Bias unveiled Peak 4
| Monday April 7, 2003. 08:41 PM | Music Software > BIAS |
Bias Inc. unveiled Peak 4, a major new version of the leading stereo waveform editing application for Macintosh. Peak 4 offers a wealth of new features and enhancements, including support for Audio Unit plug-ins - Apple's new audio plug-in standard for Mac OS X, Multi-processor support, Redbook CD burning from directly within the Peak application, a host of new DSP tools, and many other enhancements. In addition, Peak 4's graphic user interface has been streamlined, and sports a new elegant brushed metal look that Macintosh enthusiasts will surely feel at home with. Finally, Peak 4 is now a Mac OS X-only application, enabling it to take full advantage of the OS X-only services within OS X.
Brand New Look and Feel
Peak 4 is totally new, even from first glance. A very Mac-like brushed metal background texture permeates much of the user interface, and many interface elements have been modified and relocated for improved ergonomics. The elements of the Contents Window, which stores a library of markers, loops and regions associated with a file have been relocated. The library can now be accessed from an audio document drawer that can either be open or closed, eliminating the need for a separate floating window. Naming of markers, loops and regions from within the drawer will automatically update in the audio document, and playback can also be initiated from within the drawer. The drawer also includes live, cursor location information, which users can opt to appear in a transparent cursor overlay as well. The contents of the Cursor Palette window have also been relocated. Cursor mode buttons such as the Selection Tool, Magnifying Glass, and Pencil Tool are now ergonomically located in the top right hand side of the audio document window. The Toolbar can be resized into a number of different shapes and orientations, and the toolbar buttons are resizable from 16 x 16 to 64 x 64 pixels, making the Toolbar easily visible on monitors from 12 to 23 inches. Finally the Overview window can conveniently be shown or hidden via a disclosure triangle, and the audio document window itself features live resizing.
Pumped Up DSP Tools
Peak 4 adds significantly to its arsenal of built-in DSP tools. PureVerb(tm) is a powerful, new convolution-based sampling reverb algorithm, which utilizes a vast library of impulse responses and supports real-time preview. Additionally, users can create and import their own impulse responses into PureVerb. Harmonic Rotate literally puts a twist on your signal's harmonics by rotating the frequency spectrum. The results are truly ear bending! Additionally, Peak 4 includes a new Bit Usage display, and Squeez(tm), a high-end dynamic compressor/limiter VST plug-in. Peak 4 also adds a whole new level of control to some of the existing DSP functions. Dynamic envelope control has been added to the Time Compression/Expansion, Add, and Mix functions, allowing users to control the effect of these processes over time.
Audio Units, Multi-threaded/MP, CD Burning and More
Peak 4 is now fully Multi-threaded and Multi-processor capable. This means more processing speed, and no need to wait for processes to finish before continuing to edit the current file or work on new files, as well as the ability to utilize both processors on MP machines. In addition to VST plug-ins, Peak 4 now supports Audio Units plug-ins. Several Audio Units plug-ins are included as part of OS X Jaguar - including Bandpass, Delay, and others - and are fully accessible from within the Peak 4 Audio Units plug-in menu. Users can mix and match both VST and Audio Units plug-ins via the 5 available inserts. Peak 4 now burns fully Redbook-compatible audio CDs directly from within the application. CDs can either be burned from the Playlist, or directly from the audio document window. A number of other enhancements include importing and auditioning of sub-segments from audio CD tracks, QuickTime movie looping, QuickTime movie playback during recording for dialog replacement, a Markers From Tempo feature, an audition option in the Open File dialog, and much more.
Pricing and Availability
Peak 4 will be available Q2, 2003 through the BIAS Worldwide Network of Dealers and Distributors for a SRP of US $499. Version 4 of Peak LE and Peak DV will be available soon thereafter. Upgrades to Peak 4 are $149. Customers who purchase Peak/Peak LE/Peak DV 3 after 4/1/03 are entitled to a free upgrade.
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