(third-person singular simple present autotunes, present participle autotuning, simple past and past participle autotuned) Alternative form of auto-tune. Sep 11, 2010 'Auto-Tune is used most often for an artist who has delivered a fabulous performance emotionally and there may be a few pitch problems here and there.
Autotune (uncountable) Alternative form of auto-tune; Verb. Autotune (third-person singular simple present autotunes, present participle autotuning, simple past and past participle autotuned) Alternative form of auto-tune. Autotune is simply a piece of technology made by the dark lord Lucifer to snare the souls of all man kind,since autotune was taken up by a Mr T-Pain people have been dick riding this software and selling their souls to the dark angel at the same time, much to the amusement of every Rock'n'Roll fan. Auto-tune definition is - to adjust or alter (a recording) with Auto-Tune software especially to correct sung notes that are out of tune.
Developer(s) | Antares Audio Technologies |
---|---|
Initial release | 1997 [1] |
Stable release | |
Operating system | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X |
Type | Pitch correction |
License | Proprietary |
Website | www.antarestech.com |
Antares Vocal Processor AVP-1 (mid)
Auto-Tune is a proprietary[2]audio processor made by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a ph vocoder to fix pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to hide out of tune singing and mistakes. It lets singers perform perfectly tuned vocal tracks without needing to sing in tune. Its main purpose is to slightly bend sung pitches to the nearest true semitone. Auto-Tune can also be used as an effect to distort the human voice when pitch is raised/lowered a lot.[3]
Auto-Tune can be used as a plug-in for professional audio multi-tracking suites used in a studio setting, and as a stand-alone, rack-mounted unit for live performance processing.[4] Auto-Tune has become standard equipment in professional recording studios.[5]
Auto-Tune was first created by Andy Hildebrand, an engineer working for Exxon. Hildebrand developed methods for interpreting seismic data, and then realized that the technology could be used to detect, analyze, and modify pitch.[3]
In popular music[change | change source]
Auto-Tune was used for vocal effects on Cher's 'Believe', recorded in 1998. This was the first major hit song to use the software for this purpose. At first the sound engineers claimed that they had used a vocoder, in what Sound on Sound said was an attempt to keep a trade secret.[6] After the massive success of 'Believe', many artists copied the technique, which became known as the 'Cher Effect'. It can be heard in songs of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Some notable examples are Gigi D'Agostino's 'La Passion' and Janet Jackson's US Number 1 hit 'All For You'. Auto-Tune became famous again in the mid-2000s when R&B singer T-Pain made active use of it in his songs.[7] This technique has been copied by many other modern R&B and pop artists, including Usher, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Justin Bieber. T-Pain has even had an iPhoneApp named after him that copies the effect called 'I Am T-Pain'.[8]
The Boston Herald revealed that country music stars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have both said they are using Auto-Tune in performance. They said it is a safety net that guarantees a good performance.[9]Sara Evans, John Michael Montgomery and Gary LeVox of the group Rascal Flatts also use Auto-Tune to fix pitch problems. However, other country music singers, such as Loretta Lynn, Allison Moorer, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, Martina McBride, and Patty Loveless, have refused to use Auto-Tune.[10]
YouTube musical group The Gregory Brothers have joined their original music tracks with Auto-Tuned versions of mundane evening news video clips, making fun of everyone from President Barack Obama to Antoine Dodson. The popularity of their YouTube channel led the Gregory Brothers to release many of their songs on iTunes.
Artist backlash[change | change source]
In 2002, the CD Miss Fortune by singer-songwriter Allison Moorer was released with a sticker stating that 'Absolutely no vocal tuning or pitch correction was used in the making of this record'.[11] At the 51st Grammy Awards in early 2009, the band Death Cab for Cutie wore blue ribbons to protest the use of Auto-Tune in the music industry.[12] Later that spring, Jay-Z named the lead single of his album The Blueprint 3 as 'D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)'. Jay-Z said that far too many people had jumped on the Auto-Tune bandwagon and that the trend had become a gimmick.[13][14]Christina Aguilera appeared in public in Los Angeles on August 10, 2009 wearing a T-shirt that read, 'Auto Tune is for Pussies'.[15] However, when interviewed by Sirius/XM, she said that Auto-Tune wasn't bad if used '.in a creative way'. She said her album Bionic uses the technology and highlighted 'Elastic Love' being a product of it.[16]
Criticism[change | change source]
Opponents of the plug-in argue Auto-Tune people will not treat musicians with respect in they need help to stay in tune. A Chicago Tribune report from 2003 states that 'many successful mainstream artists in most genres of music—perhaps a majority of artists—are using pitch correction'.[11]
In 2004, The Daily Telegraph music critic Neil McCormick called Auto-Tune a 'particularly sinister invention that has been putting extra shine on pop vocals since the 1990s' by taking 'a poorly sung note and transpos[ing] it, placing it dead center of where it was meant to be'.[17]
In 2009, Time magazine quoted an unnamed Grammy-winning recording engineer as saying, 'Let's just say I've had Auto-Tune save vocals on everything from Britney Spears to Bollywood cast albums. And every singer now presumes that you'll just run their voice through the box.' The same article hoped 'that pop's fetish for uniform perfect pitch will fade', commenting that pop-music songs are sounding the same, as 'track after track has perfect pitch.'[18][19] Timothy Powell, a producer/engineer stated in 2003 that he is 'even starting to see vocal tuning devices show up in concert settings'; he states that 'That's more of an ethical dilemma—people pay a premium dollar to see artists and artists want people to see them at their best.'[11]
The American television series Glee Mac os daisydisk alternative. uses Auto-Tune in its songs. E! Online's Joal Ryan criticized the show for its 'overproduced soundtrack', in particular, complaining that many songs rely too heavily on the software.[20]
In 2010, there was controversy when British television reality TV show, The X Factor had been accused of using Auto-Tune to improve the voices of contestants, especially Gamu Nhengu.[21][22]Simon Cowell ordered a ban on Auto-Tune for future episodes.[23]
References[change | change source]
- ↑Antares history page
- ↑Harold A. Hildebrand, 'Pitch detection and intonation correction apparatus and method', US patent 5973252, published 1999-10-26, issued 1999-10-26
- ↑ 3.03.1Frere Jones, Sasha. 'The Gerbil's Revenge', The New Yorker, June 9, 2008
- ↑Antares product page
- ↑Everett-Green, Robert. 'Ruled by Frankenmusic,' The Globe and Mail, October 14, 2006, p. R1.
