PG would have to have some development going on in the background to future proof the applications wouldn't they ? This was suggested back in 2015 to future proof things: programming language upgrade delphi to c++ though many users knock the idea at the time saying it was too hard to do, but 8 years down the track PG seem to be in the same predicament spending 6 months on Win then another 6 months on Mac do the same thing rather than using crossplatform JUCE on their Biab app so you get identical apps on Win Mac at the same time. The Mac and Win both use all the same support files, it's just the audio files that are different, if they both used to same audio file format then you could have a crossplatform installer to install the content files, as a search will show these are available for software developers. They repeat themselves doing all the Win content installers then have to then do the same for Mac, WHY ? Kontakt uses crossplatform file sample format and a crossplatform installer. They could release the Win/Mac Plugin/Standalone at the same time if it had a self contained code then you would have the crossplatform content installer using a common audio file format. The Plugin uses JUCE so this should be an obvious way to go. Adar has the Win & Mac Plugin done at the same time but has to wait 6 months for the Mac back end bbw4 app to be put together before it can be released, CRAZY. All this should be like a No Brainer, then PG would have 6 months free, maybe go and holiday in Hawaii away from that Canadian cold.
There’s lots of work, independent of codebase, thats needed for Mac vs Windows. This has been true for 30+ years. Crossplatform solutions don’t last forever, and you’d be left holding the bag if they’re discontinued. ‘Perhaps you’re not aware of this, but much of the biab code is already cross platform (playback engine, chords window , audio, piano roll and other windows ) . Just recompile for different OS. So there’s nothing to be gained there from “going crossplatform”.
Companies don't last forever unless they keep up with things.
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much of the biab code is already cross platform..Just recompile for different OS.
If it wasn't it would take longer even longer than 6 months.
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So there’s nothing to be gained there from “going crossplatform”.
6 months, being able to release at the same time with same features. I could go right now and make a crossplatform content installer with wav files that would work on Win and Mac. Same way UserTracks work on Win & Mac.
Why does every other company release their Win and Mac versions at the same time with same features. Similar arguments were given about Biab going 64bit, that was fought off for years n years until apple forced you rather than doing the right thing in the first place. You got it done ! then you decided to do the same with RealBand and now I don't get hardly any crashes.
If you want to put off crossplatform Band In A Box for more and more years AT LEAST get crossplatform content installers with the same audio format so the Plugin/Plugin Standalone can be released at the same time with it's own code, and Mac users can have that 6 months earlier.
Originally Posted By: musocity
5 years down the track... PG still lagging behind. This is the most common everyday thing, you buy drums and they are 48/24 bit, it should be a bleeding obvious no brainer move to have an Audiophile drive with high quality audio:
Same deal, fought against for so looooooong.
It's all the same mindset that has kept it in the past. These are not weird obscure things I post, they are bleeding obvious industry standards.
What I'm suggesting PG do, I can go and do right now with Reaper, I can make up a GUI script NOW to play a demo wma/m4a and choose a RealTrack from a Picker GUI window then instantly generate it up in Reaper 2500+ bars long, any decimal tempo map without even using Biab or BBPlugin, this would work on Win and Mac. They could do this at the same time on Win and Mac, no waiting 6 months. I can go do that right now, give it away for free and users would just need to buy the Biab content. I can already do that in Reaper with RealDrums and Stems without even using Biab same as Power Tracks can. I can also generate up tracks to any real time signature, instantly.
I show all these things to PG like time signatures, 48/24 audio, 64 bit, RealTrack/Drum samples, instant play, Live Arranger, crossplatform, +++... but they are ignored or put off or fought against until way way way down that long track.
Why not > Oh Yeah cool idea > implement > upload > users download > users use.
Get your programming sorted so you can implement things easily and quickly for both Win and Mac. It's like the time signatures saga that got stuck in the way they are for so long because of how they were made, it's the same with the programming way you have been stuck in for so long. All of these issues are now manifesting, the dam is starting to show it's leaks, the lid is blowing off the pressure cooker because they kept being put off for song long. Really you need to bite the bullet and New Ways of Doing Things, Quantum Leaps In Thinking You have an old car with a good engine but you keep patching the body up, going off half cocked. When you hit "recompile for different OS" it should not take 6 months.
Again, if you are going to put Biab off and just rely on old customers, PLEASE, get that BBPlugin working properly crossplatform (as in release), independent, and an independent website. I don't hide any of my secrets and keep quite, I give them all to you.
It's like the time signatures saga that got stuck in the way they are for so long because of how they were made, ...
... and the 255 bar limit and I'm sure some other things.
One of the things PGM have done really well for a long time is maintain compatibility between releases over many years. That's great and no mean achievement. Kudos.
But it's also, as you're saying, leaving them hamstrung.
