SPECWEB (Now 2.2)

[zeerround]

"1. The processing window that opens is really W-I-D-E; is there any parameter that controls that sizing? "

No that is not under user control. It needs to be that wide because otherwise wrapping will mess up the format. Not sure but you could try to configure cmd with a smaller font.

That said, it does look really wide. I will sanity check and make sure I didn't leave some debug setting in by accident.

"2. I notice that the 9692_1-vst-out.wav file doesn't disappear as it did in 1.5; has that aspect changed? "

No, I'm thinking that must be another issue with your AV program. There is parameter to save ALL temp files, but clearly that is not what is happening.

In this case SpecWeb.exe is trying to delete a file created by launch_vst 1.4.exe.

 

[timbre4]

Thanks Glenn, wide window not a big sweat, just wasn’t an issue with 1.5. Maybe it’s more about WIN 10.

I’ll add the proper exception for temp file clearance.

 

[Infomas]

I just want to say thanks to the creator of SpecWeb and to all of the conversations here that I've read through over the last couple of weeks. I just can't believe how good these upmixes are. Once I came across the -m4 setting (from someone here), I've never looked back. Bands like Traffic, whose music was made for drugs and multichannel (not necessarily in that order), this is a dream come true. I've already upmixed a couple dozen albums and almost all of them sound great! So, thank you for adding another project to my life that will never get completed before I die.

 

[Mcallister]

I just want to say thanks to the creator of SpecWeb and to all of the conversations here that I've read through over the last couple of weeks. I just can't believe how good these upmixes are. Once I came across the -m4 setting (from someone here), I've never looked back. Bands like Traffic, whose music was made for drugs and multichannel (not necessarily in that order), this is a dream come true. I've already upmixed a couple dozen albums and almost all of them sound great! So, thank you for adding another project to my life that will never get completed before I die.

What is the M4 setting?

 

[Infomas]

What is the M4 setting?

I can't find the original conversation, but using the -m4 after you drop in your files will put more emphasis on the rears. There's probably more to it than that. I really don't understand a lot about how this all works... It's all magic to me. All I know is that it is exactly what I was looking for. There was also a set of codes to add the m4 and make it quad: -m4 -0-110 -e-110 -c0 -f90 . Give it a try.

By the way, the craziest thing I've come across was the upmix to The Tubes, "What do you want from Life". At the end, when the voice get's sped up, it is like SpecWeb wasn't quite sure where the voice belonged and the voice is just bouncing around the speakers. Normally, it would be horrible, but for this song at that moment, it just adds to the craziness. It was perfect.

 

[zeerround]

@Infomas, you are most welcome. I'm really glad you are enjoying upmixing with SpecWeb.

All,

-m4 was the zone2 mode that was experimental in earlier versions, and is now the default in 2.2.

From the ini file that ships with 2.2:

;arctan mode is how the sound is dispersed. See the manual.​

;sum, across, diagonal, zone default across​

;selecting zone will force the panmode to be DISC​

;default zone2 (SpecWeb 1.5 and 2.0 was across)​

mode=zone2​

;​

​

I do see however that I didn't change the description in the program itself, as to the default, so will fix that.

-mx = Set ArcTan Mode to 0 (Sum), 1 (Across), 2 (Diagonal), 3 (Zone1), 4 (Zone2) (default 1). Zone implies Discrete panning mode.​

While we're talking about settings, see if you like this better:

in the ini file, change:

pregain=0.0​

lf=0​

rf=0​

c=1.5​

lfe=0​

ls=-3.5​

rs=-3.5​

to

pregain=0.0​

lf=0.5​

rf=0.5​

c=3.0​

lfe=0​

ls=-3.5​

rs=-3.5​

OR if you prefer the command line:

-10.5 -20.5 -33.0​

​

I've been doing some really critical listening, with an A/B setup (and Smyth Realiser A16 with Sennheiser 800 S headphones) , while working on my immersive upmix stuff, and this slight adjustment might become the default, but I have haven't tried it on my ~50 regression tracks yet.

User feedback on settings is an important component of changing defaults.

 

[mandrix]

Yeah. Using SPEC within Plogue I've always leaned much more toward SUM for separation between channels. Sets you up for more distortion or "warbly" artifacts sometimes though if you don't or can't compensate. Everyone has their own way I suppose.
Haven't really tinkered with the settings in SpecWeb much in a while...where does the time go?
All the Windows updates this year have wreaked havoc on my main machine running so many programs. Arrrgh.

 

[mandrix]

Have you updated the help file? While not a problem for me, all the version references are to 2.1.
I know, never enough time. Believe me I know.

 

[Infomas]

@Infomas, you are most welcome. I'm really glad you are enjoying upmixing with SpecWeb.

All,

-m4 was the zone2 mode that was experimental in earlier versions, and is now the default in 2.2.

From the ini file that ships with 2.2:

;arctan mode is how the sound is dispersed. See the manual.​

;sum, across, diagonal, zone default across​

;selecting zone will force the panmode to be DISC​

;default zone2 (SpecWeb 1.5 and 2.0 was across)​

mode=zone2​

;​

​

I do see however that I didn't change the description in the program itself, as to the default, so will fix that.

