New Release: KCplus v0.60 - Mark @ 11:56 EST

Paul McKnight of Really Effective Software dropped us a line to let us know that version 0.60 of KCplus has been released. This update features an On Screen Display as noted in the screenshot and Hot Key support for Line In Mute. KCPlus allows you to:

• Increase and decrease sound volume using hot keys.
• Control Winamp's Next, Previous and Pause buttons via a series of hot keys.
• Easily adjust the master volume if you have no corresponding control on your front/rear amplifier.
• Easily adjust your volume settings if you have your amplifier in a difficult to reach position.
• Adjust Line In volume settings via a series of hot keys.
• On Screen Display.
• Context sensitive help.
• No run-time files needed.
• KCplus is currently free to use subject to conditions given in the license.

You can grab the 212 KB zip file or head over to the KCPlus page.

Benwin BW2000 Review - Mark @ 09:20 EST

Speedy 3D has posted a review of Benwin's BW2000 flat panel speakers. This review does not a bad job of summing up the weaknesses of the BW2000's (other than a flimys front panel IMO is a necessity, not a negative IMO) as a gaming speaker system (better than most reviews in that regard) but seems to fall into the same trap as many other reviews where they still feel compelled to give the system a high score despite its shortcomings! If the BW2000's get a 9/10, what does a system like the FPS2000 or DSS80 get? For more on the BW2000, which was never targetted at gamers by Benwin by the way, you can check out our own review.

For a Sunday rant (not targetted at any particular website BTW) I ask that eveyone who is privilidged to run a web site that people vist for advice on hardware remember that the readers and not the hardware companies are our clients. This means you have to do a number of things. Most important is accuracy and honesty. By accuracy I mean more than spelling. I mean get all of your facts 100 percent correct. By honesty I mean really say what you feel and not what the hardware company thinks you should feel. If that means a hardware company never wants to deal with you again because they don't like your honesty then so be it as your readers will love you for it! What do you our readers think? Let us know in our forum.
News Source: AGNHardware

MX300 Review - Mark @ 09:04 EST

3D Alpha has posted a short review of Diamond's MX300. People seem to have pretty short memories ;) as the last few '3d sound histories' that I have seen are forgetting that Diamond's origial Monster Sound and Ensoniq's Audio PCI were the first four speaker cards (well ahead of the MX300) and the Sound Blaster Live! was also shipping before the MX300. The MX300 and all other Vortex 2 based sound cards, in addition to A3D 2.0 also support 3D sound via A3D 1.x and DS3D. You can check out our own MX300 review done just after the card shipped.
News Source: AGNHardware

Saturday, August 07, 1999

Venom Test/Demo Patch - Mark @ 23:32 EST

A patch is now available for the recently released Venom demo/test. This enables the A3D support, has more delicate ambient and 3D-sound, addresses some bugs, optimizes some stuff, etc. I guess the 3D sound I experienced when trying the config test aplet (with out the patch) was via DS3D. I you have the demo/test you can grab the patch from 3Dfiles.

Descent Freespace Demo - Mark @ 12:11 EST

Freespace 2 is here! A single-player campaign with over 30 missions. New scenarios include flying with Vasudan squadrons, piloting advanced stealth fighters, and "painting" targets with TAG (Target Acquisition & Guidance) missiles. Command up to eleven squadmates in battle. Order them to defend, attack, disarm or disable your target. An in-depth combat system enables players to target and destroy subsystems, disabling engines, defensive turrets, missile batteries, and fighterbays.

From an aural perspective, Freespace 2 will support DS3D with EAX, A3D, and Voice Messaging. Not yet sure about the demo but if anyone knows, please let us know.

Key features of the demo include:

Grab the 60.4 MB demo from 3Dfiles
News Source: 3Dfiles

Remove or Reduce Vocals from Songs - Mark @ 11:05 EST

RePlay Technologies, Inc., the developer of CD Looper and DeComposer, yesterday announced the introduction and availability of KaraokeMaker, a Windows-based software program that removes or reduces the vocals from any recorded song. KaraokeMaker performs its magic by using an advanced stereo cancellation algorithm to remove vocals from mp3 files, wav files and songs on any audio CD. The theory behind the stereo cancellation process is that when vocals are recorded and placed in the middle of the stereo field, they can easily be removed, leaving behind what is unique in the left and right channels. This is usually the rest of the band. The results are that you can now have any of your favorite songs with the vocals removed. Instant Karaoke!

