-
+
<p>
- A <dfn>playlist</dfn> is a list of regions ordered in time. It defines
- which parts of which source files should be played and when. Playlists
- are a fairly advanced topic, and can be safely ignored for many types
- of audio production. However, the use of playlists allows the audio
- engineer more flexibility for tasks like multiple takes of a single
- instrument, alternate edits of a given recording, parallel effects such
+ A <dfn>playlist</dfn> is a list of regions ordered in time. It defines
+ which parts of which source files should be played and when. Playlists
+ are a fairly advanced topic, and can be safely ignored for many types
+ of audio production. However, the use of playlists allows the audio
+ engineer more flexibility for tasks like multiple takes of a single
+ instrument, alternate edits of a given recording, parallel effects such
as reverb or compression, and other tasks.
</p>
<p>
Each audio <dfn>track</dfn> in Ardour is really just a mechanism for
- taking a playlist and generating the audio stream that it represents.
- As a result, editing a track really means modifying its playlist in
- some way. Since a playlist is a list of regions, most of the
- modifications involve manipulating regions: their position, length
+ taking a playlist and generating the audio stream that it represents.
+ As a result, editing a track really means modifying its playlist in
+ some way. Since a playlist is a list of regions, most of the
+ modifications involve manipulating regions: their position, length
and so forth. This is covered in the chapter
- <a href="@@working-with-regions">Working With Regions</a>.<br>
- Here, we cover some of the things you can do with playlists as objects
+ <a href="@@working-with-regions">Working With Regions</a>.
+</p>
+<p>
+ This page covers some of the things that can be done with playlists as objects
in their own right.
</p>
<h2>Tracks are not Playlists</h2>
<p>
- It is important to understand that a track <em>is not</em> a playlist.
- A track <em>has</em> a playlist. A track is a mechanism for generating
- the audio stream represented by the playlist and passing it through a
- signal processing pathway. At any point in time, a track has a single
- playlist associated with it. When the track is used to record, that
- playlist will have one or more new regions added to it. When the track
- is used for playback, the contents of the playlist will be heard.
- You can change the playlist associated with a track at (almost) any
- time, and even share playlists between tracks.
+ It is important to understand that a track <em>is not</em> a playlist.
+ A track <em>has</em> a playlist. A track is a mechanism for generating
+ the audio stream represented by the playlist and passing it through a
+ signal processing pathway. At any point in time, a track has a single
+ playlist associated with it. When the track is used to record, that
+ playlist will have one or more new regions added to it. When the track
+ is used for playback, the contents of the playlist will be heard.
+ The playlist associated with a track can be changed at (almost) any
+ time, and tracks can even share playlists.
</p>
<p>
- If you have some experience of other
- <abbr title="Digital Audio Workstation">DAW</abbr>s, then you might
- have come across the term <dfn>"virtual track"</dfn>, normally defined as a track
- that isn't actually playing or doing anything, but can be
- mapped/assigned to a real track. This concept is functionally
- identical to Ardour's playlists. We just like to be little more
- clear about what is actually happening rather than mixing old and
- new terminology ("virtual" and "track"), which might be confusing.</p>
+ Some other <abbr title="Digital Audio Workstation">DAW</abbr>s use the term
+ <dfn>"virtual track"</dfn> to define a track that isn't actually playing or
+ doing anything, but can be mapped/assigned to a real track. This concept is
+ functionally identical to Ardour's playlists. We just like to be little more
+ clear about what is actually happening rather than mixing old and
+ new terminology ("virtual" and "track"), which might be confusing.
+</p>
<h2>Playlists are Cheap</h2>
<p>
- One thing you should be clear about is that playlists are cheap. They
- don't cost anything in terms of CPU consumption, and they have very
- minimal efforts on memory use. Don't be afraid of generating new
- playlists whenever you want to. They are not equivalent to tracks,
- which require extra CPU time and significant memory space, or audio
- files, which use disk space, or plugins that require extra CPU time.
- If a playlist is not in use, it occupies a small amount of memory, and
+ One thing to bear in mind is that playlists are cheap. They
+ do not cost anything in terms of CPU consumption, and they have very
+ minimal efforts on memory use. So generating new playlists whenever needed
+ is recommended. They are not equivalent to tracks,
+ which require extra CPU time and significant memory space, or audio
+ files, which use disk space, or plugins that require extra CPU time.
+ If a playlist is not in use, it occupies a small amount of memory, and
nothing more.
</p>
-
projects / ardour-manual / blobdiff