V5.0-5.1b New Features, Updates and Bug Fixes

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MicroEditor 5.1 requires an SVGA resolution display and uses color. If the whole MicroEditor screen doesn\'t appear, configure Windows to use the SVGA 800x600 resolution Video driver. V5.1 requires the Krystal DSP Engine and Windows 95 or 98 to run.

The features below are not described in the MicroEditor 5.0 manual that comes with 5.1.

Regretfully, the 5.0 manual was reset by the printing company who did not update the Index References. Thus, all Index referenced page numbers are off by several pages. Please forgive this unexpected problem.

New and Upgraded Features V5.0
[LI]WAV Files - These format files can now be recorded in the Record New dialog box.

[LI]Backup & Restore to DAT Commands - These now backup and restore WAV files used in a project.

[LI] Field Text and Background Colors Customizable - Screen field colors are now user settable, customized for each MicroEditor icon if multiple exist.

[LI]Performance Improvements with V5.0 - Interrupts are processed much faster and run in 32-bit code. The performance improvements are impressive:
[LI]Between 13-19 fade ramps on stereo segments can compute live on-the-fly simultaneously in overlapped segments.
[LI]Waveform Drawing Speed - This is more than 2 times faster that earlier releases. A stereo 44.1KHz waveform 30 seconds long takes under 3 seconds to draw in Edit Segment mode.
[LI]Up to 15 stereo overlapped segments (from stereo files @ 44.1KHz) can mix live on-the-fly with one EIDE drive (expect 10-15 in real-world use).

[LI]Requires Krystal 1200 or 2400 DSP Engine - This is the first MicroEditor release to require the Krystal DSP Engine which installs in a Pentium, Pentium II or Pentium Pro computer with PCI-bus motherboard. We held on for 8 years supporting the older DSP board, it was time to upgrade.

[LI]Requires Windows 95 - Version 5.0 use a Virtual Device Driver for full Windows 95 32-bit operation. This version and all higher will not run under Windows 3.1x. Version 5.0 does not run under Windows NT 4.0.[p]

New and Upgraded Features V5.1
[LI]Play Group Function - A selected Group will play by Shift-Left clicking the Play Icon. Play starts from the current play cursor location. Even if other segments are overlapping, only the selected Group segments play.The GRP DIS Icon must be off (gray background).

[LI]Long Filenames Can Be Used - MicroEditor V5.1a now accepts long names up to a limit of 128 characters. There are some fields in V5.1a that do not show long names. Additionally, MicroCD and MicroTools do not support long names. If long names are used, the project will not be downward compatible with 5.0 or earlier versions.

[LI]Segments, Zones, or Flags in a Project. V5.1a allows up to 32,768 Segments, 32,768 Zones, and 32,768 Flags (Segment + Project) in a single project. V2.5 to V5.1 allowed up to 2,048 each. When saving a 5.1a project, if the number of segments, zones and flags are each less than 2,048, the project mix file automaticallly saves in V2.5 to V5.1 fomat. Exceeding any of the 3 limits saves the project as a new version loadable only by V5.1a and higher. This now allows extremely large projects.

[LI]Multiple MicroEditor Copies Run One at a Time - With a single Krystal DSP Engine, only one copy of MicroEditor can run at a time. However, multiple copies can be loaded and switched to instantly (Alt-Tab), each doing separate operations or having different projects open.

[LI]Two MicroEditor Copies Run Simultaneously - With 2 Krystal DSP Engines in the same computer, 2 copies of MicroEditor can run at the same time. It is possible to be recording a file on one copy and open and edit that same file on the second copy. Further tests are required to prove CD-Recording can be done simultaneously while recording or editing/playing on a second MicroEditor.

[LI]Background Tape Backup - Using an Exabyte Tape drive, it is posible to execute a tape backup of disk files (except the sample files being recorded or projects being created) and return to MicroEditor and perform recording (4 channels has been proven) or project editing with overlapping segments mixing live while backing up.

[LI]64K Buffer Limits Removed - This limit was rarely hit except by those doing very large projects. The limit has been increased to 1,000,000 which should give more than adaquate margins for even the largest projects.

[LI]Windows Interrupts - In MicroEditor 5.1, the interrupt handling has been completely rewritten. The code that has worked flawlessly for 8 years did not perform as well under 32-bit Windows 95 operation. It is now fully upgraded to maximum performance. As a result, other programs running at the same time also perform better.

[LI]Windows NT 4.0 Operation - A special version of V5.1 is available that runs with Windows NT. This must be requested at time of order. Notable omissions include:
[LI]No install program, but there is an .exe program that makes the required Registry installations
[LI]No MicroSync support exists, thus it cannot sync-lock resolve to SMPTE or Video
[LI]No Multimedia Sound Device driver exists for NT, thus other programs cannot play audio through the Krystal DSP Engine

NOTE: MTU does not currently offer customer support for NT. The user must personally understand and be able to solve NT problems.


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Bugs Fixed in V5.1a
[LI]Panasonic SV3700/3900 DATs Continue Recording - Previously, these DAT recorders would drop out of record in 5-10 seconds when recording from the Krystal digital output. This now works.

[LI]Pops at the Start or End - These should no longer occur when playing out the Krystal digital audio output ports (AES/EBU or S/PDIF). Previously, some Krystals added this sound.

[LI]Writing File Flags to Sound Files - This operation failed in V5.1 and now works.

[LI]Move Display Command Lockup - Using this command no longer shows the (53) Unable to allocate sound file data structure error message. Earlier on some systems, this would occasionally appear and lock MicroEditor when the play cursor was outside the View Window.

[LI]Audition and EFX Menu Play Operations Work - Previously, when used with MicroSync and the Sync field was set to SMPTE or Video, if the background color flickered red or yellow, these play operations sometimes failed to terminate.

[LI]Opening V2.4 Projects - These projects would not properly translate up in V5.1. This has been fixed. Previously an (208) Invalid flag list contents error message would appear.

[LI]NOTE: When using a MicroSound external I/O Module that does not contain a digital I/O board, changing either the Play or Record I/O port to DA (Digital AES/EBU) or DS (Digital S/PDIF) AUTOMATICALLY SWITCHES TO KRYSTAL I/O for both ports. For example, if the I/O Option command I/O selection is I/O Module, changing the record port to AES/EBU or SPDIF will play out the Krystal analog port if monitoring.

Bugs Fixed in V5.1b
[LI]Using the Effect Send Icon, if both play and record are set to digital, the output sample rate is crystal controlled, as opposed to synchronizing to the digital record input. Thus, any attached external digital unit must slave to MicroSound\'s digital clock output (normal operation). In all other cases of digital recording, any MicroSound output (analog or digital) synchronizes to the incoming digital signal.

[LI]Fix Audio Pop with Audition Play - Under some conditions on some MicroSound workstations, with Audition play or Spacebar play, when the mouse ????on or Spacebar is pressed or released an audible pop could occur. This did not matter whether playing through the analog or digital port I/O output on the Krystal or external I/O Module. Also if play had been from the analog port, then the digital port is selected and played, the pop occurs immediately. This has been fixed.

[LI]Lockup in Overdub - In a mono project, overdub would not perform correctly. Using a Pentium or Pentium 2 computer with greater than 200MHz clock speed, MicroEditor exhibited random lockups when Overdub with marking is terminated early with the Spacebar. This is now fixed.