Sound Node in BS Contact

My experiments suggest that BS Contact supports only .wav files in its
Sound Node. Attempts to include .mid or .mp3 versions of the music fail.
Can anyone confirm this, please? In case it is a problem in my
configuration.

Lawrie Hodges

On Jul 7, 10:16*pm, l_hod...@cix.compulink.co.uk wrote:
> My experiments suggest that BS Contact supports only .wav files in its
> Sound Node. Attempts to include .mid or .mp3 versions of the music fail. *
> Can anyone confirm this, please? In case it is a problem in my
> configuration.
>
> * * Lawrie Hodges

from memory, contact doesn't do midi, but i might be wrong or it has
changed, but doesn't sound (Ho Ho) like it.

BTW do you know that for mp3 you need to use a MovieTexture node as
the source not an AudioClip node see;
http://accad.osu.edu/~pgerstma/class...ef/ch3-342.htm

In article(simon) wrote:

> BTW do you know that for mp3 you need to use a MovieTexture node as
> the source not an AudioClip node see;
> http://accad.osu.edu/~pgerstma/class...notatedVrmlRef
> /ch3-342.htm
>
Now I am confused, unless you are confusing mp3 with mp4. mp4
involves audio and video compression and would obviously be accessed
through a MovieTexture node but mp3 is audio only and is hardly a texture.
In fact, in my system, the mp3 music _can_ be heard when accessed
with an AudioClip node in Cortona, CosmoPlayer and Flux Player it is just
BS Contact that seems out of line. However, I'll try the MovieTexture
node to see if it works in Contact.

Lawrie Hodges

its complicated, but there is some sense to it, (see link)

"mp3" is actually "movie picture experts group - version I - audio
layer 3", in other words its the audio track from a MOVIE standard, or
you could think of it as a movie within the visuals, the reason this
is important is all about getting visual and audio in synchronisation,
so in theory geometry that references a MovieTexture, and a separate
sound node using the same MovieTexture would be assumed to be needed
to be played in sync.

notice that the AudioClip node allows pitch changes, which the
MovieTexture doesn't, because it makes little sense to think of pitch
altering a movie!

of course mp3 has now really evolved into a stand alone sound format,
so some browsers chose to support it in an Audioclip, but the standard
only requires it in the MovieTexture, which means all browsers should
be OK with mp3's in a MovieTexture. The standard also requires that
midi be supported, so Contact is non-compliant there.

In article <6KydneqSnqZds-rVnZ2dnUVZ8vydnZ2d@pipex.net>,
l_hodges@cix.compulink.co.uk () wrote:

> (simon) wrote:
>
> > BTW do you know that for mp3 you need to use a MovieTexture node as
> > the source not an AudioClip node see;
> >
> >
> http://accad.osu.edu/~pgerstma/class...notatedVrmlRef
> > /ch3-342.htm
> >
> Now I am confused, unless you are confusing mp3 with mp4. mp4
> involves audio and video compression and would obviously be accessed
> through a MovieTexture node but mp3 is audio only and is hardly a
> texture. In fact, in my system, the mp3 music _can_ be heard
> when accessed with an AudioClip node in Cortona, CosmoPlayer and Flux
> Player it is just BS Contact that seems out of line. However, I'll try
> the MovieTexture node to see if it works in Contact.

The Annotated VRML 2.0 Reference Manual (AVRM) states that the url field
must support MPEG1-Systems (audio and video) or MPEG1-Video(video-only)
movie file formats. Does mp3 fit that? Not as I understand it but I don't
understand that much.
Anyway I've tried MovieTexture, using as a model the example given in
AVRM, without success. I give below my guesswork effort, together with
(commented out) the section that does work. Any suggestions?

#Sound {
# maxBack 10
# maxFront 10
# minBack 1
# minFront 1
# source DEF AC AudioClip {
# description "Happy Birthday Tune"
# url ["HappyBirthday.mp3"]
# }
#}

Shape { appearance Appearance {
texture DEF AC MovieTexture { url ["HappyBirthday.mp3"] }
}}
Sound { source USE AC }

ROUTE StartUp.start TO SetDelay.begin
ROUTE SetDelay.delayedStartTime TO TS.set_startTime
ROUTE SetDelay.delayedStartTime TO AC.set_startTime



