News:  November 20-26, 2000

Sunday, November 26, 2000

Dear Honey... - Mark @ 16:53 EST

No it's not a love letter, its the name of a web site in Taiwan written in traditional Chinese that deals with computer digital music, sound cards, speakers, MP3 and MIDI. If you can read it then you might want to check it out. The webmaster dropped us a line I think in response to some comments I made in a post regarding Avault's review of the MidiLand 4060. Amoung other things, Dearhoney has some pictures of the drivers in Midiland's S4-4060/4060M/7100M systems that show that the drivers are in fact different in each of the units. Given that the original 4060 and 7100 satellites have no external markings other the S4 I wonder if the driver differences might also be found between 7100 units that have come of the assembly line at different times.

RCA Lyra RD2201 vs. Sensory Science Rave MP2000 - Mikael @ 15:01 EST

Tweakers Asylum has posted a short comparison of RCA Lyra RD2201 and Sensory Science Rave MP2000. Both are MP3 players that comes with 32MB of built in memory and a price tag of about $150.
News Source: Anandtech

Pioneer 105S DVD-ROM (16X) review - Mikael @ 14:57 EST

Inside Hardware has posted a review of Pioneer's 105S DVD-ROM drive. It's a 16x/40x drive that uses the ATAPI interface and has a price tag of $109. The short review includes both CD-ROM and DVD-ROM benchmarks and they really liked what they saw but not what they heard.
News Source: Anandtech

Dirt Track Racing - Australia Demo - Mikael @ 14:53 EST

Ratbag Games has released a 8.8MB small demo if Dirt Track Racing - Australia. It's a simulation racing game capturing the exact experience of real life racing. It features realistic physics simulation, tuning & upgrading of vehicles as well as a progression through various series from hobby stock to late model class. DTR Australia is also the first game of it's type to include a range of Australia's famous Holdens. The official site recommends "DirectSound 3D, Aureal 3D or EAX compatible sound card" so should at least support DS3D and maybe also EAX and/or A3D. You can find download links at 3dfiles

Saturday, November 25, 2000

Tribes 2 Interview - Mark @ 20:03 EST

PCShooter.com has posted the results of an interview with Lee Rossini who is the Sierra Studios Brand Manager for Tribes 2. Here's the response to a question on sound:

Yes, as a matter of fact what is really cool is that we have a 3D sound element in the game. When somebody shoots a disc at you, you can hear it go by your head. If it goes off to the right, you’ll hear it go out behind you to the right. You’ll be able to hear crickets chirping, the rain, and the bots screaming at each other. What I love is knowing you can hear someone’s footsteps sneaking up on you now with this three dimensional sound, it really is phenomenal.

Napa DAV309 CD/MP3 Player Review - Mark @ 17:57 EST

PC Stats has posted a review of the Napa DAV309 CD/MP3 Player. This is a hybrid portable CD player that also plays MP3 CDs and even plays Video CDs. The main complaint about the player in this review is "ESP" is nonexistent. They report that the player skips at the slightest movement. I wonder if there was a problem with their unit as a review of the same unit over at Nurck.com fails to mention this issue.
News Source: Blue's News

Midiland MLi-490 Speakers Review - Mark @ 17:33 EST

SysReview.com has posted a review of MidiLand's MLi-490 4.1 speaker system. A couple of things I want to note. As the review points out the speakers actually has inputs for 6 channels (with a slide switch to select input modes) even though it's a 4.1 system. If all six inputs are used it mixes the center input into the front left and right channels. The other bit I can add is the system does not have a crossover from the rear channel inputs to the subwoofer. This means that if you use it with a typical 4 channel sound card explosions and other bass heavy effects in the rear channel will be lacking bass (front channels work well). However, if you use this system with the Live 5.1 or ForteMedia FM801 based cards that have a subwoofer output the rear bass problem will be eliminated as the MLi as noted has an optional subwoofer input. You can also eliminate the problem by using it with a Santa Cruz or SonicFury with virtual 5.1 enabled. For more on the best way to do that with the latter two cards you can check out our Santa Cruz / SonicFury reviews linked above. Overall I agree with the reviewers conclusion that the MLi490 delivers very good performance at this price point.
News Source: Blue's News

