manual/plugins/split_editor.tex

   1 \subsection{Split Editor}
   2
   3 When recording an mp3 file, it is common practice to start the recording
   4 a little bit early and stop it a little bit late to ensure all the
   5 desired sound is recorded. This results in recordings that contain
   6 extra snippets of sound in the beginning and the end. Unfortunately these
   7 snippets can not be deleted easily because they are stored in the same
   8 file as the desired recording. The purpose of the split editor is to
   9 split an mp3 file (the input file) at a point in time (split point). Two
  10 new files can be generated from the input file. The first file contains
  11 the part before the split point and the second file contains the part
  12 after the split point. Once this process has been successful the
  13 original file can be deleted or kept as a backup. %
  14 %
  15 The whole process of splitting an mp3 file consists of three steps:
  16 %
  17 \begin{itemize}
  18   \item Defining the split point
  19   \item Generating the result files
  20   \item If desired deleting the input file (with the browser, not the split editor)
  21 \end{itemize}
  22
  23 \subsubsection{How To Use The Split Editor}
  24   When the device plays the song just hit the \ActionWpsPlay{} button
  25   to pause, when playback has roughly reached the split point. This need
  26   not be very precise as the split point can be fine tuned later. A screen
  27   similar to the one below will appear.
  28
  29   \begin{figure}[H]
  30     \begin{center}
  31       \includegraphics[width=8.0cm]{plugins/images/ss-splitedit-main-112x64x1}
  32       \caption{The Split Editor's Main Screen}
  33     \end{center}
  34   \end{figure}
  35
  36 \subsubsection{The Split Editor's Main Screen}
  37   \begin{description}
  38     \item[The waveform]
  39       displays the volume of the song over time. It will appear as the song
  40       plays and help to visually identify the point in time where the split is
  41       desired
  42       %
  43     \item[The split point indicator]
  44       is a vertical line with a small triangle at the top end. It is the most
  45       important control element of the split editor. It can be moved with the
  46       \ButtonLeft\ and \ButtonRight\ buttons. Later, when you have fine tuned
  47       the split point, the song will be split at this position.
  48       %
  49     \item[The split time]
  50       At the top of the window a time value is displayed. This is the point in
  51       time within the song at which the split point indicator is positioned.
  52       %
  53     \item[The locator]
  54       Another vertical bar represents the position locator. It moves along as
  55       the song plays. In contrast to the split point indicator it has no
  56       triangles at the ends.
  57       %
  58     \item[The time bar]
  59       displays the current position within the song relative to the whole song.
  60       The entire length of the time bar represents the song length. The length
  61       of the solid part of the time bar represents the position and length of
  62       the displayed part of the song.
  63       %
  64     \item[The scale mode]
  65       On the right side of the bottom line the scale mode is displayed. The
  66       waveform can be scaled either logarithmically or linearly. In logarithmic
  67       scale mode the letters ``dB'' are displayed, in linear mode ``\%''. Use
  68       \opt{RECORDER_PAD}{\ButtonFThree}
  69       \opt{ONDIO_PAD}{\ButtonMenu\ + \ButtonRight}
  70       to switch between these modes. Linear mode usually gives better optical
  71       hints with commercially recorded music. For quiet recordings,
  72       especially of human speech, the logarithmic scale often is preferable.
  73       More information in the Scale \reference{ref:Scalemode} below.
  74       %
  75     \item[The loop mode]
  76       In the middle of the bottom line the loop mode icon is displayed.
  77       There are 4 different loop modes. Pressing
  78       \opt{RECORDER_PAD}{\ButtonFTwo}
  79       \opt{ONDIO_PAD}{\ButtonMenu\ + \ButtonUp}
  80       changes to the next loop mode.
  81       %
  82       \begin{description}
  83         \item
  84         \includegraphics[width=0.53cm]{plugins/images/icon-splitedit-loop-1}
  85           Playback loops around the split point indicator. This mode is best
  86           used when searching and zooming for the desired point at which to split
  87           the recording.
  88         \item
  89         \includegraphics[width=0.53cm]{plugins/images/icon-splitedit-loop-2}
  90           Playback loops from the split point indicator to the end of the
  91           visible area. This mode is best used when fine tuning the split
  92           indicator position at the beginning of a recording.
