ProAudio Review - July 2008 - (Page 14)

STUDIO | REVIEW the aforementioned dialogs and browsers are simply stripped-down subsets of the MediaBay, which makes access to specific data quicker and more control-surfacefriendly. Sound Frame is the link between the database system and the expanded set of objects and locations throughout the Nuendo GUI that permit the storage and recall of presets. Presets relevant to the selected object type can be stored, tagged, edited, and/or the program’s woeful channel linking and hiding hasn’t effectively improved since N2. Nothing can be added or subtracted from a link group; linking can’t be bypassed/reengaged; links can’t overlap (e.g., an overheads and an all-drums group); and there is no visual indication of which channels are linked. The barely useful “Can Hide” function (Now Convoluted With Command Targets!) are no more than Band Aids. Still only one group of user-selected channels – those set to “Can Hide” – can be hidden in the mixer display, and there’s no option for this to affect the edit-window track display. Steinberg, please take a moment to look at PT’s elegant, unified linked-channel and channel-hiding section. Rant over. | SUMMING BLOCK Nuendo’s speed and exceeding flexibility has been a breath of fresh air, especially following a decade of avid PT use (which I necessarily continue to use when working in area facilities). Integrated features such as networked processing, multi-room and multi-seat project sharing, IP-based collaboration, built-in support for all major project exchange standards and media file formats, and the development-friendly VST plug-in spec all serve to reinforce the open nature of Nuendo. And, of course, as a native application, users’ systems can be configured to specific needs using the wide range of computer components, audio and video interfaces, clocks, and DSP plug-in cards available on the market. Nuendo Version 4 is without a doubt the most ambitious and rewarding upgrade to date. Though its multitude of new post and management features – including top-notch automation and media management systems – have kept me busy with the books for months, I’m looking forward to see what Steinberg will do for an encore. For more information on Stephen Murphy v41.5 please visit www.smurphco.com. New version includes measured increases in S/H (scalpto-hair) and Gear-to-Debt ratios; same userfriendly interface. REVIEW SETUP: I principally used Nuendo 4 on a quad-processor XP Pro system that also includes two TC PowerCore and two Universal Audio UAD-1 DSP cards, an RME Fireface 800, a DeckLink HD video card and a Radikal SAC-2.2 control surface. I also added N4 to a backpack Nuendo kit comprised of a dual processor Dell laptop, a TC PowerCore Compact, a Frontier AlphaTrack controller and a mini Pelican case to protect the Hub o’ Dongles. NUENDO Continued From Page 12 ing – can be crafted. As an avid user of custom macros and key commands – in conjunction with a Radikal control surface and a couple of PI Engineering’s excellent X-Keys USB controller/keypads – I am very excited about the timeline-element specificity added by the PLE, and the creative and labor-saving possibilities it affords. On the utilitarian front, Nuendo 4 includes many new media file and preset management tools. The sheer number and Automation Panel variety of seemingly redundant management features – MediaBay, Loop Browser, Sound Browser, Sound Frame, Search Media, Project Browser and the original Project Pool – was a touch confusing at first, to say the least, but the pieces fell into place eventually. The first key to making sense of this apparent mess is that the above named are, for the most part, spawned from the same omniscient entity called the Media Management System (managed file types include: MIDI; video; Track, EQ and plug-in presets; sound effects, loops and samples; and all project-related files and data). MediaBay is the primary user interface for organizing, tagging, searching and auditioning system-wide and project-related files/data. The MediaBay has expansive search and sorting options, and supports auditioning of files at project-tempo and in sync with the project transport. The second key is that Nuendo historically has emphasized user flexibility, especially when it comes to accessing preference settings and menu commands via shortcuts and hardware controllers. To that end, many of searched using the MediaBay dialogs, or simply browsed, previewed and recalled using a simple list. Portions of presets (e.g., just the EQ) can also be extracted from complete Track presets. A healthy collection of already-tagged and categorized presets for all of the above object types is included. | GLAD YOU ASKED On my wish list for Nuendo: expanded implementation of the [Alt/Opt] modifier as used to affect selected tracks (e.g., as it does now when setting multiple-channel I/O’s and automation write mode, but not when adding plug-ins, setting tracks to Read/Write, record etc.); integrated edit conforming/matching for replacing scratch-res files and matching video cuts; allow the tempo track to be displayed in the timeline like the Marker, Arrange, and Transpose tracks; and build the Project Logical Editor conditions and commands into the macro interface (as line items or subroutines). Lastly, one niggle – please implement the automation write-mode-per-track function on Group and FX tracks – and one old rant: 14 | ProAudio Review | July 2008 www.proaudioreview.com http://www.smurphco.com http://www.proaudioreview.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - July 2008

ProAudio Review - July 2008 Contents Publisher's Page: Inside Broadcast Production Studio News and New Products Steinberg Nuendo 4 Digital Audio Workstation Developments & Trends: Digital Audio Workstation I/O JZ Microphones Black Hole BH-1 Apple Logic Studio Behind The Scenes: JBL Professional – A 60-Year Legacy Broadcast News and New Products WLOY: Real World Facilities For An On-Campus Radio Station Post News and New Products Hot Gear InfoComm 08 Chandler Limited TG1 Abbey Road/EMI Series Limiter/Compressor Live News and New Products Cerwin-Vega! Professional Active Series CVA-28 and CVA-118 Speakers QSC Audio Model GX5 Power Amplifier From The Road: A Week In The Life — Gear Essentials Contracting News and New Products Taming The Driving Factor — Drums UpSampler: sE Instrument Reflection Filter Buyer’s Guide: Live Sound Amplifiers Single Slice: Roger Powell “Fallout Shelter”

ProAudio Review - July 2008

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