Using the Microsoft SURFACE DIAL with SONAR Walkthrough

The latest SONAR update introduced compatibility with the Microsoft Surface Dial.
If you are running the latest version of Windows 10 (Anniversary Edition or later) and have Bluetooth 4.0 LE(Low Energy) support then you can use the Surface Dial. I purchased a very inexpensive Bluetooth 4.0 Receiver from Amazon and it works great.
 
I put together a short walkthrough video below.
Hopefully more functionality can be integrated to leverage the workflow potential the Surface Dial can bring to SONAR's ; Enjoy:
 
SURFACE DIAL MEETS SONAR WALKTHROUGH

Thanks for the video

Jesse G
Nice video tutorial of the surface dial, however, I think I will stick with my Mackie Control Universal (MCU) to control Sonar.

I really appreciate this video.  I can imagine that this will evolve into a useful tool over time and I am glad to see this development.  But I agree with Jesse.  I have not bought a control surface yet, but I think the Behringer control surface would provide more productivity than I would get from the dial thingie at the moment. 
 
It is really hard to fundamentally improve the computer UI.  Xerox hit it out of the park with the mouse.  Since then we've had finger pads, trackballs, styluses, and more recently touch screens,  But none of them has been as successful as the mouse -- and that has been 44 years, folks.  The control surface is different because it is essentially the UI of an old-style recording studio, which is a tried and true system.
 
I have been impressed with what Microsoft (and partners) have been able to do with graphic arts using the the dial on the Surface Studio.  Maybe we will eventually get to that level of integration with Sonar.  In light of the abandonment of the Mac efforts, I do think it is a good strategy to position Sonar at the leading edge of Microsoft technology.

Well made video!
 
But the device itself... DAWs have Control Surfaces for long time. And while one (!) touch sensitive push encoder can be presented as a "new technology" for general computer operations, for DAWs that is the "last century". AlphaTrack (obsolete!) has 3 (!) such controls, just smaller.
 
StudioMix/VS700/MCU have a Jogger. And unlike Surface Dial, they have many buttons in the near, which can be used as switched or modifiers. When testing my StudioMix (unfortunately buggy/broken on hardware level, so I no longer use it), I have made its jog dial + modifiers perform almost all continuous tasks: zoom, jog, modify parameters, with several "resolutions". Testing cheap DJ controller, with "turn table", was different fun. It was "heavy", precise and touch sensitive. Definitively different in feeling compare to jogger.
 
I means DAWs, also Sonar, are "well prepared" to use yet another "knob". But I do not see it as a "step forward".

Very nice video.  Thanks for that.

cparmerlee
It is a starting point.  It looks pretty near worthless in its present implementation.  But one can certainly imagine many time saving gestures in the future.  Have a look at the kind of integration in StaffPad already.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR7HAKmAdhs.

So it seems like I am alone with the feeling that all demonstrations of "extended" features with this Thing are rather "artificial" (including StaffPad video).
 
I mean anything above "push+turn", as in Simon's video, has some tension and rather impractical.
F.e. "copy/paste"... this thing is big! How someone can precisely point what to copy and where to paste?
Can someone select something faster by pushing + turning the Thing then just with "2 fingers touch" (right mouse button) + "1 finger touch" (required item)?
 
On "real" DAW Control Surface, you just move the hand to different control. There is nothing in the hand and you do not normally even look at the device (controls are "real").
With "normal" touch sensitive operations, you move the hand to required position and immediately have a set of gestures.
This Thing should be moved by your hand, to correct position (again, it is not transparent and it is big...) and the only operation you have is "turning".
 
So I think that is not only a starting point, it is also the end point. There was many attempts to put more controls on normal mouse. Still most devices have just one wheel and 2-4 buttons. This "new" thing is just yet another wheel, for which you need an "extra" hand. Supporting more then one mouse could be more exciting then that...

thanks simeon! think I may have to buy one of these things

azslow3

cparmerlee
It is a starting point.  It looks pretty near worthless in its present implementation.  But one can certainly imagine many time saving gestures in the future.  Have a look at the kind of integration in StaffPad already.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR7HAKmAdhs.

