SoundSpectrum Update!

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andy55
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SoundSpectrum Update!

Post by andy55 »

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share some inside baseball here on the forums, especially to all the big fans and supporters of SoundSpectrum visuals. Before I begin, I want to acknowledge and recognize the hard work and attention afforded by all the moderators here. They're constantly fighting back spam and extending a helping hand towards users in need, and it's something that's just not possible for SoundSpectrum to do all on its own!

So what are we up to over here in Austin, anyway?!? We sure haven't released any product updates lately, but that's a result of me pouring most of my waking hours into SoundSpectrum's future path these last few months.

As many of us realize, the sun on the desktop is setting. Given the kind of software we sell, it's becoming increasingly very difficult to support ourselves from desktop software sales alone. We all know what's rising up to take its place, but I've been seeking clarity on how SoundSpectrum's 10+ years of vis development can harmonize with the expanding but fickle mobile universe. Throughout these last few years, I've been thinking carefully on a mobile app that isn't just a "me too" and instead offers clear and unique value. If SoundSpectrum went down the mobile path, I wanted us offer REAL value to users, offer something that would leverage SoundSpectrum's existing engineering and visualizers, and offer something that I felt proud to put my name on as a global citizen.

The good news is that after years of inner deliberation and critical analysis, I believe I now have SoundSpectrum's mobile path figured out. And I feel REALLY excited -- as businessperson, engineer, and visual artist. The bad news is that until we ship this new mobile software platform for iOS, all you beautiful supporters of SoundSpectrum won't see much in new releases to existing products until after that. It will be an even longer wait for an Android product, but the release of a special and sharp iOS product will give SoundSpectrum the fuel it needs to create an Android version of our mobile product AND reboot its visual product line. I would have not chosen to proceed down the mobile product path if I didn't think it would take SoundSpectrum and all its loyal customers into tomorrow's paradigm of music listening and the visual appreciation that can go with it. I seriously wouldn't have chosen it, and I never thought I'd be going down the mobile path with so much confidence.

The mobile product under development offers real and measurable utility (unlike many apps out there), and our visuals will raise it to a level that prospective competitors won't be able touch unless they're willing to lay down MANY man-years worth of development. The mobile product, codenamed spectrum, is coming together and the path is now clear, but there's much work still to be done. Every week brings spectrum to exciting places, and we're looking at a spring release. The last time I felt this level of personal and professional development fervor it was all the way back when I was making G-Force 15 years ago! Hopefully, that should say something about my vision and excitement over this path! This has made development go easy despite the kind of hours I'm putting in (and will put in until its released).

In the mean time, I kindly call on everyone to tell their friends and family about G-Force, WhiteCap, SoftSkies, and Aeon. Give them as a gift this holiday season! As always, your support as a customer lets this special little company make special big products!

Andrew O'Meara
SoundSpectrum CTO

FrankN
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Post by FrankN »

Hey guys,

There's been a lot of curiosity about what SoundSpectrum' been up to, so I thought people would be interested in reading this. But, I think the announcement has been lost among the other stickies at the top of the board.

Personally, I'm really excited that we finally get to share this information with you! What do you think? Help us spread the word!

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Post by juxtiphi »

FrankN wrote:Hey guys,

There's been a lot of curiosity about what SoundSpectrum' been up to, so I thought people would be interested in reading this. But, I think the announcement has been lost among the other stickies at the top of the board.

Personally, I'm really excited that we finally get to share this information with you! What do you think? Help us spread the word!
Hi Frank

I cannot find your last email to me although I read it. It's not in my trash or any of the other folders so that's why no reply although I agree with with most of what you said.


Personally I don't see that update as informative as it could be.

My request was for Andy to explain the state of Aeon for those who are complaining about the video tearing and what's being done about it if anything. As a fan of these vis I have no interest in phone apps. These vis should be seen on a monitor or a big screen tv. (just my opinion) I know some have asked for it but I think this is a passing fancy so if those are going to take priority over what you already have then I am not so happy.