Vocals are not always recorded in the exact middle of the stereo field however. The amount of deviation from the center is the amount that the vocals will remain in the processed song. In practice, RePlay technologies has found that 25% of all music will yield excellent results, 50% will yield acceptable results and the remaining 25% will yield unacceptable results. These results are consistent with home stereos that have a built-in Karaoke feature and with dedicated Karaoke machines that are on the market today that use original recordings and not special, pre-recorded Karaoke music. For a full list of the features and requirements you can check out the press release.

Virtual Acoustics, Aeronautics and Communications - Mark @ 00:44 EST

If you are looking for some more technical reading, one of the papers reference on the article note in the previous post is available online from the NASA Aviation Operations Branchon-line publications. Its titled Virtual Acoustics, Aeronautics and Communications and its written by Durand R. Begault, Ph.D., San José State University, Flight Management and Human Factors Research Division, NASA Ames Research Center.

A second paper I came across by the same author is Virtual Acoustics: Evaluation of Psychoacoustic Parameters for Auralization.

3D Sound in Aviation - Mark @ 00:35 EST

I was doing some browsing and came across a very interesting article called 3D Sound in Aviation. Here is a snip from the introduction:

One of my recent interests concerns the world of aviation, and the improvements cognitive psychology can provide to the conception of aircraft, particularly to the cockpit design.

The world of Human Factors (or ergonomics) is broader, however, as applies to other domains than aviation. Human factors can be defined as "the technique concerned to optimise the relationships between people and their activities by the systematic application of the human sciences, integrated within the framework of system engineering" (Edwards, 1988).

My interests concern, so far, a tidy part of ergonomics: the use of spatial sound in civil and military cockpits. Auditory stimuli are numerous in an aircraft cockpit, going from radio communications to warning signals linked to flight instruments and automation systems of the flight desk.

Spatial sounds in cockpits present some advantages. First, when confronted to multiple auditory signals, it is easier to separate them and focus one’s attention on only one, relatively ignoring the others for a moment, when the sounds are perceived as coming from different spatial locations. Secondly, spatial sound can be used to match with the actual location of an object (e.g. another aircraft, or a radio beacon), providing richer information to search that object in the real world or on the visual instruments of the cockpit.

The use of spatial sound in situations where an object has to be localised accurately under time pressure offers therefore new interesting perspectives. I found two examples of aurally aided visual search in experimental studies, one in civil aviation, one in military aviation (fighters). Both these studies are briefly presented here after.

Revenant Demo and Screenshots - Mark @ 00:24 EST

Revenant is an upcoming dark fantasy RPG and adventure developed by Cinematix with Edios as the publisher that will immerse you in a new visually stunning and changing environment. Interact with over 40 characters as you choose from a wide variety of weapons, spells, armor and magical items and battle hand to hand in the 3D fighting tradition. Revenant combines the realism and excitement of an adventure with the exploration, character development, and gaming longevity of an RPG, making it the truly breakthrough product of the RPG genre! The final release is supposed to support A3D and DS3D with EAX via the Miles Sound System but I am not yet sure about the 40 MB demo which was just released today. Here is a bit more on the sound from a recent preview on Thresh's Firing Squad:

Firingsquad: Will the game include 3D sound? A3D? EAX?

(Keelan) Yes! Revenant does utilize 3D, positional audio. Even better is the support for hardware acceleration of spatialized audio on devices like the Sound Blaster Live! or Aureal boards. Also, since we are using the Miles Sound System, it was a snap to add A3D and EAX support. In the case of EAX, we were able to make it sound like you're in a cave when Locke is in a cave. It's quite impressive.

TRIBES 1.8 Patch - Mark @ 00:06 EST

New in version 1.8, Dynamix fixed a problem with single TMU 3dFX cards that was causing terrains and interiors to display incorrectly. You can grab it from 3Dfiles.
News Source: 3Dfiles

Friday, August 06, 1999

Creative announces Q4 Earnings - Mikael @ 14:52 EST

Creative today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 1999. Here's short snip from the press release

Sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999 were US$275.1 million as compared to US$253.0 million for the same quarter last year. Sales for fiscal 1999 were US$1.297 billion as compared to US$1.234 billion for 1998. Net income for the fourth quarter was US$14.7 million, compared to US$4.8 million for the same quarter last year.

DVD Anywhere 2nd Update - Mikael @ 14:50 EST

I got another update about this product, this time from Pete. Here's what he had to say

Not only can it not transmit AC-3 or DTS it also only outputs the video signal via the old composite interface. Now I use the composite myself because its all i got in the TV in my room. But after using the S-Video on the 40" Mitsubishi Tube I'll never go back. It got rid of most of the artifacting probs I had with the composite connector and also made the picture crisper.

