Audio in OS X

[Josev Best]

Need info on the state of audio on OS X:

- MIDI
- Digital Audio recording
- Analog in/out

Anyone with info?

[marin]

IT's a bit quirky. I don't think that's very stable now.
I have problems even with standard audio out (you have to play some sound on internal speakers before turning external speakers on).

[Marcel]

I am also having problems with audio. OSX was installed on an iMAC SE. The first obvious problems are absolutely no audio. I played with the settings but not luck. I also could not log onto the internet or retrieve my email or use Sherlock. In addition, printing on my LaserWriter 12-640 resulted in legal size only. And classic environment was unstable and could not maintain the old desktop.

Its only been a few hours since the installation, but these are the first few problems I have encountered. Otherwise, the OS seems stable and easy to use.

If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

Marcel

[garretwp]

Marcel what oyu do in classic is turn your extensions to the macos 9 basics. There are extensions on your os that might not work with classic right at this moment. It should help your problem. I had the same problem and turned most of my extensions off. Now i am always using classic.

[35hz]

I have not had any trouble with Audio in OS X. The Apple CD player has been a bit untrustworthy but, all in all, everything has been working well. I can't wait for OS X and Pro Tools 5 to be on the same page.

[jerseypoof]

I attended WWDC and took many notes on the audio sessions. If anyone would like a copy of my notes, please e-mail me.

Where we are NOW (OS 9):
16 bit, Stereo, 44.1KHz, constant and variable bit-rate formats, growing use of native processing, loose synchronization model.

What's coming in OS X:
24-bit (integer), 32-bit (floating point), 5.1, 11.2 and bigger surround sound modes, 96KHz and higher sampling, more complex encoding, more native processing, hardware acceleration, tight synchronization (over network and with SMPTE).

Audio/MIDI is DRASTICALLY changed from OS 9, but it's going to be worth it. The guys that wrote OMS (Opcode/Open Music System and Studio Vision Pro) are now working to build the OS X audio subsystem which will include superior audio and MIDI support (built in, OS level sequencing, synchronization and software synthesis too - using G4 Velocity Engine!!!).

[ericmurphy]

I've noticed that OS X uses .AIFF files for system alert sounds. OS 9 and earlier used "sound" files, whatever format that is (it's the format that SimpleSound uses). I tried dragging some of the cool system alert sounds I'd created myself out of the system file on my 7200 running OS 8.6 and copying them into the appropriate folder in my OS X install, but of course OS X didn't recognize the format. Is there some cheap, convenient method of converting sound files to .AIFF files so I can use them for system alerts?

[pcurtner]

ericmurphy- try SoundApp 2.7.2, it converts just about any sound file format out there. In OS 9, convert your extra sounds into AIFFs, then in OS X copy them over to your X partition..

You should be able to find it at Tucows.

-pwc