Hi guys,
I haven't had much of a chance to frequent this list for some time as I've been developing a heap of other software and hardware. Just not enough hours in the day!

Anyway, I've been tinkering with MultiPlay, fixing bugs and adding new features. I plan to release the new version soon, but would like some feedback before I do.

Some of the new features are not compatible with the old cue list files, and it's not practical to write import filters. Would it be so bad if users had to make new cue lists for the new version?

Also, is there anything you want to comment on? Here's a partial list of the changes:

• New: Restricted Mode to prevent users from editing preferences & cue properties
• New: Separate notes window to supplement the Script Ref column information
• New: Program audio groups can now be named for easier routing
• New: Prevent multiple instances of MultiPlay being run (selectable)
• New: Customisable fonts & colours for cue list & notes windows
• New: User configurable Tools menu to use external programs & other files
• Fixed: Play List cues could be triggered multiple times whilst already playing
• Fixed: Audio Controls window sometimes reported incorrect volume, pan & pitch
• Fixed: Audio Controls window sometimes had incorrect title
• Fixed: Changed window default positions to ensure they're visible the first time
• Improved: Cue properties window layout has a more consistent look
• Improved: Checking of Fade-in, Fade-out, Fade-at-end & Start / End Position
• Improved: Cue error checking and reporting
• Changed: Fade-at-end function so Fade-out time is now subtracted from End Position

Hey David - this looks great! It would be fantastic if you made MultiPlay compatible with the SoundMan-Server audio engine API: http://www.richmondsounddesign.com/vss.html

One thing at a time Charlie!

Hi David.

I'm not sure if I've said this before, but on my version (1.6.1.0), whenever I try top change anything in the Preferences, an error dialog box appears, saying: " is not a valid integer value. I'm pretty certain this is to do with the Comms tab, but I'm not positive. Is this a little bug, or a bad download?

Thanks,

Chris

Yes I've had the same, mainly setting up audio groups. The setting change seems to take effect anyway, but it can be a little bit of an issue when making a change on the fly mid-show.

David, you say you've been developing some hardware as well which is why you've not been around. I wonder whether there is the option for a hardware side of multiplay? From this I mean a set of audio outputs, perhaps via usb, but more importantly, an interface for some closing contact switches. In particular a "go" button, but maybe just some terminals that can be connected to anything. Clearly a hardware unit would not be free, but I wonder if there are enough users to warrant a bought piece of hardware? Maybe there's already something out there that will do the job.

At the minute I have a bodged/modified serial mouse driver board sat in a project box with a big red button connected to the pins of the left click button. I use the laptop cursor to place the arrow over the "go" button and then just use the red button to make clicks.

I was recently asked to do a local church charity quizz night and was asked if I had a set of suitable buzzers for contestants to press. A bodged keyboard with different hotkeys connected to the closing contacts of the buzzers (via lockout relays which also worked a big lamp on the desk infront of the relevant contestant) meant each contestant could have a different comedy buzzer sound effect. Worked well! A hardware interface would be really great (though not free obviously!).


I also wonder about a dedicated button/keystroke that coud launch a pre-recorded emergency evacuation message? Perhaps in the top bar rather than on the track list itself recorded as a track?

Looks good to me David, can't wait for it. It's a very handy program to use, though I have had it freeze on me a couple of times but I put it more down to the computer rather than the program, keep up the good work!!

