S-DAT@Stationary (head) Digital Audio Tape. A digital audio tape recording format using a magnetic tape cassette and a fixed head design which was under development at the same time as the R-DAT. On S-DAT machines, two channels of PCM-encoded digital audio data were split out to over 20 longitudinal tracks on tape, plus 2 tracks for cue and auxiliary data. S-DAT tapes and mechanisms were similar, but incompatible with R-DAT (also known simply as DAT), which became the industry standard since their introduction in 1987. See also DAT.@S-Video@Video/Multimedia term; Separate-Video. A higher-quality variant of Composite Video, which maintains luminance and chrominance signals separate; also records and plays back video at a higher bandwidth than ordinary Composite Video (see definition).@S/PDIF@Sony/Philips Digital Interchange Format. Format for digital transfers of stereo audio, timing and data, originally developed by these two companies; now an IEC subset of the AES/EBU standard. Typically uses RCA (phono) connectors and unbalanced two-conductor cable (one conductor plus the shield); this is also known as a "coaxial" connection. 75¬Ω ohm cable is highly recommended, and cable length should never exceed 10 meters. (Toslink connections are are used for S/PDIF digital audio transfers over optical cable, particularly on consumer gear.)
Data is organized in 192-bit blocks, each composed of twelve 16-bit words. Commonly found on semi-pro DATs, and many audio interfaces for DAWs. May incorporate SCMS copy protection (see definition), which limits consumer-oriented devices with the appropriate chip to only one digital copy, which cannot in turn be copied again digitally. This is accomplished with a data flag in bit 2 of the control data block, which some devices may choose to ignore. See also SCMS, AES/EBU, S/DIF.@S1@Plug-in software product by Waves. A psychoacoustic processor for enhancement of stereo images. Available as a "plug-in" module for various DAW architectures.@SA4@Same as Pro Tools 442 Audio Card, see definition. (The term SA4 often appears in Digidesign technical documents and "Read Me" documents. The name originally indicated that the 442 audio card was something like a four-voice Sound Accelerator.) See 442 Audio Interface.@SADiE@A DAW product line for Windows/Pentium computers., which includes SADiE Classic (2 ins, 4 outs), SADiE 24√°96 (8-32 ins and outs) SADiE Artemi (8-32 ins and outs, SADiE Portable, and SADiE Octavia (8 In-8 out, or or 8 In-24-Out). There is also a propietary SADiE plug-in format. SADiE systems consist of software, audio cards (PCI in current systems), plus external audio interfaces known as "breakout boxes". As a general rule, SADiE audio cards include direct SCSI connections for external hard disks and tape drives. SADiE's headquarters are in Cambridgeshire, England - there are also US and European distributors (based in Germany).
Also: Scenarist NT DVD authoring software, various hardware peripherals, peripherals for 5:1 Dolby AC-E encoding & decoding, etc. In many cases SADiE sells as a complete system (including the host computer in a rackmountable enclosure), although it is fully expandable, and components can be purchased separately as the needs change.@Sample and Hold (S/H, S&H)@An analog circuit, which captures (samples) a voltage level, and maintains (holds) that level until the next sample is taken; it is essentially a switched capacitor. The rate of sampling is controlled by pulses generated from a master clock reference. In synthesizers, Sample & Hold circuits are used to generate a series of values at regular time intervals, which can be used as a modulation source for filter Cutoff Frequencies, or the pitch of oscillators, etc. If the sampled source is an LFO, this progression of values can exhibit an audible sweep, or be more random when the sampled signal is a more complex waveform. S&H circuits also form part of the input (and output) converters on digital audio systems. Their clock reference must be very stable to avoid Jitter (see definition), and there must not be any voltage sag, or droop, between sampling periods. The conversion time, or aperture time, of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is the minimum window of time during which a voltage must be analyzed, in order to register its amplitude and digitally encode that information. The actual level of the input waveform continues to change during this window of time (no matter how short it is), which introduces an error factor. Placing a S/H Circuit before the ADC captures a single, constant value which is held for the duration of each sampling period, thereby avoiding this amplitude uncertainty.