Midiland S4 3050M and 4060M 2.1 PC Speakers Reviewed - Mark @ 17:12 EST

Avault has posted a double barreled review of the Midiland S4 3050M and 4060M 2.1 speaker systems. I have never heard either of these systems but I am pretty sure that the 4060M uses the exact same subwoofer design as the S4 Midiland 7100 and both systems use the same satellites. Based on my testing of the 7100 I pretty much disagree with everything they say about the 4060M. A couple I will point out. I completely disagree with their comments on the 4060M subwoofer. I think it delivers good quality tight bass. I do agree that the default setting for the speakers, at least with the 7100s, is a bit bass heavy, but I found it really easy to tune it to a more neutral level using the subwoofer control. I also disagree with their comments on the satellites and think that the midrange is above average for a 2.5" driver. One problem with the Avault review is they don't say what they are comparing the MidiLand speakers against and come away with the impression that they were comparing the system to a hi-fi system rather than other multimedia speakers.

Submarine Titans map - Mikael @ 08:21 EST

Another MAP has been released for the 3D sound supporting Submarine Titans
News Source: Blue's News

Sacrifice reviews - Mikael @ 07:29 EST

Sacrifice continues to get excellent reviews, the following reviews are no exception.
GameSpy:

The sound was also very well done. The voice acting for the different types of creatures, as well as the gods, was done professionally without a lot of the obvious overacting you hear so often. And the choice of voices for the creatures is appropriate, with large, bulky creatures using heavy, slow paced speech, and smaller units using lighter and more playful speech patterns. The music, too, works well for the game -- if one can play for hours and not even notice there is music unless specifically listening for it, then it is superbly done and appropriate for the game. There were a couple of famous names playing the parts of the gods, but unless you try to hear their voices, its not easy to figure out who they are. Another mark of a well done production.

Venom demo patch - Mikael @ 06:24 EST

Vital Engine has released a patch which adds IPX and GameSpy support and a bunch of other features and bug fixes to its demo of Venom. The test that was released more than a year ago offered support for DS3D with EAX and A3D 1.0 so I would guess that's still available in the demo. You can download the patch from 3dfiles

Friday, November 24, 2000

Rio600 Digital Audio Player Review - Mark @ 17:43 EST

3D Game Force has posted a review of the Rio600 Digital Audio Player. Overall a very positive review with the main complaints being only 32MB of memory and the poor supporting software.
News Source: Anandtech

Cambridge Sound Works FPS2000 Review - Mark @ 17:37 EST

Tweaker's Asylum has posted a review of the Cambridge Sound Works FPS2000. Overall a very postive review although I must say it's the first time I have ever heard someone describe the FPS2000 sats as having treble that's too bright.
News Source: Anandtech

Star Trek: DS9 - The Fallen Interview and Reviews - Mark @ 17:29 EST

Star Trek Collective has posted the results of a Q&A with Steven von Kampen who is the Audio Director at "The Collective". Here's a taste:

What's about the ingame-music - is it dynamic (eg. "Imuse" from LucasArts) ?

Oh yeah, We started by implementing MP3s, and then I decided we needed to divide them into mood categories; ambient, tension, fear and action. So, if an ambient loop is playing and you suddenly get ambushed by NPCs the action music would override the ambient loop. This worked out great once we implemented cross fading MP3s. I even set up ghost triggers so that if you walked across a map one way you get a different piece of music when you came back. I attached music to movers, scary stuff in dark places, when you accomplish something important you might hear a little success cue. Basically anything and everything that would make the game more dramatic. It's a good thing I'm a movie junky. You learn so much by just "listening" to a film. I don't believe that anyone has done interactive music using MP3s in a game and I think we've shown that it really works. I'm really tired of hearing lousy scores in games. The technology is now in place to offer truly cinematic scores and there is an abundance of talent out there. So to all you Dev's "Get dedicated audio staff", stop hiring your best friend who thinks he knows what he's doing. And to all you audio cats, learn how to use the editors for the game, remain involved throughout the process. This is the only way to raise the quality level of music in games.

Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance Reviews - Mikael @ 08:37 EST

TechExtreme has posted a very detailed review of the recently gone gold Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance. They had a very positive impression of the game which they think is one of best in the series. They also found the sound effects to be quite good but less impressed with the music:

As was the case with the previous titles, Soundelux was once again tasked with producing the sound effects and music for Vengeance. If you are fielding a quality set of speakers, then you owe it to yourself to crank up the volume while playing Vengeance. The sound of the LBX auto cannons alone is worth the price of admission, with its ground-shaking bass effect. Lasers do their usual zinging, while PPCs do their usual burning. The music is a bit of a let down, and in reality, no game in the series has been able to match the masterful score produced for Mechwarrior 2. Still, what is included in the game is serviceable, and if you don’t like it, you can always turn it off.

Metal Gear Solid review - Mikael @ 08:30 EST

PCGamer.UK has posted a positive review of Metal Gear Solid which they think is stunningly atmospheric. Here's a couple interesting sound snips:

As the opening FMV rolls and Snake swims towards the island, ambient sound effects and emotive music strike up, and you begin to appreciate what all the fuss that has been made over MGS was about. This game oozes atmosphere.
[snip]
Every sound effect and note of music has been designed to enhance the on-going struggle between tension and release. The way the game looks compounds its ambience; all gun-metal greys, army greens and oppressive blues and blacks.

Starship Troopers reviews - Mikael @ 08:22 EST

Nurck has posted a review of Starship Troopers. They summed up the game as an "average game for an average gamer, but it's a perfect game for a Starship Trooper fan". Here's the sound bit:

The sounds of Starship Troopers were significantly different then most destruction and mayhem games. I couldn't recognize the explosions from any other game, or the gunfire. Unfortunately they didn't think too much on what the actual troops would say. It's the same old "Yes, sir" "Right away, sir" stuff. And I think they should have added a least three more phrases to add to the three or four they have already. The bug noises are right from the Movie. The screeching arachnid, bellowing Plasma bug and even the flying Hoppers terrify and bewilder the men and women of the MI. The foot steps of the soldiers seemed to be aligned pretty well, but when there are around twelve people running around its hard to tell. The music is ideal for fighting giant bugs. It can be creepy, upbeat and adrenaline rushing, or nice and calm for easy recon missions.

Superbike 2001 reviews - Mikael @ 07:52 EST

ActionTrip has posted a very positive review of Superbike 2001 saying it's the best biker game out there. At the same time they note as others it's no major leap forward from Superbike 2000. Here's their impression of the aurals:

The sounds are quite admirable. Engine sounds and other effects become the quality of graphics. The commentator will occasionally say something like: There looks like Kawasaki is down! And he won't bother you too much.

Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force review - Mikael @ 07:26 EST

PC GameWorld has posted a very positive review of Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force. Here's the usual sound snip:

Besides a good story, the voice acting is first-rate due to the fact that the original actors from the series provide their voices to the characters with the only exception being the absence of Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine). This really shows how important voice acting is to a given game, especially if the objective is to recreate an existing TV or movie franchise. It would be nice to see this continue as a trend since it brings the overall gaming experience to the next level.

While I am on the topic of sound, I have to say that the music is unbelievably good. Anytime I start a game, I'll give the music a chance but I usually just end up muting it, but not here. This sounds like an actual movie soundtrack and the individuals that were responsible for the music should be commended for their critical contribution in helping to bring this game so close to the feel of the Star Trek Voyager series.

Rune reviews - Mikael @ 07:11 EST

A couple new Rune reviews popped up. Both found it to be a good but not amazing game. When it comes to sound they offered the following:
SharkyExtreme:

The otherwise good sound was marred by an odd bug that made some ambient sounds, such as flowing water or the wind, stutter quite distractingly.

Blair Witch Volume 2: The Legend of Coffin Rock review - Mikael @ 06:08 EST

Gaming-Age has posted a short review of Blair Witch Volume 2: The Legend of Coffin Rock. A bit mixed review that ends up recommending the game. As several but far from all other reviews of this game they found the sound design to be very good.

