[FR] Blind A/B Testing for All Plugins

[Held]

I really love MCompare for it's loudness matched blind A/B testing capabilities, but it takes a lot of time to setup properly.

What I would love is this functionality placed into individual plugins. So you can listen to dry signal and any number of the A-H preset selectors without knowing which is which. Then you select the one you like the most and it gets revealed which version it is.

[vectorwarrior]

How could that be added without adding more complexity to the UI? You could hide it behind a keyboard shortcut (e.g. control click the A-H buttons) but then 99% of users wont be aware of it.

What I'm getting at is that melda products are fast becoming inaccessible to new users. As someone who spends a lot of time trying to keep up with the additions to melda products, even I find it hard to keep up with the UI/UX. The average user is going to struggle and the UI is already VERY busy, especially for people that are new. There has to be a balance between features and accessibility and if things are already possible with an existing product, I think there has to be a really compelling reason for more clutter to be added.

[Held]

A/B testing is an essential part of mixing and sound design, so making it as easy as possible should be a priority. People who need it will look for it. There's already an A/B button in the Toolbar which could be used.

I never had the impression that Melda plugins were for the average user. They are for users who appreciate their power and are willing to deal with the complexity that comes along with it. That being said, the easy screens are a great option for those who don't want to deal with the complexity and still benefit from the amazing sound quality.

[mibby]

...
What I would love is this functionality placed into individual plugins. So you can listen to dry signal and any number of the A-H preset selectors without knowing which is which. Then you select the one you like the most and it gets revealed which version it is.

This is really good idea! There's already plugin-to-plugin communication in place with MMultiAnalyzer and MAutoAlign, etc. It seems like any of the Melda plugins upstream of MCompare could become a "listener" for MCompare. Then have MC or the user assign those to the A-H slots to do a comparison at each point -- OR -- a BLIND compare as you said. Yeah, that would be cool!

[Hexspa]

How could that be added without adding more complexity to the UI?

Make the A/B button half width. When you push it, the label changes from A to B or just do an archaic-type character where A and B are combined like AB; or maybe a lightswitch icon. Right next to it you could put an eye. When you push it the eye closes and the GUI gets hidden. We already have F1 for tool tips so it wouldn't be a stretch to hit it a few more times to understand the additional functions.

becoming inaccessible

Becoming?

[MeldaProduction]

Hehe that's simple to do - close your eyes, place the mouse on the A/B, click a few times quickly without counting, you are good to go . THat's how I do it anyways

[Held]

THat's how I do it anyways

That's how I do it too.

I just think having dedicated functionality would be better. Especially since the current approach only lets you choose between two options.

[MeldaProduction]

True. But extending it to all options would be quite problematic. I usually just end up with 2 settings eventually .