A Freeware MacOS sound player and conversion utility.
Release Notes
December 16, 1997
What Is It?
Ever download a sound file from the Internet and not know what to do with it? Want to create a sound file for your WWW site or to give to your PC friend? SoundApp is the solution you have been looking for!
SoundApp can play and convert sound files from a variety of computer platforms and in many different formats. It can be used with WWW browsers to play sounds as SoundApp supports many more formats than any browser or other sound players.
SoundApp can play and convert from the following sound formats:
Ñ SoundCap (including Huffman-compressed) and Studio Session Instruments
Ñ SoundEdit (including stereo, MACE-3 and MACE-6),
Ñ AIFF and AIFF-C (8-, 16-, 24- and 32-bit, MACE-3, MACE-6, IMA 4:1 and ╡-law),
Ñ System 7 sound and 'snd ' resource (including MACE-3, MACE-6, IMA 4:1 and ╡-law),
Ñ QuickTime MooV (soundtracks only, including MIDI movies),
Ñ Sun Audio .au and NeXT .snd (including ╡-law, a-law, 8-, 16-, 24- and 32-bit linear, 32- and 64-bit floating point, G.721 ADPCM and G.723 ADPCM),
Ñ Windows WAVE (including GSM-, IMA- and MS ADPCM-compressed, ╡-law and a-law, 8-, 16- and 32-bit linear),
Ñ MPEG audio (layers I, II and III, requires a PowerPC processor for playback),
Ñ Sound Blaster VOC,
Ñ Many varieties of MODs, ScreamTracker 3 module (S3M), Multitracker module (MTM),
Ñ MIDI (type 0, 1 and 2, including GS and XG; playback only),
Ñ Amiga IFF/8SVX (including stereo and compressed),
Ñ Sound Designer and Sound Designer II,
Ñ IRCAM (8-, 16-bit and 32-bit floating point), and
Ñ PSION sound.
Don╒t know what those are? SoundApp does and will play them without you having to know!
What Does It Need?
SoundApp requires at least System 7.0 and Sound Manager 3.1 or greater (part of System 7.5.3). In addition, QuickTime features require QuickTime 2.0 or greater; however, QuickTime 2.5 or greater is recommended. If you wish to play MIDI files using an external MIDI synthesizer, then Opcode Systems╒ Open Music System (OMS) MIDI driver version 2.1 or greater is required.
What Else Does It Do?
In addition to playing, it can convert sound files to the following formats: System 7 sound and sound suitcase (linear, ╡-law, MACE-3, MACE-6 and IMA encodings), AIFF (linear, ╡-law, MACE-3, MACE-6 and IMA encodings), WAVE (linear, ╡-law, a-law and IMA encodings), Sun Audio and NeXT (linear, ╡-law and a-law encodings), Sound Designer II, QuickTime (linear, ╡-law, MACE-3, MACE-6 and IMA encodings) and PSION formats. It also allows sample rate conversion, translation between mono and stereo and changing the bit-depth of samples. You can also group a set of conversion parameters and select them all at once from a menu. SoundApp comes with a setting to convert to the popular ╥.au╙ format used on the WWW.
SoundApp offers Play Lists which allow you to group a set of sounds together for playback or batch processing. Play Lists can be played in random order using the shuffle mode and/or can be set to repeat. Using the Get Info window, you can learn lots of technical information about a sound file.
SoundApp has extensive AppleScript support to allow you to use SoundApp as part of a custom solution. A feature only available to AppleScripters is the ability to play or convert portions of a sound file by defining start and end points. For more information on SoundApp's AppleScript support, see the AppleScript topic in the Help window.
Playback is done smoothly in the background and you can pause and stop playback. By clicking in the progress bar, you can jump around in a sound file to skip over boring parts or listen to a portion again. SoundApp can also play MIDI files to your external OMS-compatible synthesizer or via QuickTime╒s Musical Instrument facility.
How Do I Use It?
Launch SoundApp by double-clicking on it in the Finder. Then, select the "SoundApp Help" menu item from the Help menu and read the documentation that is displayed. The Help window has multiple topics which you can view by selecting them from the pop-up menu. You will also find extensive balloon help available throughout the application.
What╒s It Cost To Use It?
Nothing! See below for distribution restrictions.
What's New?
The following is a list of changes for the specified version:
2.4.3, December 15, 1997.
Ñ MPEG Layer I and Layer II decoding has been rewritten for better compatibility with joint stereo files, although MPEG-2 Layer II is not supported at this time,
Ñ MPEG conversion on 680x0 Macs now works without FPUs and can convert all layers,
Ñ Fixed a cosmetic problem while changing the selection in a Play List via AppleScript with SoundApp in the background,
Ñ Playing MOD files using the ZSS driver will now obey the ╥Stereo Mode╙ preference,
Ñ Enabled playback of MPEG audio QuickTime files,
Ñ Upgraded to CodeWarrior Professional 2.
2.4.4, December 16, 1997.
Ñ Oops, fixed the volume slider which wouldn╒t move due to changes in the control class of PowerPlant in CW Pro 2.
Legalese
SoundApp is Freeware. You may use it at no cost. However, SoundApp is still Copyright ⌐ 1993-1997 by Norman Franke. All rights reserved. SoundApp may not be included in any for-profit software compilation or bundled with any other for-profit package, except with prior written consent from the author, Norman Franke. SoundApp may be distributed freely on on-line services and by users groups, except where noted above, provided it is distributed unmodified.
You expressly acknowledge and agree that use of SoundApp is at your exclusive risk. SoundApp, any related files and documentation are provided ╥AS IS╙ and without any warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
If you wish to include SoundApp on a CD-ROM as part of a freeware/shareware collection, Web browser or book, I ask that you send me a complimentary copy of the product to the address in the Notes topic of the About window. Also, if you are interested in licensing all of or part of the SoundApp playback and conversion routines see the ╥Licensing╙ section of the Notes topic.