Duke Nukem: Music To Score By - Mark @ 12:32 EST

This audio CD is supposed to be released on August 24th.

Track Listings
1. Duke Nukem Theme - Megadeth (previously unreleased)
2. Cinnamon Girl - Type O Negative (previously unreleased in U.S.)
3. What U See Is What U Get - Xzbit
4. Blisters - Coal Chamber (previously unreleased in U.S.)
5. Bitch - Sevendust
6. Song 10 - Zebrahead
7. Thing I Hate, The - Stabbing Westward
8. It's Yourz - Wu-Tang Clan
9. Screaming From The Sky - Slayer
10. New World Order - Megadeth (previously unreleased)
11. Stone Crazy - The Beatnuts
12. Land Of The Free Disease - Corrosion Of Conformity (previously unreleased)

A Couple of Reviews - Mark @ 12:28 EST

3D Alpha has posted a review of the Sound Blaster Live! Value and Games Mania has posted a review of the Creative Nomad portable MP3 player.

Aureal Update - Mark @ 07:54 EST

Mikael found the following post from Aureal's Skip McIIvaine in the newsgroups:

Well it's been about a year or so since I've logged onto the newsgroups. I just wanted to drop in to let you all know that Aureal has posted a list of mirror sites on the drivers page. The direct URL for this page is:

http://www.a3d.com/html/download/drivers/

We are looking for additional mirrors world-wide to host these files for the next week or so. If you are interested, and have a fast server outside the US, please contact: info@Aureal.com.

In other news: in the next week or so, Aureal will be putting up a web page form optimized to allow end-users to post bug reports and problems. This will help us classify and correct bugs much faster than filtering them through our customers (like Diamond, Turtle Beach, Dell, etc.). Don't expect a response to every problem report just yet.

About 1 month after this web page goes live, Aureal and a partner will be opening toll-free Technical Support and Customer Service hotlines. At that time, we will also begin providing many other forms of technical support (via email, web, ftp, fax, etc.). While you cannot expect us to be experts at the things that Diamond, Turtle Beach, or other customers, have added on top of Vortex that is specific to their products, we will be able to answer Vortex and A3D related questions.

In the meantime, please remember: we currently do not have an official representative in the newsgroups and this is not the best place to place a "bug report." Until this new form goes live, address any problems you may encounter with the 2035 drivers to info@Aureal.com

We hope that this new project (and some other very interesting things that we will announce over the next couple of months) will help avoid the delay in getting bug-fixes and new features to end-users in the future. Many exciting new features are being added to Vortex and A3D, and many new releases are forthcoming.

A partial explanation for the delays in the 2035 drivers is the amount of work we have put in on the upcoming Windows 2000 and NT 4.0 drivers, as well as the concurrent development of many new Windows 9x features.

Some major changes are afoot at Aureal and you'll begin to see them this September. Keep your eyes on the 3D sound web sites and in the gaming magazines: you'll see what I mean.

Skip McIIvaine from Aureal Inc

Preview/Demo review of System Shock 2 - Mark @ 07:38 EST

In these final days before System Shock 2's official release (yeah some stores are cheating and selling it
already), Thresh's Firing Squad has a demo review up on the game offering 30+ screenshots and a taste of what the game has to offer, based on the demo. The review, Jakub, comments on the atmosphere, compares it to Half-Life, and more! Here's a snip from the article:

Of course, fear is also exhilirating - especially when it comes to physical danger. It is what makes horror movies fun, and what made Half-Life a great game to play. Though there is no real physical threat, it is simulated well enough to be exciting.

Half-Life also looks like a campfire ghost story next to The Blair Witch Project, when compared to SS2.

Yes, you read that right. System Shock 2 - or at least the parts in the demo - are scarier than Half-Life.

