Ultra Recorder can run on any Macintosh from an SE to a PowerMac. It only requires System 7. The recording features of Ultra Recorder will be disabled if your Macintosh does not have sound input capabilities. I have tested Ultra Recorder with a Centris 650 and a Macintosh SE. It also works with 32-Bit addressing. Ultra Recorder does not work well with virtual memory with a non PowerMac.
What Ultra Recorder Does
Ultra Recorder can play and convert sounds in the following formats: AIFF and AIFF-C Sound Files, SoundEdit™ Sound Files, Window’s WAV Sound Files (up to 16Bit), System 7 Sound Files, sound tracks in QuickTime movies, sound tracks on Compact Disks, MOD Music Files (thanks to Frank Seide), and sound resources inside applications and other files. If your Macintosh is above an SE, Ultra Recorder lets you play and convert all of these sound formats directly from your disk drive. This means that you will never see another out of memory error again! Ultra Recorder can open sounds inside folders, disks and it will resolve aliases. Just drag a folder, disk, or alias over Ultra Recorder's icon, and it will play all the sounds inside. Ultra Recorder also supports the new Drag Manager (part of System 7.5), which allows you to drag a folder, disk, or alias over Ultra Recorder's main window, and to begin playing. A really neat feature of Ultra Recorder is that it can use the new Sound Manager 3.0 which allow you to play sounds at up to 600% of their normal playback volume. You can access this feature by pressing the shift key before pressing the way cool pop-up volume control slider in the playback and record dialog box.
Ultra Recorder has a state of the art recording interface (not the old fashion Record Dialog Box that System 7 uses) that even allows you to record sounds in the background!!! Ultra Recorder customizes its own menus to meet the features of the sound device you are recording from. Use Ultra Recorder to unlock your sound device's full potential. Ultra Recorder can record sounds in the following formats with up to 6:1 compression (if your sound hardware supports it): AIFF Sound Files, AIFF-C Sound Files, Self Playing AIFF Sound Files, Startup AIFF Sound Files, SoundEdit‚Ñ¢ Sound Files, and System 7 Sound Files. If your Macintosh is above an SE, Ultra Recorder lets you record AIFF Sound Files directly to your disk. This means that you can record for as long as you have disk space available!
Ultra Recorder introduces two new types of sound files: Self Playing AIFF Sound Files and Startup AIFF Sound Files. The Self Playing AIFF Sound File allows everyone to be able to play AIFF Sound Files as easy as System 7 Sound Files with all the advantages of AIFF Sound Files. The Self Playing AIFF Sound File is an application bundled with an AIFF Sound File, similar to what self extracting archives are. Ultra Recorder lets you specify if you want to either play the sound file in the background or in the foreground with your own message displayed while it is playing. The Startup AIFF Sound File is a small extension bundled with an AIFF Sound File that allows you to have an AIFF Sound File play in the background at startup while all your extensions load. Developers: Please contact me if to wish to include these new formats in your applications. My E-Mail address is EJC3@aol.com.
Finally Ultra Recorder has the ability to convert existing sound files into all formats Ultra Recorder supports. Ultra Recorder can convert AIFF, AIFF-C, System 7 Sound Files, QuickTime Movies, Window's WAV, Sound Tracks on CD's, and SoundEdit‚Ñ¢ Sound Files, to any of the formats Ultra Recorder supports.
How To Play Sounds Using Ultra Recorder
Playing Sounds with Ultra Recorder is extremely easy. Just drag a file, folder, or disk over Ultra Recorder's icon, or select 'Open…' from the File Menu. With System 7.5 and the new Drag Manager installed, you can drag sounds directly onto Ultra Recorder's main window. Remember, even if the sound is to big to load completely into memory, if you have a Macintosh above an SE you can play the sound directly from your disk. If you drag more than one sound or folder onto Ultra Recorder's icon, Ultra Recorder will store them in a queue. It will play the sounds in the order you dropped them onto Ultra Recorder's icon or main window. If the file is a supported file type or if it is a folder or a disk, a window like this will appear:
 
In the top portion of the window the name of the sound itself and the file the sound is from is displayed. The red bars in the middle don't do anything, they are just there to look cool and let you know that Ultra Recorder is still working.