Absolutely. I apologise if anyone misunderstood the purpose of my original post. We are absolutely supportive of every and all sound design applications and are not attempting to push any one of them over any other or to develop any application that competes with any third party application such as MultiPlay. We have stopped the development of all such user interface applications and focused strictly on the development of an extremely powerful sound engine API - one which is and will remain far more comprehensive and useful for theatre sound design and many other applications that need these sorts of capabilities to provide sound designers with the kind of tools they need more and more these days. We are not trying to get any developer such as David to necessarily change direction but we are providing any developer who is interested with free development tools and support if they want to take advantage of the power of this new engine. You will see a partial list of developers who are doing these sorts of applications on our page of supporting applications. This is far more than I had intended to write originally and I don't want it to be seen as promotion of our product. I posted here in response to David's announcement because I don't have David's email address and when I invited him to join my LinkedIn network he declined to do so and said he didn't know me, (unless that was a different David Duffy!) although we have communicated before, so this was the easiest way to get in communication with him since he rarely posts to the theatre sound list. So there it is. Again my apologies for the bandwidth here - I absolutely was not trying to promote anything over anyone else and our objectives are completely supportive of community developers such as David and I think he knows that since I have said this on the theatre sound list a few times in the last several months. He doesn't have to do anything at all and he will still get our total support and enthusiasm for what he is doing and again, we are not trying to steal his business or his thunder (we are all sound designers, after all ;-) And if he chooses to develop with our engine, he will also get our total support and enthusiasm just as so many other developers of applications such as MultiPlay are doing. One final comment is that one of the most powerful features of what we are offering is the ability to have the audio server support as many as 20 applications like MultiPlay all simultaneously, which means that the designer, the techs, the operator, the sound mixer, the stage manager and more can all have their own interface applictions and potential control over the sound process in the theatre. This is an absolutely revolutionary idea and one which is being met with huge excitement in the industry and we want everyone to know how much it can assist and how easy it is for developers such as David to take advantage of it. Ok, well, that's it for that. I should also say that I apologise unreservedly for a comment made recently on the theatre-sound list. It was made in a rash moment and absolutely no offense was intended. If there were any way to take it back, I would have done it immediately after sending it and should have apologised right away of course. Please forgive me for being offensive, insensitive and for obviously upsetting a number of people. There was definitely no intent to cause hurt or injury to anyone and if anyone wants a personal apology off list I am more than willing to communicate and provide one. And apologies again for any perceived offense made by my comments to David here as well.

Sincerely,
Charlie

David, Thanks for a great piece of kit - Quote from a lampie " Is that all there is to your job? I can do that."

Only a couple of minor things, a bit of colour would make things easier to see in the murk during a show:

Could the Control Actions each be a different colour, eg under START: NA (red): STC (blue) etc. & similar under ADVANCE?

Could the red Progress bar in DESCRIPTION (when the cue is running) be more prominent? Maybe full-depth? Occasionally, when I had several different length cues running simultaniously, I lost track of what was still running - I gets confused easily.

I was pondering how to bodge a hardware trigger too.

A couple of times I hit SPACE when I should have used a Hot Key & triggered the wrong sound altogether, but that's down to a software error - the software in question being between my ears

Keep the updates coming

Pete

Hi David,

Love the software. 1 Request (which is probably too bit to do or is already in the software!) What about the ability to create two cue lists and run them at the same time or having two "go" buttons or something. This way you could still have some say music playing and layer effects over the top?

Although you could probably just run two multiplays. Never tried that actually!

But it's just a sugestion!


Cheers


Tom

Why couldn't you have the music on a loop as one cue, and the rest in the same window? Is this the sort of thing you were thinking of?

There must have been something weird happen about the LinkedIn network. I don't recall it at all. Maybe I'm going bonkers with the workload! Just to clear this up, I have spoken (via email) to Charlie a few times over the last few years and don't have a problem with him. I have left a few email lists and forums this year as I just don't have time to pick through them at the moment. Family life and too much other stuff going on! I will have to check out SoundMan Server one day. It does sound like a good product. Ah, too many ideas, not enough time to try them all out!


You can already play as many things at once as you like. As Chris said, run the music in one audio or playlist cue and trigger your sound effect at will over the top of it.

You can run multiple copies of MultiPlay in the latest version I think, but beware of them both reading and writing to the same ini file.


I have plans for icons that change to indicate status, etc.


I will try to make the progress bar full height again. I has issues with the description text rendering last time I did it though.


A USB numeric keypad with a button wired across the enter key would work. I'll think about it some more.


