WhiteRain is a software based synthetic white noise generator. Unlike conventional software based white noise generators WhiteRain does not depend on recursive relations and computer random number generators. The system used in WhiteRain gives state-of-the-art quality white noise that can be shaped to fit almost any noise masking requirement.

Its also free, with no time restriction. A software license simply purchases a high performance WYSIWYG 31 band equalizer.

The software includes a PDF manual that explains the various features and functions of the software as well as describe the WYSIWYG EQ in detail. This manual should be accessible from the help button ( ? button) for Microsoft Operating systems. For other systems this may not work and the PDF will have to be accessed from the program install directory. A PDF reader must be installed on the the computer to open the PDF file. Adobe has a free download of a PDF reader that can easily be found on the internet.

WhiteRain.msi version 1.00.00

Size: approx 1 Mb

WhiteRain.PDF 21 Page Manual

This download contains the full version. A license number must be purchased from AcoustiSoft to access the built in 31 band equalizer.

White noise is a type of sound that is played to mask background noise to make environments seem quieter. It is popular in the corporate world to cut down on office noise and interference to help employees concentrate. Many people use it as a sleep aid in noisy cities. It sounds like a 'pshshshshsh', rain, or a waterfall. WhiteRain can be made to sound like wind, jet engines, and a variety of other random sounds when its equalizer is used. The standard free version does not include the EQ but does provide flexible controls to shape the sound.

White noise adds random noise to a somic environment and this random noise randomizes the sound as it is heard making clearly identifiable sounds less identifiable and therefore less bothersome. The illustrations below explain the concept.

Of course the only ideal test is to download WhiteRain and see for yourself. If you already use white noise to mask sound, WhiteRain will be a pleasant surprise.

White noise is essentially random noise which is quite difficult to create synthetically on a computer. Most software generated white noise is of low quality, sounding more like fingernails being scratched across a blackboard than plesant sounding noise. This is because software generated white noise often depends on computer random number generators, which are not very random, and recursive relationships used in software to create the noise. WhiteRain does not use these methods.

Many people have turned to natural white noise such as recorded rainfall or waterfalls. The problem with these is (a) the sound volume changes with time as waterfall rates naturally change (b) There are interfering backround sounds such as people, birds chirping or traffic (c) The spectral content of this noise is not constant and typical players do not provide adequate tone controls to correctly shape this noise so that it sounds natural after tone adjustments.

There are also hardware white noise generators available but these often depend on the cyclical behaviour of a fan to generate the noise. They are better than many software white noise generators, but mechanical devices wear and ones developed to create noise will eventually begin to create periodic noise of their own.

WhiteRain was developed out of the need to overcome these difficulties and create the ideal white noise. WhiteRain is simply the best quality white noise that can be made that we are aware of and the software player provides both tone controls and masking profile options that work well for typical noise conditions. WhiteRain provides standard white, pink, red and brown noise as well as well as custom noise profiles.

Good white noise is statistically random white noise. The problem with assessing the quality of a randomly generated number list is that it requires complex statistics, but there is a both great and very reliable way of looking at the quality of noise generated - turn it into a picture and see if any patterns can be discerned. Patterns shows poor quality random noise.

A pattern created from the noise played by an earlier version of WhiteRain during the research period is shown below. WhiteRain is a carefully researched product that used nearly 100 hours of noise recorded on the best quality equipment to do noise studies with custom software written for the purpose of analyzing noise. The visualization below clearly shows the quality of WhiteRain white noise.

Feel free to download the image and use it as a desktop background.