Bias Deck Multi-Track Digital Audio Software (Macintosh)

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zZounds Gear Experts Say...
Record, mix, play back, and process up to 64 simultaneous tracks at up to 16-bit / 48 kHz resolution.

Take a close look at Deck 3.5. You'll find that no other Mac-based multitrack digital audio workstation touches Deck's combination of features, speed, compatibility, and value.

Need a professional audio solution for film or video? With Deck 3.5, you can spot effects, edit dialog, process soundtracks, record ADR-style voiceovers and craft complex mixes to stereo or complete 5.1 surround -- all while in perfect sync to a QuickTime movie or DV clip. For music production, Deck 3.5 is a dream: It's stable, capable, and sonically superb, with up to four real-time effects plug-ins per track. Working in broadcast? Deck 3.5 is fast, easy, and a remarkably cost-effective editing platform. And, its broad range of audio tools (including surround mixing) are perfectly suited to multimedia development -- for video games, the Web, presentations, or whatever.

With Deck 3.5, your creative potential is unlimited, thanks to its easy and intuitive user interface, scores of available plug-ins, and so much more. Simply put, nothing else gives you so much for so little.

Features
Record, mix, play back, and process up to 64 simultaneous tracks

Up to 999 virtual tracks

High-performance, real-time mixing console, with dedicated faders, pans, and other controls

Automated level-mixing with high-resolution moving faders

"Rubberband-style" breakpoint automation

Mixer states "snapshot-style" scene automation

Clip-based automation: copy, paste, drag and drop automation envelopes follow audio regions read more as they are moved

5.1 channel surround mixing capable with fully automated, track-by-track, multi-algorithmic 360 degree panning to left, center, right, surround l, surround r, plus LFE (subwoofer).

Surround mixing pan algorithms include Radius 5.1, Variable Width 5.1 and Room Ambiance 5.1.

Advanced real-time signal processing with VST plug-in support*

Includes over 25 free VST audio effect plug-ins, including BIAS Freq 4-band paragraphic EQ and BIAS Vbox SE multi-effects control environment*

Built-in real-time DSP effects including chorus, EQ, delay, and multitap

Support for multiple sample rate and bit depth formats, up to 48kHz and 16-bit**

SMPTE / EBU timecode-fluent for editing, spotting, and external chase-lock synchronization***

Slaves with sub-frame accuracy to external video tape recorders and other transports -- ideal for layback and other assembly***

Import QuickTime movies and synchronize audio-to-picture with better-than-frame accuracy

Scrub QuickTime movie with full audio chase

Lightning-fast spotting of audio clips to picture

ADR (automated dialog replacement) capable

Monitor previously recorded tracks while recording new tracks (optionally in sync to a QuickTime movie)

Discontinuous clip selection

Clip nudging and trimming -- with better-than-subframe accuracy

Sync to external MIDI sequencers***

Non-destructive punch-in and punch-out

Master fader with stereo effects bus

OMF support allows importing from other DAWs such as non-linear video editors including Final Cut Pro, Premiere and Avid

Use built-in Macintosh audio inputs / outputs or compatible audio interface / card hardware

Supports most ASIO (OS 9), Sound Manager, and CoreAudio (OS X) compatible audio hardware

Supports multiple file formats including AIFF, SDII, .WAV, .SND, and QuickTime

Export sessions as QuickTime movie with multiple format options

Allows external waveform editor such as Peak to be launched from session

Includes Peak LE 4 at no extra charge - for advanced sample editing, mastering, and CD burning.

* Not all bundled VST plug-ins are currently Mac OS X compatible, but can be used in Classic (OS 9.x) mode

** With compatible hardware; 16-bit / 44kHz CD-quality audio with built-in Mac audio in / out

*** Via third-party CoreMIDI drivers (Mac OS X) or OMS drivers (OS 9)
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System Requirements
Requires manufacturer supplied product authorization code within 2 weeks of installation

Power PC, G3, G4, or G5 processor ( 266 Mhz or faster )

Mac OS 8.6 or later

128 MB RAM minimum

20 MB available disk space

Hard drive with 18 ms (or faster) average seek time

Apple Sound Manager 3.3 or later (for use with Mac OS versions prior to OS X)

QuickTime 3.0 or later

CarbonLib 1.4 or later (Mac OS 8.6 to 9 only)

Recording / playback at higher bit depths may require third-party hardware / drivers

Built-in 16-bit Macintosh sound, or supported ASIO (OS 9), Sound Manager, or CoreAudio (OS X) compatible audio card / hardware and driver

CoreAudio support requires compatible CoreAudio hardware and drivers

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 800-775-2427

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 0.5 out of 5 stars. (6 ratings)
Submitted December 7, 2006 by a customer from tiscali.it

"It's not an audio editor, it's a freaking virus."

Overall: 0.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Sound
Operations like time-stretch and phase-vocoding introduce nasty clicks in sound files.
Features
The feature set WOULD BE good IF the program worked as it should.
Ease of Use
Peak is rather easy to use, however I've had to reconfigure my keys dozens of times because of some bug that made Peak "forget" them.
Quality
This program is FULL OF BUGS. It WILL CORRUPT YOUR FILES, just like a VIRUS. Yesterday I opened a file with it to listen to it. When I closed it WITHOUT EDITING IT, it was CORRUPT!
Manufacturer Support
Never dealt with them. Perhaps I should sue them for all the time and work their product made me lose.

Musical Background:

Pro musician/sound engineer

Musical Style:

Electronica
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