Subject:New to Sound - Web Optimization?

Posted by: Slammer

Date:11/24/1999 12:55:00 PM

Ok, I've chosen the sounds I want to use for roll-overs on a
website. Problem: files are too large! From several posts
and web sites, I see reference to making small files using
NORMALIZE or to use the EQUALIZER. Then after doing this to
bring it down to an 8-bit file.

That's all fine and dandy, but I open the Normalizer
dialogue box and I'm lost. The Graphic EQ is even more
daunting. Tips on these and to downsize to 8-bit would be
GREATLY appreciated.

Subject:Re: New to Sound - Web Optimization?

Reply by: SonicGary

Date:11/24/1999 4:16:00 PM

Tommaso,

Normalization and equalization will not make your file size smaller.
But they can be used in an attempt to perserve the quality of your
audio while you degrade it by doing the things mentioned below
desinged to create smaller file size. I'd definitely normalize. I'd
suggested simply choosing a preset from the drop-down list at the top
of the dialog box. This is almost certainly adequate for what you're
doing. For eq, you can try presets, or just experiement until you
find what works best.

You can drop the bit rate to 8-bit by right clicking on the bit rate
window at the very bottom of the Sound Forge work space. Dropping
your sample rate will also have a large effect on file size, but do
not change the sample rate at the bottom like you did for bit rate.
To change sample rate, choose "Resample" from the "Process" menu. At
the top of the dialog that comes up is a drop-down menu with a number
of preset options. Pick the one you want (probably "11,025"). Also,
make sure to change the file to mono by right-clicking
the "Stereo/Mono" field at the bottom (next to the bit rate field).

All-in-all, you're asking your web page to do an awful lot if you are
expecting it to play a sound whenever someone hovers over a button.
Especially someone who's viewing your page on a slow modem. I could
be wrong, but I doubt that any of the things I've explained here will
make the file small enough to react that quickly over the web (not
Sound Forge's fault!) You might be better off skipping it.

Good luck,

Gary

Tommaso Bufano wrote:
>>Ok, I've chosen the sounds I want to use for roll-overs on a
>>website. Problem: files are too large! From several posts
>>and web sites, I see reference to making small files using
>>NORMALIZE or to use the EQUALIZER. Then after doing this to
>>bring it down to an 8-bit file.
>>
>>That's all fine and dandy, but I open the Normalizer
>>dialogue box and I'm lost. The Graphic EQ is even more
>>daunting. Tips on these and to downsize to 8-bit would be
>>GREATLY appreciated.

Subject:Re: New to Sound - Web Optimization?

Reply by: slappy

Date:2/19/2000 10:25:00 PM

Tomaso,

...although once the .wav file has been downloaded from the web
server, your web browser will refer to the cached .wav file (now on
your local machine)instead of the file on the server. This will not
solve the problem of your end user waiting for a 70k audio file to
download the first time however...

(JIC: your browser/computer stores images and .html docs on your
computer as you surf the net in a n effort to speed up the process.
Rather than having to download the images again it simply uses the
version in cache - it does the same thing with .wav files and other
embedded elements)

Problem is that not everyone (more likley no-one) keeps everything in
cache forever. In fact IE and Netscape clear their cache after a
period of time by default.

I would recommend reserving the use of rollover audio for a flash
version of your site. Flash4 can encode audio in the MP3 format at a
variety of data rates. These elements are much smaller than .wav
files (wich data rate you select will determine how MUCH smaller.) Of
course the better the sound the bigger the file...

You must decide who your audience is and determine what kind of
connectivity they have to the Internet - then select accordingly.

Chris Kaplan
A/V Engineer, Mentor Technologies

Gary Rebholz wrote:
>>Tommaso,
>>
>>Normalization and equalization will not make your file size smaller.
>>But they can be used in an attempt to perserve the quality of your
>>audio while you degrade it by doing the things mentioned below
>>desinged to create smaller file size. I'd definitely normalize. I'd
>>suggested simply choosing a preset from the drop-down list at the
top
>>of the dialog box. This is almost certainly adequate for what you're
>>doing. For eq, you can try presets, or just experiement until you
>>find what works best.
>>
>>You can drop the bit rate to 8-bit by right clicking on the bit rate
>>window at the very bottom of the Sound Forge work space. Dropping
>>your sample rate will also have a large effect on file size, but do
>>not change the sample rate at the bottom like you did for bit rate.
>>To change sample rate, choose "Resample" from the "Process" menu. At
>>the top of the dialog that comes up is a drop-down menu with a
number
>>of preset options. Pick the one you want (probably "11,025"). Also,
>>make sure to change the file to mono by right-clicking
>>the "Stereo/Mono" field at the bottom (next to the bit rate field).
>>
>>All-in-all, you're asking your web page to do an awful lot if you
are
>>expecting it to play a sound whenever someone hovers over a button.
>>Especially someone who's viewing your page on a slow modem. I could
>>be wrong, but I doubt that any of the things I've explained here
will
>>make the file small enough to react that quickly over the web (not
>>Sound Forge's fault!) You might be better off skipping it.
>>
>>Good luck,
>>
>>Gary
>>
>>Tommaso Bufano wrote:
>>>>Ok, I've chosen the sounds I want to use for roll-overs on a
>>>>website. Problem: files are too large! From several posts
>>>>and web sites, I see reference to making small files using
>>>>NORMALIZE or to use the EQUALIZER. Then after doing this to
>>>>bring it down to an 8-bit file.
>>>>
>>>>That's all fine and dandy, but I open the Normalizer
>>>>dialogue box and I'm lost. The Graphic EQ is even more
>>>>daunting. Tips on these and to downsize to 8-bit would be
>>>>GREATLY appreciated.