ZdNetItalia : Sound Forge (32-bit)

Sample a truly great sound editor
If you're serious about creating and editing digital sound under Windows 95, 98, or NT, take a look at Sound Forge. This high-end audio editor is not only easy to use but chock full of the bells and whistles you need to make your multimedia projects sizzle. Use procedures such as auto trim/crop; graphic, paragraphic, and graphic equalization; volume normalization and fades; time compression and expansion; smoothing and enhancing; and channel and sample conversion. Take advantage of effects such as chorusing, delay, distortion, reverb, vibrato, flanging, and pitch bend and shift. Supported sound formats include .avi, .asf, .smp, .sv, .iff, .v8, .voc, .vox, .pat, .ivc, .aif, .snd, .sds, .au, .sfr, .dig, .sd, and .wav. Tools include a preset manager, frequency modulation, a sampler, and DTMF synthesis. The program also features MIDI and SMPTE synchronization, sampler tools, and advanced editing and navigation. Supported hardware includes DPS Perception, Intergraph StudioZ, Miro DC20 and DC30, Truevision's Targa series, and more. Other features include a Batch Converter, which saves you time and alleviates the monotony of converting and processing numerous audio files; a Spectrum Analysis plug-in, which allows you to navigate easily through data and audio frequency; full support for Sonic Foundry’s ACID product (including a new loop-editing toolbar); and NetShow 3.0 and RealAudio/RealVideo 5.0 support. Whether you want to record a 5-second .wav file, create a 30-minute multimedia presentation, process audio headed for the Internet, or produce studio-quality broadcast audio, Sound Forge has the power that true digital-sound enthusiasts require. This demo contains all the features of the commercial package, with a few restrictions. Most notably, you can't record new data, save any changes, open files in Direct Mode, use the Clipboard to paste data in other applications, or send or receive samples from samplers. In addition, the program will run for only 15 minutes per session, and all previews are limited to a maximum of 10 seconds in length. A 16-bit version is also available.. Reviewed on Oct 3 1998.