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1991-05-23
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≡ PC-Studio ≡
The Ultimate in Digital Sound Playback
User's Guide for Version 1.0
Created by Anabicis
DISCLAIMER
----------
All of the PC-Studio programs and this documentation are Copyright 1991 by
Anabicis and Costa Sapuntzakis and Dean Vukas, all rights reserved.
Anabicis hereby disclaims all warranties relating to this product, whether
express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Anabicis cannot and
will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequestial, indirect or
similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if Anabicis or
an authorized Anabicis agent has been advised of the possibility of such
damages. In no event shall the liability for any damages ever exceed the
price paid for the license to use software, regardless of the form and/or
extent of the claim. The person using the software bears all risk as to
the quality and performance of the software.
Introduction
------------
PC-Studio plays digitally sampled sound files, such as those you hear
playing on the Mac, on any IBM PC or 100% compatible. There are other such
programs that do this, however, most of them are extremely complex and hard
to use, or they do not produce a good sound quality. PC-Studio is a simple,
easy-to-use program that achieves superior sound quality as compared to the
other sound programs out there. We hope you enjoy this product, as many
hours of hard work were spent creating it.
Ordering Information
--------------------
PC-Studio is not Public Domain, nor is it free. You are granted a
15-day trial period in which to review the software, and see if it is to your
liking. If you plan to use the software beyond the 15-day trial period,
you must register it. Use of the software beyond 15 days without
registering is prohibited and morally wrong.
There are many advantages to registering this software:
■ A clear conscience knowing that you have supported Shareware.
■ The annoying 4-second delay will be removed from the introduction
along with all of the "You must register..." messages.
■ You will get the next major version (after the one you register) free.
The basic registration fee is $15.00, which includes a disk (360K
5.25" or 720K 3.5") sent to you with the registered version on it. To order,
just fill out the included file ORDER.TXT (to copy to printer type "COPY
ORDER.TXT PRN" at the DOS prompt), and remit to:
Anabicis
315 East 59th Street
Hinsdale, IL 60521
Please send either cash or check. Non-U.S. residents, please send
checks drawn on U.S. funds. We will not accept non-U.S. currency. All
checks must be drawn on U.S. dollars. Sorry, no C.O.D. orders will be
accepted.
System Requirements
-------------------
■ IBM XT,AT,PS/2, or 100% compatible.
■ 32k + size of sound file
■ Color monitor
Recommended hardware:
■ 286/12MHz or better.
■ Hard disk.
Installation
------------
PC-Studio installation is simple. Since the program consists of only
one file, PCSTUDIO.EXE, you need only to copy this file to the directory of
your choice. The other files (documentation, etc.) are not necessary to run
the program.
NOTE: PC-Studio must be distributed with all files listed in PACKING.LST.
Quickstart/Playing the Sample Sound File
----------------------------------------
We have provided a sample sound file called HAL.SND. Use this
file for the following procedure.
■ The command line to run PC-Studio follows the following format:
PCSTUDIO [drive:][path]
If the sample sound file is not in the same path as PC-Studio,
select the appropriate path. Do not include the name of the sound
file.
■ The PC-Studio program loads and the introduction screen appears.
Wait the four seconds and press a key.
■ The PC-Studio main screen appears. You are located in the file
list box on the left side of the screen. Use the arrow keys to
move the highlighted bar to the desired sound file and press ENTER.
■ The program will now place you on the play button. Press ENTER
to play the sound file.
■ Press ESC to exit the program.
PC-Studio was able to auto-detect the correct speed, file type, etc.
for the sample sound file. However, this may not be the case with all sound
files. Please refer to the section called "Un-detectable Sound Files" for
information on how to play these types of files with PC-Studio. This
section is intended only as a quickstart to PC-Studio, we highly recommend
you read the rest of this documentation.
Introduction to the PC-Studio Interface
---------------------------------------
PC-Studio's user interface is extremely easy to use. There are four
main sections to the interface: the File List Box, the Play Settings Box,
the Playback Information Box, and the Help Box. To navigate PC-Studio, you
need only to use the Tab key to go from one option to the other. Shift-Tab
may also be used to go to the previous option. However, you do have the
option of using the ALT-key shortcuts specified in the Help Box.
■ File List Box: When you run PC-Studio, you are automatically put in the
File List Box. Here you may navigate through your hard disk and select the
sound file you wish to play by pressing ENTER on the highlighted choice.
You may also type in the desired directory in the field where it says
"Directory:" in the form [drive:][path].
■ Play Settings Box: You are entered into this section after selecting a
sound file or by pressing TAB from the File List Box. Here you may change
the play settings for PC-Studio:
■ Sound File Type: The type of sound file you are using. You may
select either Macintosh or Amiga. The Macintosh sound file setting
encompasses the following types of sound files: Macintosh, Sound
Blaster, Covox Sound Thing, or any 8-bit non-polarized PCM sound
file. The Amiga sound file setting is for Amiga sound files or any
8-bit polarized PCM sound file. If the sound file is barely
intelligible because of staticy crud, try switching this setting.
■ Playback Rate/Slow-Down Rate: The playback rate and the slow-down
rate determine the speed at which the sound file is played. Larger
values of the playback rate lead to a slower playback. For
example, a rate of 200 is twice as slow as a rate of 100. The
slow-down rate decreases the rate at which the sound file is
played by a factor of None, 2x, 3x, or 4x. For example, a sound file
with a playback rate of 120 with no slow-down is the same as 60/2x,
40/3x or 30/4x. This may sound complex and stupid, but through
this method you are able to achieve the best sound quality. The
best playback rates to choose are from 50-80, so if you have a
sound file with a playback rate of 142, you should put the rate
down to 71 with a slow-down rate of 2x.
■ Volume: The volume can be set from 0-100 inclusive. The
larger the value, the louder the sound file is played. A sound
file played at a setting of 40 is 4x louder than at a setting of
10. A sound file played at a setting of 5 is .5x louder than at a
setting of 10. In theory this is true, however, in practice, it is
not that drastic of a change.
■ Play File: Too complex for words.
■ Choose File: Exit from current sound file back to the File List
Box.
■ Playback Information Box: Displays information about the current sound
file.
■ File Size: Size of current file in bytes.
■ File Type: Name of specific file format if one is detected.
■ Auto-Detect Rate: The rate of file playback (in hz) detected in
the header, if any.
■ Current Rate: The rate of file playback (in hz) specified by the
options in the Play Settings Box. Dividing the file size by this
number yields th