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MEDIA EDITOR is a useful tool for editing
and modifying sound files. It lets you manipulate audio by
adding/removing clips, generating sounds, applying effects
and more.
GETTING STARTED
Open files for editing, get to know
the MEDIA EDITOR interface, and acquaint yourself with the
zooming feature.
EDITING FILES
Learn to use the clipboard, generate
sounds, apply audio effects and perform other editing functions.
GETTING STARTED
Opening MEDIA EDITOR
To open MEDIA EDITOR while using MEDIA
JUKEBOX, select Tools>MEDIA EDITOR.
What kind of files can I edit?
If MEDIA JUKEBOX can play it, MEDIA
EDITOR can edit it. This excludes those files that require
RealPlayer for playback (.lqt, .ra, .ram, .rm, .rmj, .rmm,
.rmx, .rp, .rv, .aa and .viv files).
Opening a file to edit
To open a file for editing, select File>Open.
Now browse for the desired file, click on it, and click "Open."
MEDIA EDITOR will decode the file to the .wav format (editing
is done on .wav files), and will open a visual representation
of it in a resizable window. This can take a little while
depending on the size of the file.
Recently opened files will appear below
File>Save Selection As. Clicking on these files opens them.
Wav files are located in the temporary file folder and will
be erased once the file is closed unless they are saved.
Opening multiple files
MEDIA EDITOR lets you view multiple
files at once. Simply repeat the "Open" procedure you just
executed for the first file, and MEDIA EDITOR will open the
new file over the existing one.
If you want to view multiple files at once, first make sure
both are maximized. Then, either select Window>Cascade to
arrange the images to overlap each other, or select Window>Tile
to order the images in stack formation.
Getting the best file quality
MEDIA EDITOR only edits files in .wav format. This means that
if you want to edit an mp3 file, it must first be decoded
to a .wav file and then encoded back to an .mp3 file after
the editing is complete. MEDIA EDITOR will do this for you
automatically. However, each time a file is encoded or decoded,
you lose sound quality. So, if you take an mp3 and then edit
it, you have already compromised sound quality twice.
One way to reduce loss of quality is to rip your audio CD's
directly to .wav files first using MEDIA JUKEBOX. Do your
editing on the .wav files with MEDIA EDITOR, and then encode
them to .mp3 or the desired format. This way, you are only
compressing the file once and this limits loss of quality.
Of course, if you edit an mp3, you don't have this option.
But if you do edit them, just make sure you keep the decoded
.wav files until you're done, and encode only once.
MEDIA EDITOR interface
To make editing files easier, you should
familiarize yourself with the key elements of the MEDIA EDITOR.
After opening a file, you will see two parallel channels,
displaying a visual representation of the file. Both channels
represent the sound coming out of your speakers. The top channel
represents the left speaker and the lower channel represents
the right.
Immediately to the right of these channels, there are vertical
numbered increments ranging from +30,000 to -30,000. These
represent the sound amplitude at particular places in a track.
Below the two channels you will see a horizontal scale labeled
"time." This represents the time (in seconds) at particular
places in a track.
Below the time scale to the left, you will see a small table
with six values. An entire length of a file is represented
by "View," with "End" being the numbers in seconds when the
track ends and "Length" being the entire length of the track.
When you select a portion of a file for editing (see EDITING
FILES: Selecting a portion of a track), this portion is
represented by the "Sel" [Selection] values. In this case,
"Begin" is the starting point, "End" is the finishing point,
and "Length" is the total time selected, all measured in seconds.
For an explanation of Clipboard, see EDITING FILES: Using
the clipboard.
Next to the clipboard, a larger number displays the track
time progress as a file (or a selected portion of a file)
is played. When you click on a point in a track, it will also
display that track progress time.
And below this display, you will see the track properties
(format) of the current file listed in the status bar. To
hide/show this bar, select View>Status Bar.
The toolbar provides quick access to some of the MEDIA EDITOR
features. To hide/show the toolbar, select View>Toolbar.
Zooming
The Zooming features lets you view the file up close or further
away for more flexible and accurate editing. Zooming can be
done using the toolbar icons or by using the drop down menu
under View. Zooming options are as follows:
Zoom In: [View>Zoom In] This gives you a magnified view of
the file.
Zoom Out: [View>Zoom Out] Pans out to gives you an overview
of the file.
Zoom to Selection: [View>Zoom to Selection] When you select
a portion of a track, you can zoom in on that selection with
this feature. Once this is done, you can use the other zoom
features to give you more viewing options.
