SADiE initially ran a policy of free software updates and a superb 24/7 helpline, which were key parts of the company's early success, and while the former is no longer tenable, the latter remains much appreciated by SADiE users.
Today, the majority of professional mastering suites around the world use SADiE for stereo and multi‑channel audio editing, track sequencing, versioning and PQ coding duties.Īs the software developed, SADiE's capabilities expanded, while new and more powerful hardware allowed greater track and I/O counts, and SADiE version 5 has been ultra‑stable for several years. In response to feedback from potential customers, the software developed quickly, and in version 2 form it was rapidly adopted throughout BBC Radio as the 'craft' audio editing workstation - replacing the expensive and antiquated technology that was the venerable quarter‑inch tape recorder! Today there are around 1000 SADiE systems within the BBC, and it is also used extensively by leading broadcasters and radio production companies all around the world.Īs a very accomplished and accurate stereo editing system, SADiE also quickly became popular in the music mastering industry, largely taking over from Sonic Solutions, which had previously dominated that niche market.
Launched on to the market in 1991 by Studio Audio and Video, a company based in the old Spaceward Studios just outside Cambridge, UK, the fledgling version of SADiE was a PC‑based, two‑channel audio editor focused primarily on speech editing. SADiE, the name being short for 'Studio Audio Disk Editor', might not be one that you are familiar with, yet it has dominated several specialist high‑end pro‑audio applications for a decade or more and leads the way in some respects when it comes to precision audio editing. There are a lot of Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) of different kinds on the market today: the Sypha DAW Buyer's Guide ( currently lists 32 desktop systems. One of the world's best high‑end audio editing and mixing packages has undergone a radical overhaul, and now works with any third‑party audio hardware.
The current playlist view is seen in the the navigator window as the bright white box. This always shows the entire EDL and is interactive with the playlist. Also, note the navigator window at the bottom of the playlist. These are fully customisable to provide status indications for relevant aspects of the system. Note the legends along the bottom of the window. The SADiE 6 main window, showing the playlist (top), mixer (bottom left), project management window (bottom centre) and transport controls (bottom right).