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News: May 29 - June 4, 2000
Sunday, June 04, 2000
Can you hear the difference between 24 and 16 bits? - Mikael @ 05:56 EST
If you don't have a high quality professional soundcard that question may be tough to find an answer to but you Kr_ger's PCABX.com site will also let you see if you can hear the difference between 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11 and 10 bits. Here's the post he made recently in the Usenet newsgroup:I've been continuing to add new listening tests to the "technical" section of www.pcabx.com.Many will find these tests interesting and useful both for understanding technical controversies and also as a means to train their ears to be more sensitive by listening for the same kinds of changes in varying amounts. "24, 16, 15, 14, 12, 11, and 10 bit 44 KHz Samples" Besides shedding some light on the controversy over 24 bits, the samples with 16 bits or less contain progressively larger amounts of a fairly nasty kind of nonlinear distortion. Please don't assume that reliably detecting the "13" bit samples will be a slam dunk. "60 Hz Jitter applied at -20, -40, -60, and -80 dB" This is the jitter frequency I find most often in technical tests.
Obviously, the digital signal is getting contaminated by the power supply.
What is not so obvious is how difficult these samples are to detect. I hope to post samples with other jitter frequencies shortly. "Brick-Wall Low Pass Filter, Filter Points At 22, 18, 25, 12, 9, And 5 KHz" We've actually had one report of detection of the 18 KHz filter among the 100's of people who have tried it. "Level Mismatches of 10, 3, 1, 0.4 and 0.2 dB" 10, 3, and 1 dB level mismatches should be a slam-dunk for you. They were for me,even using a very modest monitoring system featuring no-name PC speakers. Then there are those other two sets of samples... "Linkwitz-Riley Crossover Simulation, Crossover Points At 300 Hz And 3 KHz" We've had some positive and negative results reported from these tests. The finger snap seems to help. See how you do! You may also find the following follow up post interesting:> > Why do you need this? Have you ever been in a recording
environment that
> > has a 110 db dynamic range?
> >
> > This whole idea (24 bit 96 k s/s (by the way it is NOT HERTZ) is
pure
> > garbage.
>
> Which of course begs the question why do people prefer 24bit/96k over
> 16bit/44.1k in double blind listening tests?Been there, done that, and they don't. This is one of the great mysteries of life, but AFAIK there are no refereed scientific papers or listening tests done under DBT conditions with adults and real-world music that show an audible degradation of the music due to 16/44 digital coding. Here is a long-standing test that supports that idea: http://www.oakland.edu/~djcarlst/abx_digi.htm If you go to http://www.pcabx.com/technical/index.htm you can find DBT's that you can download and do for yourself that illustrate this.
For the "24, 16, 15, 14, 12, 11, and 10 bit 44 KHz Samples" , nobody has ever reported hearing the effects of degrading program material from 24 or 16 bits to 14 or 15 bits. For the "Brick-Wall Low Pass Filter, Filter Points At 22, 18, 25, 12, 9, And 5 KHz" , after 100's of downloads we have exactly 1 unconfirmed report of someone who could hear the application of a brick wall filter at 18 KHz. > (Given the general level of background noise in everyday life, though,
> I'd agree up to a point about the necessity of 110dB dynamic range.) The facts I've gathered bear you out. I've been looking at the actual dynamic range of commercial recordings. The numbers are none to impressive. Many peak out below 60 dB, and the best I've ever seen was about 72 dB. That all said, the usual justification for production equipment with high resolution does stand logical scrutiny. Every time you process music, and producing music can involve processing it dozens of times, it degrades. If you want to deliver program material with a good solit 14 or 15 bit quality, you have to do all the processing to a higher standard. However, for delivery and reproduction of the end product by consumers, 16 bits is actually a bit or two of overkill. What this all means is that the more bits and higher sample rates of the upcoming DVD-audio discs are useless but in case of soundcards it could still make a difference. Worth noting that the current 16 bit consumer cards is clearly behind the quality of professional 16 bit soundcards.
Sirocco Crossfire review - Mikael @ 05:36 EST
Computer Games Online has posted their impressions of VideoLogic's Sirocco Crossfire. They found the sound quality to be good but still roughly comparable to the "greatest from Klipsch and Boston Acoustics" which I assume refer to the ProMedia and BA4800 respectively. If you read Mark's Sirocco Crossfire vs ProMedia comparison and his BA4800 review you know he doesn't think these 3 systems sounds roughly the same. One other thing worth noting is that the new satellites (grilles and mounting holes) mentioned for the US version in this review will be used for the European version as well as soon as VideoLogic sold through their current inventory of the old satellites.
