AZ Controller plug-in for Cakewalk SONAR > Tutorials

Markers logic, text output and monitoring example

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azslow3:
Attached preset demonstrates several concepts which are not directly Control Surfaces related.

Warning: the preset is using TTS (Text To Speech). If you system can not produce System sounds when you rung Sonar, that can lock/freeze/crash Sonar and the audio system. Prior selecting  this preset, try run normal media player in parallel with Sonar. If that does not produce problems in your setup (even in case you do not really hear anything from the media player) there should be no problems with the preset as well.

You will need some project with markers to see what that preset is doing, but you do not need any hardware controller for that.


* Markers logic in AZ Controller is flexible but can be confusing. Open AZ Display (from the Options Tab) to see what is called "Previous", "Current" and "Next" Marker. You can notice that "Previous" and "Current" are near always the same. Only in case current time is exactly at the marker position, "Previous" is different. The logic is simple: when you are between 2 markers, "Previous" is in fact current marker. I do not like that definition, but nothing better came to my mind so far. Feel free to propose better interpretation
* In the Logic of "Previous"/"Current"/"Next", required marker text is selected and monitored. "Command feedback" type of monitor is looking for changes in Text, it does not matter how this text is generated (by marker name, Text action or Command action).
* "Current marker::Static monitor" Feedback actions demonstrate what you can do with the text. Originally thought to be for Hardware Controllers with LCD display, text can be used other ways. In current version you can show it on internal Display, set status text in Sonar (in CS Control Bar module) and send it to the Text To Speech (TTS) generator
* "Reset Clear status" demonstrates how you can schedule something for the future. In this example, Status text is cleared 2 seconds after current marker was changed. Important note: in case you change position in less then 2 second, the schedule is replaced, not added. Effectively it will be called 2 seconds after the end of sequence of changes once and not 2 second after the first change, then 2 second after the second change and so on. That is normally what you want and so it is implemented that way.

MarKo:
Hi Alexey,
I did not try speech until now, but inspired from your example i played around a little and have to say that this is really a nice addition!
I´m also putting speech feedback to other useful places now. Makes working with the surface even more comfortable.
But for the markers i made it very simple, without any monitors or timers, because i want speech only when pressing buttons on control surface - not when working with mouse or when playback is running.

azslow3:
Once I came to the idea, I have realized it can be useful for me and probably other. And modern Windows versions have everything installed by default. But sorry for giving you new idea, as I remember you was so close to the final version of your preset  ;)

MarKo:

--- Quote ---sorry for giving you new idea, as I remember you was so close to the final version of your preset  ;)
--- End quote ---
The reason i did not post a "final" version was that i was unsure about the mapping of the controllers in ACT-mode and changed that more that once. I have now a very nice working ACT-editor (see pic), and while mapping ACT-plugins i found that my original mapping was perhaps not ideal. So i tried some different mappings until i´m quite sure now to leave it as it is (the editor has of course to use the same mapping).
But now, when speech is done, this is REALLY the final version  ;)

About my ACT-editor: perhaps you might want to try that too, even if you are using another surface. The layout is now for BCR, but i could also make some sort of generic UI for other surfaces. The nicest thing is that it can now also follow Sonar-UI if Az-Controller is running. So touching any parameter in a Plugin-UI, automatically shows up highlighted in the editor, and can be directly assigned to any control.
If you want to try, i can send it in the evening.

azslow3:
Your tool looks good, I will be glad to "beta test" it. I have no idea how you manage to sync it with Sonar/AZCtrl  :o

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