VOCALOID5

VOCALOID5 (commonly shortened to just "V5") is the current successor to the VOCALOID4 engine by the YAMAHA Corporation.

It was released on July 12, 2018.

History
The first hint that VOCALOID5 was about to be released came in late June 2018 when the announcement of several VOCALOID retirements were being made at the VOCALOID SHOP. Many took this as speculation as to preparation for a new upcoming version of the engine, as this happened when VOCALOID3 was replaced with VOCALOID4, and several things occurred including a website overhaul.

The first official "leak" also came in the form of Haruno Sora, a VOCALOID/VOICEROID by AH-Software Co. Ltd., whose Amazon description referred to her as a "VOCALOID5" vocal. The release date was noted to be July 26, 2018, indicating that VOCALOID5 may be released before or on the same day.

VOCALOID5 was later released on July 12, 2018, hours after both the website updated and Sora was leaked. This new version introduced 4 new vocals: Amy, Chris, Kaori, and Ken. VOCALOID5 was confirmed to release in two versions: Standard and Premium. Standard included the new 4 vocals while Premium included the same vocals in addition to CYBER DIVA II, CYBER SONGMAN II, VY1, and VY2. Amy, Chris, Kaori, and Ken replace the VY series and act as the new Yamaha standard vocals.

A upgrade offer was allowed for all versions of VOCALOID3 and VOCALOID4 to the new VOCALOID5 version, including VOCALOID NEO and VOCALOID Editor for Cubase. In the past offers had only been given to direct upgrades from each engine version to the next.

Requirements
Note these requirements only apply to the VOCALOID5 engine itself. Users need to check each VOCALOID package and its requirements before installation as some variation may occur between releases. When used as a VST/AU together with a DAW, the operating requirements of the DAW must also be met at the same time.
 * OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, OS X 10.11, macOS 10.12, macOS 10.13 (64bit only)
 * CPU: Intel multicore processor
 * RAM: At least 8 GB recommended (minimum 4 GB)
 * HDD:
 * Standard: At least 20 GB
 * Premium: At least 35 GB
 * Other: Audio device, Internet connection (authentication, deauthentication, software updates, etc.)
 * Monitor size:
 * Minimum operating environment: 1366 x 768
 * Recommended environment: 1920 x 1080

Releases

 * -|VOCALOID5=


 * -|UPCOMING=

New features
In addition to importing VOCALOID3 vocals, VOCALOID4 vocals can be imported.

As mentioned all new perchases of Vocaloid5 come with 4 vocals Amy, Chris, Kaori and Ken. This is a first for any new version of the engine as outside of "Starter Pack" versions Vocaloid has always come with no vocals attached at all. This means any new Vocaloid producer can get started straight away without having to even bother purchasing additional vocals. This also means every user who purchases Vocaloid has access to both English and Japanese languages straight away.

In addition, the Vocaloid software now comes with 1,000 lines of pre-set text for both Japanese and English voicebanks and 1,000 audio samples.

10 pre-set "singing styles" are also able to be used and 11 audio effects. When choosing the singer, a list of pre-set "types" (include "Breath", "Looped", "Robotic", etc). The "Types" can then be coloured to give an expressive tone (this function is similar to the "colour" adjustments made via E.V.E.C.), such as adding Growl, Brightness, etc.

MIDI Keyboards can be used for real-time recording.

It is VST compatible and AU (Audio Units) Compatible.

Refinements
Additional vocals are no longer referred to as "Plug-in Libraries Databases" (VOCALOID2 and VOCALOID3), "VOCALOID libraries" (VOCAOID4), and other names but are now known as "Add-on Voicebanks". A minor change of classification, though the use of "voicebank" is notable. Previously "voicebank" had been used in English speaking communities as a shorthand or a common term to refer a Vocaloid library database as a simplification, but had slowly seen major use over time among studios.

A new "Vocaloid4.5" version was offered within VOCALOID5 to VOCALOID Editor for Cubase users which continued to allow them to use the VOCALOID4 Editor for Cubase, but import the VOCALOID5 vocals into the version. Both versions can be used for the same project.

The GUI has been overhauled and performance improved during rendering. IT is now easier to both adjust perimeters and each now has example presets for ease of use. Several of the perimeters have expanded functions for more adjust control.

VOCALOID5 can automatically attempt to insert breaths where expected if the user allows it. GWL also can be treated the same.

VSQ and VSQX files are replaced with VPR file types.

The engine now supports up to 32-bit equalising and up to 192 kHz rates while VOCALIOID4 supported up to 90KHz.

Known issues
VOCALOID2 vocals are unsupported in this version entirely and a direct V2 -> V4 import is impossible.

VOCALOID5 does not support XSY.

VocaListener cannot be used in VOCALOID5.

Job Plug-ins are completely unsupported in VOCALOID5.

Criticism
In comparisons to the VOCALOID3 to VOCALOID4 the engine has had a major overhaul and many new features have been presented. The initial first-day reaction was mostly positive for this reason.