The 'Go To Next Sound' button advances you to the next sound in the queue or in the current file. If the current sound is the last sound in the queue, it simply removes the 'Now Playing' window from the screen.
The 'Stop all Sounds' button clears the sounds in the queue and removes the 'Now Playing' window.
The 'Repeat' check box repeats the sound currently playing until you uncheck the box. Pressing the 'R' key is the same as clicking on the check box. You can use the 'R' key if a sound is so short that you do not have enough time to click on the 'Repeat' check box. For memory based sounds, the sound will smoothly repeat regardless of what you are doing (e.g. scrolling a document, holding down a menu, or anything else). For disk based sounds, the sound will not repeat quite as smoothly. Do to a limitation in the 6800 type Macintosh like the SE and Classic, the repeat option does not work and is dimmed.
For help on how to operate the pop-up volume slider see that topic later in the help.
The two icons on either side of the buttons let you know what type of sound is playing. Icons, there corresponding file type, and suffix are displayed below:
 
If you drag a sound onto Ultra Recorder or open it from the 'File' menu and nothing happens, it usually means that the sound format is not supported. If you are sure that the file's format is a type Ultra Recorder can play, then you can add a suffix to the file's name to help Ultra Recorder out. A suffix is a period followed by usually 3 or 4 letters. For example: If Ultra Recorder is not playing a wav file named "TheCoolWavFile", try adding a suffix of '.wav' to end of the file's name. The file would then be named "TheCoolWavFile.wav". Now Ultra Recorder will have no trouble playing the sound. In the PC world suffixes are used for everything. Suffixes are usually only needed when a file has to be transferred between a Macintosh and another type of computer or vice versa. Mac to Mac transfers usually do not require suffixes.
For a neat sound show, try dragging and dropping your entire hard drive(s) onto Ultra Recorder's icon. Ultra Recorder will search through all the files on the hard drive and play every sound on it. It is really cool.
Remember, you can continue using your computer while Ultra Recorder is playing or searching for sounds. Also, you can add more sounds to Ultra Recorder's queue while Ultra Recorder is playing another sound.
The Volume Control Pop-Up Slider
 
The Volume Control pop-up slider is an extremely easy way of controlling the volume of sounds Ultra Recorder plays. You simply click and hold the button with the speaker, and a slider will pop-up. While holding down the mouse button move the mouse up and down and the volume will change. When the slider is at 100% (pictured) Ultra Recorder plays back the sound at full volume, and when the slider is at 0% Ultra Recorder plays back the sound in silence. For people with the new Sound Manager 3.0 holding down the shift key before clicking on the button will allow you to play sounds at up to 600% of full volume. Remember: The main system volume has no effect on what the play back volume is. To control the play back volume use the Volume Control pop-up Slider.
The Ultra Recorder Plugs Folder
Ultra Recorder uses a plugs folder to store files that aren't absolutely necessary for Ultra Recorder to run, but add features to Ultra Recorder. The plugs that were shipped with this version of Ultra Recorder are: MED/OctaMED Converter V1.2, Oktalyzer Converter V1.1, MOD Drivers V2.2.3, MOD PowerPlug V1.1, Ultra Recorder Help Pictures V2.2, and Ultra Recorder's SP Stuff V2.1 (contains resources to make Self Playing AIFF files). If space is tight, you can delete some or all of these plugs. I wouldn't recommend it since you would loose some valuable features that make Ultra Recorder unique. The plugs folder supports alias and folders. If you already have Sound-Trecker you can make an alias of its plugs folder, and put it in Ultra Recorder's plugs folder. If you are missing a plug, contact me at EJC3@aol.com, and I will E-Mail it to you. Ultra Recorder is compatible with all plugs that work with Sound-Trecker by Frank Seide. Just drop the plug into Ultra Recorder's plugs folder and the MOD drivers will be able to use it. Remember: Don't mix different versions of the same plug. You won't be able to tell which version of the plug Ultra Recorder is using. Currently there is no way for programmers to add features to Ultra Recorder using the plugs, but this should come in a later version.