@Sample Dump Standard (SDS)@An early amendment to the MIDI specification, defining a standard for transferring digital audio samples (with loop points) over MIDI. Due to its relatively slow transfer speed, this method is now considered less desirable than RS-422 serial transfer, direct SCSI transfers, or a newer standard, SCSI MIDI Device Interface (SMDI), which permits initiating SCSI transfers of audio samples within the MIDI environment.@Sample Rate, Sampling Frequency@Refers to the number of sampling periods per second, during the digital recording/playback process (i.e., the number of amplitude "snapshots" taken each second). Typically measured in kHz. Higher sample rates permit capturing higher frequencies, but generate a greater amount of data. The choice of higher Sampling Rates can affect processing speed and storage capacity considerations, particularly for disk-based digital audio recording. See Nyquist Theorem, Aliasing, Resolution.@Sample, Sampling@Sampling is the process of capturing a series of data at fixed time intervals. A Sample is a single value (often converted to a digital word) representing the data registered at each particular point in time, in a series of changing input values. Audio waveforms can be digitally recorded in this way, by periodically registering the changing voltages produced by the input signal (that is, taking 44,100 amplitude "snapshots" each second), and converting them to digital data for storage and playback. The quality of a digital audio recording will depend principally on two factors; the number of voltage measurements taken per second (Sample Rate) and the level of precision used for the numbers representing the data (Bit-Depth, or Resolution). Audio CDs reproduce 44,100 of these 16-bit words per second for each channel of audio. In other words, their Sample Rate is 44.1K, at a Resolution of 16-bits. Related terms: Sample Rate, Resolution/Bit-Depth, Nyquist Theorem, Aliasing, Sampler, Sample & Hold.@SampleCell@Sample playback card for both Macintosh and Windows which can be accessed as a MIDI instrument from within MIDI and audio programs. Loads Sound Designer, AIFF and .WAV files/regions into its onboard RAM, directly from any disk on the computer. Includes SampleCell Editor software. Three versions have been introduced by Digidesign over the life of the product: SampleCell, SampleCell II (both NuBus), and SampleCell II Plus - which also supports Windows.
32-voice polyphony, 16-part multitimbral. Onboard RAM; various cards can be installed in the same computer. Includes CD-ROMs of banks, instruments and pre-looped samples.@Sampleposing@A style of composing. Inputting a bunch of prerecorded loops, liks, riffs, grooves, chords, burps, what-have-you onto a hard drive and then slicing and dicing the files with a DAW into a creative arrangement (a song).@Sampler@A digital audio recorder and/or playback device, designed to play back audio samples in musically useful ways. Differs from other digital audio devices in that the sound is recorded and played back from RAM, instead of directly from disk or tape. Another distinctive feature of samplers is that the playback frequency of each sample can be varied according to the MIDI note received, or in response to Pitch Bend. Groups of samples are mapped to consecutive areas of the keyboard and MIDI velocity ranges in order to very realistically simulate the full range of an instrument. Seamless loops may be used to achieve sustained tones from shorter sample segments. Since 1994, some high-end samplers have also begun to offer limited direct-to-disk recording and playback.@SAW Plus@Software Audio Workshop. Multitrack audio editing and recording software, from Innovative Quality Software, for Windows computers with an appropriate audio card.@SchmigMan@Cool Breeze Systems logo. The running hipster; a real legendary hep cat.