Zoom In On Scale: [View>Zoom In On Scale] This changes the
amplitude scale to the right by increasing the amount of detail
(the range) that is shown. This is helpful if you have a quiet
piece of music and need to view more detail for editing.
Zoom Out On Scale: [View>Zoom Out On Scale] This changes the
amplitude scale by decreasing the amount of detail shown.
You cannot Zoom Out On Scale beyond +/-30,000.
Note that the red bar below the time scale indicates what
portion of the track is appearing in the window. Use the two
arrows to the right of this bar (or click and drag on the
red bar) to move through the track.
EDITING FILES
Selecting a portion of a track
Much of the editing you will do in MEDIA EDITOR involves selecting
only part of a track and then altering it. To select a portion
of a track that is open, first click on the "beginning" of
that part on the visual representation. A horizontal, dashed
yellow line indicates what point has been selected. Now drag
to a desired point and let go. The selected portion will appear
as a white box with gridlines.
You
can extend or decrease the selected area by moving your cursor
over either the left or right edge of the white box. When
the cursor icon turns into a double arrow, click and drag
forward or backward and let go.
The small time scale in the lower left corner of MEDIA EDITOR
is helpful when you are trying to select a very specific portion
of a track. When you are dragging to select these points,
note that the Sel>Begin and Sel>End values change, letting
you drag and stop on a particular point of time in the track.
To select the entire track, including both channels, choose
Edit>Select All.
Deleting prolonged silence at the end of tracks
Some files you download may have unnecessary silence at the
end of them. You can easily use the "Cut" option in MEDIA
EDITOR to remove it. Just select the portion (the silence)
that you want to delete, and select Edit>Cut, or click the
scissors icon on the toolbar.
Note that any data cut from a track is automatically pasted
to the currently selected clipboard.
Playing tracks/track portions
To play an entire track that is open, select Edit>Select All
and then press the Play button on the toolbar or choose Playback>Play.
To play a portion of a track that has been selected, just
press Play on the toolbar or select Playback>Play. To stop
a track/track portion, click on Stop on the toolbar or choose
Playback>Stop.
Using the clipboard
The clipboard allows you to store and manage file clips for
future use. Maybe you've got a comedy clip you want to add
to the beginning of a song. Or perhaps you want to see what
it would sound like if Nine Inch Nails chimed in during The
Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You."
To create a clip, first select a portion of a track. Then
click on the arrow next to "Clipboard 1" and a drop-down menu
will appear with Clipboard 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Select one. Now
choose Edit>Copy and the track portion you selected will be
"saved" to the clipboard you specified.
Note that duration and the properties of the track portion
you copied are listed below each respective clip. If a clip
is not currently copied to a clipboard, that clipboard will
appear "Empty."
To play a clip, select a clipboard and click the play button.
Once a clip begins playing, the Play button changes to a Stop
button, and clicking on it stops the clip.
To remove a clip from the clipboard, select the Clipboard
where the file is saved and then simply click on the X located
to the left of the Play button. That clipboard window will
then indicate that it is empty.
Note that each time you exit MEDIA EDITOR, any clips left
in the clipboards will not be saved.
Also, only .wav files with the same format can be mixed together.
For instance a .wav file with 22.1 khz, 16bit, 1 ch cannot
be mixed with a .wav file that is 44 khz, 16 bit, 2 ch.
Inserting clips
Clips that have been saved to the Clipboard can be inserted
(pasted) into other tracks. First, select the place in a track
where you want to insert a clip (remember that a dashed yellow
line represents this point). Then choose a clip and select
Edit>Paste.
Paste Mix
This feature lets you paste 2 or more tracks "on top" of each
other and have them play simultaneously. This is useful for
adding background noise, beats or voiceovers to a track.
To begin, open two or more files to mix. Select a section
of the track that you want to mix in to another [Edit>Copy].
This portion will appear on the clipboard. Select a portion
of a second track and select Edit>Paste Mix. Now, when you
play that selected portion of the second track, you will hear
the first track mixed in.
Generating sounds
MEDIA EDITOR has a few default sounds you can generate and
insert into tracks. To begin, select a point in a track where
you would like to add silence, noise, tone, tone sweep or
telephone. Then select "Generate" and choose from among:
Silence
Select duration (ms). (1000 ms = 1 second) then click "Preview"
or "Generate." After selecting Generate, the amount of silence
you specified should be inserted into the track at the point
you specified.
