BIAS Debuts Sound Soap at 113th AES ShowNoise reduction software removes hiss, hum & other audio problems - targeted at videographers, multimedia & web developers, music & audio enthusiasts & others
October 6, 2002
BIAS has unveiled BIAS Sound Soap, a new digital audio signal processing plug-in for the Macintosh and Windows computing platforms. Sound Soap is a professional-quality noise reduction solution that's also easy enough for average consumers to use effectively. By adjusting just two knobs, anyone can remove unwanted hiss, room noise, rumble, electrical hum, and other background noise from almost any digital media file - including digital video (DV) soundtracks, PowerPoint and other presentation software soundtracks, Flash and other web-tool soundtracks, digital audio workstation tracks, cassette or other analog tape recordings that have been transferred to a computer, and other sources.
"We are very excited to bring Sound Soap to market," said Steve Berkley, CEO and President of BIAS. "Customers have been asking us for a powerful yet easy-to use noise reduction solution for their digital video and audio projects. We feel confident that we're delivering an innovative solution that looks great; that's easier to use than any other similar product; and most importantly, sounds amazing. We're also excited that Sound Soap is now our second product designed for both Macintosh and Windows computing platforms."
Wash it Off
With the enormous success of MiniDV and other DV camcorders - and affordable computer-based video editing applications like iMovie, Premiere, Final Cut Pro, and Windows MovieMaker - millions of people are now creating their own movies and video projects, start to finish. Similarly, many web producers, multimedia developers, and business professionals regularly add narration or other audio to their projects, using Flash, PowerPoint, or other programs. And countless musicians and audio enthusiasts use computers to make their own music recordings.
Unfortunately, many such projects suffer from audio problems such as hiss, room noise, and other background noise. Sound Soap makes it simple to "wash off" the noise, leaving just the intended audio - and the result is a much more professional-sounding project.
Sound Soap works by removing "broadband" noise (such as room noise, tape hiss, road noise from a moving vehicle, or noise from air conditioners). It also removes low-frequency rumble, as well as hum - the 50Hz and 60Hz electrical "buzzing" sound common in many audio recordings. The software can even intelligently learn the difference between the noise and the desired audio - achieving amazingly effective results.
With moderate or subtle noise problems, Sound Soap can make the difference between a project that sounds amateurish and one that sounds professional; with more extreme noise problems, Sound Soap can effectively salvage an otherwise unusable audio file. And in keeping with BIAS' tradition of creating powerful native-capable audio applications, Sound Soap takes full advantage of the processing power of your computer, with no additional hardware needed.
Watch it Clean
Sound Soap is easy to use and requires no understanding of complicated audio engineering techniques or terminology. Instead, Sound Soap has a display that actually shows the unwanted noise being removed; by adjusting just two knobs while watching the display, anyone can use Sound Soap. It also works with many of the most common audio file formats exported by video editing and presentation applications.
Pricing and Availability
BIAS Sound Soap will be available Q4 2002. Suggested retail price of to be announced. For more information, visit their web site at www.bias-inc.com. |