@SCMS@Acronym for Serial Copy Management System, an audio copy-protection scheme developed by the RIAA, in an effort to impede widespread digital reproduction (or "piracy") of copyrighted audio material by consumers. Inserts a copy-protect flag into byte zero (bits 6 and 7) of the subcode area of the digital audio data, when recording from an S/PDIF digital input. This flag indicates to another SCMS-equipped digital recorder that subsequent digital copies of that copy are prohibited. Detected via a circuit installed in consumer-type digital audio recorders; SCMS can be a problem if consumer gear is used in professional audio production for S/PDIF digital audio transfers. Pronounced "scums", SCMS only affects audio transfers at 44.1KHz sampling rate over an S/PDIF digital connection; it is not used in professional AES/EBU digital connections. See also AES/EBU, S/PDIF.@Scratch Vocal@A reference vocal track, which will later be erased ("scratched") and replaced with a definitive take of the voice. The term is especially used for reference vocals that are recorded with the basic rhythm tracks (and additional instrumental overdubs), during the initial phases of the audio production.@Screenset@Emagic Logic Audio term. Storage location for the layout of the various Logic windows. Each Logic song may store up to 90 Screensets.@Scrub, Scrubbing@The process of moving an audio tape back and forth over the engaged playback head of a recorder, in order to locate a specific word or sound. Scrubbing is a common technique in the editing of audio on magnetic tape, and is also frequently emulated on digital audio workstations. A Scrub Wheel is a tape transport control sometimes provided for this function; it is also emulated on various virtual control surfaces for these DAWs. See also Scrubber, the Pro Tools Edit Window tool dedicated to this function.@Scrubber@Digidesign term. One of the editing tools in the Pro Tools Edit window. Scrubbing refers to a method of locating an exact spot on analog tape by manually rocking the tape reels back and forth with the playback head engaged. By doing this, the exact beginning or end of a specific sound on the tape can be pinpointed "by ear". After selecting the Pro Tools Scrubber tool, the operator clicks anywhere on an audio track, dragging the mouse to the right or left to start playback from that point; the playback speed and direction vary according to the distance and direction of the mouse pointer from the starting location.@SCSI ID@A unique numerical identifier from 0-7, which can be assigned for each device on a SCSI chain (see definition for SCSI). External disks and tapes typically have a switch on the back in order to change this ID, internal devices may require changing the location of a cap on a jumper block. No two devices on the same SCSI chain can have the same ID. (Some systems may have more than one SCSI chain; for instance a Macintosh with a Pro Tools III Disk I/O card.) You should give higher numbers to the devices you use most frequently, so that they receive higher priority (don't forget that the host computer is usually number 7!). See also SCSI.@SCSI Manager@Computing term. A software component of the Macintosh operating system. Prior to the release of Apple's SCSI Manager 4.3 various aspects of the Macintosh SCSI implementation did not conform exactly to the industry-standard SCSI specification. This version of SCSI Manager improved some technical aspects (such as parity, disconnection and reconnection of SCSI devices, etc.), enabled Direct Memory Access functions which are available in some Macintosh systems (DMA allows the SCSI adapter to load data directly to memory, freeing the computer's CPU from this responsibility), and most importantly, added direct support for multiple SCSI controllers ("host adapters") on a single Macintosh. See also SCSI Bus.@SCSI, SCSI Chain, SCSI Bus@Small Computer Systems Interface. Pronounced "scuzzy". A common system for connecting disk drives and other peripherals to a computer, sampler, or similar device. Tape drives, CD-ROMs, removable disks, and hard drives use this high-speed data transfer connection; which is standard on Macintosh computers and most professional samplers. The SCSI "Specification" describes the parallel cables and standard connectors used, and "handshaking" communication protocols which govern data transfer between SCSI-compatible devices and a SCSI "controller" in the computer or other "host" device. Up to 7 devices (including the host device) can be daisy chained on a single SCSI "port"; each must be set to a unique SCSI ID number. Professional hard disk recording systems utilize SCSI disks for storing audio and video. The traditional connector used for the SCSI port on Macintosh computers is a 25-pin "D"; most disks and other SCSI devices use the larger SCSI-50 ("Centronics", or DB-50) connectors. However, Fast-Wide SCSI drives have begun to use a dense, 68-pin connector. Total length of the cabling on a SCSI chain should not exceed 5 or 6 meters; the shorter the better! Use heavy-duty, "double-shielded" cables, with additional shielding around individual wires within the cable. See also SCSI ID, Fast SCSI, Wide SCSI.