Subject:The REAL "What's New in SF9?

Posted by: BradlyMusic

Date:7/28/2007 6:52:34 PM

Ok, I realize that maybe some features had to go to make the multi-channel features integrate into SF9.0 but........shouldn't the stuff that was removed be mentioned in the "What's New in SF9?" Section under the Help menu? I mean to leave these removed items unlisted is kind of deceitful isn't it?

I see others complaining about the Loop tuner window not being available in SF9. This feature really doesn't effect me, since I don't use it....but I've run into a couple of missing features that I do use, and either they're missing or I can't find the new way to do it in SF9.

I've tried out the demo so far, and now I'm past the time trial limit. I would like to know what else is missing from the SF8 to SF9 upgrade before I purchase the program and find out when I go to use it, like these next couple items I noticed missing while running the demo.

Missing items in SF9 noticed thus far:
1. Sample level zooming and editing. Ok, what am I missing? Am I doing something wrong, because I no longer can zoom in to the sample level in SF9, like I could in SF8? I'm not quite understanding why this would have to go for the multi-channel features. Someone please help, because my fine precision audio editor just became pratically useless without sample level zooming and editing.

2. Playback Device Tool Bar. Ok, this one I use regularly. I can some what see why this might have to go, since it applied to selecting the stereo output pair for your sound card, but I sure wish it could have just been greyed out if I was working on something that had more than 2 channels since I use this all the time to quickly route what is playing back to specific sound cards and/or outputs. Especially on my laptop, where I have an external USB sound card along with the built in sound card. Couldn't we have just added output routings options on the waveform display for each channel instead of just getting rid of the feature all together?

So what else had to be removed for the multi-channel features? I think we deserve to know this, instead of finding out about it as we need to use it and find it's not there by surprise.

Can we have a list of removed SF8 features for SF9?

Subject:RE: The REAL "What's New in SF9?

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:7/28/2007 8:29:49 PM

I can zoom in to sample level.

geoff

Subject:RE: The REAL "What's New in SF9?

Reply by: BradlyMusic

Date:7/29/2007 8:23:37 AM

Thanks for the reply Geoff. I thought I must be doing something wrong, since this just seemed crazy. I'll try installing SF9 on another PC and see what happens. I thought, I might have to change some of the zoom settings, since I saw some view options related to Zoom under the preferences. I played around with these after noticing I couldn't zoom into a sample level, but still no luck. It seemed odd that I could zoom to sample level with SF8 though being on the same system. I'm using the zoom buttons on the waveform display and it doesn't let me zoom in that far.

Subject:RE: The REAL "What's New in SF9?

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:7/29/2007 9:28:41 AM

What happens if you try the up/down arrows or the scroll wheel?

Subject:RE: The REAL "What's New in SF9?

Reply by: BradlyMusic

Date:7/29/2007 7:13:17 PM

No Scroll wheel. I was using it on a laptop, without a mouse. Only the little center keyboard nub for a mouse. I'll give the up/down arrows a try. Thanks.

Is there a list of removed features some where? This is what is worrying me the most. There are a lot of features in Sound Forge, that I don't use regularly but I'm pretty familiar with what it is capable of doing. I hate having to find out Sound Forge 9.0 doesn't have a certain feature, when I need it. In other words it would be very nice to see a list of removed features and then I can decide for myself if I use those features or nor and find them important to my work flow.

I'm sure someone at Sony has a list of removed items. Can we see it published somewhere? This should be published in the "What's New?" section of the program or at least in the "Known Issues" section.

Subject:RE: The REAL "What's New in SF9?

Reply by: pwppch

Date:7/29/2007 8:30:12 PM

>>Is there a list of removed features some where?

No

Peter

Subject:RE: The REAL "What's New in SF9?

Reply by: jumbuk

Date:7/29/2007 10:06:16 PM

"I'm sure someone at Sony has a list of removed items. Can we see it published somewhere? This should be published in the "What's New?" section of the program or at least in the "Known Issues" section."

I am not so sure. In the software development process, it is pretty rare for the development team to sit down and say "now, let's decide what features we will remove, and let's make a list of them for later release.". The only reasons features disappear are because (a) they don't fit or don't make sense in the context of new developments (like multi-channel recording) or (b) they are inadvertently left out when the code is being re-written to accommodate new features. In fact, the developers won't know these "features" have gone until either their test team notices the loss or a customer points it out to them.

I say this because a few of the "features" we are talking about are not really features at all, just modes of behaviour that we have become used to - for example, cursor behaviour.

That's not to say they are not important or annoying - just to note that they will probably only get fixed if enough users point out that they don't like a particular change.

Subject:RE: The REAL "What's New in SF9?

Reply by: BradlyMusic

Date:7/30/2007 1:36:19 PM

Ok, Thank you for the information....or lack there of as it seems to be, SonyPCH. Now, I'll just have to wonder when/if I run into any problems if this is a bug in the program, or if the feature is just MIA.

I think I may have found a bug though. I did verify that I could zoom in to the sample level view (24:1 zoom ratio) by using the up/dwn keyboard arrows. I can only zoom into 1:1 zoom ratio when using the "+/-" buttons on the waveform view.

Anyone else see this?

Subject:RE: The REAL "What's New in SF9?

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:7/30/2007 6:01:05 PM

OK, i can verify that. I guess i just never think of using those buttons. I'm much more keyboard oriented in Sound Forge than mouse oriented.

Subject:RE: The REAL "What's New in SF9?

Reply by: rraud

Date:7/31/2007 8:52:16 AM

I can verify this also.
Like Chien I use the keys

Subject:RE: The REAL "What's New in SF9?

Reply by: ForumAdmin

Date:7/31/2007 9:06:38 AM

I also see the issue with the scrollbar buttons and will fix prior to the next update.

J.

Subject:RE: The REAL "What's New in SF9?

Reply by: BradlyMusic

Date:7/31/2007 11:54:35 AM

Thank you everyone for your feedback and Thank you for letting me know to look for a fix in the next update J.

I'll be waiting on the next update, and I'll install that on another PC to give the demo another try.

I'm just hesitant now, after buying AP6. I tried out the Acid 6 demo when it was first released, and I liked the new features, and bought it. After I used it more, it became more and more frustrating for me. I guess, I was expecting more since I had been familiar with using Vegas in the past and expected Acid to have everything that Vegas did by now, since it was promoted as being a DAW. So now that I started to run across features missing in SF9, that where available in SF8, I'm a bit hesitant on making purchasing decisions on a tool I'll be using regularly. That's why I wanted to see a list of removed items in SF9, because if I find them out later as I go to use it, after buying the program, then I'll be a lot more disappointed.

If anyone wants to send me a private email of known removed items, my email is bradfair6_AT_hotmail.com. :-)~