Version 1 customers, check to see is what is new and improved in Version 2.

Tip - View the online demos to get a preliminary technology overview. - Nothing to install. Just click and view.

Summary

Sound Mill is a sound effects player and organizer intended for use by sound designers, engineers and operators for amateur theater, radio shows or other audio productions where sound effects are desired.

For Theater and Radio

Organize a complete sound plot for a show to execute sound cues. The automation manager allows you to play multiple sound cues concurrently and fire them at timed offsets with precision in the milliseconds. Pipe the sound to configurable zones -- a lobby PA, stage speakers, and 3D speaker systems .

In-Store Music and Announcements

Play music programming with scheduled announcements that suspend the music track. The automation manager makes it a snap to switch to a new set of music selections and/or a different script of announcements. Schedule announcements by time of day or a time offset from the start time of the automation Script. Announcements can be any of the audio formats shown below -- recorded by you or purchased recordings.

Key features

• Audio file formats supported   - Play most any audio file. Supported formats include: WAV
  plus now MP3, WMA, MIDI (MID), AU, AIFF (AIF), MPEG (MPG), and WMV
  Virtually any size . For video formats, only the audio portion will play, video is ignored.
• Use with other audio programs  - Use Sound Mill and other audio software (ex. Windows Media Player - WMP) simultaneously.
• Automation Manager   - Build automation Scripts to play sequences of sounds sequentially or at timed intervals.
• Scheduler   - Schedule automation Scripts to start at a given time of day for pre-show and intermission music and announcements.
• 3D Sound  - Full 3D Sound capability when a venue has a 5.1 or 7.1 sound system. Simulated 3D Sound with 2.1 sound systems. Fully configurable.
• Fx Effects  - Fx effects including: Chorus, Compressor, Distortion, Echo, Flanger, Gargle, Waves Reverb, and Param Eq. Fully configurable and use in any combination.
• Select Output Devices  - Play music on the lobby PA and production sound cues on the stage tower speakers.
• Sorting/Merging   - Sort your sounds by Name, Category or Act/Scene. Merge lists together with one click.
• Drag and drop productivity  - Use Windows Explorer or other file manger to drag and drop audio files into your Sound List.
• Manual play mode   - Oversized buttons for play, stop, pause and resume. Adjust volume, pan left/right.
• Start and Stop Play Markers  - Markers allow you to start and/or end play at any position in the sound file.
• Fade In and Out Marker  - Fade markers allow you to fade the sound in or out at any position in the audio file. You can set the fade speed (faster or slower) and the target volume level to which it will fade to.
• Auto Volume and Pan  - Fade or gain volume at a set speed. Pan left or right at a set speed. Loop back in the other direction automatically.
• Preemptive play mode   - Play causes all playing sounds to suspend until a preemptive sound ends. (useful for injecting timed announcements into a music program).
• Loop play   - Play one sound in a continuous loop. For example, put a short clip of rain falling into a loop, then play thunder claps randomly.
• Delay   - Set a time to delay before and/or after playing a sound (Pre/Post Delay). Useful for separating sounds in automation Scripts.
• Multi-Play   - Set the number of times to repeat a sound.
• Copy and Paste Editing   - You can copy a sound with all of its configurations and paste as a new sound. Move sounds up or down in sequence with one click.
• Mass Updates   - Save time by making mass edits to a selection of Sound Items in one operation.
• Password Protection   - Password protect your work from tampering or unauthorized use.
• Find   - Advanced searching on various fields (name, description, audio filename).
• Default Values   - Save default values used when creating new Sound Items.
• View/print reports   - View a report (a.k.a. sound plot) showing the list of sounds and configurations applied to each sound. You can save as a file and print the report. Set the level of information and detail to include.
• Custom Skins   - Prevent eye strain in a darkened theater or venue by using a dark program skin. Create your own with your preferred colors.
• Repair   - It is common to move audio files to new folders. The repair feature can reset audio file paths when files get moved.
• More...   - This is the short list of features. See the Sound Mill online help files for a complete description of all features.

= new in Version 2

DirectX Advanced Features

Advanced program features marked with the Microsoft DirectX® emblem are only available for audio files in WAV format. DirectX is a free Microsoft download (see program prerequisites for required version). DirectX will use advanced functions of your soundcard hardware (when available) or simulate hardware effects in software.