One of the aspects that made The Blair Witch Project such an immersive movie was the use of creepy sounds that sent a sharp, shivery chill down your spine. Human Head, like Terminal Reality did with the first title, has done an incredible job of taking sounds that wouldn’t even make you think twice make you flip on the lights and put the game on pause for a few moments. Rocks smack together, footsteps crunch over leaves in the distance, a girl alternates between crying and laughing – all of them are skillfully placed a points where they will be the most effective. Heck, the sound was enough to even give me slight goosebumps as I was playing through it before night fell. Make sure you have a decent sound system to experience the game, or at least pop on some headphones, and the sound will have you feeling like you’re actually tromping through the woods of Burkitsville in no time.

4x4 Evolution review - Mikael @ 06:03 EST

ActionTrip has posted a review of the off-road racing game 4x4 Evolution. They had a more positive impression of the aural aspects of the game than most other reviews I've seen:

During the pauses between races, a superb elctronic-break-beat-junlge-kinda- metalic-techo sounding music can be heard. This music goes nicely with the game's sound effects, which could, by the way, use a little more particulars than just the occasional engine bursting and bird singing. When you come close to the SUV in front of you, it will cast a pile of dirt and gravel in your face. This effect has an excellent sound, but it sucks visually.

Baldur's Gate II review - Mikael @ 05:55 EST

If you can get enough of Baldur's Gate II reviews you can find another one on Barry's World. As everyone else they think it's an excellent RPG including the aural aspects of it which they experienced using a Live:

Equal attention has been paid to the sounds in BG2:SoA. There are numerous background noises which assist to a great extent with enhancement of the atmosphere of the game: hawkers cry out there wares in busy marketplaces, trees swish treeily, as only trees can, in ancient elven forests, and winds moan eerily in spine-chilling dungeons. You can also turn on a very nice little switch that will activate the environmental audio, resulting in fading footfalls and inaudible conversations as your party characters move out of visual range. I have, however, been completely awestruck by the music in BG2:SoA - it is utterly mind-bogglingly stupendously fantastic. The sheer range is astonishing and I found myself frequently pausing the game to have a little sit back and a listen for a while.

Combat Flight Simulator 2 review - Mikael @ 05:52 EST

MGON has posted a review of MS Combat Flight Simulator 2 . As most others they think it's a good game including the aural aspects of it and a must buy for any flight sim fan. Here's their impression of the sound:

The sounds of CFS2 is similarly impressive, from the Japanese narrative (with authentic language and accent), to the drone of the piston engines. The atmosphere is created and maintained beautifully. While it would've been so simple to make all the guns sound the same, and give all the engines the same dull drone, it's good to see the effort going into making them different. It's nice to notice more then a change of cockpit when you start flying a different plane.

Digitheatre review - Mikael @ 02:24 EST

Ga-Hardware has posted a review of VideoLogic's DD 5.1 system DigiTheatre which is also sold without a DD 5.1 decoder as DigiTheatre LC. They found the system to perform very well, on par if not better than Klipsch ProMedia system when it comes to quality.

Baldur's Gate II beta patch - Mikael @ 01:56 EST

Bioware has released a beta patch for its DS3D with EAX supporting RPG, Baldur's Gate II.

Diablo II MP3 of the Week - Mikael @ 01:55 EST

Blizzard has released a new MP3 of the week ("Tombs") from the Diablo II soundtrack. They have also released a bonus track.
News Source: Blue's News

Thursday, November 23, 2000

Interview with VIA - Mark @ 22:24 EST

Digit-Life has posted the results of an interview with some reps from VIA. The reason we are mentioning this is the following snip on VIA's new chipset:

Q: The new South bridge developing by nVIDIA has very good audio core - Dolby Digital, 64 hardware audio streams, etc. At the same time the latest VIA’s VT8233 South bridge has simple AC’97 sound with 8 hardware DirectSound3D stream. Do you think it’s enough?

A: The answer is very simple – nVIDIA chipsets are aimed at the totally different market. There are still open questions like the price. And also – when the customer needs powerful sound, would they turn for integrated solution or rather buy a high-performance, stand-alone sound card… Anyway, VIA will also work on improving the sound subsystem – a few days ago we acquired IC Ensemble, an American IC design house that specializes in multimedia technologies.