- ↑'Recording Cher's 'Believe'
- ↑Singers do better with T-Pain relief
- ↑I Am T-Pain at Smule.com
- ↑Treacy, Christopher John. 'Pitch-adjusting software brings studio tricks,' The Boston Herald, February 19, 2007, Monday, 'The Edge' p. 32.
- ↑McCall, Michael. Pro Tools: A number of leading country artists sing off key. But a magical piece of software-Pro Tools-makes them sound as good as gold.'
- ↑ 11.011.111.2Ryan, Maureen (27 April 2003). 'What, no pitch correction?'(PDF). Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ↑'Death Cab for Cutie protests Auto-Tune'. Idiomag.com. 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ↑Reid, Shaheem (2009-06-06). 'Jay-Z Premiers New Song, 'D.O.A.': 'Death Of Auto-Tune''. MTV. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
- ↑Reid, Shaheem (2009-06-10). 'Jay-Z Blames Wendy's Commercial—Partially—For His 'Death Of Auto-Tune''. MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
- ↑DIRRTYHONEY (2009-08-11). 'Christina Aguilera Joins Jay Z's Anti-Autotune Movement'. Popsugar. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ↑Christina Aguilera Talks Use of Auto-Tune on SIRIUS XM June 17, 2010
- ↑McCormick, Neil (2004-10-13). 'The truth about lip-synching'. The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ↑Tyrangiel, Josh, 'Singer's Little Helper,' Time, February 5, 2009
- ↑Note that the phrase perfect pitch is used here in an erroneous manner, as it refers to a very rare ability, not the mere ability to sing in tune; in general a skilled singer can be expected not to sound off-key.
- ↑Ryan, Joal (October 23, 2009). 'Glee's Great, but the Music Ain't'. E! Online. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
- ↑X Factor admits tweaking vocals
- ↑'X Factor 2010: Outraged viewers take to Twitter to complain 'auto-tune' technology was used on first episode'. Daily Mail. London. 2010-08-22.
- ↑Sam-Daliri, Nadia (2010-08-26). 'Angry Simon Cowell bans Auto-tuning'. The Sun. London.
Other websites[change | change source]
- TuneWorx - a pitch correcting module from SpectrumWorx
- Antares Auto-Tune EVO Pitch Correcting Plug-In – product home page
- Pitchfork: Neko Case Interview – artistic integrity and Auto-Tune
- CBC Radio OneQ: The Podcast for Thursday June 25, 2009MP3 – NPR's Tom Moon on the takeover of the Autotune.
- 'Auto-Tune', NOVA scienceNOW, PBS TV, June 30, 2009
- KnowYourMeme: Auto-Tune, the history of Auto-Tune and current use in popular media
Retrieved from 'https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Auto-Tune&oldid=6162793'
If the thought of paying for cable or satellite TV service hurts your head, consider free over-the-air (OTA) HDTV. Nearly every household in America can tune into at least one HDTV station (99 percent of homes, according to some sources), and it’s absolutely free!
Researching free local HDTV channels
Spend a little bit of time researching broadcast HDTV channels. Now you don’t have to do this research online, but if you have Internet access, that’s the best way to do so. If you don’t have Internet access, talk to the retailers from whom you’re buying your HDTV — they probably have firsthand knowledge (or at least anecdotal information) about local HDTV signal availability. They may also have a kiosk that provides access to online information.
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the huge (and hugely influential) trade organization that includes just about every HDTV manufacturer in the world. So it has a vested interest in getting people to buy HDTVs. This interest is sometimes manifested as lobbying efforts with the FCC, or efforts to develop marketing and industry. It also pops its head up in the form direct-to-the-consumer education efforts.
