JackTrip Virtual Studio Update 4/7/2023

What’s New?

  • Connect to studios using only a web browser
  • New AI music generator beta

Connect to studios using only a web browser

Today we are launching the ability to connect to studios using nothing more than a web browser! This requires no special hardware or software downloads. It works using Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox on most modern devices, including Chromebooks, mobile phones, iPads, etc.

Whenever you join a studio using a web browser on a computer, you will see a new “Use this browser” option to connect audio. Just select that, choose which audio interfaces you’d like to use, and select "Join Room.” If you are on a mobile device, it will skip the first step for you.

Not all browsers are the same! Some allow you to choose both your input and output audio interface, while others will only allow you to select a microphone. Use your operating system’s audio settings to control audio output for the latter. We currently recommend Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge for the best experience.

Audio quality and latency using your browser will not be as good as the JackTrip App or bridge devices. But it will still be way better than what is available from most other online collaboration platforms. Also most Virtual Studio features will still work great, including Soundscapes mixing and DSP, volume meters and controls, recording and live broadcasting!

New AI music generator beta

Looking for that missing sound to bring the band together? Try generating it yourself!

With this release, we’re excited to launch a beta of our AI Music Generator. You can find this in the bottom right-hand corner of the studio room. As a studio admin, you can use the prompt to enter your favorite styles, instruments, or genre to produce a machine-generated musical accompaniment.

play_ai_button

In “Sample” mode, you’ll be able to generate small snippets of audio that match the prompt you’re looking for. Once you’ve generated a sample you like and want to play along with, you can go over to “Loop” mode to replay it for endless jamming.

Additionally, “Loop” mode will also let you create a continuous stream that adapts to your prompt in real-time. This lets you build a loop that will seamlessly transition between different styles.

music_generator_menu

Try it out and let us know what you think!

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For those who may be interested, connecting via browser audio currently uses a lossy codec (Opus) with (stereo) bitrate of about 320kbps. Connecting audio via the JackTrip App or bridge devices is lossless, or about 1536kbps. For comparison purposes, Spotify premium is 256kbps and Zoom’s music mode is 192kbps. The perceived difference between all of these will vary for each individual, based upon the quality of your audio interface, headphones, microphone and sensitivity of your own ears.

Not all browsers are equal, and we are currently aware of a few known limitations:

  • The Firefox browser is currently only sending audio to studios at about 48kbps
  • The Safari browser on Mac, and all browsers on iOS are mixing the studio’s stereo signals to mono and playing the same signal on left and right channels

These are bugs in the browsers that we unfortunately have to wait for their makers to correct.

We’ll be publishing some test results on latency soon, but we encourage you try to testing it out yourself! Just turn up “Self Volume” under studio volume controls to hear yourself looped back from the studio. Be sure to use headphones and turn it back down when you are done!

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I can’t wait to play with these HUGE new features! Thanks for everything!

Wow, 30 minutes went by so fast! I used Browser mode, fired up a metronome server, and typed into the AI - “Spanish Flamenco”. Really amazing. I had a live mic and it picked up the news radio playing in the background, which sounded like live audience chatter. Then I played my harmonica and sang a bit and the AI seemed to adapt to the timbre of the harmonica and returned some oddly complementary backup vocals! I switched up the style to “Punk” and the AI took a while to figure out what to do, and it developed a catchy groove. I’m already addicted!

It seemed like the AI was adapting to my input, but I am not sure.

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