FAQ

How does Sound Director connect to my PA system?
It’s actually simpler than most people think. On the computer there is an audio output jack that a single cord plugs into. This is the same the same jack used to connect your headphones or speakers. The other end of that cord is plugs into your sound system.

Are there music and sound effects that come with Sound Director? 
Yes. Sound Director software & turnkey systems come with over 6,500 sound effects, organ music, crowd prompts and even the national anthem!

What is the difference between the different versions of Sound Director? 
Please see our Version Comparison page for the differences between versions.

Can I add my own music to Sound Director? 
Yes. You can add mp3, wav, wma, & ogg files you currently have to Sound Director. Sound Director also has a built-in CD ripper to quickly obtain music from your audio CD collection. 

What about technical support? 
Technical support is provided and we are easily contacted by phone and email. We also offer extended technical support after the first year. Our turnkey systems come standard with the manufacturer’s 3-year service warranty.

Is there a special version of Sound Director made specifically for high schools? 
Hundreds of high schools throughout the country currently use. Our Sound Director Express version is a great entry level program that will enhance the game presentation at any school. Educational discounts are offered to both High Schools and Colleges for all our software versions.

Will Sound Director work on a tablet computer? 
Yes. Sound Director is compatible with tablets running Windows 7, 8, 8.1 & 10 operating systems (both 32 & 64 bit versions).  This includes touch screen laptops and monitors.

Do I need a special sound card to operate Sound Director? 
No. One of the nicest features of Sound Director is that it will run on almost any PC — including laptops, netbooks, & tablets! No special proprietary sound card is needed. Just click and go! We do support most “off-board” USB sound cards and USB mixers as well.

Will Sound Director play sound over other sounds? 
Yes. If you want to play music and then layer sound effects over the top, both our Standard and Premium versions of Sound Director can multitrack. In addition, our Premium version allows you to play selections out through your PA system, while listening to another selction on a monitor speaker or headphones– This with your existing sound card!!

How many songs can I load into Sound Director? 
Sound Director does not actually store the music within the program. It plays the music files on your computer. The program itself stores the locations of these files on your computer in a database so it knows where to find the music on your system. 

Although the number of songs the database can store is virtually unlimited, the space on your computer for storing the song files is limited by the size of your hard drive. You need to determine how much free space you have for music on your hard drive. 

Sound Director supports many files types, but certainly, the most popular is the mp3 file format. An “average” mp3 file recorded in two channel stereo with a bit rate of 128 (CD quality) is going to translate to approximately 1MB of disc space for every 1 minute of music. What does that mean?

It means that for every 1GB of free disc space, you can store about 1,000 minutes of music, or approximately 330 songs. That means if you have 30GB of free space on your Hard Drive, you could store approximately 30,000 minutes, or 9,900 songs.

Plus, Sound Director can access any drive that Windows supports, so you can access files from external hard drives, firewire drives, network drives, and even small USB flash & Jump drives.

How Can I use songs Purchased from Itunes in Sound Director?
To use your Itunes songs in Sound Director, just a couple of steps are needed.  Itunes songs are purchased in a m4a file format and must be changed to a universal format like mp3.  These steps are all done within your Itunes application.  First, click on Edit then Preferences.  Click on the General Tab and then Import Settings Button.  Click on Import Using MP3 Encoder.  You can also change the Setting to Higher Quality (192 kbps), then click OK.

Now, within your library click on your song or highlight multiple songs and within the menu click on Create mp3 version.  Itunes will create a duplicate copy of your m4a file and create an identical mp3 file.  To find where Itunes is storing your song files, just click on Edit, then Preferences, then Advanced and locate the Itunes Media Folder Locater.  This is where you can import the mp3 files into Sound Director – Or, you can move them to another location on your hard drive and then import them into Sound Director.

Can Sound Director be loaded on a MAC? 
Although we recommend running Sound Director on a PC, there are a number of users running Sound Director on Macs with success.

If I have my own computer, will Sound Director work with it? 
Sound Director is compatible with most any PC on the market today running Windows,  XP, Vista, 7, 8, & 10 operating systems. Please refer to the System Requirements.  The best way is to download our free 30 day trial.

Do I have to have Administrator rights on my computer to run Sound Director?
To install Sound Director Admin rights are required.  After that in normal circumstances Admin rights are necessary to run Sound Director.  For institutions who do not want to give Admin rights to their Sound Director users, Sound Director can be easily modified to run without Admin rights. Contact us for details.

OK, I want to order! 
Call us toll-free at 888-276-0078 or email at info@sounddirector.com and we can get the process started.

How long will it take to receive my order? 
If you are ordering a software only package, typically you will receive it in 2 -3 business days. However, you can be up & running in mere minutes even if your free 30 day trial has expired.  We can email you your unique serial number and Sound Director will be ready to go!  If you are ordering a full turnkey system, it will be a bit longer – generally 5 -10 business days.

I downloaded and installed the free trial version, will I have to reinstall Sound Director after I order?

No, you have the entire version of Sound Director on your computer. When you purchase Sound Director, we will send you a serial number specific to you and the version level you ordered. All you have to do is register your serial number and Activate your computer online. No need to reinstall Sound Director. We will, however, send you a complete disc package with additional sound effects.