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US 2005.0036628A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2005/0036628A1 Devito (43) Pub. Date: Feb. 17, 2005 (54) INTERACTIVE DIGITAL MEDIUMAND on Aug. 1, 2003. Provisional application No. 60/519, SYSTEM 502, filed on Nov. 12, 2003. (76) Inventor: James Devito, Chappaqua, NY (US) Publication Classification Correspondence Address: (51) Int. Cl. ................................................... H04B 1/20 OSTROL.ENK FABER GERB & SOFFEN (52) U.S. Cl. ................................................................ 381/61 1180 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS NEW YORK, NY 100368403 (57) ABSTRACT (21) Appl. No.: 10/883,884 The present invention relates to manipulating audio and/or (22) Filed: Jul. 2, 2004 Video recordings, particularly music recordings, by giving a user access to individual master tracks and/or channels that Related U.S. Application Data make up the recording, that he or She previously did not have access to. The master tracks and/or channels can be manipu (60) Provisional application No. 60/485,092, filed on Jul. lated in a variety of ways, Such as by adjusting the Volume 2, 2003. Provisional application No. 60/491.924, filed levels and adding Special effects. Patent Application Publication Feb. 17, 2005 Sheet 1 of 7 US 2005/0036628A1 LEFT Master 1 Master 2 Master 3 PRIOR ART CENTER SUB WOOFER LEFT REAR RGHT REAR SURROUND SURROUND PRIOR ART Patent Application Publication Feb. 17, 2005 Sheet 2 of 7 US 2005/0036628A1 FIG. 3A Patent Application Publication Feb. 17, 2005 Sheet 3 of 7 US 2005/0036628A1 LEFT RIGHT 12 FIG. 3B Patent Application Publication Feb. 17, 2005 Sheet 4 of 7 US 2005/0036628A1 FIG. 4 Patent Application Publication Feb. 17, 2005 Sheet 5 of 7 US 2005/0036628A1 1.10 UMIX IT." O CHANNEL CHANNEL CHANNEL CHANNEL CHANNE CHANNEL & CD codWR WOL FREC). COMP. LM C) C) G. C) XP. OECS. U.S. DNR CD O LOOP AUX. Patent Application Publication Feb. 17, 2005 Sheet 6 of 7 US 2005/0036628A1 20 23 (2)EJECT 14 1- OPWR STEREO SURROUND G < D. s. 34 K D 36 V MASTER VOL. MENU DISPLAY 42 38 40 FIG. 6 Patent Application Publication Feb. 17, 2005 Sheet 7 of 7 US 2005/0036628A1 S100 PROVIDE DISC S102 PUT DISC IN PLAYER S104 CONVERT S1 O6 INVOKE SOFTWARE S108 MANIPULATELEVELS S110 OUTPUT ONEW FORMAT S112 END FIG. 7 US 2005/0036628A1 Feb. 17, 2005 INTERACTIVE DIGITAL MEDUMAND SYSTEM 0008. In a prior art stereo audio recording, master audio tracks are mixed to play over two channels, i.e., the left CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED channel and right channel. Thus, in a Stereo System, each APPLICATIONS channel is made up of one or more master tracks. The master tracks cannot be re-mixed by a purchaser of the playable 0001. The present invention is based on and claims media, i.e., the compact disc, cassette, Vinyl LP or the like. priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. Although the individual master tracks and individual takes 60/485,092, filed Jul. 2, 2003, entitled “INTERACTIVE are usually Saved, for example, in a recording Studio's COMPACT DISC,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. archives, they are not made available to the general public No. 60/491.924, filed Aug. 1, 2003, entitled INTERACTIVE for re-mixing. COMPACT DISC AND ASSOCIATED APPLICATIONS,” and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/519, 0009 Home multi-track recording has been available for 502, filed Nov. 12, 2003, entitled INTERACTIVE COM a considerable amount of time. Multi-track recorders have PACT DISC AND ASSOCIATED APPLICATIONS,” the included equipment for recording multiple audio tracks on entire contents of all of which are incorporated by reference. reel-to-reel tape, cassette tape, and digital media, including hard disks, compact discs and recordable DVDs, for BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION example. 0002) 1. Field of the Invention 0010 Relatively recently, multi-track digital recording Software applications have been developed, and are now 0003. The present invention relates generally to audio commercially available at affordable prices. For example recording distribution, and, more particularly, to providing CAKEWALK, BAND-IN-A-BOX, N-TRACK STUDIO, custom audio mix operations in multi-channel audio record POWERTRACKS PRO AUDIO, PRO-TOOLS or the like ings. available from the known Suppliers have enabled people to make multi-track digital recordings using personal computer 0004 2. Description of the Related Art technology. 