Try version 1.6.4.0 as it contained some bug fixes.

Hi David, I've used Multiplay a bit recently and found it a fantastic bit of software - thanks!
Bugs/features:
As mentioned already the " is not a valid integer bug.
Occasionally I've experienced some latency on playback, and occasionally a click on starting a cue, more common on my older VAIO Athlon 1800. Would it be possible to have the option to load a file into RAM for playback, or some degree of buffering?
Hot starts: it would be handy to have hot starts operating outside of the cue list, ie: triggering a hot start shouldn't cause a change in cue list position. Typical scenario; you're suddenly asked for some impromptu walk-on music but you don't want to lose your position in the cue list.
The fade outs often seem to end quite abruptly.

I would have thought adding MIDI triggering to MultiPlay would probably resolve most of the hardware triggering issues. People could either use existing MIDI hardware they've got, or purchase/make their own custom MIDI triggers. You could also then trigger it from lighting desks and similar easily if required.

...I almost forgot: a more obvious active window colour; it's not easily obvious when Multiplay isn't the active window.

Second that! Would solve all of the above problems I listed a lot easier than a dedicated hardware unit.
Any way of getting a que to pan between two different outputs - like a motorbike passing left to right? I guess at the minute two tracks could be run at once, one in the left channel, one in the right, with one doing a fade out and the other fading in, but a dedicated solution would be really useful.

C

Hot starts: it would be handy to have hot starts operating outside of the cue list, ie: triggering a hot start shouldn't cause a change in cue list position. Typical scenario; you're suddenly asked for some impromptu walk-on music but you don't want to lose your position in the cue list.


Unless I've totally misunderstood the question........(Not unknown )

Set the (Hot-keyed) cue's advance parameter to "No Action": It'll play without advancing the list.

Took me some while to work this out................... but then it became obvious

Pete

I still haven't sussed how to Quote proper - Apologies proffered

I'll be looking into the midi option, but don't have any midi hardware at the moment. Maybe one of those midi software tools can be used to test?

The notes window that I've added also supports basic HTML formatting. (colour, size, font, <HR>, tables, etc) This means you can really customise the cue notes if you want to. If you key in plain text, it uses the default font, size, colour from the notes preferences. I'm really pleased with this feature as it's got great potential.

For some of the new features, it would be best if I could move to a new cue list file format. How much pain is this going to cause users?

As for hot starts, the hot keys should do what you want. I'm actually changing the way things advance and trigger so this should be easier to achieve soon.

If you get MIDI Ox then it has a PC keyboard generating MIDI notes mode so you could use this to test, or there are probably numerous simple bits of MIDI software about, worse case I'll write a simple one for you! MIDI Yoke may also be useful for adding virtual MIDI ports to patch between.

If people did need to stick to the old cue list format they could always use older software versions, I know you said its not practical to write import filters, but I imagine if you could at least load the filename and ideally fade times from the old list you've done most of the hard work, although surely it can't be that hard to import most supported features?

That works, I was thinking about having hot starts that are completely separate to the cue list. But that's a decent work-around , thanks.

The new file format for MultiPlay will be XML. I have been going to move to XML for the last 12 months, but haven't had the time to implement it. I now have it saving as XML and will work on the loading code this weekend. I will also try to make loading of the older files possible but there will be some loss of data. All the basic cue data will be imported, but I am changing the way the cues interact so there may be some editing to be done there.

I'm also adding some extra data into the new XML lists. They are not just cue lists any more and now contain other "show specific" data. Stuff like author, notes, etc. I may move other show specific configuration data there too. Any suggestions on this?

I was thinking about having hot starts that are completely separate to the cue list.

I put all the Hot Starts at the bottom of the list, after a Silent Cue saying "End of Act / End of Show"

Stops me getting confuddled

Pete

One thing I am changing is the way cues follow each other. In the current version, you can use the Start Play or End Play cue options to start the next cue.
I want to do away with those two options and just have a choice of:

• No Action (list row doesn't move)
• Start Advance (advances list row as soon as cue starts)
• End Advance (advances list row after cue has completed)

Now, this means there would be no way to have the cues play one after the other automatically. This will be achieved by inserting the new Auto Follow cue after any cue that you need that functionality on. I realise that this will mean extra entries in the cue list, but the major benefit is that cues that automatically follow each other will be obvious. How does that sound?

