Antares Infinity user manual

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Chapter 1: Getting Started
magine being able to take a raw sample, and then, with just a few mouse
clicks, create a loop so perfect that you can’t tell when it started or where
it repeats. Imagine doing that with sounds that are impossible to loop
smoothly using your current sample editor, like string orchestra, choirs, fat
analog synths, chorused guitar, and so on. Infinity lets you do that, quickly
and easily.
Infinity is a powerful DSP which uses unique DSP technologies to auto-
mate and improve the...

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FREEZE LOOPER
The Freeze Looper creates perfect loops in sounds like winds, brass, bells,
and other sounds that have a pure harmonic series. It’s also good for
“freezing” the timbre of decaying strings like piano or guitar.
CROSSFADE LOOPER WITH SMART AUTO-SCAN
This is an enhanced crossfade tool with an intelligent loop point scanner.
It uses a sophisticated DSP algorithm to find the right loop point automati-
cally.
FULLY ADJUSTABLE EDIT BLENDING
This editing feature allows the taper and length of the...

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THE CONTENTS OF THE MANUAL
Chapter 1: Getting Started
This chapter explains everything about starting Infinity and communicating
with Antares Audio Technologies.
Chapter 2: Introducing Infinity
This chapter explains the scope of Infinity’s functions and how it solves
current problems in the electronic music studio. Basic concepts in sample
editing and file management are also covered. The user interface is ex-
plained with emphasis on the anatomy of the Palette, and the Soundfile
Window.
Chapter 3: The...

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Chapter 2: Introducing Infinity
amplers and sample players have become the most popular electronic
musical instruments because of the realism and fidelity made possible by
digital recording techniques. This realism comes at the price of ever increas-
ing memory requirements needed to produce the sustained tone of natural
instruments. Since samplers have finite memories, rudimentary looping
techniques have been used to create the illusion of sustained tones, but
often with less than satisfactory...

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Clearly, most of the sustained sounds that are used for music making are
non-periodic. It is impossible to make an ideal loop of a non-periodic
sound. The simple fact that the sound changes with time will cause the
repetitive nature of the loop to show up.
The problem becomes even more difficult when considering the stereo
case. If there are even slight changes to the shape of the two waveforms
then it becomes impossible to find loop points where the waveforms
precisely match. (A stereo loop cannot...

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LOOP START AND END
POINTS ARE PLACED AT
THE BEST SOUNDING
POSITIONS IN THE
SOUNDFIELD.
DATA NEAR THE LOOP
END POINT IS TAPERED
(FADED) OUT.
A SECTION OF DATA
JUST BEFORE THE LOOP
START POINT IS COPIED
AND TAPERED (FADED
IN) TO CREATE THE
TRANSITION DATA
SEGMENT.
THE TRANSITION DATA
IS ADDED TO THE
LOOP END DATA TO
CREATE A SMOOTHER
RETURN TO THE LOOP
START.
AT TACKLOOP
TAPER FUNCTION
TAPERED DATA
TRANSITION FUNCTION
TRANSITION DATA
REPOSITIONED TRANSITION 
TIME IN MILLISECONDS
010203040
A506070
B 

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THE COSTS OF CURRENT METHODS
The time and effort required to make a good set of looped samples is more
than most musicians are willing to invest. With complex sounds like pianos,
string sections, chorused synths, and so on, it is extraordinarily difficult to
make good crossfade loops. Lumpy loops have necessarily become accept-
able.
The third party sound design business is booming. License to use pre-
looped sounds which are often of less than satisfactory quality costs
hundreds of dollars. While...

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TITLE BAR
The Title Bar contains the name of the soundfile, the close box, the zoom
box, and either “No Backup” or “Backup Created” written next to the title
of the soundfile.
Infinity will create a backup file when the soundfile is first opened pro-
vided the corresponding Preferences dialog item is enabled. When “Backup
Created” is displayed in the title bar, the Revert to Backup command can be
used in the File Menu. See “Create Backup Files” on page 36.
CLOSE BOX
Clicking on the close box will close...

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VERTICAL ANNOTATION
The Vertical Annotation allows you to measure the amplitude of the
waveform in the Mainview. The units displayed are either percent of full
scale or decimal sample values. The units for the Vertical Annotation are
chosen in the Preferences dialog. The Vertical Annotation and the soundfile
data can be moved up or down by using the vertical scroll bar when the
scale is expanded.
MAINVIEW
The Mainview always displays the part of the soundfile shown in the view
indicator in the...

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THE PALETTE
The Palette is always present on the desktop. It contains information and
tools for editing the soundfile data. It is divided into three sections;
Mode Icons
Status Display
Action Icons
MODE ICONS 
STATUS DISPLAY 
ACTION ICONS 
The area in the middle of the Palette is the Status Display. It is used for
verbal messages and as a cursor tracking display. The icons above the Status
Display are the Mode Icons. The icons below the Status Display are the
Action Icons. Icons which cannot be...