How To Record a Sound Using Ultra Recorder
There are only a few steps to record a sound in Ultra Recorder. When you first start Ultra Recorder, Ultra Recorder will already have selected either the default recording choices or the choices that were selected the last time you used Ultra Recorder. If you wish to customize these choices read on, or else just click on the Record button. The first thing you should select is the sound input device you desire from either the pop-up menu in the main dialog or the sound input device sub-menu located in the File menu. Next you select the desired compression level using the same process as above. Then you select the sample rate, then the sample size, the number of sound channels, and then the file type (more information on all these settings can be found later in this help file). Then you can either hit the record button, or select it from the File menu. That’s all there is to it! One tip to remember is that if you run out of time on your recordings, either select a different compression level, select a lower sample size or sample rate, select a disk based file format (more on this later), or if you use a memory based file format (more on this later) you can increase the memory Ultra Recorder in it's Get Info window in the Finder.
The Sound Input Device Menu
Ultra Recorder allows you to select the recording device you wish to record from. On most Macintosh's there is usually only one sound input device, so you don't have to worry about this menu. But if your system contains more than one sound input device, this menu is a handy feature. One tip to remember is that different sound input devices support different compression levels, sample rates, sample sizes and number of channels, so your choice in sound input devices could affect these menus.
The Compression Menu
For most sound hardware there are 3 compression levels, 1:1, 3:1, and 6:1. 1:1 sounds the best, but takes up the most memory and disk space and 6:1 sounds the worst, but takes up less memory and disk space. The more you compress a sound the more hiss you will here. 3:1 is a happy medium between the two. 1:1 should probably be used if you want really high quality on music recordings. 3:1 should be used if you only need ‘good’ quality on music recordings, and is perfect for voice recordings. 6:1 is for recordings that you don't care about the quality. Remember, lowering the Sample Rate and Sample Size also lowers the amount of memory or disk space a sound will take, and often sounds better than compressing the sound.
If you use sound recording hardware from a company besides Apple, standard compression might not be available. Also, in the future, Apple or another company could offer different compression levels, and Ultra Recorder would be able to support them. The compression levels would be added to the bottom of the Compression menu on the fly.
The Sample Rate Sample Size, and Number of Channels Menus
Ultra Recorder allows you to select the Sample Rate, Sample Size, and Number of Channels for the sound you are recording. The Sample Rate is how often your microphone “samples” (reads) sound into your Macintosh. A higher value means a higher recording quality, but less time to record. The Sample Size is how big each sample is that Ultra Recorder records. A higher value allows for greater precision thus higher recording quality, but less time to record. The Number of Channels determines how many sound channels the device records. A value higher than one allows for stereo sound effects. A Compact Disk uses a sample rate of 44khz, a sample size of 16-Bit, and two sound channels. This is why the quality of a CD's sound is so high. Just remember each time you raise the sample rate, the sample size, or the Number of Channels by two, you are doubling the amount of disk space the sound will take. Also, on standard Macintosh hardware you really will not be able to tell the difference between 16-Bit sound and 8-Bit sound, 44khz and 22khz, or 1 channel and 2 channels. I would recommend experimenting to find the settings that work best for you. Remember: To play 16-Bit sounds on hardware that doesn't support 16-Bit sound output you will need the new Sound Manger 3.0.
The Sample Rates and Sample Sizes available will change depending on the sound recording hardware you select. Also, when a sample size of 16-Bits or if more than one channel is selected the SoundEdit‚Ñ¢ file type is not available.
The File Type Menu
Ultra Recorder can record in the following formats:
System 7 Double Clickable:
This is the sound format System 7 uses. Dragging a file recorded in this format over your System Folder allows you to add it to your list of System beep sounds. To play this sound, you need System 7 and a machine with enough memory to load the entire sound into memory, or you need Ultra Recorder to play your sound. This format is a memory based sound format. The recording time is determined by how much memory you have available.
Standard AIFF:
This format is able to record your sound directly to your disk so you can use all available disk space when recording. AIFF Sound files are easily transferred to many types of computers not just Macintosh's. This format was developed by Apple for storing high-quality sampled sound and musical instrument info; it is also used by SGI and several professional audio packages (sorry, I don't know the names). An extension, called AIFC, supports compression. The computer the sound is being played on needs to be above an SE and have a program that is able to read and play AIFF sound files (like Ultra Recorder). The recording time is determined by how much disk space you have available.