Lawrie Hodges

Hi Lawrie,


<Group DEF='Sound1'>
<Sound DEF='RightSound' intensity='1' spatialize='true'
direction='0 0 1' location='24 0 0' priority='1'
minBack='40' minFront='40'
maxBack='260' maxFront='260'>
<AudioClip DEF='AClip_Sound1' url='"sb-revolution1.mp3"'
pitch='1' loop='true' startTime='0' stopTime='0'/>
</Sound>
</Group>

<Group DEF='Sound2'>
<Sound DEF='LeftSound' intensity='1' spatialize='true'
direction='0 0 1' location='-24 0 0' priority='1'
minBack='40' minFront='40'
maxBack='200' maxFront='200'>
<AudioClip DEF='AClip_Sound2' url='"sb-revolution2.mp3"'
pitch='1' loop='true' startTime='0' stopTime='0'/>
</Sound>
</Group>

I think you should use the X3D specs as reference. The old turorials are
nice, but the spec is old and MPEG1 was fairly new then.

http://www.web3d.org/x3d/specificati...und.html#Sound

Thanks and Best Regards,
Joe


<l_hodges@cix.compulink.co.uk> wrote in message
news:XMOdnVDvufGjB-rVRVnyhwA@pipex.net...
> In article <6KydneqSnqZds-rVnZ2dnUVZ8vydnZ2d@pipex.net>,
> l_hodges@cix.compulink.co.uk () wrote:
>
>> (simon) wrote:
>>
>> > BTW do you know that for mp3 you need to use a MovieTexture node as
>> > the source not an AudioClip node see;
>> >
>> >
>> http://accad.osu.edu/~pgerstma/class...notatedVrmlRef
>> > /ch3-342.htm
>> >
>> Now I am confused, unless you are confusing mp3 with mp4. mp4
>> involves audio and video compression and would obviously be accessed
>> through a MovieTexture node but mp3 is audio only and is hardly a
>> texture. In fact, in my system, the mp3 music _can_ be heard
>> when accessed with an AudioClip node in Cortona, CosmoPlayer and Flux
>> Player it is just BS Contact that seems out of line. However, I'll try
>> the MovieTexture node to see if it works in Contact.
>
> The Annotated VRML 2.0 Reference Manual (AVRM) states that the url field
> must support MPEG1-Systems (audio and video) or MPEG1-Video(video-only)
> movie file formats. Does mp3 fit that? Not as I understand it but I don't
> understand that much.
> Anyway I've tried MovieTexture, using as a model the example given in
> AVRM, without success. I give below my guesswork effort, together with
> (commented out) the section that does work. Any suggestions?
>
> #Sound {
> # maxBack 10
> # maxFront 10
> # minBack 1
> # minFront 1
> # source DEF AC AudioClip {
> # description "Happy Birthday Tune"
> # url ["HappyBirthday.mp3"]
> # }
> #}
>
> Shape { appearance Appearance {
> texture DEF AC MovieTexture { url ["HappyBirthday.mp3"] }
> }}
> Sound { source USE AC }
>
> ROUTE StartUp.start TO SetDelay.begin
> ROUTE SetDelay.delayedStartTime TO TS.set_startTime
> ROUTE SetDelay.delayedStartTime TO AC.set_startTime
>
>
>
> Lawrie Hodges

(Joe D Williams) wrote:

> Hi Lawrie,
>
> <Group DEF='Sound1'>
<snip>
> </Group>
>
> I think you should use the X3D specs as reference. The old turorials
> are nice, but the spec is old and MPEG1 was fairly new then.
>
> http://www.web3d.org/x3d/specificati...-1.2-X3D-Abstr
> actSpecification/Part01/components/sound.html#Sound

Hello Joe,

Thanks for your reply and the example.
I have come back to vrml programming after about 7 years and am trying to
reconnect. It looks as if I am back on a steep learning curve. But first I
am trying to make sure that my existing models and programmes still work
on newer browsers and if not, why not. My first models were built during
1997-2000 using InterVista and CosmoPlayer; hence my various queries.


Lawrie Hodges

http://www.cix.co.uk/~l_hodges/me

> (Joe D Williams) wrote:
>
>> Hi Lawrie,
>>
>> <Group DEF='Sound1'>
> <snip>
>> </Group>
>>
>> I think you should use the X3D specs as reference. The old turorials
>> are nice, but the spec is old and MPEG1 was fairly new then.
>>
>> http://www.web3d.org/x3d/specificati...-1.2-X3D-Abstr
>> actSpecification/Part01/components/sound.html#Sound
>
> Hello Joe,
>
> Thanks for your reply and the example.
> I have come back to vrml programming after about 7 years and am trying to
> reconnect. It looks as if I am back on a steep learning curve.

