As expected, the SF GUI is simple, elegant, and just plain usable -- what a wonderful thing! Everything is dockable with movable boundaries (where appropriate). And you can save your workspace layouts for future use in other projects, as well as fully customize your keyboard shortcuts and export/import shortcut sets at will. Use the video strip to syncronize all of your audio stems (stereo or multichannel) then save a new video file with your new and improved audio tracks. A huge list of supported file types means less hassle getting data in and out of the application. And loads of metering options let you look at your audio any way you like.
Depth of Options
There are way too many features for me to cover everything, so I'll try to focus on some of the newer ones. The biggest news is probably the new multichannel file capabilities. SF9 allows you to open, edit, and save multichannel files as easily stereo files in a variety of formats. You can drag and drop selections for pasting or mixing between channels, plus SF allows you to move any channel to any other channel in the file with ease. Besides these usual post duties you can also record multiple channels directly into your PC, assuming you have an audio interface with that capability. All of this multichannel support makes it easy to aquire, edit, mix, and master multichannel stems for DVD projects or any project requiring a surround mix. Then, if you need to also create a stereo or mono version of your mix, SF provides channel converter tools specifically for this purpose.
Another former top contender on my SF wish list is the pile of new metering options. SF9 includes peak, VU, phase, and mono capatiblity metering, each with its own set of options. I am particularly pleased with the phase scope metering, which helps me find phase cancellation issues between channels. With four different graphical representations available, I can choose the one that makes sense to my eyes and ears. Phase cancellation is a nasty audio gremlin that plagues many low-budget films. Unless you know what you're listening for, it can be difficult to diagnose (much less fix) by ear. SF lets you use this meter to monitor live input as well as file playback, so you can actually use it at a shoot to help avert these problems at the source. Another great addition, especially for TV audio production, is the mono compatibility meter. This gives you a graphical representation of how well your stereo audio will mix down to a single speaker (like on many TVs).