There was some good news concerning the toolbar but with all this focus shifting to the new apps how much longer do you think it will be before Andy reincorporates the Save theme function in the toolbar?
Last edited by juxtiphi on Tue Dec 02, 2014 7:00 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Post by FrankN »

They're coming, but it's not as simple as flicking a switch. I can't give you an exact date for the change, but as with all things of quality, it will be done when it's ready.

We're working hard to create new sources of revenue, so that we can open up more resources, and make the changes and fixes to the software that you guys are asking for.

And, as Andy said, the mobile market place is not a fad. I thought it was in 2006, but last year I was dragged into buying my first smartphone. It's undeniable: the way we use computers is changing, and SoundSpectrum must recognize that. In fact, a mobile application is our most-asked-for feature (by a wide margin).

Juxtiphi, in case you want to talk privately, you can find my email address in my forum profile. You can also always reach me through our support ticket site (https://www.soundspectrum.com/support/contact.html), or the
LivePerson chat!

I hope that this straightens things out for you!
Last edited by FrankN on Tue Dec 02, 2014 7:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by andy55 »

juxtiphi wrote:
My request was for Andy to explain the state of Aeon for those who are complaining about the video tearing and what's being done about it if anything. As a fan of these vis I have no interest in phone apps. These vis should be seen on a monitor or a big screen tv. (just my opinion) I know some have asked for it but I think this is a passing fancy so if those are going to take priority over what you already have then I am not so happy.
I've posted to the Aeon topic "tearing" so let's keep the discussion here focused on my announcement. We can focus on the tearing issue in that topic. :)

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ozbeats
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Post by ozbeats »

FrankN wrote:
We're working hard to create new sources of revenue, so that we can open up more resources, and make the changes and fixes to the software that you guys are asking for.
Just as another avenue of revenue, maybe SS could consider any or some of these ideas.

A refer a friend model, with SS credits awarded to those who can successfully bring in new license holders, SS credits redeemable for products or license renewals.

An affiliate model with an in-house referral program for the sale of new licenses (at a rate of 5%-15% commission). HTML or flash banners and splash page material made available to affiliates who are approved.

Bundled licenses (buy all gold or platinum licenses for one marginally discounted price)

Competitions or prize draws for those who are willing to embed SS advertising banners onto their webpage / websites / Facebook profiles / etc.

Just my two cents worth,

Thanks,

Alf Penny in Adelaide, South Australia

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Post by FrankN »

Thanks for the suggestions ozbeats!

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Post by BTT »

Hello All

We have to realise that for SoundSpectrum to remain a profitable company it must seek new markets for it's products. Andy says the desktop is in decline which is a fact, most people are moving to laptops or notepads together with smart phones. It is also a fact that visualisation programs themselves are in decline, sad but true. Another thing to take into consideration is how can the current programs be taken forward, maybe they have reached their technical capabilities..

I believe updates for the existing products may become a rarity if ever as SoundSpectrum as a company has to concentrate on marketing their products to a much larger user base than they previously had.

Many long term users will no doubt feel they are being left out in the cold with no updates since May 2014, however there are four products still available to purchase just as before plus we already have the very best of audio visualisations on the market already.

Good luck SoundSpectrum on your new venture.
.
Regards BTT

ColorMap Creator for G-Force and Aeon --- SoundSpectrum Forum Administrator.

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Post by FrankN »

Hi BTT,

Thanks for your support! We have no plans to ever stop updating our products, though.

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Post by BTT »

Hello All

During my fifteen years experience of SoundSpectrum products, in particular G-Force (the mother of all visualisations) I have a wide and varied circle of friends and acquaintances but none of them have ever heard of SoundSpectrum or any of their products. I have often wondered why I never see advertisements for SoundSpectrum. I believed that word of mouth was the major reason for the companies success. I am now thinking where would SoundSpectrum be today if they had embarked on an advertising campaign, obviously proportional to the companies turnover.
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Regards BTT

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Post by FrankN »

Hey guys!

