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Ringtone F.A.Q.
Beatnik Player F.A.Q.
Beatnik Ringtone F.A.Q.
- What are the different
formats of polyphonic ringtones supported by Beatnik?
- What tools do
I need to produce Polyphonic Ringtones?
- How do I transfer
the ringtone to my phone?
- What phones play
RMF?
- The instruments
in the Beatnik Editor don't sound like my phone. Why?
- How can I convert
from one format to another?
- How do I make
a good polyphonic ringtone?
- My question wasn't
answered by this F.A.Q. What should I do now?
1. What are
the different formats of polyphonic ringtones supported
by Beatnik?
While the Beatnik Audio Engine is capable of playing virtually
all ringtone formats, this F.A.Q. will cover common questions
about MIDI, SP-MIDI, RMF, and XMF.
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2. What tools
do I need to produce Polyphonic Ringtones?
Depending on the type of ringtone you wish to produce, at
a minimum you need a MIDI sequencer for basic MIDI ringtones.
To produce SP-MIDI, at a minimum, you need a MIDI sequencer that allows
you to edit System Exclusive messages. Beatnik has recently released its Mobile Sound Builder. This is a powerful tool for creating both SP-MIDI and XMF files. You will still need a MIDI sequencer for fine-tuning your MIDI files.
To produce RMF, you will need the Beatnik Editor in addition
to a MIDI sequencer. This will allow you to create custom
instruments, making your ringtone truly unique. It will
also allow you to encrypt copyright information with your
ringtone, ensuring that your composition will always have
your name on it! Again, the Editor allows you to monitor
polyphony levels on a per-channel basis.
XMF is a relatively young format, and Beatnik is proud to announce the release of the first XMF production tool, Mobile Sound Builder. Like RMF, XMF allows you
to include custom instruments with your MIDI data. You will need a MIDI sequencer and possibly a DLS Editor to use in conjunction with Mobile Sound Builder.
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3. How do I
transfer the ringtone to my phone?
Consult your phone's users' manual or manufacturer's website
for details on transferring ringtones to your phone. In
many situations, you will have a way to connect your phone
to your computer via serial cable or Bluetooth. For some
lower-end phones, you may need to download them from a WAP
site. For information on building WAP sites, please see
http://www.wapforum.com or http://www.wapgw.org/.
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4. What phones
play RMF?
At this time, we know that Nokia's 7650 and 3650 will play RMF (without
MPEG-compressed samples). The Sony Ericsson P800 will also play RMF without MPEG-compressed samples.
We anticipate many more phones with RMF and XMF capability
in the future. Please check www.beatnik.com frequently for
updates!
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5. The instruments
in the Beatnik Editor don't sound like my phone. Why?
Most phones with Beatnik technology have a customized sound
bank, optimized for that particular device's memory limits,
speaker size, etc. Many of these optimized banks have a
limited number of instruments, but every General MIDI instrument
is accounted for, either with it's own sample and instrument
definition, or with a mapping to a similar instrument. For
example, a highly optimized instrument bank may only have
one type of piano instrument, Acoustic Grand Piano. If a
composer's MIDI sequence calls for another piano instrument,
like the Electric Piano, the soundbank re-directs it to
the Acoustic Grand Piano. So even though your composition
might not sound exactly as it does in the Editor, you can
rest assured that the instruments will be mapped to the
appropriate places. Some phone manufacturers release information
about these instrument lists. Please visit their developer
website for this sort of information.
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6. How can
I convert from one format to another?
Because RMF and XMF are encrypted and may contain custom
instruments, you can not convert them to MIDI or SP-MIDI.
However, because MIDI is the basis for RMF and XMF, you
can easily convert to RMF in the Editor, and create XMF in Beatnik's Mobile Sound Builder. Beatnik does not currently
support converting between other formats. You may want to
do an internet search for those types of tools.
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7. How do I
make a good polyphonic ringtone?
Obviously, there isn't one single answer to this. However,
from our experience, we've discovered a few universal truths
about what goes into a good polyphonic ringtone. First of
all, you do not need lots of voices to make a good sound.
Simple lines work best. Make sure you keep one instrument
on each channel, since SP-MIDI scales polyphony on a per-channel
basis. Things are less confusing that way. Don't use too
many instruments! The more instruments you use, the more
memory is required to play your ringtone. Remember you're
usually dealing with a very small speaker with very limited
frequency response. Don't use the extremes of the instrument
ranges - you might not hear them, and you'll just be wasting
voices!
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8. My question
wasn't answered by this F.A.Q. What should I do now?
Please contact Beatnik by clicking here.
We will do our best to answer it in a timely fashion.
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Beatnik Player F.A.Q
- What happened to the Beatnik Player?
- How do I remove
the Beatnik Player?
- My question isn't in this list. What
do I do now?
1. What happened to the Beatnik Player?
Beatnik has discontinued support of the Player Plugin. We apologize for any inconvenience. Click here for some alternative browser plugins.
2. How do I
remove the Beatnik Player?
Please contact Beatnik Support by clicking here for help removing the Player.
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3. My question isn't
in this list. What do I do now?
Please contact Beatnik by clicking here.
Please note that the Beatnik Player is a free product, and
only limited support is offered. It may take a week or more
to get back to you.
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