Multimedia

Applications for creating, designing, editing, converting, and producing multimedia content including sound, video, print media, presentation, animation, and modeling including applications used to play, edit, create, or record audio for purposes of dictation, music, broadcast, or otherwise and applications used to create, edit, or produce video content. Software ranges from simple clip editor tools, to professional video editing software, to DVD production tools. Finally, this category includes software for capturing. Capture software allows you to get a snapshot of something. For example, you could get a snapshot of your computer screen at a particular moment in time or for a period of time. This snapshot could be an image (screenshot) or video (screencast).

There is also capture software designed for capturing presentations, lectures and events

Pro Tools

July 07, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Multimedia

pro-toolsAvailability: Download
Comparable: Audacity, Audition, GarageBand

Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation for Microsoft Windows and OS X developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is a de facto standard for recording and mixing music and is used in most professional recording studios. It can run as standalone software, or operate using a range of external A/D converters and internal PCI or PCIe audio cards with onboard DSP.  Pro Tools records and edits non-destructively and has the ability to process multiple live effects on each channel without altering the original recorded waveform permanently.  This makes editing and tweaking effects and sounds very easy, fast, and intuitive.  Older versions of Pro Tools can also interface with VST’s (Virtual Studio Technology), that can add in virtual effects, instruments, visualizations, sound banks, editing tools, samplers, and more.

Here is a detailed comparison matrix of several DAW software pieces.

Tags: pro tools

Quicktime

August 21, 2014 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Multimedia

new-quicktime-icon

Availability: Labs  |  Download (only needed for Windows)
Comparable: 

Quicktime Player is an extensible multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity.  The basic player is built in to all versions of MacOS and is available for download for Windows.  The player can be used to play a wide variety of audio, graphic, and video files, including some proprietary formats.

Quicktime X for Mac has several additional features including screen recording, movie recording, and audio recording.  Audio and movie recording can be accomplished with a built-in microphone or webcam, or a compatible external microphone or webcam.  Screen recording will only record the entire screen and will not allow you to record a single window or segment.  Record microphone audio is an option when caturing.  These features can be used to produce quick and easy recordings, videos, messages, or tutorials, but it does lack editing capabilities.  Do do editing, try iMovie.

A basic version of Quicktime is integrated into the MacOS and is available on windows systems here.  Quicktime Pro can be purchased through the Apple App Store.

Tags: media player

Reaper

July 07, 2015 by Andy Voelker
Categories: Multimedia

reaper-logoAvailability: Free 60 Day Trial
Comparable: Audacity, GarageBand, Pro Tools, Audition

REAPER (Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Engineering, and Recording) is a digital audio workstation created by Cockos. It is distributed with an uncrippled evaluation license with a nag screen explaining the license cost. It is currently available for Microsoft Windows (XP/Vista/7/8) and Mac OS X (10.4-10.10). Reaper features multi-track recording, a non-destructive editing environment, real-time effects, and VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugin ability for the addition of effects, samples, virtual instruments, visualizations, and more.  Reaper has many of the features and basic abilities of far more expensive DAW’s (Digital Audio Workstation) at a fraction of the cost.

Here is a detailed comparison matrix of several DAW software pieces.

Tags: reaper