As an industry, professional audio has fully embraced analyzers as part of the work process and is continually developing new, better and often unforeseen ways to implement them.
Concurrently, since the release of Smaart v7 (in 2010) we’ve learned a tremendous amount about what features are important to users in a multi-measurement capable environment, and how they integrate Smaart into the workflow of their daily audio engineering tasks.
With that in mind, new Smaart v8 offers greatly expanded control of the software environment while simultaneously providing easier and more streamlined measurement configuration, control and data handling.
It breaks out of the single-window, fixed-GUI world to allow users significantly increased control over their software environment, allowing them to much better able to adapt and expand Smaart to match their specific applications.
Whereas the jump from Smaart v6 to v7 was a complete re-invention/re-build of the Smaart platform, the transition from v7 to v8 is probably better described as an evolution, an expansion and refinement of our current Smaart software environment. (Very much like the progression from SmaartLive v4 to v5 to v6 – or for you really old dogs, v1 to v2 to v3.)
v8 basically comprises the same measurement capabilities as v7 – the same measurement engines, parameters and settings, the same basic plot types, and retains most of the same command structure and paradigms. The primary difference between the two versions, at least initially, is that v8 expands the capabilities
of the interface and the ability of users to manipulate it.
And, in conjunction with this expansion, high priority has been placed on improving and streamlining the measurement configuration processes and data handling. Examples include new multi-window capability, a new tab-based interface, added functionality for use on tablets and touch screen computers, computer-to-computer API capability, and more.
The measurement configuration process has been updated to provide an easier, more intuitive workflow, adding automatic measurement creation and management functionality to streamline configuration and support a “build-on-the-fly” process that is often an operational necessity. A new program workflow take users through device selection/configuration and automatically creates Spectrum measurements.
In addition, device and measurement configuration is managed through a single window. Input metering is now right in the I-O Config, convenient for checking inputs before even creating measurements. Further, creating a Transfer Function measurement now automatically creates the accompanying Spectrum contributors to it.