I think my favorite page would be:

http://www.web3d.org/x3d/specifications/
ISO-IEC-FDIS-19775-1.2-X3D-AbstractSpecification/
Part01/nodeIndex.html

and of course:

http://www.web3d.org/x3d/specificati...bjecthierarchy

That is a quick way to see all the nodes. Notice that all the old VRML is
there, plus some new additions for some more fundamental geometries, and
other stuff to get VRML up to date with latest OGL and XML. I sent an XML
example but you can see the derivation, I'm sure.


If you get into scripting, then the interface type names changed and you
must specify ecmascript, but otherwise it is just evolved javascript and
most X3D browsers will include the important parts of vrmlscript in their
SAI.

Otherwise VRML is very easy to convert to X3D and simple enough so that
sooner or later every VRML browser will at least do Classic VRML encoding
(.x3dv) and find it easy to extend to the XML (.x3d) encoding.

> but first I
> am trying to make sure that my existing models and programmes still work
> on newer browsers and if not, why not. My first models were built during
> 1997-2000 using InterVista and CosmoPlayer; hence my various queries.

I have some understanding of that situation. Flux/Vivaty, or Octaga or
BSContact or Cortona, or a couple of others all work better in .wrl files
than that old stuff now. What are you using as a player?

>
> Lawrie Hodges
>
> http://www.cix.co.uk/~l_hodges/me
>


Thanks and Best Regards,
Joe

In article <ZvidnRClYux8G-bVnZ2dnUVZ_o_inZ2d@earthlink.com>,
joedwil@earthlink.net (Joe D Williams) wrote:

Thanks for your links. I have already had a brief look at them, following
your previous posting.

> I have some understanding of that situation. Flux/Vivaty, or Octaga or
> BSContact or Cortona, or a couple of others all work better in .wrl
> files than that old stuff now. What are you using as a player

I have not got going on any new stuff yet but I graduated to an early
version of Cortona some years ago and fetched up with V4.1. I have avoided
V5.x because of its annoying logo although I do have it now on my laptop.
My default web-browser is Firefox and default vrml Browser is Flux. Other
than those, I have on my Desktop IE coupled with Cortona,
Opera/CosmoPlayer and Netscape 4.1/BS Contact, more than enough to drive
me mad. Ensuring that all those work both locally and remotely is
sufficient of a headache. I had a brief look at the Octaga site but that
also has the intrusive logo so I left it alone.

My next main problem is Java. I have a homemade avatar poser that uses a
Java applet and an embedded vrml browser that worked well on the Windows
98 machine on which it was developed. And it still does. However it
hasn't transposed successfully to my XP desktop, complaining that it can't
find some vrml classes. After that I have to understand the new H-Anim
spec (and my old code!) and see if I can manipulate my hybrid to conform.
It didn't when I wrote it because I wanted several avatars of the same
type and made my morris man a PROTO. This was not then standard. It is
now, I think.
So, I am in a valley surrounded by learning curves, or slopes,
since we are in 3D.
Thanks again for your help.


Lawrie Hodges

http://www.cix.co.uk/~hodges/me

On Jul 12, 1:51*am, simon <simon.pl...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> its complicated, but there is some sense to it, (see link)
>
> "mp3" is actually "movie picture experts group - version I - audio
> layer 3", in other words its the audio track from a MOVIE standard, or
> you could think of it as a movie within the visuals, the reason this
> is important is all about getting visual and audio in synchronisation,
> so in theory geometry that references a MovieTexture, and a separate
> sound node using the same MovieTexture would be assumed to be needed
> to be played in sync.
>
> notice that the AudioClip node allows pitch changes, which the
> MovieTexture doesn't, because it makes little sense to think of pitch
> altering a movie!
>
> of course mp3 has now really evolved into a stand alone sound format,
> so some browsers chose to support it in an Audioclip, but the standard
> only requires it in the MovieTexture, which means all browsers should
> be OK with mp3's in a MovieTexture. The standard also requires that
> midi be supported, so Contact is non-compliant there.

There is a simple reason, Contact plays wav files directly using its
own code. Anything in a MovieTexture node gets played via a Windows
Media player filter. Not thanks to Microsoft messing with Media player
MIDI support broke.