@SCSI Terminator, Termination@Terminators are resistors, necessary to suppress reflections of the signal at both ends of the SCSI chain, which reduces electrical "noise" and improves the performance of all connected SCSI devices. The most common SCSI terminator for the external end of a SCSI chain is housed in a 50-pin SCSI connector. (The Macintosh internal hard disk, usually the first device on the chain, also has a terminator which can be switched in or out via a jumper on the circuit board of the disk itself.) External SCSI devices providing internal, or Active termination may sometimes eliminate the need for the Terminator block on the end of the chain. See also SCSI, SCSI ID.@SCSI-3@A variant of SCSI, introduced in 1995, for SCSI controller cards in PCI card expansion slots; supports Fast and Wide (16-bit) SCSI modes, in order to achieve higher transfer rates than previous SCSI standards. To take advantage of SCSI-3's potentional, disk or tape drives must be specifically compatible with the new single-wire, serial cabling systems supported under SCSI-3 (also known as SSI, SCSI Serial Interface). See also SCSI, Fast SCSI, Wide SCSI, PCI.@SCSIProbe@A very useful public-domain utility ("freeware") program for Macintosh, which gives information about the devices attached to the SCSI chain. Most importantly, it is useful for making disks visible on the Mac's desktop that for some reason did not "mount" properly at system startup; for example Syquest and other removable cartridges which are inserted while the system is in operation.@SDIF-2@Sony Digital Interchange Format. A digital audio interchange format used by Sony on many of their professional digital audio products, particularly the PCM-1630 system. There are two separate connections, one for each digital audio channel, plus a third connection for Word Sync. SDIF should not be confused with S/PDIF, a consumer-oriented subset of the AES/EBU digital audio interchange format, see definition.@SDII@Abbreviation for Sound Designer II, a program by Digidesign. Also, Sound Designer II's file format is also frequently referred to as SDII, .SD2 or SD-2 format. See Sound Designer II.@SECAM video format@Sequential Coleur A-Memorie. A system of encoding color information for television transmission used in French television, Luxembourg, many Eastern European countries and republics of the former USSR, Greece, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and parts of Africa. Like PAL video, the SECAM video signal consists of 625 video scan lines (except for 819 in France), and operates at 25 frames per second (fps). However, it is incompatible with PAL. See also PAL, NTSC.@Seek Time@The interval of time (in milliseconds) that it takes any disk drive to move the read/write head to a specific concentric track on the disk. Usually expressed as an Average Seek Time. Movement of the armature on which the heads are mounted (the head actuator) is usually controlled by a solenoid. Access Time describes Seek Time plus the smaller interval of rotational "Latency" time required before the head can actually begin the actual read or write operation (i.e., the drive must wait for the appropriate data sectors in the track to arrive underneath the head as the disk spins, typically about 6-8 milliseconds). Therefore, disk "A", with an average "Access Time" of 16 milliseconds (including latency) may actually get to files faster than disk "B", with an average "Seek Time" of 12 milliseconds. See also Throughput, Transfer Rate, Access Time.@Segue, Sting@A segue is a smooth transition from one scene or topic to another, without a pause or break. Often, a fade from one sound to another in the audio soundtrack. (The term "segue" derives from the musical term in Italian, literally "it follows") For some segues in film or video, the sound for the following scene may also precede the image, or the previous scene's sounds may fade out over the new scene (an editing technique sometimes known as an "L cut", or "split edit").
