@node "Mixing"

                             Mixing Frequency

The mixing frequency is a very important value. It specifies, in Hertz
(sample values per second), how quickly the samples should be mixed. The
higher the frequency, the better the sound quality, but also the more work
the processor has to do.

So - you've guessed it - the highest mixing frequency that you can use
depends on your processor. If you try using a frequency that is too high
for your computer, the computer will "hang"; the mouse pointer will move
very slowly, or even not at all. If this happens, do a "panic stop" by
holding down both mouse buttons for several seconds.

With the Amiga 8-bit or 14-bit output device, the highest possible frequency
also depends on the screen mode! If the screen is DblPAL, DblNTSC or
Productivity, the Mixing Frequency
slider's maximum value is about 56000, 55000 and 59000, respectively. In
other screen modes, the slider's maximum value is 28375. As a side note,
compact disc players use a frequency of 44100 (although the sound is 16-bit).

If the output device can't play at your requested frequency, OctaMED chooses
the frequency closest to your request. Your request is shown in the
Requested numeric box, the actual frequency used in the Actual box. The
reason for this discrepancy is that all of the output devices, excluding
Disk 8-bit/16-bit, can only play at certain frequencies. (This even includes
your Amiga...)

A couple of technical notes:

  The frequency of each note is different in 4-channel mode from Mix mode.
  This is because in 4-channel mode, the frequencies are approximated to
  what the Amiga DMA can play. Mix mode doesn't use the Amiga DMA, so its
  frequencies are correct.

  The frequencies are very slightly off on Amigas not having a Floating Point
  Unit. This is because the integer version of the frequency calculation has
  some error. The difference is not audible.

                          @{" Other Gadgets " link "gads" 0}


@endnode