d o cu m en    t ation
 
menu
file   open and close a sound file window.  quit the program

edit   launch the preferences window

display window
close box
closes the current sound file's window
title bar
displays the sound file's name
grid line
reference intensity in sones, where +9dB is double intensity
display view
animated display of sound file playback's stereo field
display vectors
an animated graphical representation of the stereo image, where a mono source only in the left channel would occur fully left in the display view, and a mono source only on the right channel would occur fully right in the display view.  the brightness of each vector represents the intensity [loudness] of the corresponding sound.  see the preferences below for the many display options.
intensity "zoom" slider
"zooms" the display view for softer sounds.  when slid upward, the relative intensities of the display vectors increases.  the reference grid lines change accordingly as well
loop button
when depressed, playback loops to the beginning at the end of the file
play button
starts and stops the file.  the space bar is a hot key for this button
time display
shows the current time in the file in hundredths of a second
grid display switch
enables/disabled grid line display
analysis resolution slider
when full right, no averaging occurs and a display vector is calculated for every sample frame.  at other settings, a buffer of sample frames is averaged [rms] for one display vector.  the further left, the larger the stereo analysis buffer size

for slower machines, the slider might need to be leftward to eliminate sluggishness in the drawing of the display

resize box
allows changing the display to any size above a set minimum
scrub slider
changes the time of current playback of file.  the return key is a hot key to set the slider to the beginning of the file [0:00.00]
preferences
set via the preferences window [opened by selecting preferences in the edit menu]:
stereo intensity model
the planar setting maps intensities and image location perception as the plane between the left and right speakers, whereas the spherical mode maps the intensities and image location perception as an arc of a circle where the listener is at the center and the left and right speakers are located at edges of the arc
intensity display
options for intensity analysis.  either rms [root-means-square] averaging or absolute-value peak amplitudes of the current analysis-resolution-buffer-size-number of sample frames
map intensity to vector lengths
if not enabled, color intensity will be the only indicator of intensity
display vectors over grid lines
allows the option to have the grid lines displayed in the foreground or background
upon opening
contains the option to immediately start playing the sound once one is selected
vector color
grid lines color
anti-phase color
launches the standard color picker to set preferred colors.  for the vector and anti-phase vector colors, hue and saturation are only relevant as the brightness varies according to amplitude intensities.
show anti-phase vectors
anti-phase vectors within the stereo sound field contribute to different imaging phenomena depending upon where they occur in the field, their strength, and the sound material type. if they occur towards the edges of the field, a sense of spreading beyond the loudspeakers frequently results. towards the center of the field the sensation is often an unfocused, indistinct and 'phasey' image. if this material is principally ambience or reveberance, then these anti-phase sounds generally produce a very pleasant sense of envelopment. however it is usually undesirable for direct sources [the subjects of the recording] to appear unfocused (though there may be unconsidered creative reasons to do so).

anti-phase vectors can be represented by another color set in the preferences window.  because anti-phase vectors are a not as much a consideration the closer they are to the sides, the anti-phase vector color changes according to its location.  for each anti-phase vector, the color is interpolated between the regular vector color on the sides of the display [+- 90º] and the selected anti-phase color [180º] in the middle of the display.

also, it is possible to view the overall balance between anti-phase and in-phase components of the stereo field by moving the analysis resolution slider towards the left and select rms for the intensity display. doing so can be very useful for determining mono compability, and it is considered that in-phase components should dominate in good recordings, though lively  versimiliar recordings usually contain much anti-phase material for the above mentioned reasons.

vector display
allows for 4 different graphical representations of the sound field:

triangular, radiating inwards


a mono source panned slightly to the right [notice intensity "zoom"]
 
 

triangular, radiating outwards


notice anti-phase vectors [see below]
 
 

circular, radiating outwards


a mono source panned almost full right
 
 

azimuth, centered


large analysis resolution buffer - here, one vector represents many samples
 
 

mono display   for compatibility, a scope-like display:


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