There is also a new Control Cue to start, stop, fade, pause or resume audio and play list cues. The nice thing about this is that it makes it obvious what it's controlling. In the cue properties, you can now see which cue (by name) the control cue applies to. This and a lot of other work I've done means you can also move cues around in the list and the Control Cue will still know what cue to apply the action to.

These new methods & features mean I can make the audio & play list cue properties a little simpler. Is everyone happy with that?

Could auto follow not be a column in the current cue, rather than a completely separate one, then it could also autofollow after other defined periods of time that aren't the cue length. So it would then work in a similar way to many lighting desks.

the pause would be great, especially for some of the folk I work with, any chance of a search/scan function??

Probably not, but I'll keep it in mind!


I really need to get rid of the function from the cues as it is impeding other new functions and would be confusing to use. You'll be able to do a delayed auto follow with the timed pause (delay) function anyway.

Does this mean dividing the current cue system into two parts? An audio cue with vol, pan, pitch, properties etc, and a control cue with the start, stop, fade, cue advance, commands etc. I'd have to see it in practice to form an opinion. I really like the way the current list works, but that's not say this wouldn't be an improvement.
Also, how about an elapsed time counter in the audio properties window for setting in and out points?

Yes. I'm separating out the part of the current cues that controls other cues. Having control cues will make it easier to change the cue list around without having to worry about what cue was affecting other cues. It also means future features like midi triggers will be able to use those same control cues. I'm changing it now to ensure the future expandability of MultiPlay.


I'm also working on a new common cue properties window for most cue types. A position indicator of some type is on the to-do list. :-)

Hi Dave,

Just wondered if there was any more news on when the next multiplay release would be out?


Thanks


Tom

There's just not enough (spare) hours in the day at the moment. One of the realities of freeware I'm afraid. I'll should have it ready by end of May.

Just thought I'd pop in and say that version 2 of MultiPlay is nearly done.

I'd taken a break from the amateur theatre world for a while. I had felt burnt out as
there was just not enough hours in the day and one group got difficult to work with.

Here's a list of what's already completed:

• New: Restricted Mode to prevent users from editing preferences & cue properties
• New: Separate HTML notes window to supplement the Script Ref column
• New: Program audio groups can now be named for easier routing
• New: Prevent multiple instances of MultiPlay being run (selectable)
• New: Customisable fonts & colours for cue list & notes windows
• New: User configurable Tools menu to launch external programs & other files
• New: Delete Cue option as well as Cut Cue
• New: Volume Change cue to fade target cue up, down or out
• Fixed: Play List cues could be triggered multiple times whilst already playing
• Fixed: Audio Controls window sometimes reported incorrect volume, pan & pitch
• Fixed: Audio Controls window sometimes had incorrect title
• Fixed: Changed window default positions to ensure they're visible the first time
• Fixed: Audio cues created using Empty Audio cue displayed wrong remaining time
• Improved: Cue properties window layout has a more consistent look
• Improved: Checking of Fade-in, Fade-out, Fade-at-end & Start / End Position
• Improved: Cue error checking and reporting
• Improved: Can now specify how many loops for audio & play list cues
• Improved: Can use subdirectories (under /Content) in fixed path mode
• Improved: Cue number can be shown at both sides of list
• Changed: Fade-at-end function so Fade-out time is now subtracted from End Position
• Changed: Cue lists are now stored in XML format for future expandability

Thanks to the many people who have enquired about MultiPlay over the last 12 months and
offered suggestions. If anyone has suggestions for the new version, please let me know.

Thank you, David, for creating MultiPlay! Glenn Dunn in St. Louis, MO, USA showed it to me and I've used it in the last 6 productions I've run sound for. Great tool.

