Welcome to Bitwaves Software for Java!

Status Update

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:34:54 +0100

I know it has been a long time since the last MusicBeam update so I thought I give a little status update at least.

The two central topics in MusicBeam development right now are networking and compression. The networking protocol of MusicBeam has to be improved to allow encryption etc. and I am currently searching for a good library that can handle this.

The more problematic topic is compression. The java ogg compression library is in beta state and beside the fact that it currently only supports 44.100kHz it has another serious drawback: It produces lots of garbage when compressing, which results in overly use of the java garbage collector which in turn can cause clicks and dropouts in the sequencer.

There are new garbage collection algorithms in Java6, but since MusicBeam itself is written in a way that produces almost zero garbage, it is very sad to see a library introduce these kinds of problems. I started changing the implementation so it creates less garbage, but the way it is implemented this is a *lot* of work.

On a last note, I have to say that the feeback about MusicBeam is very weak. From about 50 users who downloaded it only 4 reported back in any way. It is very hard to judge how stable MusicBeam is with so few feedback. But, at least those four were mainly having few issues :)

MusicBeam StandAlone mode

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:27:58 +0200

MusicBeam is already a great option to work on music together. But what if one of the participants has no sequencer software?

Because of this problem I am introducing MusicBeam StandAlone mode, a simple solution to record vocals or other tracks to MusicBeam projects without sequencer software.

When MusicBeam opens up in StandAlone mode, in the bottom of the MusicBeam window there will be play/stop buttons and a dropdown box to select the computers audio input. The numbers show the play position in the project in minutes/seconds.

When you press play, you can listen to the project tracks, just as you would in a sequencer software. When the "beam" button in the upper right is enabled, the next time you press play the audio from the selected input will be beamed to the server while the project is playing.

So, tell all those great voices out there that their incapability to use a sequencer is no excuse anymore..

More to come soon!

MusicBeam v0.8.2 beta

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:25:33 +0100

The MusicBeam beta v0.8.2 is available, fixing some bugs that came with the 0.8.1 update.

Changes in this version:
- AudioUnit is compatible to MacOSX 10.4 "Tiger" again
- MusicBeam saves its project with the sequencer project again

Download available at the Bugtracker as always .

MusicBeam v0.8.1 beta arrives!

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:32:26 +0100

After some work with the open-source jVSTwrapper and VSTAU projects that MusicBeam uses, I am happy to announce MusicBeam version 0.8.1!
New in this version:
- Completely bases on jVSTwrapper v0.9g for VST and AU versions
- Improved stability on OSX
- Better window handling

You can check out this version and report problems at the Bugtracker.

Musicbeam Open Beta!

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:13:40 +0200

It is here.. the MusicBeam beta version 0.8!

There are still some bugs to squish and some improvements to make but for further testing MusicBeam now goes into open beta.

Please go here for all information.

Youtube Video lost, Beta Coming

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 13:22:27 +0200

Hi there!

It has been a whle since the last update and I just wanted to tell you that Youtube decided to forget about the MusicBeam demo video, I did not delete it or something.. At least I am not the only one having to squish bugs :) I will upload the video again within the next week.

About the beta.. I am still on track and try to release the beta in september. The Mac AU side still has some problems, since the whole Java-AudioUnit integraton was written from scratch by myself. For the Windows VST implementation I successfully used jVSTwrapper which is an existing and stable platform for Plugin development.

Regards,
Normen

Server Replaced!

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:59:49 +0100

A recent harddisk failure was just the beginning.
Even after installing a new harddisk the server kept freezing over and over again. After the provider checked the hardware they exchanged the whole server.

The Bitwaves Software homepage was not available for about a day.
I apologize for any inconveniences.

Anyway this gave me the opportunity to install all bandwidth / load measuring tools etc. needed for the MusicBeam beta test on the server sooner than I expected :)

Music Beam Announced!

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:49:46 +0100

MusicBeam is an AU/VST plugin for online music collaboration.

By using MusicBeam users can automatically exchange what they recorded in their sequencer and hear everyone elses tracks in sync to their own sequencer.

No more bouncing, compressing and emailing your tracks! MusicBeam does it all for you, in near-real-time.

Click here for more info.