News Source: AGN Hardware
Saturday, June 03, 2000
Does MS Windows Media Format sound better than MP3? - Mikael @ 16:02 EST
We all know that MS claims it does and was also backed up by a study performed by ZD Labs. In this study consumers found that 64 kbps Windows Media Format was better then MP3s encoded at 128 kbps. Important to note they used the Xing encoder which is not considered to a high quality encoder. Arny Kr_ger's new site pcabx.com recently kicked up a couple of test files where you can judge how the Windows Media Format compares to the Fraunhofer encoder, the one used by MusicMatch and also considered to the best one. Here's the post Arny Kr_ger made in the newsgroup recentlyThere seems to be a lot of interest in improving the sound quality of MP3 files by going to better bit rates. Does it really work? OK, we know it can work, but what kind of sonic difference are we talking about anyhow?www.pcabx.com now has music files you can download and use to compare Musicmatch (Fraunhofer) encoding at 128 Kbps and 256 Kbps, along with brief summary technical reports on each one. Please see the following web pages: 128 Kbps http://www.pcabx.com/product/mm4300058/index.htm 256 Kbps http://www.pcabx.com/product/mm5000142/index.htm For a real laugh, have a listen at Microsoft's latest Windows Media Efforts. http://www.pcabx.com/product/wme4113920_wmpb1304/index.htm These files, coded at 128 Kbps are IMO a really good example of how not to displace MP3 as an audio file format for people who have even a slight interest in sound quality. Several striking things kinda leapt out at me when I was preparing these files. I use narrow clicks to separate the musical selections, and in some cases, the "Windows Media dynamic duo" simply made the
clicks "go away". This effect is most pronounced in the "Finger Snaps" selection which is composed of 12 finger snaps. Its actually the same recording of a finger snap repeated 12 times. Well that's what it sounds like on the reference file and *every* other file at www.pcabx.com. But, 12 identical snaps is not what the "Windows Media dynamic duo" does. It pretty well creams the first snap in the series. So, after coding and decoding there is a kind of a thud followed by 11 snaps... The "Windows Media dynamic duo" also falls flat on its face with the "castanets" samples. Compare to the MusicMatch/Fraunhofer 128 Kbps samples to see how far MS still needs to go... I wish I was making this up or it was a technical error on my part! It's of course possible the difference would be significantly less or even in MS favour with other type of files. To make your own comparisons using your favourite music just download MusicMatch.
Creative taps Internet investments to sell more cards - Mikael @ 12:54 EST
That's the title of an article by Bloomberg that takes a look at how Creative's investments in other companies are used to sell more soundcards. The article also has some interesting bits on how soundcard sales are going and that Creative thinks their new PDE (Personal Digital Entertainment) division is where they expect most of the growth in the future. Here's a couple interesting snips:Take MediaRing.com Ltd, the world's No. 2 Internet phone operator, in which Creative has a 12 percent stake. Every time a call is made through the Singapore-based company, a message pops up to alert users if their computer's audio isn't enhanced by a Creative's sound card. I wonder if this is a new trend where a movie from Lucas Film will complain that your sound system isn't THX certified and music from Sony will let you know that your Player isn't made by Sony. Analysts expect the company's profit to rise to about US$127 million in the year ended May 31 from US$115 million a year ago. In its third quarter ended March, sales of its sound cards surged 47 percent to US$128.7 million, accounting for 39 percent of total sales. Quarterly profit surged fivefold to a record US$88.3 million.
[snip]
"It's creating a big barrier of entry for others--we're not just competing on a card-to-card basis anymore," Sim said. "If you want to make a sound card, you better do it the way Creative does: with support, Web sites, free content, free upgrades. Now, try to fight that!" Aureal tried and failed as we all know by now. Interesting to see if any other company will try to challenge Creative Labs to the extent Aureal did. New products such as Webcams and Nomad players are part of a new business segment called "Personal Digital Entertainment" that Creative created to ensure its survival as the sound card market matures. The group now contributes less than a tenth of Creative's sales. "Sound cards gave us a 10-year life span," Sim said. "The next 10 years, we'll focus on personal digital entertainment--we'll play and play well in this area." The star product in that segment is the Nomad JukeBox, an Internet music player which uses a disk drive to store up to 100 hours of music or the equivalent of 2,000 songs.
[snip]
"The JukeBox will be the next SoundBlaster," Sim said. "It's something that's branded and very hard to assemble." It will be interesting to see how well Creative Labs will succeed in this market considering they will now face competitors like Sony and Matsushita. That's something else than a small start up like Aureal.
News Source: ALive
Polk Audio Announces New Line of After-Market Multimedia Loudspeakers - Mark @ 11:50 EST
Polk Audio has unveiled the second generation Active Media Reference (AMR) line of high performance self-amplified multimedia speakers. According to the announcement, the new AMR products are designed to bring high fidelity audio performance to home computers and any audio source that has a headphone jack, such as portable MP3 and CD players. Polk Audio's first generation multimedia speakers earned critical acclaim for audio quality. The second-generation line features greatly improved performance, significantly lower prices and digital inputs (2 models). Two of the models are 5 piece, surround sound systems (no built in decoder) with the AMR-150 featuring a two way design on the front satellites and two digital inputs as well as analog inputs. Lots more details on each model, including pricing and availability can be found in their announcement.
News Source: 3D Audio Immersion
Sammy Sosa Softball Slam demo - Mikael @ 07:27 EST
3DO has released a demo of the DS3D with EAX supporting Sammy Sosa Softball SlamT. I'm not sure what version of EAX it uses but I would guess most EAX games now use EAX 2.0 even though games like Sammy Sosa Softball Slam is unlikely to take advantage of the occlusion and obstruction features. You can grab the demo from 3dfiles where you will also find a short description of the game.
Winamp 2.63 released - Mikael @ 07:26 EST
Nullsoft has released a new version (2.63) of the popular Winamp. Nullsoft says this version brings major improvements to Winamp's streaming audio capabilities (such as authentication), better multiple language support, a WMA encoder, more live content in the minibrowser, and a host of bug fixes and improvements. You can grab it from Winamp.com
No more news from Vortex of Sound - Mikael @ 07:25 EST
As many probably know by now David has decided that he won't spend any more time on his site, Vortex of Sound, unless something incredible occurs. I'm sorry to see the last A3D dedicated news page die. It was also one of the few sites focusing on 3D sound in games. Now, except for us and 3DAI, there are really no other sites that focus on audio in games. I've have to admit that we haven't covered audio in games as much as we should lately, but that will improve a lot in the coming months. The first step is to start to post audio snips from game reviews and the next will be the game guide that should be up 1-2 months from now. The worst part with David's decision to not update Vortex of Sound anymore is of course that this is yet another sign that none of Aureal's products are likely to live on. I can add that we have also run out of contacts at Aureal and the press contact e-mail address doesn't work anymore. One of our old contacts gave us a new contact but so far the new contact hasn't bothered to reply to any of my questions. One positive bit, at least for users with EAX cards, in what may be the last post on Vortex of Sound is the following: Maybe it will live on, but considering the overwhelming (and I mean overwhelming) support of and presence of EAX at E3, I think not.