  93         \item
  94         \includegraphics[width=0.53cm]{plugins/images/icon-splitedit-loop-3}
  95           Playback loops from the beginning of the
  96           visible area to the split point. This mode is best used when fine
  97           tuning the split indicator position at the end of a recording.
  98         \item
  99         \includegraphics[width=0.53cm]{plugins/images/icon-splitedit-loop-4}
 100           Playback does not loop, the borders of the visible
 101           area as well as the split point indicator are ignored. This mode is
 102           best used when playing the song outside of the borders of the displayed
 103           region.
 104       \end{description}
 105     \item[Perform the split (8)]
 106           The icon above the
 107           \opt{RECORDER_PAD}{\ButtonFOne}
 108           \opt{ONDIO_PAD}{\ButtonLeft}
 109           button indicates its function to execute the split. When split
 110           positioning is complete open the save dialogue with
 111           \opt{RECORDER_PAD}{\ButtonFOne}
 112           \opt{ONDIO_PAD}{\ButtonMenu\ + \ButtonLeft}.
 113   \end{description}
 114
 115   \begin{table}
 116     \begin{btnmap}{Controls in the split editor}{}
 117       \ButtonOff & Quit plugin \\
 118       %
 119       \ButtonLeft\ / \ButtonRight &  Move the split point indicator \\
 120       %
 121       \ButtonUp\ / \ButtonDown & Zoom in / out \\
 122       %
 123       \opt{RECORDER_PAD}{\ButtonPlay}
 124       \opt{ONDIO_PAD}{\ButtonMenu}
 125       & Play from the split position \\
 126       %
 127       \opt{RECORDER_PAD}{\ButtonFOne}
 128       \opt{ONDIO_PAD}{\ButtonMenu\ + \ButtonLeft}
 129       & Enter the save dialogue \\
 130       %
 131       \opt{RECORDER_PAD}{\ButtonFTwo}
 132       \opt{ONDIO_PAD}{\ButtonMenu\ + \ButtonUp}
 133       & Toggle loop modes \\
 134       %
 135       \opt{RECORDER_PAD}{\ButtonFThree}
 136       \opt{ONDIO_PAD}{\ButtonMenu\ + \ButtonRight}
 137       & Toggle logarithmic / linear scaling \\
 138       \opt{RECORDER_PAD}{
 139       %
 140       \ButtonOn\ + \ButtonLeft
 141       & Play half speed \\
 142       %
 143       \ButtonOn\ + \ButtonRight
 144       & Play 150\% speed \\
 145       %
 146       \ButtonOn\ + \ButtonPlay
 147       & Play normal speed \\
 148     }
 149     \end{btnmap}
 150   \end{table}
 151
 152 \subsubsection{Save dialogue}
 153 In the save dialogue it is possible to specify which of the files you
 154 want to save and their names.  When finished, select
 155 ``Save'' and the files will be written to
 156 disk. Note that files can not be overwritten, so filenames that
 157 do not exist yet must be chosen. If unsure whether the
 158 file already exists simply try to save it. If another file with this
 159 name exists the dialogue will return and you can choose another
 160 filename
 161
 162 \screenshot{plugins/images/ss-splitedit-save}{The Split Editor's
 163 Save Dialogue}{}
 164
 165 \begin{table}
 166   \begin{btnmap}{Controls in the save dialogue}{}
 167     \ButtonUp\ / \ButtonDown & Select item \\
 168     %
 169     \opt{RECORDER_PAD}{\ButtonPlay}
 170     \opt{ONDIO_PAD}{\ButtonRight}
 171     & Toggle / edit item \\
 172     %
 173     \ButtonOff & Cancel \\
 174   \end{btnmap}
 175 \end{table}
 176
 177 \subsubsection{\label{ref:Scalemode}Scale}
 178 The values in the waveform are scaled according to the settings of the
 179 peak meter. These can be altered in the peak meter settings,
 180 see \reference{ref:Peakmetersetting}. If extreme minimum or
 181 maximum values are set the waveform might be cut off.  A minimum
 182 setting of {}-60 dB and a maximum setting of 0 dB are recommended.
 183 These settings should be capable of producing useful waveforms for very
 184 soft sounds in logarithmic mode (dB). When the editor is used on loud
 185 sounds (such as commercial rock or pop music) switching to the linear
 186 scale may prove more effective since the logarithmic scale compresses
 187 loud noises and makes it more difficult to identify characteristic
 188 shapes. Note that it is always possible to toggle between the two scale
 189 modes.
 190
 191