I had a chance several weeks ago to sit down with Digimix creator, Alan Queen, and discuss the RIA that he has been developing. I had seen an earlier version of DigiMix at the Adobe onAir Bus Tour in Atlanta, and I was amazed at the progress that has been made since this event. Digimix is one of the true examples of an next generation RIA's that I have seen - and it's impact will be huge.

The Application

So what is all the fuss about? Plainly put, Digimix is a Flex application that runs on an audio engine that allows you to mix multi-track CD quality audio (16 bit - 44.1 kHz) in the browser with many of the features that are found in modern day desktop digital audio workstations (DAW's) including an effects engine, volume automation, clip editing, time stretching / syncing, and bouncing to disk.

Why is this a big deal? Working with audio is a processor intensive task. It takes a lot of calculations, and up until now any web application that attempted what Digimix is trying would have been impossibly slow and non-responsive. This is what makes Digimix exciting for the RIA world (even if you are not an audiophile). Rich processor-intensive applications can work - and work well.

Feature: The Interface

When working with Digimix, one of the first things that will you will notice is a digital audio interface with many similarities to the standard digital audio workstation applications. If you have worked with audio at all, you will feel right at home navigating through the track list and dragging clips to change positioning on the timeline. As expected, there are some places where a simple 'Processing' or 'Loading' dialog may appear as you work with the audio, but this occurred less frequently than I expected.

Figure 1. Digimix Interface

As a side note, I really love how Digimix gives you a miniature layout of all of your tracks and their time positioning directly above your tracks. This allows for you to keep the current viewable section in perspective with the rest of the song.

Feature: Effects Engine

Just as in a traditional audio application, there is an effects engine that allows you to place configurable effects on specific audio. In this case, Digimix allows you to configure the effects on a per clip basis (as opposed to a whole track). Currently Digimix provides flanger, reverb, delay, and parametric EQ (and also an effect called SweepPeak).

Figure 2. Digimix Effects Engine

This was one of the areas that I was most curious about. I have extensive experience in desktop audio applications, and I know the amount of processing that is required. I took a clip of audio and added four effects, adjusted some of the parameters, and hit the preview button. To my suprise, the application was playing a preview within about eight seconds. While this may not be as fast as some of its desktop counterparts, it shows that serious number crunching can happen in a pretty quick timeframe (this is where ActionScript 3 really shines through).

Feature: Volume Automation

Another great feature that is a standard of any digital audio workstation is volume automation. This feature inside of Digimix is simplistic and easy to use (this is a compliment). Many volume automation systems in DAW's can be cumbersome and difficult to use, but this implementation works very well.

Figure 3. Digimix Volume Automation

Feature: Saving and Exporting Mixes

Digimix is not waiting around to implement some of the functionality in Flash Player 10. If you have installed the beta version of FP10, you can save your bounced mixes to your hard drive as well as your actual project files (which will allow you to resume your mix down on at a later time). If you have FP9, you won't be able to take advantage of these features yet.

Application Preview

The video below gives you an example of someone using the interface to create a mix. The video is only about a minute and a half (it is sped up - you can see the regular version here).

Close Move

Conclusion

Maybe I am a bit biased because of my audio background (my degree is in Recording Industry Production and Technology), but I believe this is one of the best examples of next generation RIA's to date. This is an example of something that truly was just not possible 18 months ago (and would have never been possible without the new ActionScript Virtual Machine) - it makes me wonder what will be possible a few years from now.

You can follow all of the Digimix news updates on the Digimix blog. There is not yet a public release, but keep your eyes here on InsideRIA, and we will let you know when there is a version you can experiment with.