So it seems like I am alone with the feeling that all demonstrations of "extended" features with this Thing are rather "artificial" (including StaffPad video).

I don't know.  It seems that with Staffpad, at least some of the gestures could save more time than they take.  It clearly is not revolutionary at this stage.  I see zero value for this thing without a very large touch surface, such as with the Studio.  The only way it can save some time, it seems to me, is if placing it on the screen surface quickly selects a context.  I see how that can work in a painting app.  It isn't so clear to me that this will be so useful in a DAW.
 
One of my displays is touch sensitive already and I practically never use that.  It is more trouble to pick up the stylus than it is to just to the operation with the mouse. And if I had a real control surface, that would be even faster.

Great video Simeon!
While the dial isn't a step up for someone who already owns a professional control surface there are several cool things about it. You have to try it out to appreciate its use and convenience since its not that obvious. I find it especially useful with a laptop alongside the touch support in SONAR.
 
1. Direct integration into Windows 10 via the Dial API makes this work in any application that supports it (including Windows itself obviously) so you get a lot of bang for your buck. 
2. Its wireless via bluetooth unlike most other one knob style control surfaces from the past which makes it easier to use with laptops.
3. It has haptic feedback which is handy for discovering limits of controls
4. On screen placement support on supported display surfaces like the new Surface Pro and Surface Studio. (Less useful on Surface Pro since the screen is small)
5. Programmable per application custom tool menus from by pressing and holding the dial button.
6. Our work to support dial will works for any device that supports the dial API in windows. This includes the Totems that work with the Dell Canvas.
 
All in all there is a lot of functionality packed into that one knob. Its a lot more flexible than the prior one knob devices that I have seen.
 
BTW there is an interesting product from logitech that includes a surface dial like wheel imbedded into a keyboard. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to use the Dial API as far as I can see.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3220526/computers-accessories/logitech-craft-keyboard-hands-on-price-release-date-features.html
 

soundtweaker
Can you control the volume increments of the dial?

Yes, using the CTRL key while using the dial will make it more precise.


 

I think I'm in agreement with some here that I don't see it as an improvement over just pointing and clicking with the mouse, unless of course you have physical problems which make the use of a mouse problematic. In fact I think I can do things quicker with a mouse & keyboard modifiers than I could with this thing. I've been through other forms of computer control before and always come back to the mouse. For instance I had a trackball at one point because I thought it would be good for Photoshop work - gave it a couple of months, then went back to the mouse. Then I had a Wacom tablet - same deal, went back to the mouse. As others have said, you can't really beat the mouse. It really is an extension of the brain and a very natural method of interacting with a UI that's one step away from actually touching the screen. 
 
When I think of a typical heavy arranging and mixing session with Sonar, I'm doing all kinds of stuff at the speed of thought. I'm clicking on buttons, turning knobs, moving sliders, scrolling, dragging, highlighting, bringing up menus, moving windows around and generally interacting with the UI in every possible way. Turning a knob might feel "smoother" than dragging a fader with the mouse, but I accessed that fader quicker with the mouse than I would with a dial, and really I don't experience any problem with homing in on the right fader position with a mouse. I just can't get over having to bring controls in focus with the mouse and then switch over to another device to move that control. 
 
What they really need to do is bring out a mouse with a dial built in. Oh wait they already have it...it's called a mouse wheel, lol......

I could definitely see me using it as a transport stopper/starter, although not sure if that would justify the cost. Now if only it fixed the problem I have when starting the transport with high latency settings, wherein the delay makes me think it's not going to happen, so I hit space again at exactly the moment the transport starts, so it stops, so then I hit space again and go through the whole rigmarole about 8 times like that before finally convincing myself to slow down and be patient