox allows to encode in mono (LAME will downsample). There is no choice between different stereo modes, as the default mode should be optimal. Other modes are likely to decrease quality.
* CBR/ABR: a slider allows bitrate selection. LAME will use CBR only if the specific checkbox is selected. Default mode when targetting a specific bitrate whould be ABR, as it provides better quality than CBR.
* VBR: a slider allows quality selection between 10 and 100. This slider is specifically aligned with the CBR/ABR one in order to give a visual indication of the resulting bitrate of the different VBR quality levels.
A menu is allowing choice between the two VBR modes of LAME 3.x.
* A small note is indicating that the encoder used is LAME (as required by the LGPL license). If the name "LAME" is problematic by itself, something similar to "encoding technology by Mp3Dev.org" could also be suitable, although specifically mentionning LAME is prefered.

In most cases, there should be no need to provide other options. The ones offered in this example screen should already provide optimal results in the vast majority of situations.

http://lame.sourceforge.net/lame_ui_example.php


Why so complicated and confusing in REAPER?


FIXED

[dub3000]

i reckon the reaper one is great now. it's basically just one drop down box.

[mrgrimm]

hello,

in rc1 for osx intel, touch automation for plugin parameters still behaves like
latch mode when using a midi controller and midi learn.

[zappsunzorn]

Notice that all versions are now RC not beta. Looks like all versions will be normal release versions. Reaper OS X will not be beta for much longer it seems.

Has it been out of beta for a while now? Did I overlook something?

[mikeroephonics]

I think the RC version is only a few days old.

- Mike

[artkau]

Originally Posted by zappsunzorn

Notice that all versions are now RC not beta. Looks like all versions will be normal release versions. Reaper OS X will not be beta for much longer it seems.

Has it been out of beta for a while now? Did I overlook something?

The readme for osx still indicates that REAPER 3 RC1 is in fact still BETA as a mac build.

[Evan]

Great stuff guys... but I am baffled by your lack of interest on the little things/nitpicks I and others have pointed out.

Let me take the simplest one as an example...

"Insert new MIDI item" creates an "Unitled MIDI event". Is it too much of a hassle to change a string or two in the code? Is it unimportant that you're calling things by different names in different parts of the program? And if it's something I am missing (very probably), anyone that has the courtesy of politely telling me to shut up on this (or other) issue?

That was just an example, you can call things whatever you want, 'events' 'items' 'boxes with stuff in them'... I'd just like to at least see a slightly more polished final v3 in terms of the minor stuff.

Cheers!

PS. But I do appreciate all the good stuff that's in v3 and all the improvements you've worked on.

[mio*star]

I hope the Mac version is still beta, as Reatune is unusable as is in beta10 : clicks and pops everywhere ...

[BoxOfSnoo]

Originally Posted by mio*star

I hope the Mac version is still beta, as Reatune is unusable as is in beta10 : clicks and pops everywhere ...

The OSX version is still pretty pathetic, yeah. There has been what, 7 betas and they're completely incapable of fixing, for example this: http://forum.cockos.com/showpost.php...8&postcount=58

Not to mention that the POD farm AU still crashes reaper consistently.

I think Reaper is becoming shelfware for me. I will have to use GarageBand, I guess. If I could afford Logic Express, I'd be gone.

[artkau]

Originally Posted by BoxOfSnoo

The OSX version is still pretty pathetic, yeah. There has been what, 7 betas and they're completely incapable of fixing, for example this: http://forum.cockos.com/showpost.php...8&postcount=58

Not to mention that the POD farm AU still crashes reaper consistently.

I think Reaper is becoming shelfware for me. I will have to use GarageBand, I guess. If I could afford Logic Express, I'd be gone.

er... I'm not looking for trouble, so lets not pursue this, but I have always used reaper on mac and though its not cooked yet, I love it. Have Logic Pro in a box on the floor.

[lunker]

Originally Posted by Evan

"Insert new MIDI item" creates an "Unitled MIDI event".

I think it's the terminology you're using. A "MIDI Item" contains "MIDI Events" (notes, CC messages, pitch bend instructions, etc.). So "Insert new MIDI item" does what it should.

There does seem to be a mix-up with Ctrl-F2 for MIDI Items. The dialog is labeled "MIDI event properties" while I would prefer to see "MIDI item properties". It is, after all, howing us the properties of the item, and not of each event inside it. Perhaps the ideas is that it shows the collective properties of all events in the item, but I think "MIDI item properties" would be a more accurate label.

