Frequently Asked Questions

	Which xtra should I use?
	Do the xtras process sounds in 'real time' as a sound plays?
	Which versions of Director are supported?
	Can I get a student discount when I buy an xtra?
	What's the best sound format to use with the Amplitude and Amplitude Pro xtras?

Which xtra should I use?

Use the Amplitude Xtra if you want to:

• create animations in sync with the loudness (amplitude) of sound or music.
• lip-sync animated characters to spoken dialog
• draw sound waveforms

The Amplitude Xtra generates amplitude data which you can use to perfectly synchronize sound and movement in Director.

The AmplitudePro Xtra generates spectrum and amplitude data. Use the AmplitudePro Xtra if you want to:

• do anything you can do with the Amplitude Xtra, plus...
• create frequency-based visualizations of sounds using normal Director sprites, imaging Lingo or Shockwave 3D.
• synchronize animations to frequency values.
• create graphical EQ displays.

Do the xtras process sounds in 'real time' as a sound plays?

No, the xtras pre-process sound cast member sample data to generate complete representations of the amplitude and/or frequency spectrum data. This pre-processing is normally quick for uncompressed sounds – the time taken is dependant on a number of factors including the parameters of the sound (length, sample rate, bit depth etc), the xtra settings used (resolution, number of spectrum bands, frequency range, etc) and the processing power of the computer.

Compressed sounds (usually externally linked mp3 files) can take significantly longer to process.

The pre-processing time can be completely avoided at runtime by storing the amplitude and/or spectrum data as Lingo lists in your Director movie and sending this to the xtra before playing the sound - this is very quick even for large lists. The Amplitude Generator and AmplitudePro Generator utilities, included with the xtras, makes this process quite simple.

Both xtras are capable of sending data to Director (projectors and Shockwave) in sync with the playback of sound cast members. The AmplitudePro xtra is capable of sending amplitude and spectrum data to Director simultaneously if needed.

There are some advantages in having data available for the complete sound. For example, it means you can draw the entire waveform and/or spectrum plot for a sound before it plays. You can also manipulate or futher analyse the data using Lingo.

You can download the xtras and use them unregistered in Director to check if the pre-processing time will be an issue in your situation.

Which versions of Director are supported?

The Amplitude Xtra can be used with any version Director from version 8.5 to 11 (Director MX = version 9, Director MX2004 = Director 10/10.1).

The Amplitude Pro Xtra can be used with any version Director from version 8.5 to 11 (Director MX = version 9, Director MX2004 = Director 10/10.1).

Can I get a student discount when I buy an xtra?

Yes. Please contact us for details.

What's the best sound format to use with the Amplitude and Amplitude Pro xtras?

All of the following sound formats can be used with either of the xtras:

AIFF (uncompressed)
WAVE (uncompressed)
SWA (Shockwave Audio)
MP3

Uncompressed formats (AIFF and WAVE) files will be processed more quickly by the xtras than SWA and MP3. This is especially true for large sound files.

Both xtras supports most common sample rates including 48000Hz, 44100Hz, 22050Hz, 11025Hz, 7418Hz and 8 or 16 bit formats.

If you are processing MP3 files then be aware that Variable Bit Rate (VBR) and Joint Stereo encoding is only supported when the xtras are used with Director MX2004 or later.

More important than the sound format is the quality of the recording itself. You will get the best results using sounds with a large dynamic range (the range of loud to soft within the sound - 16bit sounds are best) and without clipping (distortion caused by digital overload during recording).

If you are using the AmplitudePro xtra to generate spectrum (frequency) data then we recommend that your sounds should have a sample rate of 22050Hz. This sample rate usually gives the best spread of values over the entire frequency range