When a brief intermediate sound, or very short musical motif, is used to begin and end each scene, or as a segue device between successive scenes, it is known as a "sting".@Selector tool@Digidesign Pro Tools term. Tool in the Edit window of Pro Tools, used to click and drag across audio waveforms (or MIDI data) within a Track, in order to select a range for various editing operations. When this tool is selected, the cursor looks like an "I-beam". While dragging the Selector cursor, the current cursor position and selection length appear in the Selection and Position Indicator boxes (at the upper right of the Edit window). A selection made in one Track of Pro Tools can be extended to others, by clicking on additional Tracks while holding down the Shift key. Once any range has been selected, it can be captured as a new region, separated from the existing regions, or transformed by other functions in the Edit menu. See also Grabber Tool.@Self-Noise Level@The noise level generated by a microphone (or other audio device) when no signal is present. For instance, the noise caused by the internal preamplifier of a condensor microphone.@Sensitivity@One of the specifications of a microphone. Indicates how much output level the microphone produces when driven by a given sound pressure level (SPL). A high-sensitivity mic puts out a higher voltage than a lower-sensitivity one, and therefore requires less gain at the mixer's mic preamp stage to bring it up to line level (which should mean less noise). High microphone sensitivity is especially important when recording quiet sources at a distance, as in the case of many classical and acoustic ensemble recordings.@Separate Region@Digidesign Pro Tools term. Creates a new Region definition, based on the currently selected portion of an existing Region. New Region definitions, for the portions of the audio Region proceeding and following the selection, are also created as a result of this operation. See Region.@Sequencer@Any software program or hardware device which records incoming MIDI data from MIDI keyboards and other controllers, and permits editing this performance information. See MIDI.@Serial Port@A connector on computers or other devices for serial transmission of data (vs. parallel transmission). On the Apple Macintosh, this was traditionally where you connected your MIDI or SMPTE interface, as well as printers, modems, and some other peripheral controllers (at least until USB and FireWire came along). Older Macs had two serial ports conforming to the RS422 communications standard, marked with symbols for Printer and Modem. An IBM-compatible PC may use the serial port (also known as a "COM" port) for connection to an external modem, while the PC MIDI Interface is usually a card installed in the PC. Although MIDI is also a type of serial connection, both the Mac and PC require a specific hardware interface to be connected to MIDI (and/or SMPTE, which is converted to MTC for most computer applications).@Serial Switch@A Control Panel driver which corrected serial port compatibility with the following models of Apple Macintosh ONLY: Quadra 900, Quadra 950, Mac IIfx. It was needed when you used MIDI or SMPTE-synchronizing programs on these models (including Pro Tools, Sound Designer and SampleCell); open this Control Panel and select "Compatible" mode. You don't need to install this INIT on other models!@Session@1) The activity of recording music or other audio in a recording studio.
2) Also: a Digidesign term. A Session is the basic document of Pro Tools and Session 8. It is where you actually record and assemble the audio, MIDI and automation elements of a project. The Session document defines the configuration and naming of tracks, all mix settings and the onscreen mixing board, etc. Audio Regions addressed by the Session are portions of separate audio files residing on the hard disk, which may in fact be used by more than one Session, or edited in Sound Designer software. In 1995, Digidesign also introduced a (now-discontinued) software product called Session, an entry-level multi-track digital audio environment, supporting Audiomedia II cards and A/V Macs.@Session 8@Digidesign product. 8-channel multi-track hard disk recording, editing and mixing system for PC-Windows and Apple Macintosh. Now discontinued.@Session Lister@A utility provided by Digidesign to users of Pro Tools, which generates a text document listing all audio files, audio and MIDI regions used in a Pro Tools session. The listing also indicates start and end times for each Region and Fade, and the exact location of all files on disk. The timecoding format is reminiscent of an EDL, and is based on the Frame Rate and Start Time of the Session document. Session Lister is also a useful tool for preparing backups, particularly if they must be done manually or with Digidesign's DATa utility.@SFX@Special Effects. Especially refers to video, camera or animation effects achieved through technical means (or "tricks"); also sometimes used in reference to audio effects in general, such as delays, etc. See Effects.