Sony Media Software
 
ACID® Pro, ACID Music Studio™, and ACID XPress Release Notes
December 2004
 
Contents
This document contains information on the following topics:
Applicable to boxed products only. If you've purchased a downloadable product, an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the product documentation is available from our Web site.
 
1.0 Welcome
Thank you for purchasing Sony Pictures Digital ACID 5.0 software. This document contains information about installing and using ACID or ACID Music Studio software on your computer.
 

2.0 What’s New

Notable Changes/Fixes in Version 5.0a

  • A bug has been fixed that could cause ACID Pro software to scan for plug-ins every time the application started.
  • A bug has been fixed that could cause the application to crash when changing the sample rate to 192 kHz (via the ACID Project Properties dialog or the driver applet) when using a MOTU 869HD.
  • A bug has been fixed that caused summary information to be removed from files when saving ACID information.
  • The Downmix Output button in the Mixer window now works correctly.
  • A bug has been fixed that caused an "Unsupported Media Type" error message to be displayed when rendering to a sample rate that is not supported for playback.
  • The Media Manager Options dialog now allows you to delete media-usage relationship information from the current database.
  • A bug has been fixed that caused some ACID 4.0 projects that use custom DLS sound sets on soft synth busses to revert to the default General MIDI sound set when opening the project in ACID 5.0 software.
  • A bug has been fixed that could maximize processor usage when applying a groove to a long loop.
  • Multiple ReWire bugs have been fixed.
New Features in Version 5.0
  • Groove Mapping™ quantization with Groove Cloning™. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
  • Media Manager. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
    NOTE: The Sony® Sound Series™ Loops & Samples reference library is not installed by default, but you can install it from the ACID CD or download it here. After installing the library, use the Media Manager Options dialog to choose the reference library.
  • Folder tracks for intelligent track grouping and multiple-event editing. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
  • VST effect support. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
  • Multiport VSTi soft synth support. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
  • Bypass All Audio FX command.
  • ReWire device support. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
  • MIDI editing workflow advancements.
  • Snap-to-scale filtering in the piano roll.
  • Tempo-based DirectX effects: Amplitude Modulation, Flange/Wah-Wah, Chorus, and Simple Delay. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
  • Event reverse.
  • Enhanced audio time stretching and beat detection. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
  • Disc-at-once CD burning.
  • Metronome for playback and recording.
  • Customizable keyboard mappings. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
  • Bus-to-bus routing. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
  • Downmix monitoring. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
  • Multiple docking windows. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
  • Insert Event at Play Cursor and Paste at Play Cursor commands to help you create rhythms with one-shots. (Available only in ACID Pro software.)
  • Chopper window. (New to ACID Music Studio software.)
  • Macromedia Flash (.swf) format importing. (ActionScript, motion video, and audio are not supported.)
  • Audio event envelope changes are applied to all selected events.
  • Ability to save a project path in a rendered file and edit a rendered file's source project.
  • You can use the Display tab in the Preferences dialog to adjust the default track colors, icon color saturation, and icon tinting.
  • Customizable project media folders.
3.0 Known Issues
  • Close all applications before you begin installing ACID software.
  • If you purchased the AC-3 plug-in with ACID 4.0 software, please contact Customer Service for a new activation code that will allow you to use the plug-in with ACID 5.0 software.
  • ACID may crash after closing the Purchase AC-3 or MPEG dialog when the Media Manager is turned off.
  • If you install ACID Music 5.0 software (build 128) after installing ACID Pro 5.0 software, your ACID Pro help files will be overwritten by the ACID Music versions. Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel, and use the Add or Remove Programs dialog to uninstall and reinstall your ACID Pro 5.0 installation. The ACID Pro 5.0 help files contain the most up-to-date information for ACID Music 5.0 and ACID Pro 5.0 software.
  • When installing Native Instruments Xpress Keyboards, use the default installation folders.
  • If you have a USB SmartMedia reader device installed on your PC, you may experience problems when you attempt to access your CD drive from ACID software for extracting audio or burning CDs. This is due to an error in the SmartMedia reader driver. Using the Unplug or Eject Hardware Wizard to remove the reader should allow the software to function normally.
  • If you save an ACID 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, or ACID Music 5.0 project in ACID Pro 5.0, it will be unusable in earlier versions of ACID software. Use the Save As dialog to save the project with a new name after editing it in ACID Pro 5.0.
  • If you open an ACID 3.0 project that includes MIDI tracks that have track effects applied, the effects will be discarded.
  • If you open an ACID 3.0 project that includes MIDI tracks that have DLS voice sets applied via Track Properties, the DLS association will be lost. Please create a soft synth control in the Mixer window and apply the appropriate DLS set to the soft synth control. You can then route your track to the soft synth.
  • If you use Chop to New to create a new track from a MIDI track, blank space may be added to the end of the new file if your Chopper selection does not begin and end on measure boundaries.
  • In some cases, MIDI data that is added or edited during playback will not be played until you stop and restart playback.
  • In order to use the Media Manager tool, your Windows user account must be a member of the Administrators, Power Users, or Users group.
  • When using the Media Manager tool, using multiple media libraries can improve performance if you have a very large collection of media.
  • If you experience playback performance problems when in ReWire device mode with Ableton Live 4 as a ReWire mixer, you can improve ACID performance by decreasing the buffer priority: choose Options>Preferences>Audio>Advanced, and then choose Above Normal from the Priority drop-down list.
  • Preview of MIDI files in the Explorer view may not work correctly under some circumstances.
  • Timeline offsets are not sent correctly when generating MIDI timecode. Synchronize your projects so measure one starts at 00:00:00.000.
  • Any effects chain that includes non-in-place plug-ins will be automatically bypassed when in ReWire device mode to prevent synchronization problems with the ReWire mixer application. Apply the plug-ins within the ReWire mixer application.
  • Effect automation envelopes on bus tracks will be bypassed when in ReWire device mode. Apply effect automation within the ReWire mixer application.
  • When in ReWire device mode, one-shot events are displayed in fixed musical time: for example, if a one-shot event occupies three beats on the ACID timeline, that event will be played as three beats at the tempo requested by the ReWire mixer application. If the tempo increases, the waveform can be truncated by the end of the event.
  • When in ReWire device mode, ACID software works best with RAM-based media (loops). You can use disk-based media (one-shots and Beatmapped tracks), but performance may be degraded.
  • When in ReWire device mode, you can improve performance by turning off the Media Manager (clear the Enable Media Manager check box on the General tab of the Preferences dialog).
  • Previewing MIDI tracks from the Explorer window does not follow project tempo when previewing long MIDI files or when in ReWire device mode.
 4.0 System Requirements
The following lists the minimum system requirements for using Sony Pictures Digital ACID software:
  • Microsoft® Windows® 2000 or XP
  • 800 MHz processor (1 GHz if using video)
  • 200 MB hard-disk space for program installation
  • 600 MB hard-disk space for optional Sony Sound Series Loops & Samples reference library installation
  • 256 MB RAM
  • Windows-compatible sound card
  • CD-ROM drive (for installation from a CD only)
  • Supported CD-recordable drive (for CD burning only)
  • Microsoft DirectX® 8.1 or later (version 8.1b included on CD-ROM) 
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 (included on CD-ROM)
  • Internet Explorer 5.1 or later (included on CD-ROM) 
5.0 Installation
The install utility creates any necessary folders and copies all files required by ACID or ACID Music Studio software to your computer.
 
