DP6 : Hobbit Meets With MOTU

zed · Post by **zed** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:33 pm

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:It ends up that Frodo was sitting right next to me (in a baseball hat)...

Frodo in a baseball hat!!?! Now there's an image I wasn't expecting.

Frodo wrote:...I've found in my short life that human beings make the best people.

Priceless.

Shooshie · Post by **Shooshie** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:37 pm

I'm just thrilled that there was dialogue, and even more happy that they're READING our forum! I'd expect them to. They need a little applause, just like we do. I think a lot of us have posted very positive experiences with DP6. They've also heard the reaction to the interface, and I'll bet they respond. It would be my guess that they'll give us some sliders or color pickers or something to change various elements, since it's so easy to do. My son and I were talking about doing it ourselves -- creating a little utility with a graphic interface, but decided that such a utility might violate the MOTU EULA, so we nixed the idea. I told him he'd be a pretty popular programmer in the DP world.

But legal issues come first these days.

Back to the point: THANK YOU, FRODO, for opening this dialog up to all of us. You are much appreciated, along with the always lovable MIDI Life Crisis and the Mysterious Man from MOTU. (The way you described him, he sounded like Les Quindepan, back when he was on the phones a lot. Always a rational voice who tried to help. I'll never forget that.)

Nor this... Post as you see fit. Tell us what you think is appropriate. We're all ears at this point.

Shooshie

BobK · Post by **BobK** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:43 pm

Frodo wrote:I've found in my short life that human beings make the best people.

Good one, Frodo! I agree.

jlaudon · Post by **jlaudon** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:42 pm

Frodo wrote:It reminds one that we're interacting with human beings, and I've found in my short life that human beings make the best people.

Is that short as in tall, or short as in young

?

Thanks for taking the time to do all this - you sure don't hobnob (is that the right word?) around

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:50 pm

jlaudon wrote:
Frodo wrote:It reminds one that we're interacting with human beings, and I've found in my short life that human beings make the best people.
Is that short as in tall, or short as in young ?

What's the difference?

jlaudon wrote: Thanks for taking the time to do all this - you sure don't hobnob (is that the right word?) around

LOL-- I hob often. I just don't get to nob very much.

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:03 pm

Funny thing, Frodo. I used to read your posts and heard Elijah Woods voice. But now that I sat with you a bit, I can distinctly hear YOUR voice and I'm having a bit of an adjustment to my psyche

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:06 pm

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:Funny thing, Frodo. I used to read your posts and heard Elijah Woods voice. But now that I sat with you a bit, I can distinctly hear YOUR voice and I'm having a bit of an adjustment to my psyche

Dude-- I've totally screwed it up for you!!

You'll never be the same!! See what damage culture shock can do?

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:14 pm

Frodo wrote:
MIDI Life Crisis wrote:Funny thing, Frodo. I used to read your posts and heard Elijah Woods voice. But now that I sat with you a bit, I can distinctly hear YOUR voice and I'm having a bit of an adjustment to my psyche
Dude-- I've totally screwed it up for you!! You'll never be the same!! See what damage culture shock can do?

Well no. You're more of a wizard. I'm thinking "Gandalf" but he would never wear a baseball cap.

Tritonemusic · Post by **Tritonemusic** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:25 pm

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:Funny thing, Frodo. I used to read your posts and heard Elijah Woods voice. But now that I sat with you a bit, I can distinctly hear YOUR voice and I'm having a bit of an adjustment to my psyche

I remember in the very early days of UnicorNation, Frodo had a link to his website. I listened to his stuff (I recall piano and vox, primarily) and ever since then, I hear piano in the background whenever I read his posts. Weird, but true.

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:29 pm

666 wrote: I remember in the very early days of UnicorNation, Frodo had a link to his website. I listened to his stuff (I recall piano and vox, primarily) and ever since then, I hear piano in the background whenever I read his posts. Weird, but true.

It's amazing that he can play so well with those little hobbit fingers!

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:29 pm

Gosh-- you remember *that*, 666?

Man, that was back in the cretaceous era! (and that wasn't my voice, in case you were wondering...)

(btw--- still organizing and typing notes)

pcm · Post by **pcm** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:37 am

wurliuchi wrote:
tripit@earthlink.net wrote:I for one, don't believe in pussyfooting around, because I might offend MOTU. I'm a customer, I'm not in a romantic relationship with MOTU, nor do I worship at the alter of MOTU. I'll come right out and tell them what I think - if they don't want to hear it, they aren't doing good business.
I find it funny that some on this board seem so afraid to approach MOTU because they might take some kind of offense.
Good for you. I've never understood that attitude either.

MOTU should be doing everything they can to encourage, excite, support and satisfy their customers. Customers are their lifeblood.

Customers should expect outstanding service and be treated with the utmost respect, unless they're just total jerks. If they don't get proper care, they should bring it to the company's attention. If the company just blows them off and continues their wicked ways, the customer should move on.

You're doing a company a great service when you tell them where they're missing the mark. If they don't know, they won't change. And if they don't change they will dry up and fade away. They'll blame it on the economy or whatever. Sadly they won't see or admit the real reason: Bad customer relations, service and support.

I've seen it happen time and again, from local businesses to international ones. Even if the company has the best products around, if they don't don't take care of their customers they're in deep you know what. It's one of the reasons so many companies are in trouble these days.

Be polite but firm.

Here in NYC, DP market share is almost non-existent compared to where it was when I got into it in the late-90's. So I would venture to say that what you are describing has already happened.

monkey man · Post by **monkey man** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 4:28 am

The suspenders are choking me... LOL

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 9:38 pm

Questions submitted after 10AM Friday, July 18th PDT, may not have been included.