@Shareware, Freeware, Public Domain@Computing terms. Shareware is software that is distributed on the "honor system". The author makes it freely available (often through online services, or computer bulletin board services, BBS), and requests that users send a registration fee if they find it useful. Freeware is computer software that can be used or copied without paying any fee; however the author retains the copyright, and usually doesn't allow unauthorized modification or sale of the program. Public Domain software is made available by its author without any restrictions; it may be used, copied, or even altered (or sold).@Shelf, Shelving Filter@A filter producing a variable amount of boost or attenuation of all frequencies either above (high shelf) or below (low shelf) a given frequency (often called the knee frequency), leaving the other frequencies unaffected. There is a slope, or taper, through a certain range of frequencies until reaching the specified cut/boost level, that amount of cut/boost level then remains constant, extending throughout the remainder of the frequency range. Treble and bass controls are typically shelving filters.@Shortcut@Windows 95/98 term. An icon which "stands for" another program or document. For example, instead of opening your DAW software from the Programs sub-menu of the Start menu every time, you may prefer to create a Shortcut that resides right on the Windows desktop. When you click on the shortcut (which you created using the "New" command in the local menu that pops up when you right mouse-click on the Desktop), the same program is launched - without having to go to the Start menu. Cool!
Mac users note: Windows shortcuts are the same thing as Aliases (which were introduced back in Mac operating system 7).@Shotgun Microphone@An extremely unidirectional microphone, used particularly for recording live sound in noisy environments, where it is desirable that the microphone reject all sounds except those coming from where the mike is pointed. Generally, longer shotgun microphones are more directional than short ones, as their acoustic baffling is more efficient. They are useful for avoiding pickup of off-axis background noise, and for capturing sound sources at greater distances from the microphone. Also known as Cardioid In-Line Directional Microphones.@Show Clipboard (Macintosh)@Displays the contents of the Clipboard, an area of memory in the Macintosh where information that has been cut or copied is stored, in order that it may be subsequently pasted elsewhere. Programs which manage very large amounts of information, such as audio, sometimes additionally create a "Clipboard" file on disk.@Shuffle Mode@One of the four basic editing modes in the Edit Window of the Pro Tools program, activated by clicking the Shuffle button. When Regions are dragged into a Track or moved within it, they will "snap" to the nearest existing region, or to the beginning of the track, as if they were magnets. Dragging a region onto a track between two other regions will shuffle aside the following regions by its corresponding length. Shuffle mode is useful for quickly placing a series of Regions into a track, one after another without overlapping or gaps. For instance when constructing a rhythm track from adjoining musical phrases, or to create a continuous ambient background for a scene. See also Slip Mode, Spot Mode, Grid Mode.@Shuttle@Video term. Use of a wheel control for the video machine's tape transport, allowing the rapid forward or backward playback of the video program. The operator controls the speed of playback by varying the degree of rotation applied to the wheel. Shuttle controls are used during the editing process to locate a specific portion of the program, while viewing the images on a monitor. The same wheel control can often be switched between "Shuttle" and "Jog" functions. Similar functions on external DAW controllers may also known by this name. See also Jog, Scrubbing.@Sibilance@High frequency components in a human voice, prevalent in the sounds of the consonants "S", "T", etc., which are characterized by a hissing sound.@Sidechain, Sidechaining@A feature of many compressors, expanders and noise gates; also known as a "Key Input". An auxiliary audio input is provided, for the purpose of using the signal at this input as the control, or trigger, for the dynamics processing applied to another signal at the main input of the device. For example, a compressor might be configured to apply gain reduction to a backing musical part (connected to the main audio input), which is triggered by the presence of a vocal part (at the sidechain input). This technique is known as "ducking".See also Compressor, Ducking, De-Essing.@SIG@Special Interest Group. A group of computer users who meet regularly (either physically or online), to exchange information about a specific use of computers, such as MIDI Sequencers, Digital Audio Workstations, Video Editing, etc.@
