RE: [microsound] RE: [personal] [microsound] Ableton Live and MP3

["flippy" <flippy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As I said in my original post, why not decode the files from mp3->wav to
a scratch space on the hard drive when you first load up the sample?

Even without this (which would render the CPU overhead point moot), some
people *do* have hardware that can cope with the overhead.  If you cant
use it, then its not an option, but if you *can*, then why should the
option be taken away, just because some people cant?  This sounds
suspiciously like sour grapes.  We all know that hardware is increasing
in power at a silly rate.  If something isnt possible now, or is
possible only on a high end system, it probably will be in 6 months time
on a budget system.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ::) [mailto:r3dshift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
> Sent: Monday, 7 April 2003 11:57 PM
> To: microsound
> Subject: Re: [microsound] RE: [personal] [microsound] Ableton 
> Live and MP3
> 
> 
> live does not store samples in memory, but rather reads them 
> off the disk
> live, each time the sample is played.  for this reason, mp3 
> support would
> entail an mp3 being read by the drive, decoded, stretched or 
> compressed
> (depending on your warp settings on the sample in Live) and 
> then fx would be
> added on top of that.
> 
> overall, most people recognize that the CPU and system 
> overhead is not worth
> it when you can just convert the sample to WAV and use the 
> sample material
> without the extra CPU overhead.
> 
> -Joe
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "mark" <mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "'microsound'" <microsound@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; 
> <flippy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 8:22 AM
> Subject: [microsound] RE: [personal] [microsound] Ableton Live and MP3
> 
> 
> > It does seem odd to argue NOT to add a feature like this - 
> I mean you
> > don't have to use it and its not difficult to add 
> technically. Curious.
> >
> > Me - I use all sorts of samples - from completely shitty 
> ones recorded
> > on
> > my ipaq to pristine ones digitally created and lovingly edited in
> > Soundforge.
> > They are all grist to the mill. As you say deny yourself nothing - I
> > have a
> > cheap casio home organ type keyboard I bought years ago as 
> a basic midi
> > controller
> > when I was first starting out and I still occasionaly use 
> it for tracks
> > (my son likes the really tacky demo track as well (he's one))
> >
> > I've had a play with Live and I must say it's a pretty cool tool
> >
> > cheers
> >
> > mark
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: flippy [mailto:flippy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of ben dixon
> > Sent: 07 April 2003 07:36
> > To: Microsound
> > Subject: [personal] [microsound] Ableton Live and MP3
> >
> >
> > When I found Ableton Live, I thought I'd found exactly the 
> tool I'd been
> > searching for for ever.  Very impressed - it does 
> everything I need it
> > for, simply and effectively.  Then I found the one fatal flaw.  It
> > doesn't seem to handle mp3's.
> >
> > Since when I play, I use samples and field recordings in 
> both wav and
> > mp3 format, this cuts my palette in half.  I suppose I 
> could get a very
> > large external hard drive, and convert all the mp3's into wav's, but
> > this seems excessive.
> >
> > Especially since it wouldn't be hard to build mp3-wav 
> decoding into Live
> > (like may other audio manipulation software does - it 
> doesn't even have
> > to be done on the fly - decode to the scratch disk when you load the
> > sample...)
> >
> > After reading the various arguments on Ableton's forum, 
> there seem to be
> > as many people requesting that MP3 support *not* be added, 
> as there are
> > people asking for it.  Which seems strange to me - is a less than
> > perfect sample to be discarded, just because it isnt 
> perfect?  How many
> > recordings are degraded by wind or other noise, or poor recording
> > technique?  (some might balk at calling this 'degradation', 
> and label it
> > as 'atmosphere'...)
> >
> > If one is going to bend, warp and filter the sample anyway, what
> > difference does it make if it isnt pristine?
> >
> > And of course, there is content.  A given sample that is 
> available only
> > as an MP3 (downloaded from the net, for eg) may be perfect from a
> > content perspective.
> >
> > Recycle. Re-use.  But neither extreme to the exclusion of 
> the other. Why
> > deny onself every opportunity and resource available.
> >
> > Any thoughts from people on Microsound that make music and do sound
> > installations?
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > ben
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > To unsubscribe, e-mail: microsound-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > For additional commands, e-mail: microsound-help@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > website: http://www.microsound.org
> >
> >
> > 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > To unsubscribe, e-mail: microsound-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > For additional commands, e-mail: microsound-help@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > website: http://www.microsound.org
> >
> 
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: microsound-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> For additional commands, e-mail: microsound-help@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> website: http://www.microsound.org
> 
> 

------------------------------