Cycling 74 Max 6 Including MSP and Jitter
An interactive graphical programming environment for music, audio, and media.

Connect Anything.
For over twenty years, Max has been used by performers, artists, and composers to make cutting-edge work by connecting basic functional blocks together into unique applications. Max gives you the parts to make your own music, sound, video, and interactive media applications. Simply add objects to a visual canvas and connect them together to make noise, experiment, and play.

Visual Programming
Create media-rich interactive software by arranging boxes and connecting them together.

Audio and Music
Take control of your sound with your own custom sound-making, sequencing, and effects.

Video with Jitter
Combine live video with real-time animation and effects to create unique visual experiences.

3D Graphics
Generate stunning graphics with hardware-accelerated 3D drawing, physics, animation, and 3D models.

Physical Computing
Connect sensors and electronics to Max to create interactive and responsive media.

Show Control
Quickly develop your own adaptable solutions for integrating music, controllers, lighting, and visuals.

New Features:

• Enhancements to Max 6 include extensive user interface improvements, higher-quality audio, extended multi-processor support, organization tools for projects, and improved OpenGL animation and rendering tools.

Performance:

■Code generation technology is available as an inexpensive add-on to Max 6. It focuses on areas where traditional patching has not been able to deliver the combination of performance and programmability needed, namely DSP and GPU programming.
■In the DSP realm, the new gen~ object is a new domain of low-level signal processing operators that let you build recursive filters, delays, spectral processors, and sound generators, all using 64-bit floating-point internal precision.The performance gains over equivalent Max patches are stunning. Where you could actually implement the same algorithm with MSP objects, a gen~ version will be up to 15 times faster.
■Now you’ll be able to create high-performance image processing algorithms graphically, and Max’x code generation technology will write the shader program for you. But the power of code generation extends beyond processing images — you can also use it to generate materials for shading interactive 3-D objects. In this application, the code generation technology is automatic — you just specify the parameters of the materials and we generate the shader program.
■Other areas of improvement include Javascript, where Cycling has integrated the latest Mozilla runtime engine for significant performance gains. They’ve also exposed an efficient 2D graphics API in Javascript that can be used to port existing HTML5 Canvas code to Max. Max now runs the audio of every top-level patcher in its own thread for effortless multicore processing.
Quality
■Max 6 includes audio quality improvements. The cycle~ object now uses a 16K wavetable for far better signal-to-noise performance. You’ll be able to use any sampling rate you wish, thanks to high-quality resampling filters. And, to eliminate errors with large numbers, long envelopes, and recursive algorithms, MSP processes all audio with 64-bit precision. Older 32-bit third-party objects are still compatible however.
■Max 6 also focuses on quality of experience using the software. You’ll see more clarity and refinement in the interface, such as curved patch cords, which make an unexpectedly dramatic improvement in understanding how a patch works.

Workflow:
■Cycling ’74 observed and interviewed users, from those who’ve never seen the software before to those who’ve been using it for decades. On the basis of these studies, they identified areas for improving patching workflow and usability, and you’ll see the results in Max 6.
■The act of making a new object has been dramatically enhanced, with access to documentation at every step of the process. It begins with the object box, which now offers you a way to make objects even if you can’t remember their names. Then there’s the message box, which tells you about the messages understood by nearby objects as you begin typing. Arguments and attributes of objects and messages are also displayed as you type.
■A new object called attrui integrates attribute monitoring and editing, eliminating the need for a lot of patching. Attrui knows the best way to edit any object attribute. For example, if you want to change a color, attrui lets you edit it as a color, not four numbers.
■Max 6 has also been reorganized to show the most common information first. Every help file now has a simplified initial presentation of the five or so most basic things you need to know. Advanced features are shown in a tabbed interface grouped by functional area.
■Max 6 has a new Project feature, where you can see all the patchers, code, and media files you’re using. Projects enable you to maintain multiple versions of files as well as archive and share your work more easily•A gen~ low-level signal-processing objects, for coding your own 64-bit DSP objects with greater performance than in patches.
•The Mozilla JavaScript engine is integrated for greater performance (JS was always a bit of a performance bottleneck in Max, so this is potentially pretty huge), as well as the ability to use 2D HTML5 graphics code with Max.
•Better sound quality, including a new cycle~ wavetable, resampling filters, crossfading between versions of a patch, and a new audio mix engine.
•Workflow improvements, including enhancements to how help and documentation is displayed.
•Project management.
•Improved OpenGL animation and rendering tools.

Max 6
(includes MSP, Jitter, Gen and support for Max for Live)

Mac System Requirements
Mac Intel machine running OS X 10.5 or later, and 1 GB RAM. Jitter requires QuickTime 7.1 (or later), an OpenGL-compatible graphics card, and OpenGL 1.4 (or later).

Windows System Requirements
Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 machine and 1 GB RAM. Jitter requires QuickTime 7.1 (or later), an OpenGL-compatible graphics card, and OpenGL 1.4 (or later). An ASIO-compatible sound card recommended for optimum audio performance.

Max for Live System Requirements
For full Max for Live compatibility, Max 6 requires Live 8.2.6 or greater.

Max/MSP/Jitter 5.1
(includes support for Max for Live)

Mac System Requirements
Mac PPC or Intel machine running OS X 10.4.11 or later, and 1 GB RAM. Jitter requires QuickTime 7.1 (or later), an OpenGL-compatible graphics card, and OpenGL 1.4 (or later).

Windows System Requirements
Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 machine and 1 GB RAM. Jitter requires QuickTime 7.1 (or later), an OpenGL-compatible graphics card, and OpenGL 1.4 (or later). An ASIO-compatible sound card recommended for optimum audio performance.

Max for Live System Requirements
For full Max for Live compatibility, Max 5.1 requires Live 8.1.1 or greater. Live 8.2.1 is strongly recommended.