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SqrSoft Advanced CrossFading v1.7


Index:

1. What can this plug-in do?
2. News
3. Setting up the Crossfader
4. Gap Killer importance
5. License


1. What can this plug-in do?

SqrSoft Advanced CrossFading v1.7 can crossfade two songs, the one Winamp is playing and the next in the playlist. The crossfade is made by analyzing sound level of the last seconds of the song to determine the best mix point, applying the level envelope curves to the beginning and end of the tracks.
You can set different crossfading parameters for normal crossfade on track end and when you skip the track. This includes the mixing length so you can set the mix to 10%, 20%, etc.
This plugin includes a Gap Killer that eliminates the silence or any sound bellow the trigger level, this is applied to the start and end of the track.
This plugin also includes a format converter that gets activated when you try to mix two songs with different bits per sample, sample rate or number of channels. The sample converter will automatically change the track to the default format.
This plugin can send the crossfaded audio data to a second DSP for Compression or Shoutcast.


2. News

-Crossfade routines optimization.
-Fixed the bug that hangs Winamp while being closed with the Shoutcast plugin active.
-Internal volume option, for "NullOutput" emulation.
-Added minimum and maximum crossfade length controls.
-Changed all the settings in "%" to "ms"
-Better non-linear curve algorithm.
-Linear crossfading curves changed to non-linear.
-Output format extended to 48000HZ.
-Fixed hang up when the option "Truncate tracks longer than..." is enabled
-Second DSP support to Shoutcast your mix!
-Added option "Truncate tracks longer than..."
-Changed to time instead of % in the option "Dont crossfade tracks smaller than..."
-Added support for smooth cuts in the "Gap killer"
-External plugin monitor and control feature added
-Better volume and balance code
-Sound level detection bug fixed
-Better prebuffer control, hang at track startup bug fixed
-Individual CrossFading with Fade-on-stop/skip parameters
-Now you can save configurations as presets!
-Better crossfading engine, less CPU time!!!
-Small and cosmetic bug fixes
-Wide mixing buffer length configuration range


3. Setting up the Crossfader

Here's how to set up the Crossfader for listening to live music or playing music as any radio or club does.

3.1 Live music

This configuration is for live music, without gaps between tracks and with some background noise.

-Device: Set the output device to 0 (Wave mapper), it's better to set the output format to 44100Hz-Stereo-16bits but you can change this to the most used format for less processing.
-Buffer: Set number of blocks to 8 if you have a fast PC (PII or better) or 16 if your PC is not fast enough, maximum block to 32kB, minimum to 4kB, priority to highest and prebuffer to 25%. Mixing buffer length should be set to its lowest value, 500ms.
-Crossfade: leave this as default, it is not used in this configuration.
-Advanced: Uncheck "Enable crossfade", check "Use fade-on-stop/skip crossfading parameters".
-Fade on stop/skip: check "Flush on stop/skip" and leave the other controls in the default position.

3.1 Club/Radio

-Device tab: Set the output device to 0 (Wave mapper), it's better to set the output format to 44100Hz-Stereo-16bits but you can change this to the most used format for less processing.
-Buffer tab: Set number of blocks to 8 is you have a fast PC (PII or better) or 16 if your PC is not fast enough, maximum block to 32kB, minimum to 4kB, priority to highest and prebuffer to 25%. Mixing buffer length should be set to about 16sec.
-Crossfade tab: Set fade in time to 0% and fade out to 100% for Radio or 0% for Club. Signal level should be between -1dB/-6dB for longer overlapping or between -18dB/-48dB for small overlapping.
-Advanced tab: "Enable crossfade" must be checked, if you want you can check "Use fade-on-stop/skip crossfading parameters" to make a short or different crossfade on stop or skip.
-Fade on stop/skip tab: Check "Flush on stop/skip" to flush buffers when you press next, previous or stop, or leave this unchecked and set the crossfade length with "Crossfade length". Set the appropriate mixing curves.


4. Gap Killer importance

The main function of the Gap killer is remove the silence at the beginning and end of the songs, this is very important if were going to mix the songs and we want them to start in the right point. In opposite case the mix quality will depend on the silence gap that the songs may have at the beginning and end, so the use of the Gap killer is necessary even if the mixer is not been used to crossfade.


5. License

If youre planning to distribute this software you must do it without any kind of change or modification on the plugin or the included documentation.
If you want to contribute you could help me keep developing it, you can send me a Postcard, DVD, CD or what you like... Im accepting money too!
For comercial use a license is required authorizing you to use this plugin, contact with me for more information.
IM NOT RESPONSIBLE OF ANY DAMAGE OR DATA LOSS CAUSED BY THIS PLUGIN, YOU ARE UNDER YOUR OWN RISK.