You can head over to Vortex of Sound news page to read the entire post.
APS 2.0 drivers have been indefinitely postponed - Mikael @ 07:25 EST
We usually don't cover soundcards that are only intended for music but considering that the APS 2.0 drivers were supposed to be compatible with the Live and also feature support for DS3D and EAX 2.0 this may be interest to some of you. For those that don't know, E-Mu has talked about the APS 2.0 drivers for quite some time, including letting the public know what features they would include. More than once, the release date has been pushed back and now it looks like they will never be released! Here's the message you get if you mail E-mu tech support asking about them according to a post in the newsgroup:The development of Version 2.0 Drivers and Applications for the APS that was unofficially announced on the newsgroup has been indefinitely postponed Others have also received the following message:E-MU / ENSONIQ would like to apologize for our unofficial statements which were pre-mature regarding Version 2 drivers and applications. E-MU / ENSONIQ will continue to work hard to bring quality products to you, our customers. In the future we will exercise more caution with announcements we make to our customer base.
Sincerely,
Todd Shires
E-MU / ENSONIQ If you check out the APS newsgroup on Creative Labs server you will find out that people are not very pleased to hear this. It's probably the worst pr fiasco I've ever heard about when it comes to soundcards. Aureal's delay of EAX drivers is a runner-up in this category. In both cases the issue is not that the drivers they already had were poor. Its the way they promised things within time frames that they were not even close to keeping. Note that in the case of poor driver development, there are certainly many other companies with track records that are much worse.
Friday, June 02, 2000
Game Music Broadcast - Mark @ 22:55 EST
Our friend Jeff Atwood has started a new website called Game basement and their latest feature is 24/7 broadcast of game music. You can check out the broadcast info here and they are also looking for some feedback on your favourite game music.
MidiLand Announces the "MidiLand MK-01 Give-A-Way" - Mark @ 22:43 EST
MidiLand has announced the "MidiLand MK-01 Give-A-Way", an exclusive promotion that entitles all purchasers of the S4 MidiLand 7100 a free pair of MK-01, MidiLand's multi-channel speaker system mounting kit, valued at over $49.95 was specially designed for use with satellite speaker systems. The unit is made of a highly durable material, PlatallicT ensuring the MK-01's longevity and ability to hold up to 10 lbs of weight. The "MidiLand MK-01 Give-A-Way" will run from June 2000 till supplies of the MK-01 last. An estimated 10,000 pairs of MK-01 Mounting Kits will be given away. All S4 MidiLand 7100 systems leaving the MidiLand LA Headquarters warehouse will be specially marked with "MidiLand MK-01 Give-A-Way" stickers on their packaging. Inside the product packaging will be a registration card further outlining the details of the promotion. Consumers simply send in the completed registration card along with $4.95 for S&H ($10 for Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico) and they will receive the MK-01 mounting kit free! For more details, check out the full press release. Look out for our reviews of both the MK-01 and the S4-7100 in the near future.
SoF V1.05 Patch to Limited QA Today - Mark @ 18:01 EST
According to Thursday's .plan update from Raven's Rick Johnson, we should be getting the A3D and EAX fixes for Soldier of Fortune pretty soon. Here's the update:SoF V1.05 patch will go into limited QA tomorrow - should be out shortly, but won't give any specific
dates. This patch will mainly include a Pure server option and a few other minor fixes (EAX and
A3D sound issues). Once the patch is available, the game source code will be made available.
Several of us are working on the next thing for SoF, which is why 1.05 didn't have too many
major things changed to it. Before you throw a fuss, don't worry... Thanks to Juanlo for the pointer.
Server Problem Update - Mark @ 09:09 EST
Just a quick note to say our mail server is now apparently working. That's the good news. The bad news is the problem went beyond the mail server and a large number of forum posts are MIA as a result of whatever it is that was happening server side all day yesterday. This includes posts from readers and our responses so if it looks like we deleted or ignored your post, its not so. To say its frustrating is a gross understatement but it was totally beyond our control. If you fall into that category please accept our sincere apologies and if you have the will, please repost your question or your answer and we will try and catch up over the next couple of days.
Martian Gothic patch - Mikael @ 08:10 EST
TalonSoft has released a patch for the A3D 1.X and DS3D with EAX supporting Martian Gothic. You can find download links and list of fixes at 3dfiles
THX Optimode allows you to Optimize for Individual DVD Movies - Mikael @ 07:13 EST
A unique new DVD software feature from Lucasfilm THXr allows the performance of a home theatre system to be optimized for individual DVD releases. THX Optimode(TM) consists of a series of tests that make it easy for consumers to fine-tune the audio and video performance of their home components. The first DVD release to offer THX Optimode will be the Special Edition release of Fight Club on June 6. Other releases to come include T2 from Artisan and Anchor's Bay's Repoman, Hell Raiser and Hell Raiser II, with many more to follow. Check out the press release for more details
Boston Acoustics Introduces new Car Component Speakers - Mikael @ 07:12 EST
Boston Acoustics yesterday introduced the New Boston Rallyrseries car component speakers.
