crazycarl, I'm listening to your input. We have been seriously considering removing ZIP from Hoster, and you're fueling that thinking.
Also, ZIP is another step that adds a slight delay, when we begin the "audio stream" moving towards playing. We are not beta testing Tempo change, improved Key change sound, and crossfading. These are all in the "audio stream". ZIP is an exception I don't want to spend time handling.
However, since you don't use ZIP files, you can't imagine how many do. We would be way behind the market if we didn't support ZIPs. As it is, our Hoster sales are growing monthly.
Let me give you a little history, which you already know, but haven't thought about it this way.
1. We were secure using Plextor drives. However, talking with Plex at the VP of New Products level, it was made known to us they were removing the hardware chip that did the CDG (RW lyrics/graphics codes) decoding. Without this, Microstudio would die... and Hoster soon after. ZIP support was added JUST IN CASE we didn't get our own software error correction fixed before there were no more Plextor drives with CDG decode. BTW: All other CD/DVD drive makers had long since removed the CDG decode. So why do I HATE ZIP? MANY ZIP users have bootleg files. They have no clue what OR WHO created them, what compression was used (Tricerasoft uses MAX that even WinZIP and Windows Media Player can't open - but Hoster 3.3 now can), and they get them on CDROM which imports as READ-ONLY that can't be deleted after played, and about 11 other errors that we have solved one customer at a time. If we could get the errant ZIP file, we could and did solve IT'S problem.
2. It took us 3 calendar years to perfect our software error decode. This was a VERY expensive and engineeringly complex endeavor. You know MTU strives to be the best in the world. It now, from our testing, gives you the best quality CDG lyrics of any product. That, carl, is a MEGA new feature.
3. Support drives that never before were usable for CDG importing or burning. MTU has sold and supported CDR drives since 1992. We FULLY understand the problems of supporting drives. We used to upgrade Microstudio and Hoster to support new drives about 4 times a year. However, the day after a new drive was available on the market, we started receiving DEMANDS (many were very nasty) to provide support for it. It was depressing. We tried two different ways to accomplish this task. We now identify all installed drives, auto-test them for CDG so you don't need to, and allow you to select WHICH CD/DVD drive you want to use (our Tools menu > CD/DVD Drives Default command). We have the most automated and flexible drive support on the market, and Microstudio's closest competitor is $80 versus $50 for ours.
3. Windows Vista... what can I say. Microsoft literally stopped selling XP for a few months. NO MTU products would run with Vista. If you want to consider panic, which I rarely do, that few months drove us to focus ONLY on being able to run with Vista. We got there, but in a non-Microsoft approved way; disable the User Access Control, which is part of their security. It worked though. With Hoster 3.320, we now believe we are fully complying with Microsoft's "Vista standards". It is the most illogical thing I have seen in my 40 years as President/Product Developer. Your Songs Database, Playlists, Error/Bad-file lists, KMA files are now spread in vastly different paths. It is nearly impossible for us to say how to backup your KMA files IF you put them in the Default Folder Vista DEMANDS you use. Put them on an external USB drive and be safe. PERIOD! We found one point Friday that is not up to "MTU Standards". When you are upgrading Hoster from any prior version, our programmer goofed. After the install, he is looking for Songs Database in the new Vista compliant folder, but YOURS is still under \Hoster\Databases where it has always been. So, when Hoster first comes up, all the Add Track fields (BookID, Brand, Search), are blank and you'll think MTU ***** you again. If you run Tools > Build Songs Database, which creates it in the new Vista compliant path, everything appears and runs normally. We will have 3.321 out Tomorrow, Lord willing, that will automatically detect an existing Songs.mdb in the old path.
4. Loosing KMA Files - How can 65,000 files disappear in a few seconds? The Windows NTSF (old FAT) table got messed up. How did Hoster do that? Beats us!!!!!!!!!!
