Today Avid released Sibelius 2019.5, its latest update to Sibelius. Coming about one month after the 2019.4 update, today’s release contains no new features, but it brings a number of important improvements and fixes mostly in the areas of audio, playback, and printing, which makes some of the recent features more usable.
Audio/playback
Looping playback, introduced for the first time in Sibelius 2019.4, was a nice new feature to see. It’s accessed in the Transport (found in View > Panels); you can also access the setting from the Ribbon at Play > Transport > Play > Loop, or via a new shortcut: Option-P (Mac) or Alt+P (Windows), and you can read more about how it works in our 2019.4 review.
In 2019.4, when using NotePerformer as the playback device, the playback line strayed outside the selected area, as demonstrated in a short video.
In 2019.5, this has been fixed, as seen here:
Other changes to audio and playback:
- Sibelius could crash on exit in rare cases when the replay marker is shown in the timeline
- Sibelius no longer crashes when playing the score back after exporting audio.
- Loop playback now works as it should, and no longer crashes, with the metronome click enabled
- Looping extremely large sections is more responsive
- Sibelius is no longer really slow to display the playback devices dialog when using a Playback Configuration that contains huge sound sets
- Sibelius used to only play a single MIDI note when two notes are on the same pitch in different voices. Sibelius now plays the correct complement of notes.
- Consecutive repeat signs used to cause problems with playback, bar numbers and the Timeline since it would cause an infinite loop. Sibelius now plays these just once
- A selection that contains an incomplete nth time repeat now always plays the loop as though it’s the last-time repeat. Previously, it would loop more than what was selected
- In some cases, the first note of a loop could sound louder or sound like a grace note after starting playback within a looped section
- Other audio related problems such as not being able to select your preferred output for devices with several outputs, “Audio Engine Error” errors on startup, and crashes on exit have been fixed
- Sibelius is no longer really slow when opening the Audio Engine Options dialog when using the MBox ASIO drivers on Windows
Printing and PDF export
There’s a fix in Sibelius 2019.5 that I’m personally delighted to see. The Norfolk and Pori angled slash chord fonts (ASC) now appear correctly when both printing (and printing to PDF) and using File > Export > PDF. Previously these fonts appeared correctly on-screen but would only return correct results using File > Export > PDF.
This is a major step in moving the ASC fonts, which are available from NYC Music Services and included in the larger Norfolk and Pori packages, from “experimental” status to being fully supported in Sibelius. Bernie Cossentino of Twin Page Productions, who invented the procedure for making the ASC fonts, has been cooking up some more updates to the fonts, so look for those to come next week.
Another printing related fix in Sibelius 2019.5: Text that is artificially slanted for Italic (when using a font that doesn’t have a dedicated Italic style) is now always correctly slanted when exporting to PDF.
About these fixes, Sibelius product designer Joe Pearson told me, “The overall goal in these improvements is to tackle the inconsistencies that we see in Sibelius between exporting to PDF via the OS dialog and via Sibelius itself, as well as some of the various PDF export bugs that we’ve been living with for a while now.”
Availability
There are a few other fixes in Sibelius 2019.5, which also includes the latest updates to Avid Link. More information is at Sam Butler’s post on the official Avid blog.
The Sibelius 2019.5 update is free for all Sibelius users with active subscriptions and upgrade plans. The updated installers are available through users’ Avid accounts and through Avid Link.
Rex Thomas
So Philip:
All was well over here until I decided to update to 2019.4, then .1. The bad audio settings error messages slowed work to a crawl with an occasional standstill. Honestly, I’m done with going to forums for advice. This “my dad’s bigger than your dad” attitude pointing to what ends up being totally clueless to the problem, enough. So, while losing time/$$ trying every kind of workaround possible, I did fumble into deleting a “ReWire doc” that did help quite a bit but no real fix. Then right before I’d had enough & start my call to Avid, out comes 2019.5. So, I put it through it’s paces & tried earnestly to get it to crash, & it did crash on me once, I let Avid know, then I got a bad audio error message on startup after the crash. But on 2nd relaunch, it popped/spat a little like a 2 cycle motor, then the sounds load, startup music plays, score opens, & STAYS open, off to work
All that said, I’ll continue to stick with Sibelius since with me it’s tried & true. And sure, there are a lot of good improvements, like slashes that will stay put & not transpose. Of all the whiz bang stuff they’ve come out with, for me that’s the biggest time saver.
But this “It’s not our beloved Sibelius, it’s YOUR gear”! fa fa from forums when it’s development teething causing the drag, nope, C-ya. Otherwise, peace & tranquility to all.
Philip Rothman
Hi Rex. That was a beautiful soliloquy and I look forward to the dramatized version and perhaps a musical setting. In all seriousness it does seem that 2019.5 fixed a number of these problems and I’m glad you’re up and running again. Peace indeed to all.
Rex Thomas
Hi Philip:
Nope, 2019.5 is giving me audio engine error messages again. Oh well, time to call Avid.
Philip Rothman
Ah, that’s too bad, I’m sorry to hear it. If you solve the problem please report back in case others have the same problem.
Rex Thomas
So Philip:
I decided not to call Avid just yet (maybe soon), but what I did do is reinstall. Now what that did do is Sib’s “scanner” (lack of better description) doesn’t hang up & send the bad audio error message AS MUCH. Yeah, not fixed, but the improvement over 2019.4 & .1 (when all this bad audio error message flang flang started) is it will load sounds more often, & if it goes error message, at least I can get into the files & work without sound because 2019.4 & .1 would crash like crazy, & I couldn’t get to the notes. 2019.5 has crashed only once since the update & reinstall.
So no, NOT FIXED. But at least I have a better chance of having sounds, & if not, at least I can get to the notes & get work done.
Oh, how I miss 2019.1. There, I feel better.
I appreciate your concern, Philip. Thanks!!
Philip Rothman
Hi Rex, thanks for reporting back.
George Hatzimichelakis
PLEASE: Try to make something useful, like complex time signatures (f.e. 3/4 + 3/8), or polymeters ….