There are 3 two-way systems in this new series: The RC620 features a 6.5`` woofer, while the RC520 and RC420 feature a 5'' and 4`` woofer respectively. All the systems are equipped with three different tweeter mounting kits for maximum installation flexibility. The RC620 and RC520 have an MSRP of $299 per pair. The RC420 has an MSRP of $279 per pair. These products will ship in June 2000. You can find more details in the press release
SiS SiS730S chipset features 3D sound - Mikael @ 07:12 EST
SiS yesterday announced the SiS730S, the industry's first highly integrated single chip for AMD platform PCs with extensive features targeted at high performance PC market segment. One of these features Built-in 3D positional audio. No mention of what 3D sound engine it will use. For more about this chipset check out the press release
New software features universal support for music formats - Mikael @ 07:10 EST
Interactive Objects yesterday introduced iObjects Dadio(TM). Dadio is a digital audio operating system for portable digital music players that allows mp3 and other digital music file formats to be played interchangeably. This means that files stored in the popular mp3 format can play alongside files stored in other formats such as Microsoft's Windows Media or Dolby's AAC. I-Jam Multimedia will be the first to offer Dadio in its forthcoming Win-Jam player. Sort of odd choice considering they said it is the first to exclusively support the Microsoft Windows Media(tm) format. For more about this OS system check out the press release
M"tley Cr_e Praises Internet, Mocks Metallica - Mikael @ 06:10 EST
On Yahoo they have an article about how M"tley Cr_e unlike several other bands don't want to sue companies like Napster. Here's a snip"M"tley Cr_e have always supported any outlet, Internet or otherwise, that allows us to connect to our fans," said bass player Nikki Sixx in a statement. "We have always allowed our fans to tape shows and exchange bootlegs, and the Internet is the perfect auditorium for this fan revolution." Madonna and Warner Bros. Records are less pleased with Napster and the Internet after they found out that the title track of the upcoming album, "Music," leaked onto the Web and Napster well in advance of its release date. A bit different take on Napster, RIAA and trading illegal MP3s is available on ZDNet. It's an article written by the independent Musician Stephen Walker who sees hard times ahead for independent artists unless MP3 swappers change their "evil ways".
UltraPlayer Version 1.0 Released! - Mark @ 01:40 EST
UltraCo Incorporated announced today the Version 1.0 release of their UltraPlayerT MP3 Audio Software. The UltraPlayer Version 1.0 media player is available for free download at www.ultraplayer.com. UltraPlayer 1.0 plays MP3, WAV, WMA, CD Audio, and Internet radio streams using what the announcement calls "the highly efficient true-fidelity NeutrinoT MPEG audio decoder". UltraPlayer also supports secure digital music formats via relationships with DMOD (Digital Media On Demand), eLicense, and Microsoft Windows Media (WMA). The media player features a dual-mode, intuitive interface with animated UltraSkins, audio plugins, and 3D visualization modules. For more details you can check out the full announcement.
Once more through the Looking Glass - Mark @ 01:22 EST
GameSpy caught up with Tim Stellmach and chatted with him about the recent abrupt closing of Looking Glass Studios. Here's a snip from the intro:Tim Stellmach, aka EvilSpirit. I recently had the opportunity to quiz Tim Stellmach, aka EvilSpirit, about the fall of Looking Glass. Tim was a long-time game designer at Looking Glass Studios. He got his start as a QA tester on Ultima Underworld way back when and then worked his way up through Underworld 2, Terra Nova, Thief, Thief Gold and Thief II. In addition to designing games, he's also a published author, penning books about game design and GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System). He also has some solid advice for game designer wannabes. For the full interview, head over to Game Spy
News Source: Voodoo Extreme
More Vampire MP3s - Mark @ 01:19 EST
Vampire Vault has posted some more music (MP3 format) from Nihilistic's 3D accelerated role-playing game, Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption. Vampire is expected to support A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX. No idea if it will feature wavetracing or what version of EAX it will use. For more about the game and to pre-order you can head over to Gamestop.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme
Carnivores 2 v.1.1 Patch - Mark @ 01:14 EST
The v.1.1 patch for the A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX 2.0 supporting Carnivores 2 fixes sky problems on some 3D accelerators such as PowerVR, GeForce, Voodoo3, etc. You can grab the 529 KB patch from 3dfiles. Note that the patch info notes that A3D 2.0 and EAX 2.0 support was added but I am pretty sure thats a bring forward from the 1.0 patch released way back in November 99. In fact, everything listed as a fix in the 1.1 patch was listed as a fix in the 1.0 patch and the file size is identical!
Allegiance 1.11 Live - Mark @ 01:04 EST
Planet Allegiance reports that the version 1.11 patch for Microsoft Research's DS3D supporting Allegiance in now live on the main servers.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme
Salon.com: The MP3 of Movies? - Mark @ 00:55 EST
I expected DivX to blow me away, but after an arduous download of an "Apollo 13" trailer meant to showcase the new video compression technology, the blurry image on my computer monitor only convinced me that the Tom Hanks character wasn't the only one with a problem. DivX -- a new technology that oddly bears the same name as a reviled and failed pay-per-view DVD scheme launched by Circuit City a couple of years back -- needs some help too. Of course, you wouldn't know it from talking to DivX boosters. Like start-up CEOs in training, they'll tell you that the software promises to shake the Hollywood distribution system, making digital copies of films as accessible to anyone with a Net connection as music has become. "It has the potential to explode like MP3s," says Dave, aka "Krazy8," the founder of Isonews, a fan site that has become an unofficial hub of DivX news.
