Peak 2.6 boasts enhanced QuickTime, MP3, more

BIAS has released Peak 2.6, the latest version of their two-channel digital audio editing program for the Mac. The new version adds DAE 5.1 compatibility for use with Digidesign’s Pro Tools and monitoring of third-party ASIO hardware through the Sound Manager.

The export of QuickTime movies has been optimized for playback on both the Mac and Windows platforms. The folks at BIAS said that Peak 2.6 offers 50 percent faster encoding of MP3-format files, higher bit-rates for both MP3- and Shockwave-format audio files, and VST plug-in delay compensation when bouncing to disk. There’s also the option to disable all VST plug-ins after a bounce. Other features of the update include a “Swap Channels” DSP tool; support for multiple time units when editing markers; a Kurzweil sampler button built right into the toolbar; and left or right audio scrolling, using Control-Arrow key combinations

Full editions of Peak 2.6 also come with BIAS Vbox SE, Waves AudioTrack, Toast 5 Lite, and over 300MB of drum loops and samples from sound developer PowerFX. BIAS Vbox SE 1.0 is a multi-effects control environment for VST Plug-In effects. Waves AudioTrack 3.0 is a signal processing plug-in that features 4-band fully paragraphic EQ, a compressor/expander, and a gate. Roxio Toast 5 Lite is a “lite” version of the popular CD recording software.

Both full editions of Peak VST 2.6 (for VST, Premiere, and AudioSuite native signal processing), and Peak TDM 2.6 (identical to Peak VST with extra support for Digidesign TDM signal processing) are shipping immediately. Both Peak VST and Peak TDM ship with more than 25 free VST plug-ins, including reverb, compression, distortion, and other effects. Other product features include; built-in IDR dithering technology from Waves; support for SMDI transfers using Ultra-wide SCSI devices; Guess Tempo, Loop Surfer, Repair Click and other functions. There’s also a new user interface, advanced metering, and “disk-free” authorization, according to the folks at BIAS.

BIAS Peak VST (US$499) includes support for VST, Premiere, and AudioSuite plug-ins. BIAS Peak TDM ($699), otherwise identical to Peak VST, adds support for TDM plug-ins. There are also several upgrade options. Users of the 2.5 version of Peak VST or Peak TDM can upgrade to 2.6 for $29 (including Vbox SE) by choosing the Web download option, or can receive the full upgrade edition on CD for $49 (including Vbox SE, Waves AudioTrack, Roxio Toast 5 Lite, and the PowerFX loops and samples collection).

BIAS also offers a range of PowerBook editions, each of which is bundled with the Digigram VXpocket digital I/O PC card. Among the choices: Peak LE PowerBook ($799); BIAS Peak PowerBook ($999); and BIAS Studio PowerBook ($1,179; includes BIAS Peak, BIAS Deck and other bundled software).