AOpen DVD-1640 Pro 16x DVD-ROM Review - Mark @ 22:10 EST

cdrlabs has posted a review of the AOpen DVD-1640 Pro 16x DVD-ROM. The drive ships with PowerDVD 2.55 and the review notes that it's not upgradeable to version 3.0 which is now shipping. Overall a postive review and just one comment - I don't think that 12x DAE speed is slow.
News Source: Anandtech

Sacrifice Beta Patch Version 1.0 - Mark @ 21:56 EST

A 3 MB beta patch for the retail version of the DS3D with EAX 2.0 (and maybe also A3D) supporting Sacrifice has been released. Nothing sound related but for a full list of fixes and download info you can head over to 3Dfiles.

MAMBO-X P300 Cd/Mp3 Player Preview - Mark @ 21:53 EST

Case Modders Australia have posted a short preview of the MAMBO-X P300 Cd/Mp3 Player. They think it will be a winner.

Digisette Duo-MP3 Review - Mark @ 12:29 EST

C/Net has posted a review of the Digisette Duo-MP3 player. This is one of the few MP3 players that let you plays through a cassette deck (like a normal cassette). They review likes the sound quality but not the slow parallel-port transfers, lack of display, small controls, immature software and only 32MB of memory so it comes back down to whether or not the need to use it in your cassette player rules the day. There are lots more details in the full review of this $250 unit.

Creative Labs' pick of top EAX Technology-enhanced games - Mikael @ 02:23 EST

Creative Labs has slapped up a new section to its EAX site named EAX @ Play where you'll find their pick of top EAX Technology-enhanced games. Not sure if this is really games that use EAX well, just popular EAX enhanced games or a bit of both. Currently the page features Ford Racing, Sacrifice, Fur Fighters, Diablo II, Dogs of War, Baldur's Gate II, MechWarrior 4, Icewind Dale and MDK2. I don't think we mentioned Ford Racing and MechWarrior 4 before, the latter has just been shipped to retail.

Deep Space Nine: The Fallen patch - Mikael @ 02:16 EST

Collective Studios has released a patch for Deep Space Nine: The Fallen. The demo had only DS3D support but it uses the Unreal Tournament engine so possible the full game supports EAX and/or A3D 2 with wavetracing as well

Midtown Madness 2 patch - Mikael @ 02:00 EST

Microsoft has released a patch for the DS3D supporting Midtown Madness 2. The patch will fix issues with the Intel 810 family of graphics chips.

Sacrifice demo - Mikael @ 01:58 EST

A demo of Sacrifice has been released. The game supports DS3D with EAX 2.0 and according to a preview also A3D.
News Source: 3Dfiles

Quake III: Team Arena demo - Mikael @ 01:55 EST

idSoftware has released a demo of its expansion pack for QuakeIII, Quake III: Team Arena. You don't need Quake3 to check out the demo. Quake3 supports A3D 2.0 so I guess the mission pack will as well but probably with the same issues as the full game, that is not really working well on Vortex2 cards and not that great on most DS3D supporting cards either.

Wednesday, November 22, 2000

Polk Audio Site Update - Mark @ 19:25 EST

Steven Tellman from 3D Audio Immersion dropped us a line to point out that Polk Audio has recently updated their website with info on their new systems. He also ask me to pass on that 3DAI is having a DNS switchover to a new server which is why you may not be able to connect to his site.

PortalPlayer to Support Sony's Full Suite of Digital Media Technologies - Mark @ 19:21 EST

PortalPlayer Inc., a Memory Stick licensee that produces platform solutions for digital audio has announced that it plans to support Sony's OpenMG, MagicGate and ATRAC3 digital media technologies in products it is developing for release in 2001. PortalPlayer's Tango Digital Media platform, the industry's first platform for portable consumer electronics products that support the encoding and playback of digital audio files without using a personal computer, already supports Memory Stick media. Planned support for OpenMG, MagicGate and ATRAC3 reinforces PortalPlayer's commitment to providing its customers with complete platform solutions that support both secure and open delivery and management of digital media. PortalPlayer offers complete system solutions for new consumer electronics products with digital audio downloading, encoding and playback capability. Platforms are targeted at next generation entertainment products including portable MP3-type player/recorder systems, hybrid systems combining CD and digital audio player/recorders, and hard-drive equipped digital audio jukeboxes. You can learn more about typical platforms by checking out the full press release.