Self Playing AIFF Sound:
This format allows everyone to be able to play AIFF Sound Files as easy as System 7 Sound Files with all the advantages of AIFF Sound Files. It is an application bundled with an AIFF Sound File, similar to what self extracting archives are. This means that you do not need Ultra Recorder to play the sound, just a Macintosh above an SE. Ultra Recorder lets you specify if you want either to play the sound file in the background or in the foreground with your own message displayed while it is playing. This format is also disk based (meaning that the sound you record goes directly to your disk), the recording time is determined by how much disk space you have available.
Startup AIFF Sound:
The Startup AIFF Sound File is a small extension bundled with an AIFF Sound File that allows you to have an AIFF Sound File play in the background at startup while all your extensions load. Ultra Recorder lets you specify the volume the sound is played back at. This format is also disk based (meaning that the sound you record goes directly to your disk), the recording time is determined by how much disk space you have available.
SoundEdit‚Ñ¢:
This format is a sound format that a wide variety of BBS use. It comes from a program called SoundEdit‚Ñ¢ that was the first sound recording program available on the Macintosh. This format does not support stereo, compression or 16-Bit sample sizes, and will be dimmed accordingly. To play this sound, you need a program that can play SoundEdit‚Ñ¢ sound files (like Ultra Recorder). The SoundEdit‚Ñ¢ format is memory based, the recording time is determined by how much memory you have available.
Additional File Types: Play Only
Ultra Recorder can also open sounds in addition to the ones above, in the following formats:
Window's WAV Files:
This is a format by Microsoft and IBM that is similar in spirit and functionality to an AIFF Sound File. Its inclusion in Microsoft Windows 3.1 has suddenly made it important to be able to handle. Just think of WAV files as Microsoft Windows' version of the AIFF file. To have Ultra Recorder recognize this format you should put a '.wav' suffix at the end of the file's name.
MOD Files:
MOD files are music files containing 2 parts:
(1) a bank of digitized samples
(2) sequencing information describing
how and when to play the samples
MOD files originated on the Amiga, but because of their flexibility and the extremely large number of MOD files available, MOD players are now available for a variety of machines (IBM PC, Mac, Sparc Station, etc.)
To play MOD files I use sound drivers from Sound-Trecker V2.2. They are copyright Frank Seide, Wirichsbongardstr. 43, D-52062 Aachen, Germany, e-mail: seide@pfa.philips.de. To use these drivers in your own program contact Frank Seide at the address listed before. Mr. Seide's program, Sound-Trecker V2.2, allows for a lot more control in MOD playing. I would recommend it to anyone who is a serious MOD player.
The Record Dialog Box
 
Ultra Recorder's recording dialog box is like the System 7 recording dialog box on steroids. If you know how to use System 7's recording dialog box, you will easily be able to use Ultra Recorder's. When you open the 'Now Recording' dialog box you should see blue and red bars (on a B/W Mac they will be white) in the middle of the dialog box moving from the left to the right. This is how you know if your recording equipment is set up correctly. If you notice the indicator is always full (red bars fill the indicator all the way to the right side), you might want to lower the volume of the sound you are recording.
The Play-Thru pop-up slider allows you to set the volume the sound from the microphone plays out from Macintosh's speaker while you are recording or waiting to record. This allows you to listen to what you are recording while you are recording. This is especially helpful if you have a different source for recording then the standard microphone, such as a CD player or a VCR. Note: Even with the new Sound Manager, shift-clicking on the pop-up slider will not allow you to Play-Thru at more than full volume. Also, if the hardware you are recording from doesn't support Play-Thru the pop-up slider will be dimmed.
When playing back the sound you recorded, the Sound Play Volume pop-up slider allows you to set the volume the sound plays back at. Note: With the new Sound Manager, shift-clicking on the pop-up slider will allow you to set the sound volume at as much as 600% of full volume.
The Automatic Gain Control check box allows you to turn Automatic Gain Control on or off. Automatic Gain Control makes the recording sound better, and I have never found a reason to turn it off. But maybe you will. Note: If the hardware you are recording from doesn't support Automatic Gain Control this check box will be dimmed.