Installing from CD
  1. Place the ACID CD-ROM in the drive. AutoPlay displays an installation menu.
    If you have disabled the CD-ROM AutoPlay feature, click the Start button and choose Run. Type D:\setup.exe, where D is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive, and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
  2. Click Install, and then follow the on-screen prompts to install the appropriate version of ACID for your computer.
Installing from the Web
  1. Download the install utility from our Web site.
  2. Double-click the file, and then follow the on-screen prompts to install the appropriate version of ACID for your computer.
Uninstallation

If you want to completely uninstall ACID Pro 5.0 software, use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel to uninstall Sony ACID Pro 5.0, and then uninstall Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (SONY_MEDIAMGR).

6.0 ACID User manual
Included on the ACID CD is a complete ACID User Manual in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. The Acrobat format allows easy printing of the text, should you need a hard copy. The manual is located in the manual folder on the CD.
 
Installing Adobe Reader
In order to view the manual, you will need to install the Adobe Reader. It has been included on the CD in the \Extras\Adobe Reader 6.0 folder for your convenience. To install Acrobat Reader, follow these steps:
  1. Place the ACID CD in the drive. AutoPlay launches an installation menu.
    If you have disabled the CD-ROM AutoPlay feature, click the Start button and choose Run. Type D:\Extras\Adobe Reader 6.0\English\AdbeRdr60_enu_full.exe, where D is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive, and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
  2. Choose Browse CD, and then browse to the D:\Extras\Adobe Reader 6.0\English\ folder.
  3. Double-click the AdbeRdr60_enu_full.exe icon and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation. 
7.0 Demos
If you would like information or demos of other products from Sony Pictures Digital, please visit our Web site. You will always find the latest technical information, demos, and product announcements from Sony Pictures Digital there.
 
Commercial distribution of the Sony Pictures Digital demos requires written permission from Sony Pictures Digital.
 
8.0 Contacting Sony Pictures Digital Inc.
Sony Pictures Digital can be contacted in the following ways:
 
Mailing Address:
Sony Pictures Digital Inc.
Media Software and Services
1617 Sherman Ave.
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
USA
 
Customer Service/Sales:
For a detailed list of Customer Service options, we encourage you to visit http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/support/custserv.asp.
 
Telephone support during normal office hours:
  • 1-800-577-6642 (toll-free) in US, Canada, and Virgin Islands.
  • +608-204-7703 for all other countries.
  • Fax: 1-608-250-1745.
Technical Support

 

 
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