Thursday, August 05, 1999

The Best Gaming Soundtracks - Mark @ 22:58 EST

Gamespot has posted an article based on the the results of a readers choice survey of the best gaming soundtracks of all time.
News Source: AGN3D

Live vs Vortex 2 - Mark @ 22:42 EST

For some reason these Live vs Vortex 2 articles seem to be cropping up again, this time on Ars Technica. It seems we can't read a sound card review these days without adding our two cents worth...this time I want to note that the review seems to be focussing on A3D 2.0 vs EAX 1 which I guess is fair given that there are no EAX 2 or 3 games out yet but at the same time EAX 2 and 3 is much more advanced than EAX 1 (and different than A3D 2.0) so keep that in mind. Another point is when comparing 3d positioning, the fact that a game uses DS3D has nothing to do with it. DS3D sends the same cues to the Live and the Vortex 2. Its each companies 3D alogrithms that result in the differnces in 3D positioning. Last, but not least, there is no way IMO that the SuperQuad should get a 2.7/5 (it should be higher). They have one odd points system for their review ;)

DVD Anywhere update - Mikael @ 12:06 EST

Siu-Fung Lee let me know that the DVD anywhere kit can only transmit the stereo signal so you can forget DD 5.1 or DTS.

SWAT 3 preview - Mikael @ 09:10 EST

Avault done a preview of Swat 3. Here's a short feature list of the game

18 diverse single player missions with unique domestic conditions and random enemy placement.

New SWAT engine delivers dynamic lighting, reflective surfaces, skeletal animation and photo textures.

Interface permits real-time control of your team from the first-person perspective.

Animation based on motion capture data from real LAPD SWAT officers.

Authentic SWAT weapons, armor, utilities and tactics are at your disposal.

Team behavior toggle allows players to use stealth or force at their discretion.

AI teammates that understand the surrounding environment and provide cover for each other.

Ability to detain your foes rather than killing them all adds a new dimension to the gameplay.

DVD Anywhere Kit - Mikael @ 09:06 EST

X10 today announced the DVD Anywhere kit including the following components

Video Transmitter - The video transmitter takes the audio and a video signal from the DVD drive in your computer and transmits them on a 2.4-gigahertz radio signal up to 100 feet, one-third the length of a football field.

Video Receiver - The video receiver decodes the 2.4-gigahertz radio signal into a TV format and outputs that signal to your TV.

MouseREMOTE - The MouseRemote is programmed by the user to wirelessly operate the DVD player software and also functions as a universal remote. The MouseRemote can also control household lights and appliances with X10's best selling ActiveHome kit.

Diamond, RIAA and AARC settle AHRA lawsuit - Mikael @ 09:00 EST

Diamond Multimedia Systems, the RIAA and AARC yesterday announced the settlement of all pending litigation related to Diamond’s Rio portable Internet music player. All three parties have dismissed their legal actions and announced the mutually satisfactory resolution of outstanding legal issues. For more details read the press release

Dungeon Keeper 2 GameGuide - Mikael @ 08:57 EST

Gamespot just finished their Gameguide for Dungeon Keeper 2. The game supports DS3D with EAX.
News Source: VoodooExtreme

Prince of Persia 3D preview - Mikael @ 08:49 EST

3DRage has done a preview of this upcoming sequel to the original Prince of Persia from 89. Nothing about sound in this preview but here's the snip about gameplay

Cohering to the aspect of gameplay which resulted in the former two titles becoming instant hits, the action of Prince of Persia 3D will be driven by the captivating storyline. Adventure will play a more important role than the combat oriented elements, although combat will play a major role of the game. A majority of your time will be spent solving puzzles, avoiding traps, swinging from ropes, and jumping from rooftop to balcony. I speculate that most of your enemies will be encountered on a 1 on 1 basis, just as in the originals, but I could be mistaken.

Homeworld Preview - Mikael @ 08:48 EST

Thresh's FiringSquad has kicked up a 7 page preview of this upcoming strategy game. So did their ears like it?

With so much to feast your eyes on, Homeworld seems to avoid sensory overload by going easy on the sound effects. Since most of your gameplay will have you pulled farther out from the action to manage large fleets, explosions and shots sound mainly muffled and distant. Zooming in closer will bring the action in closer and clearer to your ears. As it stands now in the beta test, the sound effects are ok or maybe a bit above average. There's definitely some room for improvement though, if the developers look for it. On the bright side, there is some cool radio chatter that makes up the bulk of "order acknowledged" sounds in the game. When you send your fighters into a battle they're sure to win they'll reply "I almost feel bad about this," and other nifty context related messages.

Monsoon MM-1000 Flat Panel Speaker Review - Mark @ 06:11 EST

Anandtech has posted a review of the Monsoon MM-1000 Flat Panel Speakers. The reviewer notes that Monsoon is known for the excellent systems they have produced for a number of cars, such as the Chevrolet Camaro and the AM General Hummer. However, as soon as they started looking into their multimedia speakers, it quickly became apparent that these were not actually made by Monsoon, but rather a company called Sonigistix. They worked out a deal to manufacture the speakers while selling under, and taking advantage of, the Monsoon name.

