What's New in LP Recorder

Version 8.8 © 2000-2008 CFB Software
Last Updated 20 Mar 2008

Version 8

Windows Vista Support

LP Recorder v8.5 and later is supported on Windows Vista as well as Windows 98 / ME and XP. 

The following Windows Vista features are supported:

• New style File Open dialog with search bars
• The new standard Segoe UI 9pt font

and, if your version of Windows Vista and your computer system have sufficient capabilities:

• Taskbar thumbnail previews
• Windows Flip thumbnail previews and Flip3D previews
• Translucent Aero Glass window borders

On earlier versions of Windows the standard Tahoma 8pt font is used.

General

The Audio Settings window has been enlarged to cater for the longer Recording / Playback combined soundcard and channel names in Vista. The Recording Selection option has been removed. It defaults to Select Only on Windows XP and is not required for Windows Vista.

The default directory for a new installation when creating WAV files is the user's My Music (XP) or Music (Vista) directory.  A new directory can be created by clicking on the Make New Folder button when browsing directories in which to save the WAV file. The Filename extension is automatically changed to .wav if it was omitted or set to anything else.

The balance and mute controls which were effectively disabled for a large range of sound devices have now been removed and the volume slider and level meters enlarged to use the available space.

A new option, Options > Preferences > Auto Level Limit, allows the maximum value required to trigger an Auto Level volume change to be reduced. This is required for sound devices, possibly with dynamic range compression, whose maximum level does not reach the absolute 16-bit maximum value (32767).

Menus and Toolbars

Four different visual menu styles can be chosen to match your version of Windows and other Microsoft applications.

• Standard - As used in Windows 98 and Windows ME
• XP - As used in standard Windows XP applications
• Flat - As used in Microsoft Office XP
• Office 2003 - As used in Microsoft Office 2003

Sound Device Support

LP Recorder can be used to record from a wider range of sound devices, which are not strictly SoundBlaster-compatible, than before - as long as they have an accessible line-in input socket.

Version 7

Audio Settings

There are two additional checkboxes on the Audio Settings dialog box Simultaneous playback and Mono which give you more control over the recording process.

Simultaneous Playback

Tick this checkbox if you have more than one soundcard or device on your system and you want to hear on one soundcard what you are recording on the other. This is useful when recording using a USB Audio sound device as they are not normally able to record and playback at the same time. This checkbox will be disabled if you only have one compatible sound device on your system.

NOTE: This feature may not work for all combinations of sound devices.

Mono

Tick this checkbox if you are recording from a non-stereo source to ensure that an identical signal is recorded on both left and right channels and avoid possible phase problems.

Version 6

Windows XP Themes

LP Recorder now has the new look and feel of Windows XP and makes full use of Windows XP themes, Office-style menu appearance, enhanced common controls and new pushbutton icons.  The screenshots on the CFB Software website and in the Help file are taken from a system running on Windows XP.  An option allows you to select the traditional menu and toolbar look and feel, if you prefer.

This version of LP Recorder is also compatible with the older operating systems Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows 2000, and it is still fully supported on those systems. LP Recorder automatically determines which system it is running on and uses the appropriate controls.
 

Recorder

• The Auto Start checkbox is used to start a recording automatically when the stylus is lowered onto an LP or a tape player is started.
   
• The following keyboard shortcuts can be used to control recording as an alternative to clicking the recording toolbar buttons.
   

  Ctrl+R	Record
  Ctrl+P	Pause
  Ctrl+S	Stop

  
  

• Timing functions are unaffected even if the system clock is changed during recording or playback.
   

Player

• The Player function can be used to play the recording from any starting point using the track bar slider control. The total time of the track and the time remaining to play are displayed and continuously updated.
   
• The following keyboard shortcuts can be used to control the playback as an alternative to clicking the player toolbar buttons.
   

  Ctrl+P	Play / Pause
  Ctrl+S	Stop

  
  

Other Enhancements

• A separate online step by step Quick Start Guide is included to help newcomers with their first recording.
   
• The screen positions of the main Recorder / Player screen, Audio options and Preferences windows are remembered and reused from session to session.
   
• Additional troubleshooting information etc. in the Help file
   
• Link to the CFB Software website from the Help menu
   
• Improved handling of large fonts
   
• Detection of the Windows ME / USB Audio Driver problem (Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 280127)
   

Version 5

Preferences

The soundcard to be used by LP Recorder can be selected and saved independently of your Windows system's default Audio Properties.

If you have more than one sound device in your system, you can choose a different one for playback and recording. When you first start LP Recorder the Audio Settings Window is displayed with the first (or only) device in each list automatically selected.

The system is designed to cater for systems with removable sound devices. If you have removed the selected sound device from your computer since last using it with LP Recorder, you will again be prompted to select a device when you next use LP Recorder.

Auto Stop Delay

Start / Stop Level has been replaced with Auto Stop delay to make it easier to setup and make Auto Stop more reliable and usable with a wider range of recording sources (LPs, tapes, MiniDiscs, VCRs etc.) The improved Auto Stop feature replaces the Auto Start / Stop feature of earlier versions.

Tool Tips

Tool Tips can be switched off if preferred.
 

New Help System

The on-line help has been rewritten to use Microsoft?s HTML Help system and provide additional setup and troubleshooting information. You can now directly access the CFB Software website from the Help file.
 

Improved Reliability

LP Recorder handles changes in your system's sound configuration resulting from the use of external plug and play devices.

The WAV file is safely closed on certain fatal errors, minimising the chance of the recorded data being lost.

LP Recorder stops safely and automatically once the WAV file reaches its maximum size (2Gb) This is equivalent to 3 Hours and 20 Minutes of CD-quality recording time.

Some third-party programs (e.g. Creative's WaveStudio, Steinberg's Wavelab etc.) can create WAV files with extended non-standard, or application-specific, header information. LP Recorder's playback function is now also able to play a number of these without problems.