Director 11.5 Adds 5.1-Channel Audio, Real-Time Mixing

• By David Nagel
• 03/25/09

Adobe has released Director 11.5, a major update to the multimedia authoring suite used widely in education. The new version adds significant new audio capabilities, including support for 5.1-channel surround sound, as well as new video format support, new plugins, and multi-version output.

Director is the Web authoring and development tool Adobe acquired when it bought out Macromedia. Version 11 was released about a year ago, adding expanded 3D features with a new physics engine and new DirectX support and parity between JavaScript and Lingo for scripting.

The new release includes support for 40 audio and video file formats, including support for H.264 and RTMP-based streaming for delivering HD content. It also includes support for 5.1-channel audio and allows users to create audio effects with real-time mixing. Other new features include:

• A new Google SketchUp and SketchUp 3-D Importer;
• Enhanced scripting performance; and
• Enhanced support for Nvidia's PhysX engine.

Director 11.5 is available this month for $999 for the full retail version and $299 for both the education version and the upgrade. It supports Mac OS X 10.5 and higher and various versions of Windows. Further information can be found here.

About the Author

David Nagel is editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Technology Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal and STEAM Universe. A 25-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art and business publications.

He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at or follow him on Twitter at @THEJournalDave (K-12) or @CampusTechDave (higher education).