-mx = Set ArcTan Mode to 0 (Sum), 1 (Across), 2 (Diagonal), 3 (Zone1), 4 (Zone2) (default 1). Zone implies Discrete panning mode.​

While we're talking about settings, see if you like this better:

in the ini file, change:

pregain=0.0​

lf=0​

rf=0​

c=1.5​

lfe=0​

ls=-3.5​

rs=-3.5​

to

pregain=0.0​

lf=0.5​

rf=0.5​

c=3.0​

lfe=0​

ls=-3.5​

rs=-3.5​

OR if you prefer the command line:

-10.5 -20.5 -33.0​

​

I've been doing some really critical listening, with an A/B setup (and Smyth Realiser A16 with Sennheiser 800 S headphones) , while working on my immersive upmix stuff, and this slight adjustment might become the default, but I have haven't tried it on my ~50 regression tracks yet.

User feedback on settings is an important component of changing defaults.

Is there a way I can tell if m4 is in fact default? I'm pretty sure I've only really used 2.2 and I swear that using m4 made a difference.

 

[zeerround]

The yellow text lists most of the settings. The part I've circled shows that -m4 is in effect.

The line in red points to the ini file that is being used, that sets all those settings (if not overridden by command line flags).

ini files can be global, for a whole directory of tracks, or per track.

 

[zeerround]

Have you updated the help file? While not a problem for me, all the version references are to 2.1.
I know, never enough time. Believe me I know.

Wow, you're right. It looks like 2.2 shipped with the old file.

Here is the correct one.

 

[mandrix]

Wow, you're right. It looks like 2.2 shipped with the old file.

Here is the correct one.

sweet. Thanks for all your work, G

 

[Infomas]

View attachment 57437

The yellow text lists most of the settings. The part I've circled shows that -m4 is in effect.

The line in red points to the ini file that is being used, that sets all those settings (if not overridden by command line flags).

ini files can be global, for a whole directory of tracks, or per track.

Okay, so I don't know what changed. Maybe I had an older version when I started testing. Anyways, I couldn't tell the difference between adding -m4 and leaving it alone. But then, I had trouble telling the difference between that and the new codes you posted here. Can you give me an idea how those codes effect the sound? I do my testing right on the computer and the speakers are not the best. But it is much much easier to test this way. And there is a certain amount of laziness involved here. Again, a thousand thanks. Sent you a small donation as well.

 

[zeerround]

"Can you give me an idea how those codes effect the sound?"

Slightly louder fronts, louder center (both relative to rears). But then you said you liked -m4 because you thought it placed "more emphasis on the rears " so in that case be happy!

Like I said I may have suggested this too early based on too few tracks etc. (but would appreciate user feedback).

 

[mcherdering]

I stumbled upon this thread last week and gave SpecWeb a try on a few songs. Using the default settings the results, for the most part, are astounding. All those Steely Dan albums that were never released in 5.1 sound like new material. Same with all the Thievery Corporation discs I've got. I've got a few dozen other albums cued up as well. I'll be busy for quite a while, donation sent, thank you.
The only problem I've discovered so far, is I get the error below, which pauses the process, every fourth album or so.

My Internet connection is fine, any ideas on the cause?

 

[zeerround]

Thanks so much for the donation!

It could be a problem between you and the Surroundbyus.com servers (most likely inside the hosting service). I got it occasionally in the last few days as well.

If it becomes a problem I can (re?) add a flag to skip the version check.

 

[Infomas]

I stumbled upon this thread last week and gave SpecWeb a try on a few songs. Using the default settings the results, for the most part, are astounding. All those Steely Dan albums that were never released in 5.1 sound like new material. Same with all the Thievery Corporation discs I've got. I've got a few dozen other albums cued up as well. I'll be busy for quite a while, donation sent, thank you.
The only problem I've discovered so far, is I get the error below, which pauses the process, every fourth album or so. View attachment 58250
My Internet connection is fine, any ideas on the cause?

I get this occasionally as well. I don't have an answer for you though. Yes, the Steely Dan upmixes sound really good as do Traffic and Caravan. Anything that is well produced and has a full enough sound comes out amazing.

 

[mcherdering]

Thanks so much for the donation!

It could be a problem between you and the Surroundbyus.com servers (most likely inside the hosting service). I got it occasionally in the last few days as well.

If it becomes a problem I can (re?) add a flag to skip the version check.

Thanks for the quick reply. Good to know the error isn't my problem. Perhaps in the next version, bring up the message, but don't stop processing. Just a thought.

 

[mcherdering]

... the Steely Dan upmixes sound really good as do Traffic and Caravan. Anything that is well produced and has a full enough sound comes out amazing.

Agreed. Bluebird by Robin Trower, on Essential, upmixed brought tears to my eyes. It sounds THAT good.

 

[Ron Wagstaff]

OK I'm having my first look at SpecWeb; I'm running version 2.2 under Windows 10.

First impressions are very good, the first few tracks I've converted sound great. However I have a number of issues.

Firstly, when I use the HTLM5 interface the playback is very noisy and distorted. This is more than just artifacts. Changing any of the controls makes no difference. I've tried this on both of my laptop and my music server connected to my AVR. Both have the same issue. If I go ahead and record, the output that sounds perfect.

Second after loading the web interface, something called Sonic Anomaly Infinity pops up. What is this? Do I need it running? The about box tells me it is the SpecWeb VST interface. I exit it and everything seems to carry on the same.

Thirdly, can I specify an output directory? I thought I read this somewhere on this forum but I cannot see any mention in the user guide.

Thanks for any help.