Wednesday, August 04, 1999

Warzone 2100 1.06b Patch - Mark @ 22:22 EST

This update also installs all previous updates, new weapons, new cyborgs, new maps and NEXUS techs for you to play with. Apparently this is a fix to the 1.06 patch released on 7/30/99. According to 3Dfiles where you can grab the patch, the list of fixes is incredibly huge.

Vortex 2 Drivers Mirrored - Mark @ 21:16 EST

If you are having trouble downloading the new Vortex 2 drivers from Aureal's server we have a copy of both the A3D 2.22 drivers and the stripped down 3.3 MB 2.035 Vortex 2 drivers. You can also try A3DCentral where they have the all of the driver files mirrored and 3D Audio Immersion has the 3.3 and 7.7 MB files as does Vortex of Sound.

FGN Survey - Mark @ 19:27 EST

We would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to participate in the 1999 Future Games Network Survey.

Your answers will help keep our site and our network fresh, focused, and designed to meet your needs. Your answers will be kept in strict confidence and will only be used in combination with those of others to provide a profile of fgn.com users.

To reward you for your time we are offering you a chance to win one of two fabulous prizes in a random drawing. To enter the drawing, simply complete the survey and include your e-mail address at the bottom.

1st Prize: a Kodak digital camera.
2nd Prize: a Diamond Multimedia Rio MP3 player.

Live!Value review - Mikael @ 17:47 EST

SystemLogic has done a 4 page review on the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! Value.

SRS Enhanced MP3 - Mark @ 17:28 EST

SRS Labs has announced that its newest technology, WOW(TM), is ready for implementation in a variety of solutions, including C-Code and DSP specification for semiconductor suppliers, software processing routines for computer media players and chip modules for home and car audio appliances. Each of these solutions will facilitate greater enjoyment of Internet audio played back on products designed for MP3, WMA(TM), EPAC(TM), A2B(TM) or other standards of music compressed for online distribution. WOW is SRS Labs' latest audio enhancement for speakers and headphones, uniquely suited to overcoming many of the drawbacks inherent in highly compressed audio formats.

WOW is a signal processing technique that allows audio systems to deliver a performance with significantly improved image size, bass performance and dynamics, surrounding the listener with a holographic representation of the audio performance. The effect is especially beneficial when used on music enjoyed with headphones, the method of choice for portable devices such as Diamond Multimedia's(TM) Rio(TM), the Nomad(TM) from Creative Labs(TM) and Eiger's(TM) MPMan(TM). According to a research report published by Forward Concepts(TM) in July 1999, portable MP3 players will ship over 1 million units in 1999, and this number will grow to 15 million units shipped annually by 2003.

A3D 2 and benchmarks - Mikael @ 16:35 EST

If you read PC Paradox' Vortex2 vs Live article yesterday you may have noticed that he claimed

As you can see, the difference in fps is around %5-%10 and as the resolution goes up, so does the fps loss because the processor now has to work with more 3D objects on the screen.

Aztech AMS 5.1 Multi- Channel Speaker System - Mikael @ 16:21 EST

The press release is from March but I don't think we mentioned it and the speakers won't ship until early September. Here's a snip from the press release

The Aztech AMS 5.1 Multi-Channel Speaker System features advanced audio technologies with a robust 23-watt subwoofer and five seven-watt magnetically shielded satellite speakers to produce an astounding 700-watt output (PMPO) and 58-watt RMS (rated power output). It brings the finest home-theater quality sound to the desktop, bringing games, music and movies to life.
[snip]
The Aztech AMS 5.1 Multi-Channel Speaker System is a complete set of speaker system consisting of a subwoofer, five satellite speakers, a digital control unit and a remote controller. The subwoofer is housed in a solid 5.25-inch wooden cabinet for deep, rich dynamic bass. It produces strong drum and bass effects that do not drown out the high frequencies. The subwoofer can be placed below the table or anywhere on the table/floor to avoid cluttering the desktop. The five satellite speakers are magnetically shielded to eliminate interference with other peripherals and unwanted screen distortion in computer monitors and televisions, ensuring optimized sound and image quality. They can be placed on or near the television set. Ergonomically designed, the cubic satellites and the subwoofer are great space-savers. They are stylishly designed to complement all desktops. For enhanced performance, the satellites come with seven-watt, 5-channel low noise amplifiers.
[snip]
With four-channel audio input, the Aztech AMS 5.1 Multi-Channel Speaker System takes the input streams and digitally tabulates the time/intensity differences to simulate the center channel (the fifth satellite output). Sound localization is greatly enhanced with the resulting 5.1 channel audio output, creating a sense of total immersion and realistic home-theater experience.
[snip]

