Smooth Operators

Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Jason Blum and Markkus Rovito

If you use a PC for audio production — actually, if you use a PC for anything — then you've probably already formulated some pretty strong opinions about Windows Vista, even if you haven't laid eyes on a Vista PC. Microsoft hyped Vista pretty hard during its launch earlier this year, and a confusing mixture of irate tirades and glowing reviews from end users in the intervening months have added a layer of confusion to all the talk surrounding this new operating system.

Is Vista really better or worse than XP? And what exactly does five years in the world of Windows development bring? Frankly, it brought fewer changes than expected, but enough to make Vista worth a look. Even if you're completely happy with XP, the inevitable march of progress continues, and within two to three years, it will be difficult to find security patches or new applications for XP as Vista comes into its own.

Vista gets a bad rap for being hard to use, useless, a resource hog and so on and so forth ad nauseam. In all fairness to the rumor mill, Vista does require more advanced hardware than XP, and it does demand more from your system. However, with numerous optimizations for accelerating the end-user experience and under-the-hood improvements including low-level audio drivers and multimedia prioritization, Vista stands a good chance of being the pro audio OS of choice by the end of 2008. I took Vista's Ultimate version for a spin with a variety of audio apps over the course of a month, and while XP is still a tried-and-true platform for music production, I did find plenty to like about Vista and was encouraged by the efforts Microsoft is making for pro audio users.

With all of the choices today in CPU speeds, hard-drive capacities, video-card specs, and so on, it isn't as though we don't already have enough to worry about when selecting a PC. Naturally, leave it to Microsoft to complicate things even further — it split Vista into four separate versions, all built on the same core software but with key features enabled or disabled depending on how much cash you feel comfortable spending (see sidebar).

GIT ‘ER DONE

Installing Vista is shockingly easy and painless. Say goodbye to XP's text-based setup; Vista's bootable DVD kicks right into a mouse-driven graphic interface, and there are additional tools available right there in the setup for creating and resizing disk partitions. Once you've entered your product key and identifying information, Vista takes the reins, and you're free to grab a cup of joe while the OS configures itself without any further intervention. Around 30 to 45 minutes later, you've got a fully functioning Vista setup that's ready to rock.

Since Vista is a brand new OS, most of the drivers required for standard hardware are already included. Vista auto-detected my Nvidia graphics card, SATA drives, RAID array, network card and motherboard chipset all by itself. I didn't have to lift a finger to get things running — a far cry from XP, where a fresh install would send me running all over the Web looking for the right drivers to silence the nagging “New Hardware Found” messages after startup. You'll still need to grab drivers for more obscure products such as pro audio interfaces and accelerator cards, but Vista should be able to handle all of your basic system devices easily. If not, a quick visit to Windows Update will usually resolve the problem.

If you're planning to dual-boot a system with Vista and XP (or any other operating system), it's important to note that Vista uses a brand new boot loader that's not directly compatible with older operating systems. That can pose problems if you purchase a PC with Vista preinstalled. On a new laptop that came with Vista Business preloaded, after partitioning the drive and installing XP, I was stuck booting straight into XP without any obvious way to access Vista — no boot menu or other selection option during startup. Fortunately, that is relatively easy to fix, and a number of third-party tools (like EasyBCD; www.neosmart.com) will back up and modify your boot sector to make it dual-boot ready.

BRINGIN' SEXY BACK

One of the areas where Vista really shines is, arguably, one of the least important. I always felt that the rounded blue and green elements in XP's default interface had a distinct Fisher-Price feel, and Vista tosses all that out the window with its classy and refined Aero interface. Aero may simply be Microsoft's response to the beautiful Aqua interface Apple introduced with OS X, but that makes it no less welcome; its transparent glass motif is easier on the eyes than any previous version of Windows, and when you're pulling all-nighters in the studio, a little aesthetic flair is always a welcome relief.

Unlike OS X and its Dock toolbar, Vista doesn't introduce any radically new interface elements; rather, it seems to be a simple re-skinning of the old XP interface. Some items have moved around — the new Network Center and Control Panel icons — but the overall feel is generally the same. I was particularly pleased with Microsoft's integrating the Windows Desktop Search functionality right into the Vista shell. It's fast and robust, lets you track down files and messages by keyword anywhere on your network and can be configured to index only specific locations to keep system resource usage at a minimum. With a properly structured sample archive, Vista's search can make picking the perfect sample out of gigabytes of data a simple task.

64- VS. 32-BIT

The retail version of Vista ships with two DVDs — one with a 32-bit installer and another with a 64-bit version. While most PCs these days are quite capable of 64-bit operation, most hardware and software manufacturers in the audio realm have yet to jump on the 64-bit bandwagon, so unless you're one of the lucky few with 64-bit Vista drivers, you'll probably be stuck running the 32-bit version.

That isn't a problem in any way; the vast majority of XP installations are 32-bit, and most of today's audio software and hardware is optimized for the 32-bit realm. That's slowly changing as 64-bit operation does have a number of advantages, including support for vast quantities of RAM and higher-precision audio processing. However, with the slow uptake on device-driver availability (most 64-bit drivers are still in beta), it's wise to wait it out a bit and roll with a 32-bit installation until 64-bit support becomes more widespread.

RIDE THE WAVE

One of the most promising technologies in Vista is WaveRT, Microsoft's first real attempt at low-level integration of audio drivers directly into the Windows kernel. This is essentially Microsoft's take on what the ASIO architecture has offered for years — a driver model that allows manufacturers to offload the laborious task of low-latency audio processing from the CPU onto the audio interface itself. Of course, because WaveRT is directly embedded in the OS, drivers that take advantage of this programming model should offer significant improvements in latency and host CPU utilization.

Unfortunately, as with the 64-bit conundrum, we're facing another chicken and egg issue with WaveRT. The only pro audio manufacturer I could find that is offering WaveRT drivers appears to be Echo (www.echoaudio.com). Others, such as MOTU, Native Instruments, RME, etc. seem to be waiting in the wings to see whether ASIO will continue to hold the throne, or if this upstart challenger will wind up king of the audio hill.

In an ironic twist, makers of consumer audio hardware like SigmaTel and Realtek — two of the largest manufacturers of on-motherboard audio interfaces — already have WaveRT drivers for many of their embedded devices. While onboard audio won't ever take the place of a quality pro interface, WaveRT drivers do increase their usefulness for pro audio users, and that's good news for musicians who need to stay creative on the road but don't want to lug around an extra audio card. With WaveRT, it should finally be possible to eke out some decent low-latency performance from these interfaces.

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