Just upgraded: 1.2 -> 1.3 Beta... Nice!

[Light and Sound]

I don't know why it took me so long to download the 1.3 Beta version, nor do I know why I did not download it instead of the 1.2 Stable version. Maybe the "stable" sounded appealing. Anyway, the 1.3 Beta version is Nice. Here are a few things I really like so far (only been an hour).

• Record append. Nice
• Peak Peak hold on the level meter. Very nice.
• Linked audio and label track. Nice.
• Clipping detection. Very very nice.
• What looks like variable playback speed. Cool.
• The zero level line in 1.2 was off by 1 pixel. Now it is fixed. For some reason, that 1 pixel bugged me. Kudos to whoever fixed that.

There are no doubt more cool things yet to discover. Yes, I know there are lists of changes from 1.2 to 1.3. But it is so nice to actually see them.

For some reason, I am really a stickler about clipping. Some of my cassettes were re-recorded several times because a peak was clipped, even a little bit. Now there is integrated clipping detection. I need to learn more about it.

Is there a user manual online?

Anyway, thank you development team for making such a cool and useful tool, and for the improvements so far, and the improvements yet to come.

I like it.

[kozikowski]

You can install both 1.2 and 1.3 on your machine at the same time. Just don't try to open both at once.

Koz

[steve]

Is there a user manual online?

Yes - here: http://audacityteam.org/manual/index.ph ... =Main_Page

There is also a lot of useful stuff in the Audacity wiki
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
Be sure to check out the "Tips" section:
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Tips

You will probably discover that there are a few little bugs in 1.3.6 but I don't think there is anything major.
One bug is that some effects will produce duplicates of the selected area (I believe "Noise Reduction" does this) the work-around is to turn off the track linking when using these effects.

[waxcylinder]

A couple of other features in 1.3 that you might like

1. Timed recordings - good for recording FM off-air while you are alseep or not there

2. The Repair effect - will repair up to 128 sound samples by interpolating on surrounding waveforms

WC

[steve]

A couple of other features in 1.3 that you might like

• "smart recording" so that if you are recording a vinyl record (for example), the recording will automatically pause at the end of the record (assuming that your turntable automatically lifts the arm at the end).
• Improved Equalizer (though buggy in some 1.3.x versions)
• more file types supported
• more effects included
• fast opening of uncompressed file types (you can start playing / editing almost immediately without waiting for the file to fully load)
• much improved Export dialogue (format settings available on Export rather than buried in Preferences).

[Light and Sound]

I've used it a bit more now, and there are a couple more enhancements that I would like to comment on.

• Meta data editor. Very useful. I'm converting audio books on 6 to 8 cassettes to MP3. The ability to load and restore tags is great for this.
• Track labeling. Outstanding improvement. The track labeling in 1.2 was so slow as to be practically useless. In 1.2 I opted to process songs individually. In 1.3, it now works so well I can record an entire cassette (both sides), edit out the blank middle, use track labeling for individual selections, then export multiple. Big thank-you to whoever fixed that.
• Yes, the Export Dialog is much improved. Does 1.3 have more options for MP3 encoding than was available in 1.2?
• The clipping detection is great. Some of my 1.3 recordings have peaks which come real close to the limit. In the past, I might have re-recorded the track just to be sure there was no clipping. Now, I can just look at the entire project and see whether or not there was any clipping. Aww rite!

I found the Audacity on line manual. It looks like it is for 1.2. Is there a 1.3 manual available?

Also, I have an MP3 encoding question. Is variable bit rate more efficient (smaller file size) than fixed bit rate? I will experiment with different encoding options, but I wanted to solicit comments first. The goal is to convert an 8 cassette audio book to MP3 on CD. The CD has a 700 MB capacity, and I might have to optimize file size to get it all to fit.

Thanks guys. You took an already great product and made it better.

[waxcylinder]

I found the Audacity on line manual. It looks like it is for 1.2. Is there a 1.3 manual available?

Yes you can see it here: http://audacityteam.org/manual/index.ph ... =Main_Page

Just be aware that it's a work in progress and is still incomplete - offers of help to finish it (writing/editing/proof-reading are a;ways welcome.

WC

[steve]

Also, I have an MP3 encoding question. Is variable bit rate more efficient (smaller file size) than fixed bit rate?

The "preset" options have been designed to give optimum quality at various compression levels. They are all VBR except for the "Insane" preset which is 320kbps CBR (the highest quality possible with MP3).

Note that some versions of Audacity 1.3.x have problems with the compression settings and export everything at the same setting, regardless of what you have chosen. If you find that you have that problem, then export as WAV and use an external encoder (I use and recommend LamedropXPd for Windows http://rarewares.org/mp3-lamedrop.php )
Note that an MP3 CD will not be playable in many ordinary CD players.