Hey all, I’ve been using SONOPEDIA for a couple weeks now on a couple short period films (one set in the 30s and one in the early 90s).

YAY

The overall production quality and fidelity of the recordings is impressive. Everything from classroom walla to the foley sounds (especially the footsteps) are clean, crisp, pristine… Almost no noise floor (I can’t say the same for other libraries out there) and nice levels (I appreciate how some of the ambiences aren’t mixed crazy hot).

There are also a great collection of sci fi sounds- my sound design partner is working on a series of sci-fi webisodes and is delighted to have the abundance of new sounds from SONO.

And of course it’s great to have modern computer and car sounds. There’s a 2008 Nisson sfx. An up-to-date Apple keyboard sound. Love it.

BUT…

The downside to SONO is that it’s just lacking some sounds. Could definitely use more city ambience, and ambience in general. Also, vintage sounds are lacking. There were no auto sfx from the 20s or 30s, or 40s for that matter.

Overall, it’s a solid library and if additional collections become available (like the Sound Ideas extensions) it would be even better.

The HD Sound Effects Initiative (HDsoundFX.org) is an industry-wide consortium dedicated to fostering the awareness, adoption and use of high definition audio and sound effects libraries in professional media production. Organized by Pro Sound Effects with endorsement from leading library publishers Sound Ideas, Hollywood Edge, Digieffects, and Blastwave FX , the HD Sound Effects Initiative serves as an educational and news resource for the professional audio community. By using the highest quality audio and HD sound effects libraries, we, as audio professionals, seek to push the limits of the HD experience and underscore the increasingly integral role of high definition audio and sound design.

There are numerous reasons why audio professionals must adopt use of HD Sound FX into their everyday workflow, the most important ones being:

• Audio must keep up with video: We, as audio professionals, need to strive to adopt the use of HD audio and sound effects libraries in professional media production. HD media is accelerating into the mainstream, and we shall not be left behind!

• Consumers are demanding true HD Entertainment: Consumers are demanding HD media and manufacturers have been providing it; so we must meet their expectations, keep up with this surge of HD adoption, and provide the highest quality sound possible.

Click here for the full article.

Q: Can’t I just convert my old sound effects libraries into HD?

A: Though we can convert our old libraries into audio files with numbers that represent high definition, this process does not truly make them hi-def: the dynamic range and frequency range remain exactly the same as the CD-quality format the original libraries came in.

In fact, there is always an amount of signal degredation when performing sample rate conversions; another reason why converting our old libraries into HD is undesireable.
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