New DVD Players Powered by National Mediamatics Technologies - Mark @ 19:08 EST

Two new DVD players on shelves this fall in time for the holiday shopping season are powered by National® Mediamatics DVD-on-a-chip technology, bringing clear audio and video into living rooms across the United States. National Semiconductor Corporation announced today that its technology powers the Apex AD800 and Fisher S-2000 DVD players, which arrived on retailers' shelves in time for Thanksgiving, the traditional start to the American holiday shopping season. The Apex AD800 is powered by Mediamatic's NDV8501. Its features include VCD, DVD Audio, SVCD, CD, CD-R/W, and MP3 capabilities. A built-in Dolby Digital Decoder delivers crisp, theater-quality audio. Progressive scan delivers true-to-film picture playback of DVD movie discs. The Fisher S-2000 is powered by Mediamatic's NDV8401 DVD-on-a-chip. It is compatible with DVD, Video-CD and CD disks. The S-2000 includes a 10-bit video digital-to-analog converter and trick play options, including angle replay and reverse slow. Built-in Dolby Digital AC3 decoder delivers high quality audio. On-screen display allows easy maneuverability and built-in parental controls. For a bit more info on National Semiconductor you can check out the full press release.

Giant's Citizen Kabuto Interview - Mark @ 13:05 EST

PC Shooter has posted the results of an intereview with members of the Giants: Citizen Kabuto development team done at Comdex 2000. Here's a snip:

Luckee: What about sound?

Travis: They are using EAX, Environmental Audio Extension, so people who have the Sound Blaster Live! cards should really be impressed with what they hear.

SiS 730s Chipset Preview - Mark @ 12:59 EST

SysReview.com has posted a preview of the SiS 730s Chipset. On the audio side they list the following features:

DirectMusic/DirectSound/DirectSound3D compatible
64 voices
AC 97 support
SB legacy support
Microsoft WDM Streaming Architecture Compliant
2 to 6 speakers output
SPDIF out interface

Napa DAV309 MP3/CD/VCD Player Review - Mark @ 12:48 EST

Nurck.com has posted a review of the Napa DAV309 MP3/CD/VCD Player. This unit is a bit different from the other portable MP3 CD players we have seen before in that it also has video CD capability. Overall a very positive review with the one thing missing (at least I could not find it) was the price of the unit.

Server Probs - Mark @ 12:38 EST

Sorry about our slow server response hopefully it will get sorted out sooner than later.

Tuesday, November 21, 2000

Build a Computer Home Entertainment System - Mark @ 22:25 EST

Speedy3D has posted an article on building a Computer Home Entertainment System.

Labtec Pulse-424 Review - Mark @ 22:20 EST

Hardware Daily has posted a review of the $50 Labtec Pulse-424 2.1 speaker system. An overall positve review of this system which uses what they call an 8" pressure driver in the subwoofer.
News Source: Blue's News

Dave Georgeson, Producer for Tribes 2 Interviewed - Mark @ 22:05 EST

Gamer's Depot has posted the results of an interview with Dave Georgeson, Producer for Tribes 2. Here's a taste from this interesting piece:

GD: Are you guys doing anything unique in the area of sound in Tribes 2?
Dave Georgeson: I think our sound is coming along nicely. We hired a Hollywood sound house (the guys that did "Total Recall" and "Blade") to do our sounds. They were expensive, but well worth the money. The end-result is a game that's rich with sounds. People don't fully appreciate sound as an immersive tool...but the difference between a game with good sound and a game with bad sound is obvious. Have you ever seen a pre-release movie that didn't have sound and music dubbed in yet? If so, you'll know what I mean.

Interview with John Gwen: Sacrifice - Mark @ 21:07 EST

PC Shooter has posted an interview with John Gwen, the lead Character Modeler on Sacrifice. Here's a taste:

Luckee: The sound is good.

John : Yes. The sound is great and awesome on the game. The music, sound effects, and voiceovers all came together really well. We had some really good talent on it.

Luckee: So if I had an EX soundcard and a Dolby digital 5.1 soundcard, I could really take advantage of the sounds coming out?

