from Philip Tagg,
Faculté de musique, Université de Montréal
Software
recommendations
Logiciels recommandés
from
Philip Tagg,
Faculté de musique, Université de Montréal
TIME CALCULATORS
How to do Music and Moving Image calculations using the routines listed in this table
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Picture
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Name
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Description
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Download
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Cost
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B-
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Time Math Calculator (1) | Simple + and – |
online
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0
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 |
A-
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Time Math Calculator (2) | + and edit up to 12 durations. Shows total, subtotals, averages, maximum and minimum durations, etc. Very useful |
online
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0
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 |
B
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OnlineConversion.com (1) | +, —; shows also hours in decimal values |
online
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0
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 |
B+
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OnlineConversion.com (2) | Convert multiples of 1 single time unit (incuding decimals) to any other (>=days - <=ms) (e.g. 125.1 mins = 7,506 seconds) |
online
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0
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 |
B+
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TimeCalc.exe Free to have on your computer, thanks to Marcio Luis Teixeira |
Simple +, —, x, ÷. No hours. Very neat and useful even if a bit restricted. Definitely worth downloading. |
36k
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0
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 |
A
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Time Calculator Pro v2 2.20 | + - x ÷. fractions, decimals, conversions to hhmmss, but no %; by far the most advanced but costs a little money! |
1276k
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$11.95
(US) |
* A = excellent; B = good, C = OK, D = average, E = poor, F = complete failure
How to calculate Music and Moving Image durations
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Use any of the routines, except OnlineConversion (2), listed in the table above and subtract the cue’s start time from its end time. For example, using TimeCalc.exe, enter first the end timing of the cue ( e.g. 61:20 for 01:01:20), then hit the subtract button, then the cue’s start timing (e.g. 58:55) and make note of the answer (the cue lasts 2:25). Hint: keep TimeCalc running while you call up other time calculation routines. |
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Use Time Math Calculator (2) to enter each duration (see previous step) as you go. When you’ve entered your durations correctly (you can edit all twelve before you go on to the next twelve or before you finish), you’ll need to note down the result so that, assuming your film contains more than 12 cues, you can add up all those sets of twelve to the final total of music durations in the whole movie. |
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Divide the total amount of music in the movie (see previous two steps) by the total duration of the whole film (easy to find by playing your DVD with its time display [OSD] on and running right to the and of the disc). Then you multiply the result of that division by 100. How do you do all that? Let’s say your film’s total running time is 02:04:55 (124m 55s) and that you’ve calculated the total duration of all music cues as 0:55:01 (55m 01s). You'll first need to convert both timings into seconds. [1] Using any normal calculator, multiply the number of minutes, as an integer, by 60. The 124 minutes of 02:04:55 = 7440 seconds. Add the remaining seconds, in this case 55, and you will know that the film is 7495 seconds long. [2] Do exactly the same sort of calculatioin for the total length of all music cues. In our case, 55 minutes x 60 = 3300 seconds, plus one (the music cues totalled 55:01), i.e. the film contained 3301 seconds of music. [3] Divide the number of seconds occupied by music (3301) by the number of seconds in the entire film (7495). The result is 0.4402935. Multiply that amount by 100 (0.4402935. x 100) and you will know that music is heard during 44% of the film. |
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I've already saved much more time using this software (SmartCaps) than it took to research its existence and install it. If ever you type upper and lower case letters round the wrong way, this software is definitely worth buying. You can set it to make whatever sound you like when the CapsLock go on and off. Same goes for NumLock on and off. You can also choose a sound for every time you hit the Insert key and opt for showing icons, on the desktop or taskbar, showing whether CapsOn and/or NumLock are on or off. I can even make the keys "click" when CapsLock is on. yOU DON'T HAVE TO WATCH THE SCREEN TO AVOID SEEING A SENTENCE LIKE THIS! Costs a little but worth every penny. To get this excellent software that can save a lot of frustration, click here. |
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If you're ever fed up with having to point and click three times just to get to the Windows Control Panel, or three or four times to call up a program (application), you will probably find AppRocket (Skylight in Windows Vista) extremely useful and time-saving. I strongly recommend either of these excellent applications. Both are downloadable for free from the same site. |
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If you have to keep a stack of MP3 files on your computer, or if you have to produce CDs or DVDs containing MP3s, or if you have an iPod or similar, or if you rip CDs, etc., etc., MP3 Book Helper is, I think, a great tool. One particularly useful feature is, for me at least, that I can export MP3 tags (any version) to a database (or database-compatible format. If you do any sort of music archiving on your computer, even if you just need to keep track of what you have, this software is FREE! But you should contribute a few dollars to this good cause. To find out more, click here. |
Managing
passwords, etc. (eWallet)
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If you buy stuff online, or do online banking, or have to log into more than one website, or if you don't remember your insurance numbers or credit/debit card numbers or software license codes or logins or UserIDs or passwords, etc., etc., I thoroughly recommend a piece of software called eWallet, especially if you also use a pocket PC or Palm or Blackberry or similar. One great feature is that you can open eWallet and click on the URL to, say, Amazon or your online bank, and log straight in without entering any codes or passwords at all: the software does that for you at a speed far too fast for hackers to trap. Of course, all data you store in eWallet is properly encrypted and itself password-protected. Costs a little bit but is extremely useful. To find out more, click here. |
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No-nonsense, stand-alone, free metronome. Any tempo from 10 to 300 bpm, any number of beats per bar. Thoroughly sane and very useful. FREE. Click here. |
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If you need to upload files, for example to your website, and if you want to do that without having to pay for the privilege, you should get this efficient, no-nonsense programme. You'll find more, plus a download link on the University of Ottawa site de l'Université d'Ottawa. Happy FTP-ing! |
| This totally useful, free, no-nonsense and excellent media player manages any format, audio or video, reliably and efficiently without your having to ‘join up’, ‘sign up’ or ‘become a member’, without having Windows or Mac bother about a ‘media library’. You don’t have to put up with the trendy-wendy glitz from other media players. VLC VideoLan just does the job: it plays audio and video just as well as all the others put together. And it’s FREE. You can download it here, here, here, here and here. If none of those work, Google VLC download and choose another site. Forget Winamp, Windows Media Player and QuickTime: you don’t need them. |