"It's the Holy Grail of video technology," says another fan, who didn't want to be identified. Can DivX mimic MP3 and spark the kind of passion that induces fans to fight for the right to download entertainment? Well, not this week. DivX, which is software that essentially fuses an MP3 audio stream with an unauthorized version of Microsoft's MPEG 4 technology, still faces some serious technological limitations. Video files are huge and unwieldy; getting a copy of "High Fidelity" onto your desktop and swapping a copy of it for "The Virgin Suicides" is nothing like quick and easy; such a feat would probably rule your life for days. For lots more including several links to more information on DivX, check out the full article at Salon.com
News Source: Yahoo
MDK2 Reviews, Walk Through, Etc. - Mark @ 00:43 EST
A couple of MDK2 reviews for your reading pleasure. First from Gamefan we can offer the following snip on sound from an overall very positive review:MDK 2's sound and music are almost as pleasing to the sensory organs as the visuals are; nothing can really compare to the sensation of hearing a bunch of aliens farting in EAX 3-D sound with headphones on. The voice acting is top-notch, as well, and the soundtrack is killer... In combat, the weapons sound fantastic, and the little environmental sounds add quite a lot to the experience. Next up is the review on Daily Radar which has not a peep on sound but lots more similar positive comments on the overall game. Next, if you have already given up trying to play the game on your own, IGNPC has posted a MDK 2 guide with a full walkthrough for the game! Still more on cheating...AGN3D got the following info on god modeIn-game you can press '~' and enter the following string after the 'Omen' prompt to get full invulnerability:mdkGobSetDamageFilter(mdkGetPlayerGob(),0) Looks like the programming language? Yeah - this is trick for the internal game scripting system. But please note that this code must be re-entered periodically because the game doesn't store previous mode while map block change (block changing can be determined if your HDD reads something heavy and the game slowdowns for a while, or just see what you now is not invulnerable and your health value is decreasing). Hopefully you do not have to re-enter this long code - you can just bring console ('~' key) and then press Up-arrow key to get previous command form history. Finally, thanks to TweetyPi, we have the follow bit on the SBLive requirements on the game which on the surface appears to confirm that it uses EAX 2.0Q: What version of EAX does MDK2 support...???A: MDK2 requires the LiveWare 3.0 software package to be installed for proper EAX functionality. The BioWare MDK2 Team Note that requiring the LW 3.0 software does not in it self mean it uses the EAX 2.0 SDK but combined with other factors it does seem likely.
News Source: AGN3D
Thursday, June 01, 2000
MidiLand S4 7100 Speaker Review - Mark @ 21:06 EST
Broken Pixel has posted a very positive review of MidiLand's S4-7100 5.1 speaker system. The review implies that the system is as good as a hi-fi home theater setup and of course its not. What it does offer is good quality sound from the satellites, strong bass from subwoofer in most (but not all) configurations, great overall volume, great configuration flexibility and a good price (street price under $200). It's again worth noting that the system does not have its own decoder. It instead takes advantage of an external decoder like the ADS-2000 or a sound card and supporting software DVD player. The system is best and fully utilized with a sound card with 5.1 analog outputs like Best Data's Theatrix 5.1 (which uses software DVD decoding). I just finished trying the S4-7100 with a different FM801 board and drivers than what I based my original Best Data comments on with impressive DVD and game results when in 5.1 mode. In fact, if Turtle Beach's upcoming Santa Cruz sound card supports 5.1 analog output for games and movies (as it appears it will) it should be a good match with the S4-7100. Look for lots more details on the S4-7100 and Skywell Magic Sound Live when we post our reviews early this month.
News Source: AGNhardware
New: Sound Control Plus v1.76 (BETA) - Mark @ 20:31 EST
Paul McKnight of Really Effective Software has just released a new version of Sound Control Plus v1.76 (BETA).Changes this release include: Fixed - Further On Screen Display speed improvements
Fixed - Eliminated most of the grey On Screen Display issues on some setups
Fixed - Delay On Processing hot keys on some setups
Fixed - Winamp Jump To File window not coming to topAdded - Hot Keys for Open Winamp, Open Standard Mixer, Open OptionsAdded - Small volume popup option when single clicking on tray iconAdded - Global disable hot key of SCP functionalityAdded - Option to force Winamp Jump To File window to topAdded - General information hot keyAdded - Hide Tray Icon option Sound Control Plus is a freeware replacement Windows Sound Mixer applet which together with most of the features of the standard Windows mixer it also allows you to add hot keys to adjust any combination of your sound mixer volumes. Support to control Winamp with a series of hot keys and an On Screen Display is also included. Supports Windows 95 / 98 / NT4 / 2000 and Millennium-Me. Visit the official website for a full list of features, license and download information.
Descent 3 1.4 Patch - Mark @ 19:40 EST
If you don't like to use the in game auto update you can download the 1.9 MB Version 1.4 update for the A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX 2.0 supporting Descent 3 from 3Dfiles. There are quite a number of bug squashes (many listed on the download page) included fixes for a sporadic sound crash bug, a sound system crash when playing audio taunts in the pilot menu before playing the game and a problem that caused unneeded sounds to not be deleted.
CPX Multimedia Ports Review - Mark @ 12:37 EST
3D Gaming World has posted a review of the CPX Multimedia Ports, an accessory to relocate the common soundcard ports to the front of the PC system (via a unit that fits in the 5 1/4" drive bay).
News Source: AGNHardware
Mail Server Problems - Mark @ 12:25 EST
Our server admin is having inexplicable problems with the mail server. At this point in time we understand that all mail to us is getting a failed delivery message. We are still here, but there is a good chance that your message has been permanently lost. The problem as of when I post this still has not been rectified. We will post an update indicating when it is working correctly and we would ask that you resend everything and anything that you sent us since some time late last night. If you have general questions, try the forum and if you really need to reach us you can use my ISP address. Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience.