John: Yes we have a really nice sound setup here too, but you really can’t hear it because of the show. But if you were ever to go over to the Creative Labs area, in the other hall, we have a guy demoing it on a full blown-out system and it is really amazing.

Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy Patches - Mark @ 20:14 EST

This patch fixes the common "drop to desktop" problem, as well as other USB and input device related crashes for this 3D sound supporting game. If you are unable to play the game on your machine, then download and install this patch however, this patch is not required if the game is currently working on your system. Patch is available for both the demo and retail versions. Grab it from 3Dfiles.

Rainbow Six Collector’s Edition Now Shipping - Mark @ 20:11 EST

Red Storm is shipping a Collector’s Edition of the Rainbow Six franchise. The Collector’s Edition contains seven CDs and one compilation Prima strategy guide covering the entire Rainbow Six PC series. You will travel the world and fight terrorism in the jungles of the Congo with the original Rainbow Six and discover India’s Taj Mahal in the mission pack, Eagle Watch. Grab your snow gear to battle terrorists in Eastern Europe with the full-length sequel, Rogue Spear and then take it to the downtown streets of Mexico City to protect innocent civilians in the mission pack, Urban Operations. Rainbox Six Rogue Spear feature the most effective use of occlusion and obstruction that I have hear from an EAX 2 game to date. You can get more information on the new release in the full story over at Avault.

Creative NOMAD Jukebox Firmware Upgrade - Mark @ 20:07 EST

Creative has posted a new release of NOMAD Jukebox Firmware Upgrade (Ver 2.56). This release includes support for WMA with DRM and an improvement of the USB transfer rate.

DVD Genie 3.81 Released - Mark @ 20:04 EST

A new version of this little tool that allows you to tweak your DVD player has been released. Nothing major from an audio perspective added. There is now support for WinDVD 2.3, the prior version went up to 2.2. You can check out the list of new features/bug fixes here.
News Source: 3Dfiles

THX Picture and Sound Quality Now Available in Computer Products - Mark @ 13:52 EST

We mentioned a few days ago that Dell would be offering the first THX certified PC. Lucasfilm THX together with Dell have now announced more details on the first THX certified PCs under a newly created THX program designed to deliver the best picture and sound to-date on a personal computer. According to the announcement a THX certified PC ensures that movies, music, games and more will be enjoyed with a sound and visual impact that will satisfy the most demanding multimedia user.

The announcement notes that THX PC certification covers the entire system, and it is the system as a whole that is certified. THX research showed that it isn't just the quality of the various components and PC subsystems that affect performance, but that the interaction among them also critically affects sound and picture quality. THX and Dell engineers collaborated over an 18-month period to ensure optimum picture and sound quality among the selected subsystems, and that process is a key element in the THX certification program. To accomplish that mission, every component that can affect sound and picture quality is assessed, including the display, sound card, video card and speakers.

For easy system setup, certified systems also come with a THX-developed software utility - the THX Picture and Sound Optimizer - that guides the consumer through connections, sound card adjustment, speaker placement and other items to ensure that performance is optimized. Once setup is complete, that same utility allows for quick verification of the THX settings, including adjustments for color balance, brightness, contrast, aspect ratio and 5.1-channel Dolby Digital decoding.

The first THX certified PCs to be available are the Dell Dimension 8100, starting at $2,599.00, and the Dell Dimension 4100, starting at $1,999.00, available directly from Dell. Each system comes with a DVD that contains the THX Optimizer software and THX trailers for a powerful demonstration of the systems' superior audio and video performance. I certainly agree that the interaction of various components is very critical and this sounds very promising. For more details and some quotes you can check out the full press release.

Cirrus Logic Licenses DVD Decoder Technologies for New-Generation A/V Products - Mark @ 13:45 EST

Cirrus Logic Inc. has announced it has signed a DVD decoder technology license agreement with LuxSonor Semiconductors Inc., a leading developer of single-chip A/V decoders for DVD and VCD movie players. The agreement broadens Cirrus Logic's portfolio to now incorporate DVD decoder integrated circuits alongside its audio products. Aiming high with field-proven DVD silicon and software, Cirrus Logic intends to accelerate the development of entertainment systems such as DVD equipped A/V mini-systems, digital set-top boxes, A/V digital media controllers and Internet-enabled DVD players (iDVD). Technologies included in the complete DVD license are MPEG-2 video decoding, video DSP processing, a 32-bit audio DSP, audio and video DSP software, DVD navigation software and DVD player reference designs. Currently LuxSonor is successfully gaining DVD player market share in China utilizing this technology package. For more details you can check out the full press release.

