Acceptable Media File Types

[lallis]

Cantabile seems unnecessarily tetchy about the media files it will play. It expresses worry every time it's fed VBR MP3 files. At least I think VBR is the problem--its complaint is unspecific. After a click, it plays the supposedly-problematic files perfectly well.

Just now I noticed it will not play a WMA file at all. That seems downright wrong in a Windows-only program. Sooner or later, that will put almost all users out. I have not tried OGG, APE or FLAC files, but I now expect trouble from those as well. Have other users found a list of acceptable file types?

None of this will be hard to live with, once it's figured out. But are there any plans to lengthen the list of supported media files?

[slowmotionstorm]

I get the same error/warning message you do when i load an mp3 file. However, It still plays just fine. I usually only load .wav files because they have better sound quality. I don't get any warnings with .wav

[lallis]

Thanks for the confirmation! Wav is always accepted here, too. For tracks to accompany jazz piano solos, a decent MP3 usually sounds good enough, and compressed formats have obvious logistical advantages.

It would be good to load them bother-free.

[lallis]

Just for general information:

Some investigation shows that only .MID and .WAV files are supported by the Cantabile media player as of version 2048. (EDIT: SAME IN v. 2050)


MP3 files do play, after acknowledgment of a warning that the file type is "only partially supported" and may not play sample-accurate.

All WMA, OGG, APE, and FLAC files are refused with a "not supported" message.

[TiUser]

I also would appreciate a simpler handling of media files.

In general the media player could be enhanced... Maybe I missed some stuff out but is there something like beat/bar synced start of a clip or an easy way to loop beat/bar accurate sections within a clip?

[lallis]

Hello, TI! Gute neues Jahr.

I also would appreciate a simpler handling of media files.

In general the media player could be enhanced... Maybe I missed some stuff out but is there something like beat/bar synced start of a clip or an easy way to loop beat/bar accurate sections within a clip?

What specifically were you thinking of when you spoke of "simpler handling of media files"?

The handling seems to be pretty decent now, but you always have cleverer and clearer ideas than I about new ways of doing things.

[TiUser]

...maybe "simpler handling" is not quite the appropriate term...

Concerning the sync I ask myself if I can trigger the next clip in a media group while stop/start transition happens synced to the next beat or bar...

I didn't use themedia players for much more than playing a backing or recorded snippets so forgive me if I ask...

[lallis]

I didn't use themedia players for much more than playing a backing or recorded snippets...

That's the only way I use them, too. I was wondering if you had found unusual schemes, since you are always thinking of new things.

I do have some MIDI keys designated to act as Start/Stop and Start/Pause toggles. Those make it easier to practice at the MIDI keyboard without turning to the computer.

Not very original, I'm afraid. If my keyboard had some sliders and knobs, I could probably think of more things to do along those lines. But the Fatar SL880 was mostly a piano keyboard, with very few MIDI controls.

[TiUser]

I am tempted to reply to your interesting answers more in detail

I was wondering if you had found unusual schemes, since you are always thinking of new things.

Indeed I am thinking about some "abuse" of the media players... But the players are just one piece of the cake...

Backings are just an inflexible static way for accompaniment and I do not like it very much for jamming and improvisation.

I am still after some replacement for arranger like auto accompaniment. But for one or another reason no software works satisfying. The least problem is to find accompaniment styles in the net, but... you usually don't find a software tone generator that reflects the sound they were programmed for. Especially no chance with the better sounding Yamaha XG styles or such with megavoice technology. On the arranger side the only program that works somehow like a keyboard is "livestyler"... but I don't trust this thing - it's unreliable. There are some other programs but it's a pain to use them... but anyway, the tone generator problem remains.

Now if you try thinking of alternatives there are additional problems. One problem is cord recognition. Think of the Ableton live way playing clips. These can almost triggered like sections on an arranger keyboard but you can not harmonize these in real time. Arrangers basically use patters around the Cmaj7 cord notes and transpose each note by a NTT - note transposition table - that dynamically changes transposition of each note in the pattern reflecting the cord you play left hand. That's a part of the style accompaniment technology. I haven't seen this in any modular form like midi VST or whatever.

Back to something more practical... I usually like at least to have some drums and bass to jam with. Bass needs NTT, luckily drums not. To get this from the Cantabiles media players in an arranger style way I could imagine one media player group for bass snippets and a second for drums snippets. The sections should switch both synced with the bar... so here we are basically with the media players...


I do have some MIDI keys designated to act as Start/Stop and Start/Pause toggles. Those make it easier to practice at the MIDI keyboard without turning to the computer.

That's what you even need some more buttons for to switch the media players the way I suggested above...


Not very original, I'm afraid. If my keyboard had some sliders and knobs, I could probably think of more things to do along those lines. But the Fatar SL880 was mostly a piano keyboard, with very few MIDI controls.

Well, I'm a kind of setup manic too, but... guess no surprise - isn't it?

Knobs on a keyboard can be nice and useful but I start to hate them because it makes it very difficult to stack them without a fancy stand - I am still after a more organ like setup where the keybeds are very close to each other... but there are very few boards - mostly entry level stuff without aftertouch - that come plain, without knobs... I also start thinking some of the many small midi controllers can add what one misses in control - like the Korg nano controllers - and you can put these always where you want them, for instance on top of a board stack...

Interesting that you mention the Fatar Studiologic series... I fancy with one of these too as I want to go a bit more serious with hammer action. Fatar has generally a very high reputation in terms of quality and playability. My dream is the Numa Nano, light in weight, small for an 88, stylish and without knobs and faders so I can easily put a lighter synth board on top of it.


The story ends here by now... maybe there are some interesting ideas in here... as never stop to change perspective when looking at things...