Fortemedia FM801 Driver Update - Mark @ 07:46 EST
I finally got to installing the latest Win9x FM801 drivers from Fortemedia (released April 25th). The FM801 is used in sound cards such as the Best Data Theatrix 5.1 and the Skywell Magic Sound Live. The big change in these drivers is full 5.1 (analog) support for games that support A3D 1.x and DS3D. This means that if you use one of the FM801 based cards with a system like MidiLand S4-7100 the card will take advantage of your center channel speaker which should allow you to spread the left and right speakers further apart. On the down side, the new drivers don't add support for EAX 2.0. Look for more in our upcoming review of the Skywell Magic Sound Live. You can also check out the review of the Best Data Theatrix (link above) for more on performance with the earlier drivers.
Hanging CSW PCworks/Soundworks sats on the wall - Mark @ 07:38 EST
If you are looking for an easy and inexpensive way to hang the PCworks or other small speakers that don't have mounting holes you might want to Xitel Launches MD-Port DG1 - Mark @ 23:50 EST
Xitel has launched a new addition to their line-up of Mini Disc oriented products. The MD-Port DG1 is similar to the MD-Port AN1 reviewed by 3DAI with the biggest difference being the DG1 uses an optical connection to the Mini Disc recorder where as the AN1 uses an analog connection. According to the info on Xitel's site, the DG1 also automatically inserts track marks where as the AN1 takes advantage the same feature via Music Match.
News Source: 3D Audio Immersion
Xitel MD Port AN1 Review - Mark @ 23:37 EST
3DAI has posted a positive review of Xitel's USB based Mini Disc Port AN1, a device designed to give a high quality analog connection to Mini Disc recorders.
Reasons for the Fall: A Post-Mortem On Looking Glass Studios - Mark @ 21:08 EST
Through the Looking Glass, the excellent Looking Glass Studios fan site has posted a very interesting post mortem on the studio that brought us aural gems such as Thief, Thief II and System Shock 2.
Vampire MP3s - Mark @ 21:00 EST
Vampire Vault has posted some new MP3s taken from Nihilistic's gone gold, A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX supporting Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme
HP Jornada 545 Color PocketPC Reviewed - Mark @ 20:53 EST
3D Accelerated has posted a review of the HP Jornada 545 Color PocketPC. Here's a snip on the MP3 capabilities:In addition to gaming, the Jornada 545 also has the ability to play MP3's. Using the built-in Media Player, we were able to compile playlists and listen to our favorite songs wherever we were. Additionally, since the Jornada has a button to shut off the display but keep MP3's (and other applications) running, we were able to conserve as much battery power as possible.The sound quality is truly amazing, and is comparable to the sound quality of any high end portable MP3 player (Rio 500, Nomad II, etc.). Treble tones were clear, while bass was booming. For more details, check out the full review.
Summoner MP3 - Mark @ 20:35 EST
There is a new MP3 titled "Carados" available on the downloads page of the official Summoner Website. FYI "Carados" is the soundtrack for the Daily Radar gameplay trailer that was recently released. Summoner is a fantasy role-playing game that is supposed to support A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme
MP3.com Launches New Retail Music Division - Mikael @ 07:19 EST
Capitalizing on what it sees as a tremendous opportunity for company growth, MP3.com, has launched a new business division to target the multi-million dollar retail music licensing market. MP3.com's Retail Music Division provides web-enabled, business-to-business music delivery solutions to grocery stores, fashion outlets, shopping malls, restaurants and other retail establishments. These establishments are able to select from over 424,000 songs and audio files from more than 67,000 artists at the MP3.com site. Subscribers can manage and modify their music selections anytime and anywhere utilizing an online private account page. If you want more details check out the full announcement
Cirrus Logic's Maverick Chosen for Win-Jam - Mikael @ 07:18 EST
Cirrus Logic yesterday announced that its Maverick(tm) system-on-chip (SOC) Internet audio solution will be featured in the new Win-Jam Digital Audio Player from I-Jam Multimedia. The device is the first to exclusively support the Microsoft Windows Media(tm) format, which is great news for MS. Not sure why it's great news for I-Jam's customers though. The Win-Jam device, which Microsoft has been promoting by giving away one free device every day for the month of May, enables users to store twice as much CD-quality music as devices that only support MP3. The player is scheduled to be available in July. You can check out the press release for more details
Toshiba Selects Texas Instruments DSP For New Mobile Audio Player - Mikael @ 07:18 EST
Toshiba and Texas Instruments yesterday announced it is using TI's low-power DSP to power Toshiba's new Mobile Audio Player, MEA110AS. The player is the world's first to offer a Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot supporting storage of copyrighted content.
Using the Mobile Audio Player, consumers can download music content to 64MB of built-in flash memory or to 32MB or 64MB SD memory cards via the player's USB port. TI's TMS320C5000(TM) DSPs support AAC and MP3 formats, which are used in the Toshiba Mobile Audio Player. TI's programmable DSPs, which support all current and future compression formats, allow manufacturers to update features and functions with a simple software download, rather than by upgrading internal hardware. Additionally, TI's low power DSPs increase the battery life of Internet audio players and its small size enables manufacturers like Toshiba to design devices with extremely compact form factors.
