BIAS Ships Sound Soap for OS X and XP

BIAS has begun shipping SoundSoap, a new digital audio signal processing tool for the Mac OS X and Windows XP computing platforms. SoundSoap is a noise reduction solution that's also easy enough for average consumers to use effectively. By adjusting just two knobs, anyone can reduce unwanted hiss, room noise, rumble, electrical hum, and other background noise from almost any digital media file - including digital video (DV) soundtracks, PowerPoint and other presentation software soundtracks, Flash and other web-tool soundtracks, digital audio workstation tracks, cassette or other analog tape recordings that have been transferred to a computer, and other sources.

SoundSoap is initially shipping as a VST plug-in for Mac OS X as well as VST and Direct X for Windows XP host applications. Compatible host applications on Mac OS X currently include version 3.2 of Peak LE, Peak DV, and Peak as well as Cubase SX. Windows XP users may use SoundSoap with Adobe Premiere 6.5, Cakewalk, Sound Forge, Wavelab, Cubase, Nuendo, and other XP Direct X and VST host applications.

SoundSoap will soon also function as a standalone application on Mac OS X and Windows XP without requiring a compatible host application. The standalone version of SoundSoap will be offered soon as a downloadable update to all SoundSoap customers at no additional charge.

Wash it Off

With the enormous success of MiniDV and other DV camcorders - and affordable computer-based video editing applications like iMovie, Premiere, Final Cut Pro, and Windows MovieMaker - millions of people are now creating their own movies and video projects, start to finish. Similarly, many web producers, multimedia developers, and business professionals regularly add narration or other audio to their projects, using Flash, PowerPoint, or other programs. And countless musicians and audio enthusiasts use computers to make their own music recordings.

Unfortunately, many such projects suffer from audio problems such as hiss, room noise, and other background noise. SoundSoap makes it simple to "wash off" as much noise as possible while preserving the desired audio. The result is a much more professional-sounding project.

SoundSoap works by reducing "broadband" noise (such as room noise, tape hiss, road noise from a moving vehicle, or noise from air conditioners). It also removes low-frequency rumble, as well as hum - the 50Hz and 60Hz electrical "buzzing" sound common in many audio recordings. The software can even intelligently learn the difference between the noise and the desired audio - achieving amazingly effective results.

With moderate or subtle noise problems, SoundSoap can make the difference between a project that sounds amateurish and one that sounds professional; with more extreme noise problems, SoundSoap can effectively salvage an otherwise unusable audio file. And in keeping with BIAS' tradition of creating powerful native-capable audio applications, SoundSoap takes full advantage of the processing power of your computer, with no additional hardware needed.