Noise
Select duration. Now choose a Color/Style (differing levels
of static) and choose "Preview" or "Generate." After selecting
Generate, the amount of noise you specified should be inserted
into the track at the point you specified.
Tone
Select duration, a frequency, and then choose "Preview" or
"Generate." After selecting Generate, the amount of tone you
specified should be inserted into the track at the point you
specified.
Tone Sweep
Select duration, a frequency range, and then choose "Preview"
or "Generate." After selecting Generate, the amount of tone
sweep you specified should be inserted into the track at the
point you specified.
Telephone
Select duration, a phone number, and then choose "Preview"
or "Generate." After selecting Generate, the amount of telephone
you specified should be inserted into the track at the point
you specified.
Transforming effects
With
MEDIA EDITOR, you can use the "transform" feature to alter
audio tracks. These effects can be applied to track portions
or entire tracks. Begin by selecting a portion of a track
or using Edit>Select All to highlight the entire track. Then
choose "Transform" and pick one of the following effects:
Adjust Volume
Some songs you download may be just too quiet or too loud
compared to others in your collection. To balance the volume,
click and slide the volume bar to the desired level. You can
then preview the transformed track and compare it to the original.
To load the transformed track, select "Apply."
Normalize
This is a good feature for increasing volume without creating
sound distortion. Just click and drag the "Peak level" bar
to the right. If you normalize to 100%, you are increasing
the sound to the maximum volume achievable without sound distortion.
You can then preview the transformed track and listen to the
original. To load the transformed track, select "Apply."
Dynamic Boost
This effect allows you to boost your sound even if the volume
is as high as sound distortion will allow. There are no settings
to configure. You can preview the transformed track and listen
to the original. To load the transformed track, select "Apply."
Fade
To make particular tracks fade in and/or out. First select
a portion of a file to fade in or out. Then click Transform>Fade;
you will see that the "Presets" is set to "Original." If you
want to fade in or fade out, choose "Fade In" or "Fade Out"
from the drop-down menu. Settings can also be altered by sliding
the Start and Finish volume bars. You can then preview the
transformed track and listen to the original. To load the
transformed track, select "Apply."
Stereo Mixing
This makes it possible to change the stereo settings of the
sound coming out of your speakers. When you click on "Stereo
Mixing," you'll notice the default preset "Original." If you
click on the drop-down menu, you'll see three other presets:
"Stereo Expansion," "Voice Removal" and "Stereo Removal."
These three presets (and the "Original" preset as well) can
be altered by sliding the four bars to the left or to the
right. You can then preview the transformed track and listen
to the original. To load the transformed track, select "Apply."
Reverb
Reverb lets you add an "echo" sound to your music that is
comparable to music heard in a concert hall. Just increase
the reverb "Settings" bar to the desired percentage. You can
then preview the transformed track and listen to the original.
To load the transformed track, select "Apply."
Equalize
To change the equalization levels of a track, slide any of
the 10 bands to the desired level. Bass levels are to the
left while treble levels are to the right. You can then preview
the transformed track and listen to the original. To load
the transformed track, select "Apply."
Winamp DSP
You can also apply Digital Signal processing (DSP) plug-in
settings to tracks. Under "Plug-in Selection," select "Plug-in"
and then choose from among the MEDIA JUKEBOX DSP plug-ins
you have downloaded.
DSP plug-ins are available from the plugins page.
When you select a plug-in, it will open and you can make changes
to the available settings. The settings you choose will be
applied to the track in MEDIA EDITOR. You can then preview
the transformed track and listen to the original. To load
the transformed track, select "Apply."
Saving tracks
Of course, once you've made all these changes to your tracks,
you'll want to save them.
To save the edited file over the original, select File>Save.
Browse for that file, select the "Save as type" of the existing
file," and click "OK." You will be notified that this file
already exists and will be asked to authorize its replacement.
Click "Yes."
If you want to keep the original file and save a new file
with your edits, select "Save As." Then choose a save destination,
type in a new "File name," select a "Save as type," and click
"OK."
To save a portion of a file you have selected, choose File>Save
Selection As.
Types available in the "Save as type" drop-down menu are those
encoder plug-ins you have downloaded) Encoder plug-ins are
availble at the plugin page.
Create and edit your own files
You can create an original blank file and edit it as you would
any other file by adding sound and effects. Select File>New
and choose a sample rate (44100 is recommended), a bit depth,
and either one or two channels.
Use all the features you've learned about in this guide. Cut
and paste clips from other tracks. Generate some sound. Then
transform the effects of the file you've created. The only
limit is your own imagination.
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