Music Downloads will soon be a Multibillion-Dollar Business - Mikael @ 07:17 EST
That's the prediction IDC makes in a recent report based on a recent survey where they found out that use of music downloads is by far the heaviest among individuals under 20 years old. More than 77% of respondents under 20 said someone in their household has downloaded songs off the Internet. No other age group exceeded 52% use of downloads. Additionally, among consumers who have downloaded songs, more than 47% of those under 20 said they or someone in their house owns a portable digital music player. This is nearly three times the use of the next highest group and indicates approximately one-third of Internet users under 20 own these music devices or live with someone who does. Based on these numbers IDC are sure music downloads will increase in importance over time. You can check out the press release for more details. Worth noting that soon is 5-10 years from now.
Gnutella & Napster - Mikael @ 06:44 EST
Tech-Extreme has posted a short article about Gnutella and Napster. Both programs are mostly used to trade MP3s but work a bit differently. In case you don't remember Gnutella is the program Nullsoft introduced but later dumped, not surprisingly considering Nullsoft is owned by AOL that also owns Time Warner. Here's a taste:Gnutella allows the direct transfer of information from one user to another without having to go through a central server that can monitor the transactions. What this means is that instead of you logging on to a big server like Napster, you log on to another users computer. Though this process is slightly more difficult to learn and results in your downloading to be a lot slower, it makes the network a lot harder to shut down. Instead of just eliminating the central server in programs like Napster, you would have to eliminate every single computer on the Gnutella network. News Source: AGN Hardware
Vampire has gone gold - Mikael @ 06:44 EST
Vampire's Lead Programmer Rob Huebner has updated his .plan with the following interesting bit:Well, there's nothing more cliche than a .plan that says "We're gold" but since the opportunity only comes along every couple years these days, what the heck. Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption US release is in duplication and will show up at your local mall/retailer/warehouse store on June 7 or 8th!We're busily working on a playable demo and also putting together the "NOD SDK version 1.0" which will document all the file formats and so on. We hope to
have a preliminary version of the SDK available by June 7, although some of the tools might lag behind a bit to polish them a bit more for public consumption. More detailed info about the demo content and dates will be forthcoming. The SDK will include: Embrace editor (modified from QERadiant)
NOT object template editor
NOD viewer (standalone 3D model & LOD viewer)
Documentation for file formats: NOD, NAD, NAM, NAG, NSC, and many others.
HTML documentation for the CODEX Java API (via JavaDoc)
Source code for all Java classes and game scripts
Introduction to using Embrace and other starting documents Thanks to everyone who participated in the beta and on our web board during
development! Vampire is expected to support A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX. No idea if it will feature wavetracing or what version of EAX it will use. For more about the game and to pre-order you can head over to Gamestop.
News Source: AGN
Tuesday, May 30, 2000
Messiah Patch 0.2 - Mark @ 23:56 EST
A 3.9 MB patch has been released for the DS3D with EAX and A3D 3.0 supporting Messiah. The only audio related fix listed is various problems with CD music loops have been fixed. You can see the full list of fixes on the 3Dfiles Download Page.
Never Mind the Manilow - Mark @ 19:57 EST
Never Mind the Manilow is the title of a new article just posted on BarrysWorld. In it they highlights some off the musical highlights (and lowlights) in gaming history. Here`s a snip:With a lot of the titles that I've had exposure to in my gaming life (I'm talking now about long before BarrysWorld was an itch in Teds pants or a nasty rash in DBs knickers) the music was nothing more than an annoying embellishment that was (if the option was available) turned off. To be honest with some titles it still is, and indeed some genres (hard core flight sims for one). But with some titles the game just wouldn't be the same without it. Some titles just shine through and you find that if you're denied the music the game just doesn't have the same appeal, it's those titles which have prompted this ramble.
Modern Humorist: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Pirated MP3s - Mark @ 09:53 EST
ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN and Sally Kimball, his junior detective partner and bodyguard, were getting ready to go to the Idaville music festival when a limousine pulled into Encyclopedia's driveway."Wow!" Sally said. "That car is so big, and so black!" Four men in tight, black leather pants and sleeveless T-shirts got out of the limousine. They had pale skin covered in tattoos, and one of them had bits of metal hanging from various parts of his face. Encyclopedia and Sally exchanged worried glances. They had never seen men their fathers' age wearing leather pants before. "Do not be frightened, young children, I am Lars Ulrich, powerhouse drummer for Metallica, and we are needing your help, Encyclopedia Brown." Metallica is a popular musical group known for blending traditional rock and roll with heavy metal while using more introspective and meaningful lyrics than most metal bands. "I am giving you a quarter." Encyclopedia accepted the coin and asked, "What can we do for you?" "Someone is stealing our music!" growled James Hetfield, rhythm guitar and lead vocals. That's just a small taste of what awaits you over at the Serious Sam Test Demo - Mark @ 09:37 EST
GA-Source has a couple day exclusive on the just released Serious Sam 47Mb playable demo. The demo contains a single massive level with six weapons to choose from: Knife, Magnum (and dual Magnums), Shotgun, and more. You will also go up against a wide assortment of enemies, eleven to be exact. This single level features aprox. 60-120 minutes of actual play, depending on the difficulty chosen. Serious Sam is an arcade-action shooter heavily focused on frantic arcade-style single player action. In a world where cyberpunk meets fantasy-fiction and advanced technology is mixed with black magic and psychic-powers, Sam travels through the beautiful world of ancient Egypt and several diverse planets, confronting countless hordes of Mental's minions. Note that this is a compatibility test demo and the engine code is not fully optimized, you'll need a pretty powerful system and next generation 3D card to run it at a smooth frame rate. Here's a snip from the official site on the sound capabilities of the Serious engine:Serious Engine features a high quality custom sound engine. It supports: HRTF (head related transfer function), IID (interaural intensity difference), ITD (interaural time difference), doppler effect and speed of sound. Only when you first hear a rocket whizzing past your ear you start to enjoy real 3D sound experience. Speed of sound is a unique feature of Serious Engine. When a rocket explodes very far away, you first see the explosion and then you hear the sound As you see, it is rather unclear if the engine supports A3D, DS3D or EAX or if (as it reads to me) that they have their own two speaker/headphone 3d audio engine. Update: We followed up with the developer for more details and thanks to Alen Ladavac, Lead Programmer at Croteam we can confirm that the advanced audio feature of the Serious engine are currently done in software, so no 3D sound API support. He also noted that support will be there in the future, but whether or not it happens before or after the release still remains to be seen.