0005 Prior art audio recordings, and, more particularly music recordings, are commercially distributed in a pre 0011 Home multi-track recording, especially in a digital form, is a cost-effective and useful way for musicians to defined and substantially unalterable stereophonic (“stereo") record and distribute their music without the overhead of a format. Typically, original “master audio tracks (e.g., a professional quality recording Studio. Typically, musicians Vocal track, a lead guitar track, a bass guitar track and a drum who wish to distribute their music use multi-track recording track) that were recorded in a music Studio and, thereafter, Systems to record master audio tracks. The musicians may mixed by an audio engineer are fixed in a compact disc function as audio engineers, or, alternatively, hire audio (“CD”), audio cassette, vinyl disc (LP record), and more engineers to mix the master tracks in order to create a recently, DVD, DVD-audio, SACD or other media format finished, Stereo recording of their music. Thereafter, the for commercial distribution, collectively “playable media”. Stereo recording is transferred (referred to in the art as 0006 AS used herein, a “master track” refers, generally, “burned”) to a compact disc or other playable media for to one or more of a Single recording instance. For example, eventual distribution. a singer who is recording a Song may sing the Song once, referred to generally as a “take,” into a microphone and the 0012 FIG. 1 shows an example prior art playable media take is recorded. The Singer then Sings the Song again, commonly referred to as an audio CD that has a Stereo thereby recording a Second take. After Several takes are recording having left and right channels. AS shown in FIG. recorded, a Single take is isolated, or a plurality of takes is 1, master tracks 1, 2 and 3, for example, having lead guitar, combined, and a master track is created therefrom. Typi Vocals and drums, are mixed to play on the left Stereo cally, a master track is recorded So that playback of the track channel, and master tracks 4, 5 and 6, for example, having occurs on at least one audio channel, e.g., a left or a right rhythm guitar, vocals and keyboard, are mixed to play on the channel in a Stereophonic recording. This proceSS is com right Stereo channel. monly referred to in the art as “panning”. 0013 Typically, master audio tracks that are recorded in 0007 An audio channel (or, simply, “channel”) refers, a native digital multi-track recording application (e.g., generally, to a mechanism providing a Single path in a “CAKEWALK") are formatted in one or more digital audio multi-path System for Simultaneously and Separately record files, for example, formatted as AIFF, WAV, PCM, and/or ing or transmitting Sounds from the one Source (See, for RIFF files, which are usually uncompressed and, typically, example, Webster's Third International Dictionary). A mas large in size. A multi-track audio recording having, for ter track is, typically, mixed with other master tracks and example, Sixteen master tracks typically includes Sixteen plays on at least one single channel (e.g., the left Stereo separate audio files (e.g., WAV files), wherein one file channel). A Single channel may, in Some instances, play only contains a Single track. Furthermore, digital multi-track a single master track. More typically, a single channel playS recording Software applications use one or more additional a plurality of master tracks representing one or more voices, files, Sometimes referred to as project files, which include one or more instruments or combinations thereof, that are information regarding combing the master tracks according combined or blended (referred to herein, generally, as to a predetermined mix, and then for manipulating the levels “mixed') together. In other cases, a single master track, Such of each respective track, for example, to adjust Volume, as a lead vocal track, is formatted to play over two channels. Special effects, or the like. US 2005/0036628A1 Feb. 17, 2005 0.014 Musicians who distribute their music in an audio 0020. In an example embodiment of the present inven CD or the like, typically do not distribute each individual tion, a multi-track audio recording is fixed in any one of the master track to consumers for various reasons. One reason known playable media. Examples of digital playable media is that the recipient of a digital multi-track recording typi are CD's, DVD’s, SACD's, DVD-audio discs, or the like. A cally will require the multi-track recording Software appli DVD, for example, is formatted in a multi-channel 5.1, 6.1 cation that was originally used to record or mix the tracks in and/or 7.1 Surround Sound format, Such as DOLBY DIGI order to play the recording. The recipient may also require TAL Surround sound or DD DOLBY DIGITAL, DTS DIGI additional information files, Such as project files, to play the TAL SOUND or DTS DIGITAL SURROUND or the like. multi-track recording. Another reason is that original multi These multi-channel formats are referred to as “surround track digital recordings are typically very large in Size, Sound” formats. In typical pre-recorded off-the-shelf play able media, Such as DVD's the master tracks are not requiring many hundreds of megabytes or even gigabytes of individually accessible to a user and, hence, can not be Space per individual Song.