14 DAY TRIAL // Sound Byte, Black Cat Systems' solution to simulate cart machines used at radio stations back in the day, has issued an update to its Mac application, adding a remote control option allowing another computer to control Sound Byte over a LAN or the Internet, an option to toggle a serial port handshake line to control external devices and more. The application comes in three forms starting at US$39.00.
Sound Byte is a computerized cart machine for Mac, and works pretty much like those old so-called cart machines did. The application “brings the cart machine to the computer age,” placing each recording (a song, jingle, advertisement, etc) on a virtual cartidge. Users can select up to 75 recordings per rack, and assign each to a button, which, if clicked, plays the respective sound. Users can play multiple recordings at the same time, a feature that works wonders for DJs, radio stations and audio productions. The goal of the app is to allow quick play of a variety of recorded sounds, such as jingles, advertisements, songs and sound effects at sporting events, according to Black Cat Systems.
The newest version of Sound Byte (3.6.0) adds an option to load sound files to memory, as well as options to set the playback pitch and rate of carts. Also added are a remote control option, and the ability to toggle a serial port line when a track is playing. A couple of bugs have also been fixed in this release, namely the issue with the playback progress indicator and an error that could cause a crash with the logging feature.
Black Cat Systems offers software “representing the diverse talents and interests of its developers”. The company's products are available for both the Mac and Windows, and are available for download to try out before you buy. Sound Byte is no exception and only requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later to run. The application is a Universal Binary and costs 39 bucks to own in its simplest form. More details on the available versions can be found here.