The options button changes the settings for the current recording device. The purpose of this button will change depending on the sound input device you're using. If your input device doesn't support any additional options, this button will be dimmed.
The Name AIFF Dialog Box
 
After you recorded or converted to a Standard AIFF Sound, a Self Playing AIFF Sound, or a Startup AIFF Sound, Ultra Recorder will bring up a dialog box to name the sound you just recorded. Note: This dialog box will only display the options that are applicable for the type of sound you are currently recording, and that unregistered users won't be able to display their own message while a Self Playing AIFF Sound is playing.
The top portion of the dialog is where you name the AIFF Sound you just recorded. Remember you already selected the folder where the AIFF File is stored, you just have to name the file. When converting sounds, this portion of the dialog box will be dimmed.
For a Self Playing AIFF Sound or a Startup AIFF Sound you can select the volume at which the AIFF Sound will playback at. For more information about the Volume Control pop-up slider see that topic earlier in the Help.
For a Self Playing AIFF Sound you can choose if you want the sound to playback in the foreground or in the background. Background AIFF sounds playback in the background requiring no user intervention. Foreground AIFF sounds playback in the foreground like a normal application, and let the user change the volume at which the sound plays back at, lets the user repeat the sound, and it displays a custom message in a custom color.
The 'What Will It Look Like…' button displays the dialog of the foreground Self Playing AIFF Sound file so you can determine if you like it
Converting Sounds
Ultra Recorder now has the ability to convert sounds to and from a wide variety of sound formats. To convert a Sound, either select 'Convert File…' in the File menu or drag a file over Ultra Recorder's icon or main window (with Drag Manager installed) with the command key down. You then will select which type of sound file the previously selected sound will be converted into:
 
In this dialog, you have 6 choices: A System 7 Sound File, A Standard AIFF Sound File, A Self Playing AIFF Sound File (pictured), a Startup AIFF Sound File, a SoundEdit‚Ñ¢ Sound File, or a Quicktime Movie. After making your choice from the pop-up menu click OK. Ultra Recorder will use its disk based conversion rutines to convert your sound. While conveting sounds, Ultra Recorder is not limited by available memory, only disk space.
Preferences Dialog Box: General Options
 
The general options dialog box allows you to set various option for how Ultra Recorder operates.
The first check box, 'Process sounds in Sub Folders' lets you determine how you want Ultra Recorder to search for sounds. If you check the check box, Ultra Recorder will not only play all the sounds in the folder you've selected, but will also scan any folders contained inside the selected folder, as well as folders within those folders, etc. In fact, you could even select your hard disk with this option checked, and Ultra Recorder would scan all the folders in your entire hard drive for sounds to play. This is actually really neat, give it a try! With this option off, Ultra Recorder only searches for sounds within in the selected folder only.
The next group of options, 'What to do if an error occurs while playing or converting sounds' lets you determine if you want Ultra Recorder to stop and report the error, or if you want Ultra Recorder to simply flash the menu bar and continue. If you don't stop and report the error, you will never no what the problem was. I would probably recommend setting this option to 'Stop and Report the Error'.
The check box, 'Remember Window Position' determines if Ultra Recorder saves the position of the main window, or if simply moves the window to the center of your default monitor each time you start Ultra Recorder.
For people without the new Sound Manager 3.0 the check box, 'Save and Restore Sound Volume' determines if Ultra Recorder saves the main system volume when you start Ultra Recorder and then restores it when you quit. For people with the new Sound Manager, Ultra Recorder doesn't have to change the main system volume to change the volume of a sound being playing, so this check box is dimmed.
Preferences Dialog Box: File Mapping
 
The file mapping dialog box allows you select an application to open each file type Ultra Recorder creates. This is useful if you want to send a file to an Online Service and want to use a standard application. Even if you don't use Ultra Recorder's file type ('SmKr'), Ultra Recorder can still open these files with the 'Open' menu or by dragging the files over Ultra Recorder icon. To change file type you can either type in the application's signature or click on the 'Select Application…' button.
The Apple Menu
About Ultra Recorder. This menu choice bring up Ultra Recorder's About dialog box. In it you can display this help, print or display the order form, and look at Ultra Record's copyright information.
