TECH: Playback problems with New DT

Subject: Playback problems with New DT
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 19 Nov 02 - 10:48 AM

There was a thread about the problems that people were having getting the new version of the Digital Tradition to play back tunes - I've searched for it with no luck.

Anyway, did anyone solve the problem of getting the DT to work with QuickTime 6 ? I know that one or two people had some success, but it seemed to me that most QT6 users weren't having much luck with playback. My QT4 on my PC at home works fine, but my machine here at work and one that I set up with QT6 for Auntie Wend just refuse to produce any sound.

Subject: RE: Playback problems with New DT
From: MMario
Date: 19 Nov 02 - 10:51 AM

Dave - I have two machines with the same setup as far as OS and QT version. One works, the other doesn't. I'm beginning to suspect something very quirky that may be hardware dependent.

Subject: RE: Playback problems with New DT
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 19 Nov 02 - 12:17 PM

Is it anything to do with file type registration ? I gather that DT passes "MIDI Events" across to QT - could these be being picked up by another application ie Media Player.

Finally does anyone know where I can download an earlier copy of QuickTime ?

Subject: RE: Playback problems with New DT
From: Barbara
Date: 19 Nov 02 - 01:44 PM

When I play DT tunes now (I have Windows Millenium & MSIE), MSIE opens Windows Media in a box next to the word window, which is nice, but then it crashes MSIE, and reboots it for me each time.
I can live with this, but is there a way around?
Probably I should put this on the tech help page, hmmm?
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: TECH: Playback problems with New DT
From: nutty
Date: 19 Nov 02 - 09:20 PM

I have to download midi's before I can play them ..... I can't open them in DT.

Subject: RE: TECH: Playback problems with New DT
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 20 Nov 02 - 06:05 AM

I thought that most of the tunes were still in SONGWRIGHT format not in MIDI.

Let's try and keep this thread refreshed until some one works out an answer.

Subject: RE: TECH: Playback problems with New DT
From: MMario
Date: 20 Nov 02 - 11:50 AM

Dave - it depends on whether you are talking about the ONLINE version or not. The ONLINE version of the DT is in midi; the down-loadable/snail mail version is in Songwright. (at least the Dos version is)

I believe the windows version takes the songwrite converts to midi and plays the midi through quicktime.

Subject: RE: TECH: Playback problems with New DT
From: Snuffy
Date: 20 Nov 02 - 07:03 PM

The windows download is mostly Songwright, but there are actually threee MIDIs in the Tunes directory.

WassaiL! V

Subject: RE: TECH: Playback problems with New DT
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 22 Nov 02 - 04:55 AM

All my remarks are about the downloadable version.

Snuffy, I have a feeling that the 3 midi files aren't actually linked to any DT entries.

MMario, yes that's what I gathered, in fact each note is sent to QuickTime as a separate MIDI event not as a complete file, it has to do that so the playback is synchronised with the moving blue note.

It might be useful to try and find out what percentage of QT6 users can actually get playback to work.

My only other gripe is that there are actually two alpahabetic sequences of song titles, so if you're browsing rather than searching, yo have to make sure that you've gone through each section.

Subject: RE: TECH: Playback problems with New DT
From: dermod in salisbury
Date: 22 Nov 02 - 12:36 PM

I posted the same problem when new DT was announced, and understood there was a general problem,probably the fault of QT6. I never did manage to get sound, but found that QT6 had made itself my default player and was messing up all kinds of other sound links on websites. For one thing, it doesn't let you look at lyrics while playing tunes. My eventual solution, I'm afraid, was to throw QT6 out on its ear, and delete anything I could find on my pc related to it.

Subject: RE: TECH: Playback problems with New DT
From: Ed.
Date: 22 Nov 02 - 01:40 PM

The points made here were all mentioned in this previous thread. They don't appear to have been solved yet.

Ed