As part of our ZIP support, we must unzip the CDG and MP3 files before we can play them. Afterwards, we have to delete those unzipped files so the next ZIP can play. Well, Microsoft won't allow us to delete them quickly, and it turns out if the ZIP was loaded to the computer using a CDROM given to you by someone else (you do understand the implication don't you), the MP3 and CDG files are set by Windows to READ-ONLY and NO Application program can ever delete them. So how do we free them up after being unzipped? Delete the \Temp folder Windows default unzips them into. OK. Sounds reasonable. Little did we expect that Windows uses the \Temp folder, for example by Word, in a way that if the \Temp contents are deleted, whatever files that had been accessed there... the MASTER files... are auto-deleted by Windows. So how do 65,000 songs disappear? They were ALL ZIP FILES, and had all been unzipped to convert them to KMA format to index in our Songs Database. Never... NEVER in my 40 years of developing ~140 products have any of them EVER deleted a single user file, or even lost as much as a single edit! I can't say that ever again. This was the worst nightmare to ever hit MTU. We found and fixed the problem in 3.320.
5. The BIG new features that you refer to being requested year after year all require CORE ARCHITECTURE upgrades. You're not aware, but Microstudio 4 has our new SoundManager architecture upgrade in it. We have been "proving" this player architecture upgrade for months now, in preparation for Hoster 4 using it FREE OF BUGS... or as free as is humanly possible. FYI: This allows:
A.
Cross-fade - This required playing 2 songs simultaneously, in sync. SoundManager allows up to 10 to play in sync; a very complex job to do, bordering on writing our own Audio Operating System.
B.
Selectable Output port - Hoster 1, 2 and 3 are "hard wired" to the default port. Microstudio 4 now has selectable ports (part of the new SoundManager) and Hoster 4 will shortly.
C.
Preview Play - Everyone "told" us they wanted 2 playlists. Why? So they could crossfade and preview play. Well, our Playlist is the heart of Hoster. It saves everything you do instantly so even with a computer crash you can be right back at the same point in your show within seconds to minutes (if reboot is required). If we created 2 playlists (like carts in other programs), suffice it to say it would double our work at many times. I tested the concept of adding Cross-fade into our Playlist and everyone screaming for 2-carts, said "that'll work". I tested the concept of adding Preview Play into the Add Track Search dialog box so you could find a song, and listen to the audio while the Playlist continued unimpeded. Everyone said "that'll work". So we are adding it.
D.
Tempo Change - We almost have the audio code ready to go. Once it is, then we must make the Lyrics rendering code follow the speed-up and slow-down. The audio Tempo change has been under development since August. We are now getting to the "final bugs" point that every new feature must reach before we know we are "almost there". It's been real touch and go for half a year on this feature. MEGA... you bet!
E.
Improve Key Change Quality - Only about 2-3% of Hoster users complain, but we know we can do better. With the new audio stream processor, it is expected to be better. To do Tempo change holding Pitch constant (i.e. not "Speed change"), requires Key changing in proportion to the Tempo change. Thus, these two features go hand in hand. Once Tempo quality is there, we'll address Key change quality, which should go quickly.
6. If you look at the Hoster Version Upgrades page, I believe you'll see 69 upgrades since 3.310. Of those, 47 are classed NEW, meaning 22 are bug repairs. NO OTHER Competitor adds new features to "bug repair" releases. They hold them all up and make you pay for them. Don't be fooled by their "lifetime free upgrades". They change the product every year and you must buy a NEW version next year to get anything new. Not MTU, and having been with us since 2003, you know first hand that I'm telling the truth. With rare exception, those 47 were requested by Hoster users. We've been trying to get to 4.0 for almost 2 years. Finally I said ENOUGH! We're now solidly on 4.0, between finding why KMA files disappear, moving to full Vista compatibility and a few other problems that shook our world.
So what's coming in Hoster 4.00x over the next year, we hope? Well, you'll have to wait a little while longer because I'm going to be late to Sunday School if I don't stop now. I'll return later today and post more.