One thing would make it even more useful for me, and you're already including 1/3 of that thing in your enhancement list above - "New: Volume Change cue to fade target cue up, down or out". Are you willing to extend that to change volume, pitch, and/or pan? I've had a cue for a truck driving by that needed to pan from one side to the other, and one for a Victrola wind-up record player running down that needed to drop in pitch at a certain point. Being able to program a cue to do each of those things would be exceedingly wonderful! (And in the case of the Victrola cue - I was setting up the cues for someone less confident to actually run, and she was having trouble moving the Pitch on the audio properties window and consistently getting back to the main window to trigger the next cue, which came fast.)

Nathan Schroeder
Saint Louis MO USA

I have thought about making controlling pitch and balance, but the audio engine I'm using doesn't directly support that. I am looking at improving it to do this though. As they say "It's on the list!"

Well, phooey. (But as a programmer I understand tool limitations.) Since the Audio Properties window allows changing pitch and pan, I figured you had the code right there (behind that window) that you could use. I guess that window is part of the engine you're using, so you can't get easily to the code behind the window.

No, all of the visual stuff is mine. The (3rd party) audio engine does support pitch and balance changes, but not timed ones. I will have to add in extra code to do that.

The volume fade function was already present in the audio engine. It's all possible, but takes time to get it working in a stable way.

Boy, do I know how that feels.............

Looking forward to playing with v2.0

Pete

OK, I had a look last night to see how hard the "fading pan" and "fading pitch" would be. After a few hours work I have them almost done!

I'm still finalising how the cues follow on from each other, etc so you can start a cue and then fade the volume, pan and pitch all at once if need be.

I love multiplay and just wanted to say thanks for the continuing of developing it.

Thanks

Thanks for continuing the the good work on Multiplay!
In my experience of using it I've only 2 slight 'bugs':
Tracks sometimes start with an audible click, would it be possible to choose where tracks are played back from - hard disk or RAM? Or to be able to buffer the starts of tracks?
Occasionally the fades end quite abrubtly ie: don't fade all the way to silence, they just stop.

As for additional features; I'd like to be able to save and import playlists for walk-in music, and also a random play button for the playlist cue.

Thanks again.

I can't say I've heard the "click at cue start" problem. Is it always with the same file(s)?

I'll look into the fade end some more, as one other user has said a similar thing.

So for the play list cue, you want to be able to load the file list via an m3u file or similar?

Should the random option in a play list cue just randomise the playback order once each time the cue was used?

I can't say if either of these options will make it into MultiPlay but they sound interesting.

Sorry David, I know the time for consultation on the next release must be well and truly over by now, I guess you'll be looking to finish it up rather than have new ideas thrown at you............ but:

I wondered if the hotkeys functions could be expanded a bit, particularly with respect to controlling the software from a keyboard. I don't know how much the current multiplay can do or what each hotkey does (any chance of a chart somewhere in the instructions?) but things like "fade current cue" and "fade all previous" would be great to be able to assign to a hotkey. I'm really thinking along the lines of building a simple hacked keyboard box with arcade type buttons on it, but to be able to stick labels on to a standard keyboard would do for those of us less into DIY.
Another really useful addition would be the ability to undo a fade out. In the past I've received an incorrect cue from backstage to fade out, followed by a "no not yet!", by which point the cue is fading and there's nothing I can do to stop it. A button to switch off the fade out and fade the track back up again would be a lifesaver!
Is a midi implementation on the cards some time? I've spotted your new serial buttons software on the website. A Midi version of that would be amazingly useful.

Many thanks for all your work

Chris

I have thought about user assignable hot keys for the various functions. Maybe something like I use in my AussieJuke software, where there is a grid of all available keys and you choose what function is assigned to each. The only potential problem is clashes between the function hot keys and the hot keys used for triggering cues.

I am adding a Stop Fade function which gets you half way there with your Undo Fade request. To truly undo a fade, I'd need to keep track of the level each fade started from. I guess it's possible, but how many people would use it?

