BIAS Sound Soap (Windows/Macintosh)

Rating:
Summary: Great Solution to Ambient Noise Problems
Review: Have you shot video and later discovered the hum of an air conditioner or other noise affecting your sound? As you probably know, audiences will forgive some mistakes in video, but they have a harder time forgiving bad sound. Enter SoundSoap from Bias, Inc. ItÕs a $99.00 application that will remove hum, hiss, buzz and rumble from your soundtrack(s).

If you are using a camcorder, video editing software, audio CD burning software, a digital audio workstation, or other multimedia application, SoundSoap can really help you remove the bad ambient noises.

I tried it on a couple of videos. One was my Òtalking headÓ that I did with my iSight Camera using iMovie. My voice was way too quiet and the sound had a lot of Òstatic.Ó (I used Peak Ð also from Bias Ð to boost my voice.) The other was some video of my son and his bride dancing their first dance at the wedding reception. There were lots of clinking dishes, extra voices, etc.

In both cases, the sound was greatly improved! SoundSoap simply and quickly did a VERY complex task Ð analyzing my sound and removing only the offending noise!

SoundSoap ships as both a standalone application, and a plug-in compatible with any DirectX or VST host program - including Adobe Premiere, BIAS Peak, CakewalkÕs SONAR, Guitar Tracks Pro, Home Studio, Music Creator, MediaWorks and Pyro 2004, Sonic FoundryÕs Sound Forge and Vegas Video SteinbergÕs Nuendo, Cubase SX/SL and Wavelab. SoundSoapÕs workspace is simple and uncluttered.

It cleverly removes hiss, hum & buzzing, rumble & most other noise, without harming the audio you wish to preserve. SoundSoap has a one-step ÒLearn NoiseÓ button to sample and automatically reduce noise. It also provides manual controls for trickier applications. Like Peak, the standalone version works with any QuickTime-compatible audio or video file (AVI, DV, .WAV, SDII, AIFF, MP3, MP4 & dozens more).

My favorite feature is a ÒPreserve VoiceÓ button that protects the range of the human voice while removing noise (and other audio). The hum removal is optimized for 60 Hertz (North America, etc.) or 50 Hertz (Europe, Australia, etc.). You click on a button to choose which one to use. And the ÒNoise OnlyÓ mode lets you listen only to the noise being removed, making it easier to fine-tune SoundSoapÕs controls.

SoundSoap is a great, inexpensive solution to ambient noise problems, particularly those picked up by a camcorder. Get more info or purchase it at http://www.bias-inc.com.