Pressing Ctrl-F2 for a note (or other event) from inside the MIDI Editor gives a dialog that is correctly labeled "Event Properties".

[DarkStar]

I'm pretty sure that Evan's point was that the "thing" created should have the name "Untitled MIDI item".

[lunker]

Ah yes, I see. My time scale was large enough that the label wasn't visible, which caused me to misinterpret the message. When I zoomed in, I see what you mean. My bad.

[Chris_P_Critter]

Is it still "illegal" to post details outside the Reaper Pre forum? So, could I post a pointer thread in another forum to this thread?

[Jae.Thomas]

Originally Posted by Chris_P_Critter

Is it still "illegal" to post details outside the Reaper Pre forum? So, could I post a pointer thread in another forum to this thread?

yes, you can.

[BoxOfSnoo]

Originally Posted by artkau

er... I'm not looking for trouble, so lets not pursue this, but I have always used reaper on mac and though its not cooked yet, I love it. Have Logic Pro in a box on the floor.

Yeah, I said for me. If I had money, like I said, I could even buy a new modeling package. I kinda depend on the Line6 stuff because it's an "all in one" thing that is super easy to set up and go. Unless your host crashes or just refuses to use it. In which case, it kills the moment, and you just don't bother launching it again.

[Chris_P_Critter]

Originally Posted by Jason Brian Merrill

yes, you can.

right on - Thanks Jae.

[shogger]

Originally Posted by Jason Brian Merrill

+ Full varispeed support during recording (applies SRC to audio if necessary)

Nice one! Can see that come in handy ...

Shogger

[Jonas_Eriksson_Swe]

Originally Posted by mio*star

I hope the Mac version is still beta, as Reatune is unusable as is in beta10 : clicks and pops everywhere ...

I use ReaTune on Macosx and haven't had a single pop or click... Wish I could help with some great settings but on my MBP using an FA-66 (or the onboard audio) it just works without any tweaking.

Regards,
- Jonas

[airon]

Spiffing release. Bet I'm not the only one glad that 3.0 is almost out the door.

Concerning the MP3 encoding settings :

Originally Posted by Dstruct

Still not good enough. Still confusing!

Putting "Quality" in front of a dropdown menu, that contain a bunch of presets is the thing that gets me confused. "Preset" is a much better choice IMHO.

There are other interfaces to set up encoding quality, and LameDropXPd is by far the easiest to use for lossy encoding that I ever found. It is as follows:


You could probably have the slider do both VBR and ABR/CBR settings, depending on a radio checkbox as in this interface. VBR should naturally be the default.

You'll find LameDropXPd and it's OGG counterpart at http://rarewares.org . Perhaps this is useful.

[Numinor]

Teh REAP is looking great. No problems found here.

I would still beg for an option to copy the automation data associated with an item when you ctrl+drag the item to copy it. This would make it so easy to use REAPER in a more "Pattern based" way when needed. Maybe I overlooked something... did I?

Anyway. 9 thumbs up. This was such a cheap investment for a non-commercial license... i feel like I robbed somebody

[Kainer]

Originally Posted by BoxOfSnoo

The OSX version is still pretty pathetic, yeah. There has been what, 7 betas and they're completely incapable of fixing, for example this: http://forum.cockos.com/showpost.php...8&postcount=58

What you say is true.

http://forum.cockos.com/showpost.php...0&postcount=62

since 3beta-1 I think.


me staying relaxed. I can work with this. but would like to know why new things get implemented and other old bugs/nitpicks stay untouched (seemingly).

[drillbit]

I think you will find the line6 PodFarm problems are common in other apps and related to issues that Line6 have not fixed. It's pretty messy software. Strangely the old plugin 'Gearbox' worked fine.

PodFarm is one of the only plugins that doesn't run well in Reaper for me. I also have plugins that don't run in Cubase but are smooth in Reaper. Reaper is definitely the more solid app.

IMHO

[jplanet]

Originally Posted by drillbit

I think you will find the line6 PodFarm problems are common in other apps and related to issues that Line6 have not fixed. It's pretty messy software. Strangely the old plugin 'Gearbox' worked fine.

PodFarm is one of the only plugins that doesn't run well in Reaper for me. I also have plugins that don't run in Cubase but are smooth in Reaper. Reaper is definitely the more solid app.

IMHO

I'm curious about the details on the PodFarm problems - I just finished a project with 13 tracks of PodFarm and not a single hiccup...I want to keep it running that way, so please let me know what features to avoid!