Oni Goes Gold - Mark @ 13:41 EST

Avault is reporting that Oni has gone gold. According to earlier reports the game is to support A3D 1.x but no idea if any 3D actually made it into the game. If you see anything on this please let us know.

Sacrifice: Problems With Aureal Sound Cards - Mark @ 13:20 EST

The official Sacrifice FAQ has the following note on Aureal Cards:

We've experienced occasional sound dropping issues with the Aureal Vortex 8830 audio card (driver 5.0.2184.1). To remedy this problem you will need to re-boot your PC.

Blair Witch Volume 3 Ships - Mark @ 13:11 EST

Ritual Entertainment yesterday announced that its third-person action-adventure game, Blair Witch Volume 3: The Elly Kedward Tale, has shipped to stores. Utilizing an enhanced version of Terminal Reality's Nocturne game engine, Blair Witch Volume 3: The Elly Kedward Tale is the third and final title in the Blair Witch serialized computer game collection. Published by Gathering of Developers and distributed by Take Two Interactive, Blair Witch Volume 3: The Elly Kedward Tale is available for a suggested retail price of $19.95. The first in the series got mostly good reviews, with sound often mentioned as a strong point, where as the second has had quite the opposite reaction. Hopefully this third in the bargain priced series will not disappoint.
News Source: GA-Source

Monday, November 20, 2000

Clive Barker's Undying: Developer Diary Volume 6 - Mark @ 13:53 EST

Game Spy has posted their latest Clive Barker's Undying: Developer Diary bringing it up to volume 6. In this issue you will hear from Jon Galvan, the associate producer of Clive Barker's Undying who is in charge of maintaining the script, sound, and score of the game. You will also here from Bill Brown who is actually doing the score. Here's a snip from this interesting update:

Jon Galvan: Bill, describe how you create the music, do you record live musicians, use synthesizers, both?

Bill Brown: I perform and record keyboard and guitar parts, percussion tracks and specialized musical instruments heard in my compositions right here in my studio. Many of the orchestral & choral sounds are recorded via samplers. I produce most of the final mixes using Pro Tools as my tracking and mixing environment. When possible, we take these tracks to a larger recording stage and combine them with a live orchestra. The wonderful thing about the Undying soundtrack is the full live chorus. That makes a big difference in the effectiveness and eerie quality of many of the cues. After composing and conducting the music for the live choir, I brought those tracks back to my studio and arranged and produced orchestral parts around them. The final recordings turned out quite well, I think you'll agree!

MidiLand S4-3050M Speakers Review - Mark @ 13:40 EST

TargetPC has posted a very positive review of MidiLand's S4-3050M 2.1 speaker system.

AOpen 1640 16X DVD ROM Review - Mark @ 08:05 EST

Tech Zone has posted a review of the AOpen 1640 16X DVD ROM. Overall a very positive review of this drive that comes bundled with PowerDVD 2.55.

Virtual Ear and YMF744/54 Based Cards - Mark @ 07:38 EST

As you may know, Sensaura is now selling their Virtual Ear technology for both SoundMax and Yamaha YMF based cards online. Well there is one obstacle facing some YMF744/54 owners such as ones using the Guillemot Fortissimo with Guillemot's latest drivers which are currently 2013 based. Reader Paul Gamlowski tried that combination and discovered that Virtual Ear requires Sensaura's latest driver build which can only be found in the 2018 based drivers which most card manufactuerers have not released. An exception is AOpen with their 744 line of cards and the drivers appear to be compatible with other 744 based cards. You can grab the 2018 drivers here and if you are looking for a good performing value priced card you might want to check out their 744 lineup. Getting back to Virtual Ear, Paul reports that he is very pleased with the results of the 2018/Virtual Ear combination. You can get his first hand impressions as well as particpate in the discussion (no registration necessary) via this forum post.

News from November 13-19, 2000

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