I probably add midi to MultiPlay at some stage, but not for version 2.0 anyway. I've never used midi before. Would it just be Note On and Note Off messages?

As for a midi version of Serial Buttons, maybe a new thread is in order?

Stop fade would indeed be a great step in the right direction. I found it on a dance show I was working and once I'd commited to pressing the go button, that was it!
As for the hotkeys, it's really to try and get away from mouse clicks and as I can't afford a touchscreen I am making a hardware interface instead. It's configurable to do any key on a keyboard so the AussieJuke assignment would be ideal. I can see what you're saying about button conflicts, perhaps a button could become greyed out and unselectable once it's been assigned somewhere else? Sounds easy but I guess there is more to the coding than that!
There is another thread somewhere on here where I talk about a requirement for something identical to a midi version of serial buttons, the idea was to be able to control and call up program changes in an outboard effects unit via midi. Buttons such as "long delay" and "squeeky voice" being redily accessible via a computer screen would be really useful.
Here's the thread;
http://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=33384

No, different files and different PC's. I thought it might be something as simple as DC offset on the individual files but I checked them in a WAV editor, also it's not consistent. I think there's also been a little bit of latency which is why I wondered about the option to playback from RAM.




Yes, .WPL or similar, or even a just something unique to Multiplay.



Not sure what you mean. What I'd like to be able to do is import my usual walkin/walkout playlist and have it start on a different track for every walkout so it doesn't sound too 'samey'.

Another thing I forgot to ask for is the facility to set the minimum time between cue triggers; occasionally I've kept my finger on the keyboard a little too long and it's triggered the next cue.

Many thanks again.

Just a quick update. Progress on the new version of MultiPlay had slowed to a crawl for various reasons. I'm getting back on top of it now!

One thing I've been working on for a while is the window and menu structures. I have made the cue list grid it's own window now to enable users to move the various windows around into a way that works best for them. I've also added toolbars to some of the windows for common functions. You can customise these toolbars somewhat. Would it be of use to be able to save and load different layouts?

I've also been experimenting with dockable windows that "pop out" from the main window's sides. These could contain other information or features. Is there anything that you'd like to see in that regard? I can't promise anything but I am open to suggestions.

Maybe some candidates for these new dockable windows:

• Hot Key viewing and editing
• Cue list properties (author, title, dates)
• General configuration
• Playback controls for the currently highlighted cue
• Cue properties (disabled for any currently playing cue)

Version 2.0.0.1 (BETA) of MultiPlay is up for your perusal, comments and criticism!

looks good, cant wait to play with it more, although I will be waiting a bit before using it live (for obvious reasons)

only one thing I seem to have a problem with, it wont allow me to drag and drop audio files straight into the cue list, I have to use the insert audio file option.

love the notes window, gives tons more space.

I just want a touch screen now to use the big GO button!!!

Oh, the O/S I am using is win XP pro if it makes a difference, not tried it yet, but would multiplay work under linux?

Version 2 is beta - not stable enough for live use.

I'm working on the drag and drop at present.

MultiPlay is Windows only.

I'm also working on midi output at the moment.

David
Is it possible to have a key action to trigger ' Fade All Out' possibly backspace or user defined.
Also an option such that if Stop All is used then the defined end action still applies.
My final wish would be a user defined debounce time for the GO.
Brian
( Still a happy Multiplay user!)

Brian,
I haven't done any changes to the way hot keys, etc are assigned but will do.

Can you elaborate on the Stop All request?

So, locking out the GO action for a settable time after each go is what you'd like? Something like 0 - 2 seconds in 100ms increments?

I've added an option to the configuration that allows you to set a "GO Lockout Time" from zero to 5 seconds in 100ms increments. The GO button also turns red while the button is locked out.

Keep the suggestions coming guys.

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.


Just so everyone knows, you can select multiple files when inserting Audio Cues. It will insert one cue for each file selected.