In the case of HDTV, the CEA had the truly brilliant idea of providing an extremely easy-to-use HDTV “signal finder.” In conjunction with a company called Decisionmark, the CEA has created this online system (called TitanTV) that lets you enter your address information, press a button, and come out the other side with a nice listing of all your HDTV-channel choices.
Just go to TitanTV and follow the on-screen instructions. You can also access TitanTV at many HDTV retailers, and come home with a printout of your available stations.
Not only does TitanTV find OTA stations for you, it also comes up with the cable and satellite stations available to you. You can do a quick comparison and see what best meets your needs.
Tuning into the free HDTV channels
HDTV breaks the old TV paradigm in many ways. One big difference is that not all HDTVs have a built-in TV tuner. Back in the olden days of NTSC and analog TV, this was quite rare — a few high-end TVs were “monitors” and required an external tuner, but they were definitely in the minority.
With HDTV and OTA HDTV broadcasts, the situation has been reversed — at least for the time being (more on that soon). Many sets sold as HDTVs today are HDTV-ready, but don’t have any electronics inside them that can pick up an OTA HDTV broadcast — or any ATSC broadcast, whether high-definition or standard-definition. (ATSC is the acronym for the Advanced Technology Standards Committee, an international, non-profit organization that sets forth voluntary standards for digital television.)
The government is requiring TV manufacturers to include built-in tuners that can pick up OTA HDTV, starting with bigger (36+-inch) TVs in 2005. Soon this lack of tuners won’t be a problem.
Building on a built-in tuner
If you have an HDTV with a built-in ATSC tuner, you’re just about all set. All you need to do is find the appropriate antenna, make the connections, and go. It’s really that simple — or at least it can be.
Just follow the instructions in your HDTV’s manual for tuning in the HDTV stations. (Each HDTV on-screen setup process is different.)
Auto Tune Tv Definition Dictionary
Some HDTVs with built-in ATSC tuners also have special tuners that can decode QAM-encoded HDTV signals. QAM is the system used by most cable-TV networks. This means you may be able to pick up your local broadcast stations by just plugging in your cable TV connection. Note that this is different from the DCR (digital-cable-ready) systems. And no, this has nothing to do with using an OTA antenna, but it’s a nice morsel of information to know in case you’re ever asked this question at a neighborhood BBQ.
Adding on a tuner
Define Tunes
If you own an HDTV, chances are good that you won’t have that built-in ATSC tuner mentioned in the previous section. Your HDTV probably has an NTSC tuner, which can pick up analog broadcasts, but it probably is only HDTV-ready, so you need to pick up an HDTV tuner box that you can connect between your antenna feed and your HDTV.
The biggest problem with HDTV tuners (whether they’re in your TV, or external) has traditionally been an economic one. They are (or at least were) darned expensive. Even a year or two ago, it was common to see HDTV tuners that cost $1,000 or more (this effectively explains why so many HDTVs were sold as HDTV-ready: Not everyone with an HDTV uses the OTA tuner, so why drive the cost of an already-expensive HDTV through the roof?).
The good news is that prices have come way down, which is common with consumer electronics. And the prices are going nowhere but down.
When you’re choosing an HDTV tuner, here are just a few things to consider:
- Digital outputs: If it’s at all possible, you should use a digital cable connection between your tuner and your HDTV — either DVI-D or HDMI is by far the most common (1394/FireWire used to be common, but it’s rare these days). Make sure that the outputs of your tuner match the inputs of your HDTV.
- The newer HDMI system is backward-compatible with DVI-D with the use of a simple adapter. So you can mix and match DVI-D and HDMI freely.
- If your HDTV tuner’s DVI-D or HDMI output uses the HDCP copy-protection scheme, make sure the DVI-D or HDMI input on your HDTV does, too. Otherwise the system may weaken (or “down-res”) the signal, giving you a non-HDTV picture.
- Analog outputs: While you’ll want to use your digital outputs, if possible, it’s handy to have a full set of analog outputs on the HDTV tuner, for making connections to other devices (like a digital video recorder).
- Output resolution: Most HDTV tuners can be adjusted to match the best resolution for your HDTV. Some HDTVs require a specific signal resolution (such as 1080i); if yours does, make sure your tuner can give you output at that resolution.
- Satellite capability: Some OTA HDTV tuners also include satellite-TV receivers. Well, the satellite companies would flip it around and say their receivers include OTA tuners. Either way, this can be handy if you’re using a satellite service for premium HDTV channels (like ESPN-HD and HBO) and using an antenna to pick up local HDTV channels.
Show Tunes Definition
The FCC is requiring TV manufacturers to begin including built-in ATSC tuners in their TVs, as part of the overall industry transition to digital TV. By the middle of 2005, all TVs larger than 36 inches will require an on-board ATSC tuner — over time, this requirement will filter down to smaller TVs, and even to devices like VCRs, which have their own NTSC tuners these days. (NTSC refers to the National Television System Committee, the group that sets television and video standards in the United States.)