The responses capture the essence of the conversation by both the rep and the hobbit. Brevity for the sake of typing fatigue has been utilized here. (Please forgive any typos.)

1. volume burst issue?

This was something that was never officially recognized by MOTU as a problem that could be reproduced in DP5. User workarounds included saving the VI settings in the VI menu and reloading them or otherwise dumping the buffers, which could also be accomplished by opening and closing the Hardware Settings. AFAIK, no one has reported the bursts in DP6, but keep your eyes peeled...

2. noticeable updates to existing plugs such as eVerb

None known or revealable for the immediate future. The trend of adding new and better plugins will likely continue.

3. control implementation for their VI's and plugins, ie create continuous data in SE

COMMAND+ apostrophe will open a pref where a request for controllers can be made so that they are published in the SE. The idea of having all controllers for a VI instantly published or having a "publish all" button would be more flexible than being forced to add them one at a time.

4. v-rack able to recieve change parameter data-- you cannot send change data to the v-rack

Quite true for DP5. Still quite true for DP6. This particular feature request seemed to generate very special attention.

5. On only one sequence (so far), a short one which used a lot of VI tracks, I had a problem. When I opened this file (saved in 5.13), after I had played the file once and stopped in the middle, some MIDI VI tracks (not outboard MIDI tracks) played incorrectly, in completely wrong sections of the piece where they were not supposed to be playing. The only way out of it was to go back to 5.13 or to turn off pre-rendering. Why did this happen, and is it a bug? If they would like a copy of the file I would be glad to supply it, but it references a lot of VI tracks. (VI pre-rendering playing back and rendering incorrectly/ out of time)

This was a difficult question to get answered because without seeing the project or having some sense of the prefs. The rep genuinely seemed to not have experienced this problem himself, but suggested a full report be made directly to MOTU to assess what settings checked or unchecked might result in the symptoms.

6. TAB button unassignable in key commands

Still exploring this one-- stay tuned. In the meantime, check things like Universal Access and Keyboard And Mouse for key commands which may override those in DP.

7. How much of DP6 is now Cocoa? What parts?

Unknown. Clearly the graphics, but all that means is that we have some combo of Cocoa and Carbon still at play. An estimate in percentages was given but no quantity was guessed.

8. static faders selected lost when selecting the bar at the top
9. track side bar disappears when another app is running

Some aspects of these two questions may be due to OSX window behavior. Some of it may be due to burps with the way DP6 recalls window sets which has been a point of concern for some where the recalled window sets do not always open exactly as they were saved.

10. Is Buffy in the DP6 manual?

Nope.

11. Any plans for user controllable GUI color and prefs?

Yes, and all of the user mockups on U-nation have been observed. MOTU is "well aware" of the GUI sentiments. Just what will be done was not mentioned. I got the impression that there was much to consider where a bazillion opinions on the matter will need to be reconciled. It was agreed that a user customization panel would allow everyone to have it as they saw fit. What will ultimately be done remains unknown

12. MAS/AU wrapper still reporting problems. fix?

Different things, including third-party plugs, can impact on MAS/AU bundle behavior. Reports from users, including any resulting crash reports, will contribute to a worthy fix. But it seems that the workaround of swapping the MAS/AU bundle

13. How to best submit bug reports-- tech links sit for weeks or months

Just keep submitting it to them until the questions are answered. Call, if urgent. Rep says that ALL reports are read.

14. Upgrades planned to older plugins?

Not likely. See #2

15. Plugins and VIs GUI malfunctioning-- ie: UAD-1, Focusrite, etc.

Known problem. Fix in progress.

16. Is DP Spaces-aware?

Might have more to do with OSX-- uncertain

17. make editable soundbite volume up where soundbite start and end times are displayed in the sequence editor

Submit a detailed report with screen grab on this.

18. cosine fader algorithm

fascinating suggestion-- was taken to heart with deep interest

19. multi-layered markers
explained-- suggestion received with interest

20. realtime fades
interesting idea received with interest

21. solo, pan, and volume buttons in each track of SE (not automation)

same as 20, but received with an "oh"

22. QT to run independently of tempo maps
23. the ability to use a diversity of markers (hit points, streamers, etc.) for separate takes

This requests for these two will have to be explained more with several examples of why tehy would be useful. I did my best to explain-- but the urgency of the request may have been underestimated. The concept was of great interest, especially where separate takes were concerned. More detail, imho, will likely make the sale. It was recognized as a great suggestion which must have been inspired by some sort of sensible and practical necessity. They just want to know more.

24. QS updates
none known for now

25. Add solo button in the plugins window next to bypass

request accepted with great intrigue

26. white papers, more frequent RSS updates with software releases and announcements, reports of official bugs, bug fixes, better organized tech data base

RSS feeds, especially when new updates are posted. Would be a step in the right direction to keeping users posted.... and it's a wasted resource where tech links, e-mail, and phone calls could be freed up for more urgent needs

27. Mixer pan option for fade and blend

request accepted with great intrigue

28. Eucon, Novation, surface controller support status

No word yet.

29. Right-click functionality-- contextual menus-- when?

The rep ached for this, too-- this was among the more serious feature requests

30. How does DP6 reduce file corruptions?

Leaner, meaner code

Also--

Certain MAS plugins have not been updated yet to support offline bouncing. Since the AU protocols *have* been updated, MOTU suggests using the AU versions of Ethno, MachFive, etc. One question missed, my bad, was how this impacted on the bundled plugins. But at least the issue is known and is being addressed.

With this in mind, not all third-party plugins support offline bouncing, but the important thing is that DP6 *does* support this function.

end

Rainman · Post by **Rainman** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 9:53 pm

Thanks for this Frodo, that's a lot of work/typing and it does not go unappreciated.