Mission X Space Speakers Reviews - Mark @ 09:21 EST
GameSpy has posted a review of the Mission X Space speakers. This is particularly interesting as its the first higher end (o300 or around US$450) amplified system that I have seen using NXT's flat panel technology. One thing I can't quite follow is why the reviewer starts off by stating that "they not only use the newly found NXT technology, but they are also very, very thin, making them a must for serious gamers." I am not sure about you but that is not what I look for when evaluating whether or not speakers are a must have for serious gamers. The other bit is their description of NXT is wrong. I think they must have meant to say that they are not normal speakers that use cones that move in and out to create the disturbances in the air...rather than saying thats what they are. One last bit is the review complains about the lack of a volume control on the system yet the official specs say that the unit has a master volume control. Overall, they were very impressed with the system concluding that the sound quality rivaled their existing o500 home theater speakers.
News Source: Blue's News
Week in Review - Mikael @ 03:42 EST
We have posted our latest edition of the 3D Audio Week in Review covering May 22-28. This weekly newsletter covers new driver releases, games, patches and demos that support 3D sound including information on any new bugs, bug fixes and other tips. The newsletter now also includes links to all sound related hardware reviews on the web as well as updates on what we did and what we plan to do in the coming week. The 3D Audio Week in Review is a great way for busy people to be right on top of all latest in the PC audio world.
New Rio500 Firmware Upgrade - Mikael @ 03:16 EST
S3/Diamond has released a firmware update (2.11) to the Rio500 MP3 player. The file date is almost 2 weeks old but I don't think we have mentioned it. New features are Support for 64MB flash cards and finally audible support!
News Source: Anandtech
Monday, May 29, 2000
Virtual audio for headphones - Mark @ 23:25 EST
Do you ever wonder how HRTFs work? There is an excellent article entitled Virtual audio for headphones written by Dr. Alastair Sibbald of Sensaura that will tell you all about it and then some. You might also want to check out the site that is hosting the article. It's called Headwize. HeadWize is a non-profit headphone resource site started by Chu Moy for the purpose of disseminating information about headphones and headphone listening.
News Source: GA-Hardware
Creative @ E3 - Mark @ 23:16 EST
GA-Hardware has written up their account of Creative Labs' E3 presence including some impressions of the upcoming PS2000 virtual Dolby Digital system designed for the PS2. According to the report, the new speakers create a sound field that is almost indistinguishable from a 4-speaker system. I am somewhat skeptical of that but don't doubt that the design of the system and their focus on virtual surround makes them much better than average in that respect. The report also covers the PlayWorks DTT2500, the Nomad II and the 3D Blaster Annihilator 2.
News Source: Anandtech
wHeretic v0.5a build 9 - Mark @ 23:01 EST
wHeretic v0.5a Build 9 as been released. This new release apparently fixes a problem related to the true looping sounds. wHeretic audio support is built with the A3D 2.0 API. For lots more details head on over to the official wHeretic site. BTW in case you don't know, wHeretic is a W32 port of the original Heretic from Raven Software.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme
Matrix for Half Life Released - Mark @ 22:52 EST
If you are looking from some more life out of the excellent A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX supporting Half Life then you might be interested in knowing that the Matrix mod for Half-Life has been released. For more details and download info head to the official site.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme
DVD Genie 3.50 - Mark @ 17:35 EST
Yet another version of this little tool that allows you to tweak your DVD player has been released. A couple of major changes. One is there is a fix for the Hollywood-Plus 4-Speaker settings to work with the newest drivers and the other is support for 4-speaker downmmix has been enabled for Cinemaster 2000. There are other changes and you can check out the full list here.
News Source: 3Dfiles
m3po Update - Mark @ 13:11 EST
TerraTec has released a new firmware update for their m3po, a component MP3 and CD player for hi-fi systems. This update brings the os to 2.06a and you can download it from their sites. Compared to the 2.05 update this new version has some minor bugfixes and a TI/AMD flash compatible monitor.
NFS5: Porsche Unleashed review - Mark @ 07:29 EST
3D Spotlight has posted a review of the DS3D with EAX supporting NFS5: Porsche Unleashed. Here's a snip:Even though I haven't had any major complaints with the audio of NFS games, there are some real racing fanatics that never really liked how engine sound was represented in the game, this time however each one of the car engine sounds have been recorded so you know what to expect. Apart from that, the style of the music during races hasn't changed much; this is damn good in my opinion, as I've always liked how music complemented the thrilling in-game action. 3D Sound support is present and works quite well, tried it out with an SBLive and a Diamond MX400 card.
E3 report about Santa Cruz - Mikael @ 01:52 EST
SysOpt has posted an E3 report where the only audio related bit is about Turtle Beach's upcoming Santa Cruz. One new bit here is that they say the reason Santa Cruz didn't include AC-3 decoding is that it would increase the price with 25%, that is $125 instead of $100.
News Source: AGN Hardware
News from May 22-28, 2000
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