I can believe there are people still using quite old versions and possibly quite old hardware, but I really wonder just how many. Maintaining that compatibility costs a big, possibly huge, amount of effort and I personally think an 80/20 rule or similar probably should be applied. I've mooted before an "upgrade amnesty" of the program to allow PGM to cease support of old versions, and I've suggested a translation to/from old formats to bypass compatibility. Personally I think the amnesty is the way to go ... perhaps a $20 or free update to 2023 when 2024 gets released, perhaps a free program upgrade on a content-only release. Possibly a change to content-only pricing.
I expect such a change will be a significant task, so probably any such rationalisation would really only happen in a year or few from now.
I do suspect that PGM put too much time, effort and spend into maintaining version compatibility, rather than addressing the interoperation issues a different way.
Obviously I don't know what their codebase actually looks like. It's possible that it really is all too hard, but that speaks all the louder to a rethink.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. Kawai MP6, Korg M50, Ui24R, Saffire Pro 40. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11; Win8.1: Scarletts BIAB2022 UltraPAK, Reaper, a bunch of stuff.
Not sure what compatibility you would need between an old and new version. If you have an old version and bought new RealTracks they would need the new version to work. If an old user sent an SGU to a new user it would still open. If a new users sends an SGU to an old user they would get an NA if the RTs are new.
If the new version had another save format as default to handle decimal tempos, real time signatures and more than 255 bars, but still be able to save as an old SGU format to send to old users. So you could open the new format in the BBPlugin giving you all the same track sections that were frozen.
I had track injector working on a Celeron 1.7Ghz laptop playing wma direct. It's what I said before, you can't limit the technology because of old users with old hardware and say to someone in a modern studio, sorry it can't be made better because of old hardware users, I know you are running a business but there is nothing we can do about it, you just have to go have a cup of coffee while it's generating. That is what made the BBPlugin flop, but when the new versions comes out soon hopefully, it should be playing direct or from RAM (optionally). It will either have code in it the do the few generate functions without needing the old bbw4 OR it will be still using the old bbw4 to generate just the track data that the Plugin will then play direct instantly.
Not sure what compatibility you would need between an old and new version. If you have an old version and bought new RealTracks they would need the new version to work.
The way I mostly use BIAB and certainly I'm not alone, is that I send to or receive from another band member an SGU or MGU file for use for practice, etc.
Generally those files work OK, because BIAB tries to substitute a style for one it doesn't have. How well that works from a new BIAB to an old BIAB I'm not sure as mostly I've been the new BIAB user. But I'm pretty sure it works at least to some extent.
Maybe where BIAB is used more for music creation, rather than for sharing practice stuff, it doesn't matter at all.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. Kawai MP6, Korg M50, Ui24R, Saffire Pro 40. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11; Win8.1: Scarletts BIAB2022 UltraPAK, Reaper, a bunch of stuff.
Ci siamo dati da fare e abbiamo aggiunto oltre 50 nuove funzionalità e una straordinaria raccolta di nuovi contenuti, tra cui 222 RealTracks, nuovi RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 3, Playable RealDrums Set 2, due nuovi set di "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 e altro ancora!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 apporte plus de 50 fonctions nouvelles ainsi qu'une importante de contenus nouveaux à savoir : 222 RealTracks, des RealStyles nouveaux, des SuperTracks MIDI, des Etudes d'Instruments, des Prestations d'Artistes, des "Morceaux avec Choeurs", un Set 3 de Tracks Jouables, un Set 2 de RealDrums Jouables, deux nouveaux Sets de "RealDrums Stems", des Styles XPro PAK 6, des Xtra Styles PAK 17 et bien plus encore!
Video: Making a Song with Band-in-a-Box®, ChatGPT, and Synth V
Take your Band-in-a-Box® project to a whole new level when you incorporate ChatGPT and Synth V to add lyrics and vocals to your song!
We wanted to demonstrate how this is done with our video, where we show you how to go from nothing to a finished "radio ready" modern pop song by combining the features of Band-in-a-Box®, ChatGPT, and Synth V!
User Video: Next-Level AI Music Editing with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box®
The Bob Doyle Media YouTube channel is known for demonstrating how you can creatively incorporate AI into your projects - from your song projects to avatar building to face swapping, and more!
His latest video, Next-Level AI Music Editing with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box, he explains in detail how you can use the Melodist feature in Band-in-a-Box with ACE Studio. Follow along as he goes from "nothing" to "something" with his Band-in-a-Box MIDI Melodist track, using ACE Studio to turn it into a vocal track (or tracks, you'll see) by adding lyrics for those notes that will trigger some amazing AI vocals!
Wir waren fleißig und haben über 50 neue Funktionen und eine erstaunliche Sammlung neuer Inhalte hinzugefügt, darunter 222 RealTracks, neue RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, abspielbare RealTracks Set 3, abspielbare RealDrums Set 2, zwei neue Sets von "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 und mehr!
Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!
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