The File Menu
Record… This menu choice bring up Ultra Recorder's 'Now Recording' dialog box. The record dialog box uses the File Type and other options you have chosen.
Open Sound File… This menu choice bring up Ultra Recorder's custom open file dialog box. In this dialog box you can open files, folders, and even disks. After you choose a file, folder or disk to open, Ultra Recorder will display the 'Now Playing' dialog box, and play your sound(s).
Convert File… This menu choice brings up an open file box that lets you select a file to convert. Ultra Recorder will display the 'Convert File' dialog box allowing you to choose what format the selected file is converted into.
Edit an Existing AIFF File… This menu choice brings up an open file dialog box. In this dialog box you can open Ultra Recorder's three supported types of AIFF files. After you choose an AIFF file, Ultra Recorder will display the 'Convert AIFF File' dialog box allowing you to choose what format the existing AIFF File is converted into. Then Ultra Recorder will bring up the 'Name AIFF File' dialog box allowing you to name the AIFF File and set whatever options are available. Note: Ultra Recorder doesn't make a copy of the file you are converting, it simply makes changes to the original file.
Play Current Sound… This menu choice bring up Ultra Recorder's 'Now Playing' dialog box, and plays a previously recorded or opened sound. If this choice is dimmed it means that you haven't recorded or opened a sound.
Display Order Form… This menu choice bring up Ultra Recorder's order form. To scroll through it you move the mouse up and down. Thanks in advance!!
Page Setup… Brings up a dialog box that allows you to set the Paper Size, Orientation, and other printing options for printing Ultra Recorder's order form.
Print Order Form… This menu choice prints Ultra Recorder's order form. Thanks in advance!!
The next five menu choices bring up sub-menus to set Ultra Recorder’s various recording options. These menus are discussed in detail earlier in this help.
Preferences… This menu choice displays Ultra Recorder's Preference dialog box. Complete details on the Preference dialog box can be found earlier in this help.
Quit… This menu choice quits Ultra Recorder.
The Edit Menu
Undo… This menu choice is always disabled.
Cut… This menu choice is always disabled.
Copy… This menu choice copies a previously recorded or opened memory based sound to the clipboard for use by other applications. If this choice is dimmed it means that you haven't recorded or opened a memory based sound.
Paste… This menu choice copies a sound from the clipboard into Ultra Recorder. This sound can now be played in Ultra Recorder. If this choice is dimmed it means that the clipboard doesn't contain any valid sound files, or Ultra Recorder is currently playing a sound.
Bug Reports
If you encounter any bugs (problems) in Ultra Recorder, or if you have a suggestion on how to make Ultra Recorder better, don't hesitate to write me. Please include the version of Ultra Recorder you are using, your System version, the computer Ultra Recorder is running on, the memory allocated to Ultra Recorder (found in the "About This Macintosh" window in the Finder while Ultra Recorder is running), and what you were doing when the error occurred. My address can be found in the "How To Contact Me Section".
ShareWare/CollegeWare Fees
I hate to bring this up… but my ShareWare/CollegeWare fee is only 10$. All registered users will be registered for Ultra Recorder for life, and will receive a personalized certificate from EJ Enterprises to signify that you are an honest, registered user!!! For only 20$ you can register Ultra Recorder and subscribe to the AutoUpgrade program. With the AutoUpgrade program you will receive updates via mail whenever a new version of Ultra Recorder is ready. All Registered users will no longer have to click on the 'Not Yet' button before starting up, your name will appear in a title screen, and all of the features of Self Playing AIFF Files will be customizable by you. If you have a printer, simply select 'Print Order Form' to print out a copy of Ultra Recorder’s order form. If you do not have a printer, select 'Display Order Form', and copy the necessary information.
How To Contact Me
Internet: EJC3@aol.com
American Online: EJC3
Snail Mail: EJ Campbell
EJ Enterprises
4096 Sutherland Dr.
Palo Alto, California 94303
Trademarks and Copyright Info
• SoundEdit is a trademark of Macromedia, Inc.
• The MOD Drivers are copyrighted by Frank Seide and
used under his permission.
• Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer,
Inc.
• Centris is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
• Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft
