TwistedWave 1.9 was just released. The detailed list of new features, fixes and improvements can be found in the release notes. It can be downloaded from the home page. The main new features are the support for VST plugins, the ability to import YouTube soundtracks, and support for .wmv, .flv, .ac3 and Audiobook .m4b files with chapters, and speech synthesis.

VST plugins

In addition to Audio Unit plugins, TwistedWave now supports VST (Steinberg’s Virtual Studio Technology) plugins. It is now possible to use with TwistedWave the effect plugins that are not available as Audio Units.

TwistedWave handles VST plugins exactly as Audio Units. They can be loaded in an effect stack, or used with the batch processing.

Import YouTube soundtracks

TwistedWave can now import the soundtrack directly from a YouTube movie. Select “File / Import from YouTube” from the main menu, and you have the option to provide the URL (the web page address) of a YouTube web page. TwistedWave will then start loading the movie’s soundtrack which you can then edit, and save as a file on your disk.

Speech synthesis

TwistedWave now integrates Apple’s speech synthesis. Enter your text, select a voice, and the corresponding synthesized speech will be inserted in the current sound file.

Support for Audiobook .m4b files

It is now possible to read and save audiobook files in the .m4b format. When an audiobook is read or saved, TwistedWave converts the chapters to markers and back. This makes it very easy to add, rename or move chapters in an audiobook or podcast.

When the file is loaded in iTunes or an iPod, the current chapter is displayed, and it is possible to skip to the next/previous chapter, making it easier to navigate inside a long audio file.

Improved batch processing

The batch processing offers new actions, such as:

• A cut action to remove or keep a specific part in the audio file.
• Two actions to apply fades in or out to the beginning or end of the audio file.
• An action to reorder the channels in a multichannel audio file.
• A few actions to work with markers, such as adding or removing markers, or splitting the file by the markers.
• An action that can copy a metadata field to another, or save the file name in a metadata field.

Support for trackpad swipe and pinch gestures

TwistedWave now understands trackpad gestures. You can use pinch to zoom, and swipe to quickly move to the beginning or the end of the file.

Additionally, scrolling with the trackpad or magic mouse has been improved and is much smoother.

Improved the insert silence effect

If a region is selected when applying the insert silence effect, instead of inserting the silence at the cursor position, the selected region is first deleted, and replaced by the silence.

This new behavior can be particularly useful in combination with the silence detector. When you have selected all the silences, inserting a silence will automatically make all the selected silences the same length.