Harnessing the Power of AI: OpenVINO Effects for Audacity | AI Tools Case Study

As audio production evolves, integrating advanced technol

As audio production evolves, integrating advanced technology into creative tools becomes increasingly essential. Intel’s latest innovation, the OpenVINO AI effects for Audacity, is a prime example of this trend. Released with Audacity 3.6.3, these AI-driven features are designed to enhance both spoken word content and music production, offering powerful new capabilities to users.

What is OpenVINO AI?

OpenVINO™ (Open Visual Inference and Neural network Optimization) is Intel's toolkit designed to optimize deep learning models for various hardware platforms. It enhances the performance of AI models, enabling them to run efficiently and effectively on local systems. With its integration into Audacity, OpenVINO brings sophisticated AI effects to the world of audio editing, all while operating directly on your PC.

Installing OpenVINO AI Effects

To get started with OpenVINO effects in Audacity, follow these steps:

1. Download the Installer: Obtain the installer from the OpenVINO AI Plugins GitHub page.
2. Run the Installer: Select the desired effects and models during the installation process.
3. Configure Audacity: Open Audacity, navigate to Preferences → Modules, and enable the mod-openvino option.
4. Restart Audacity: Save your preferences and restart the application to activate the new AI effects.

AI Tools for Spoken Word

For podcast creators and spoken word content producers, OpenVINO AI provides two standout tools:

1. Noise Suppression: This feature effectively reduces background noise, similar to Audacity's built-in Noise Removal effect. It ensures clearer audio by filtering out unwanted sounds, making it ideal for professional-quality recordings.

2. Transcription: Powered by Whisper.cpp, this tool transcribes spoken words into text and can translate them into different languages. The transcriptions are outputted to a label track, and users can export these labels for further use through File → Export Other → Export Labels.

AI Tools for Music

Musicians and producers will find the OpenVINO AI effects particularly exciting. The suite includes several plugins that leverage advanced AI models to enhance music production:

1. Music Generation: Utilizing Stable Diffusion and Riffusion, this tool generates new music based on a prompt or pre-existing tracks. It opens up new creative possibilities by enabling users to create unique compositions or expand on existing pieces.

2. Music Style Remix: This plugin modifies the style of existing music, offering a fresh take on your tracks. It’s an excellent tool for remixing and experimenting with different musical styles.

3. Music Separation: This feature can dissect a song into its vocal, instrumental, and other components (such as drums and bass). This separation is perfect for creating covers, playalongs, or isolating specific elements for remixing.

Getting Started

The OpenVINO plugins are currently available only for Windows, with potential support for Linux and macOS in the future. Users can download and install the plugins from the GitHub release page. For any issues or questions, the plugin’s issue tracker is available for support.

Why OpenVINO AI for Audacity?

The integration of OpenVINO AI into Audacity represents a significant leap forward in audio editing technology. By running AI effects locally on your PC, users benefit from powerful processing capabilities without the need for cloud-based services. This not only ensures faster performance but also enhances privacy and control over your audio projects.

In conclusion, OpenVINO AI effects for Audacity offer a range of advanced tools for both spoken word and music production. With these plugins, users can elevate their audio projects to new heights, leveraging cutting-edge technology to achieve professional results. Whether you’re a podcaster or a musician, exploring these AI tools will unlock new possibilities and streamline your creative process.

AI Plugins for Audacity: Intel OpenVINO and NVIDIA Broadcast

• Intel OpenVINO AI Plugins:

  • Music Separation: Separates mono or stereo tracks into individual stems (Drums, Bass, Vocals, Other Instruments). More info
  • Noise Suppression: Removes background noise from audio samples. More info
  • Music Generation and Continuation: Generates music from a text prompt or continues existing music. More info
  • Whisper Transcription: Uses whisper.cpp to create a label track with transcription or translation for spoken audio. More info

• NVIDIA Broadcast:

  • Functionality: Acts as a virtual device between your microphone and Audacity, offering an AI denoiser.
  • Compatibility: Available only for Windows machines with an NVIDIA RTX GPU.
  • Limitations: Effective only for spoken word content; musical content is filtered out as noise. More info

Feel free to explore the OpenVINO AI plugins for Audacity and experience firsthand how these innovations can transform your audio editing and production workflow.

For more information visit https://www.audacityteam.org/blog/audacity-3-6/ 

Learn about Audacity plugins at https://www.audacityteam.org/blog/openvino-ai-effects/ 

Source:  Leo Wattenberg, Audacity