ON the BEAT Number 2

On MP3 Players,
Fireball Advantages,
Electronic Attendance &
Woodstock Reflections

Rock 'n Roll music. You gotta love it. It moves you to emotional highs that dance a celebration joined by many. And it can also carry on its sonic waves vessels of angst slammed upon sharp edged rocks that shatter us apart.

THE ELECTRONIC COPYRIGHT CONFLICT appears almost resolved. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Diamond Multimedia, manufacturers of the Rio portable MP3 player, have settled their landmark lawsuit. Declaring each had reached a satisfactory agreement, both parties ended the nine-month legal battle defining the future of this controversial Internet digital music format. Now Rio and the RIAA are joining forces on anti-Net-piracy measures designed to make the creation and download of illegal MP3 files harder to accomplish. With the continuation of Rios and other portable MP3 players now assured, we'll soon review the performance options available with this conveniently small new high tech hardware.

Although technical complications have prevented me from conducting the system upgrade evaluations mentioned in the last ONtheBEAT, when that system was finally fired up, the new G2 RealPlayer free download included the impressive new RealJukebox multi-format player.

This important new product from RealNetworks (the streaming media pioneer that enlivened the 'Net with RealAudio and RealVideo) is a full-featured audio player/library that can easily acquire, play, manage and centralize all your computer/Internet music. It not only represents the firm's dramatic entry into the MP3 landscape, it also catalogues and plays RealAudio, WAV files and your CDs.

While RealJukebox can search and easily record Internet music, CDDB provides CD info encoding onto any of the selected CD selections you choose to record either MP3 or RealAudio files of. This eliminates you having to be responsible for typing that info in yourself. Recording ease is also facilitated with playlist programmability and simultaneous CD listening while recording. This listening option is a feature not provided with RealPublisher, the tool others like me have been using to previously record streaming RealAudio files.

The neat "Music Library" feature searches your drives and CDs for music files and automatically categorizes them by musical genre, artist, album and playlist. You can also have MP3 downloads automatically routed into a "My Music" folder. Your music files are then easily accessible from a single library menu.

All of these features make this all-in-one player a logical choice for someone wanting to keep things simple. But, free as it is, it does come with a price. The first cost is one the average listener most likely won't notice. RealJukebox saves hard drive and website space by creating smaller MP3 files with compression encoding at a bit rate of 96 kbps. This is superior to the RealAudio bit rate encoding I've had previously available from 5 kbps Voice to a high of 80 kbps Stereo Music. That higher RA resolution evidently produces near-CD quality sound, but the RealAudio files would be so large that I don't know anyone who has used it.

In contrast, most Internet RealAudio uses a low mono bit rate of only 16 kbps for easier 'Net streaming and copyright protection purposes. But other MP3 suites, such as Winamp, encode at multiple bit rates up to 128 kbps, and also provide customizable "skins" display options. RealJukebox's easy introduction of recording (or "ripping") capabilities will also certainly entice many 'Net audio newbies into purchasing the reasonably priced upgrade.

ON THE MATTER OF THESE LARGER FILES, it is very likely that you'll soon start looking at that new breed of fast, mega hard drives. Well, one that I have just begun to test drive is the already very impressive Quantum Fireball Plus KA 18.2 GB Ultra ATA hard drive.

In selecting one of these new muscle hard drives of 10 GBs or more, I've already learned that you don't want to only think in terms of storage capability, but also speed. Too often people only think of the processor when considering speed, only concerning themselves with GBs when getting a hard drive that operates at the standard 5400 rpm. Well, they don't call this series Fireball for nothing. It rips with its 7200 rpm Ultra ATA teamed up with the AMD K6-3 400 MHz processor on this first multimedia audio/video capture evaluation setup.

One immediate advantage was that when problems with the original motherboard installation kept me from driving into town for tapes with which to record the webcast of the 6th Annual Sleazefest, I was able to record the entire weekend's music directly onto the Quantum Fireball using RealAudio encoding. I couldn't have done this with my 1.2 GB Seagate hard drive at all.

Now I'm really looking forward to testing the creation of larger video files using the Genius Video Wonder Pro II video capture card with this relatively affordable Fireball, K6-3 400 MHz, 64 SDRAM system configuration. Hopefully that review and a resulting streaming video sample will be offered in the next of this bi-monthly column.

ON AN ELECTRONIC BLANKET AT THE THIRD "WOODSTOCK," I was able to enjoy the musical performances from the comforts of home via satellite pay-per-view TV. So, I had a ready supply of chilled drinks, food and nearby bathroom. I was also able to quickly hop in my car for a trip to the store without missing any music because of overnight playbacks and my own videotape "time shifting" of the event.

But before you say I was not able to form honest opinions as to what caused the fires and looting that closed this 30th Anniversary of the original Woodstock, let me say otherwise.

Many in the media put the blame on the shoulders of this young new generation. Woodstock promoter John Scher said "It's clearly a dark side of society. We've seen it all over America in the last couple of years, some tragically, some pathetically. This was pathetic at the very least... it's inexcusable, the behavior of these couple hundred knuckleheads."

Well, I don't think the real "knuckleheads" were so much from this Woodstock's generation as much as they came from the original Woodstock generation.

True, Scher had plenty of good replies concerning the infrastructure provided by the militaristic Rome, NY, airbase location, and the justification for $4 bottles of "designer" water, when he answered MTV News' Kurt Loder's questions concerning the "bad vibe" Loder felt upon arriving, prior to the event's start.

But as I watched the weekend festival from my electronic blanket, I could not help but ask myself more than once, "So this is what Woodstock means now?"

Although they made enjoyable music, some of the contemporary rock bands took the stage with excessive foul-mouth posturing, even flipping the audience the bird, and cursing "the cops" and rules, etc. But I still don't blame them and their empty bad boy rebellion for causing the anarchy that even led to rape in front of some of these performances.

No, as a former concert promoter myself, I know it begins with the music and the atmosphere you create. Having operated across Canada and the Pacific Northwest for several years, I never had a riot nor violent incident at any of my shows. That was because I was particular of the event locations, very selective of the artists I contracted, plus I treated the audience with the greatest of respect.

In my opinion not enough consideration was put into the meaning of what Woodstock meant by those who chose instead to mostly take the name to the bank. This third time out needed more of what Mickey Hart's Planet Drum did to the audience. It needed less $5 hamburgers, a better environment and more of that Peace & Love respect and communion.

No one had more control in the design of what happened than the promoters. They indeed have the right to organize a festival anyway they want with whomever they choose. But they made some poor choices when it came to using the name Woodstock.