In case you haven't seen it yet, the new Aeon beta deals with the tearing issue. Andy worked really hard on this, so we'd love to get some feedback from you ASAP on our support ticket site (https://www.soundspectrum.com/support/contact.html).

EDIT:- I think Frank meant G-Force although the same applies to Aeon. BTT

To download the beta installer, go to the URL below, and add yourself to the beta tester's list. You must be a Platinum license holder. Then, download the installer as normal, but choose the "(Beta)" download link.

- https://www.soundspectrum.com/support/beta_list.html

Look forward to hearing from you!

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Post by ozbeats »

Hi Andy, Frank and all at SS,

Today I've installed the newest G-Force and Aeon Platinum beta releases, that incorporate frame rate limiting to the screen refresh rate.

It's working well, but I'm a little confused...

In prior releases in my NVidia Control Panel under "3D Settings" I've always used the Advanced settings to select "V-Sync to ON" and Triple Buffering to "On" (as it claims to improve performance when V-sync is enabled).
This eliminated any so called "tearing" experienced by particularly some other 'AMD GPU' users.

My question is now that frame rate limiting has been implemented in these beta releases, is it better for me to set the v-sync 3d application setting in my NVidia Control Panel back to "Use application settings" and turn triple-buffering' Off?

Or should I leave them enabled too, even though these new beta's have a frame-rate limiting feature integrated?

Is it better for me to only utilize V-Sync integrated within the re-programmed application without doubling down (possibly slowing or staggering / impeding performance) and enabling it too -
within the NVidia GPU 3D Application settings 'profile' - all SS visualizers have one, g-force, aeon and whitecap (both 32-bit and 64-bit) standalone programs.

E.g: Do I keep v-sync enabled on the Nvidia 660Ti GPU side, or return it to the default "use application setting" option?

My concern is enabling it twice may reduce performance, especially if it's already scripted in the visualizer codes....

EDIT: I've just found the "FRAME SYNC MODE" setting in the SS User interface. Now I can 'Sync with Display Refresh rate' or select 'No Sync';

This is amazingly handy, my Windows Media Player already uses some sort of anti-tearing v-sync setting, in WMP (64-bit version)
I've disabled limiting it (selecting No Sync in UI) and can easily get 70-80 FPS in G-force and up to 90 frames per second in Aeon, using WMP without any tearing - flipping fantastic!
My Target Frame Rate in WMP is 90 FPS

I upgraded my pc to 16GB RAM, an i7-4770, Asrock MOBO and 250GB Samsung SSD, obviously worthwhile.

Thanks from Alf :D

Merry Christmas SoundSpectrum! :wink:

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Post by FrankN »

So glad you like it, ozbeats! Did you notice any performance hits when you "doubled down?"

Merry Christmas, to you, too!

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Post by ozbeats »

FrankN wrote:Did you notice any performance hits when you "doubled down?"
From what I've experienced thus far, it may provide a slight hit in responsiveness to music (like a micro delay) when 'Sync with Display mode" is active whilst V-Sync is also enabled on the GPU side.

I will have more of a conclusive idea by next Monday after I test it for dozens of hours over the weekend.... I will post any additional findings :)
I always use SS standalones to visualize DAB+ (AAC Audio) Dance music through my Digital Radio.

Thankyou Frank

from Alf

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Post by jerohm »

although I haven't signed up for the Aeon beta (so, can't comment), I haven't seen any problems, (or significant benefits) with the new GF beta... but I never considered the issues I have experienced, associated with 'tearing'... I always assumed it was resource allocation/processing (delta sleep calculations, in attempts to stabilize frame rates) during transitions. I have all slideshow timing set to ~30 +/- 5 secs. Visually, I experience slow downs (or pauses [AEON], in the worst case), not distortion. Concurrent 'Fraps' invocations offers some of the best insight into operational (in)efficiency. Sprite (initiations), are still a VERY resource intensive operation... which I know, many don't use anyway. Although I see instantaneous framerates north of 60 fps, I can't sustain consistent rates much above 40 fps (@1920x1080) ... and I have pretty decent hardware.

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