CDRW Roundup - Mikael @ 16:21 EST

Glideunder ground has started a CDRW roundup. So far only a review Acer Peripherals CRW 4432A 4x4x32 Drive which received 5 stars. They plan to review another 4 drives in the near future.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Aureal announce Q2 1999 Results - Mikael @ 16:19 EST

Here's a few snips from the press release

Revenue for the quarter was $8.1 million, 135% higher than the $3.4 million for the second quarter of 1998. Revenue for the six months increased 194% to $20.6 million compared to $7.0 million for the comparative period of 1998. Gross margin for the quarter increased to 38% versus 34% in the first quarter of this year and 30% for all of 1998.
The company recorded a net loss for the quarter of $7.9 million or $1.14 per share compared to a net loss of $5.4 million of $6.25 per share for 1998.
[snip]
``More than 7 million A3D-enabled products have shipped worldwide,'' said Kip Kokinakis, Aureal's President and CEO, ``
[snip]
``Throughout the first half of this year Aureal has taken on a number of initiatives to expand its sales channels in the US and internationally,'' said Brendan O'Flaherty, Aureal's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Systems. ``These moves have decreased our dependence on any one sales channel and broadened our customer base such that we are less dependent on any single customer.''

A3D 2 and NT4 - Mikael @ 16:17 EST

I saw the following Q&A on the Ask Aureal section of A3D.com

Question: Anders asks: Is it true that the A3D API version 2.2 is fully operational on NT4.0 using a TurtleBeach MontegoII Quadzilla card?
Or is it still just supported on Windows95/98?
Answer: From Aureal Staff: Yes, A3D 2.20 (and above) will function under NT 4.0. Due to some restrictions inherent in the Windows NT 4.0 Operating System (lack of direct access to hardware resources) there will not be hardware acceleration of 3D streams and there will be no reflections. All other features of A3D 2.0 will work

QSound Aquires Virtual Spin - Mark @ 01:46 EST

QSound Labs, has announced that it has finalized its acquisition of privately held Virtual Spin, Inc. a pioneer in E-commerce site development services for small and medium sized businesses. Under the terms of the acquisition, QSound Labs will issue approximately 1.5 million shares of restricted common stock for all of the assets and liabilities of Virtual Spin, Inc. In addition, all outstanding options of Virtual Spin, Inc. will be converted into QSound options.

Virtual Spin's software is engineered to operate on the Microsoft® WindowsNT® operating system. Virtual Spin was an early pioneer in browser-based E-commerce software and its flagship product, Internet Store, allows non-technical users to instantly create, publish and manage high quality, secure on-line stores. Today, more than 1,000 clients use Internet Store to create and host their on-line stores.

Vortex 2.035 Drivers!! - Mark @ 00:42 EST

Here are some of the changes:

• Added support for WinDVD Software DVD Player
• Added S/PDIF autodetect feature
• Fixed an issue that caused a number of DirectSound3D and A3D games to crash
• Fixed some distortion on output
• Fixed some issues relating to Wavetracing Reflections
• Fixed some issues relating to Flatland Rover
• Fixed a Graphic EQ issue
• Fixed an issue with the A3D control panel
• Fixed a memory leak in the direct sound driver
• Normalized the volume between front and rear speakers

Tuesday, August 03, 1999

Over 50 EAX Titles Shipping - Mark @ 22:05 EST

Creative Labs today announced that over 50 leading game titles are now shipping with support for Environmental Audio (EAX) technology.

Mobile Home Theater! - Mark @ 20:48 EST

Alpine Electronics of America a leading manufacturer of high performance mobile electronics today announced the shipping of its mobile theater entertainment system for the automotive environment. Alpine's mobile entertainment system incorporates Dolby Digital(TM) (AC-3) multi-channel audio, surround sound processing to recreate the home theater experience in the vehicle.

This DVD, 5.1-channel car audio system is specifically designed to play conventional audio compact discs, CD video discs and DVDs. The audio system supports Dolby Digital 5.1 channel playback, Dolby Pro-Logic and enhanced stereo modes. In addition to Alpine's navigation and Mobile Mayday systems, the mobile entertainment system includes a complete multi-channel audio/video system, DVD player, DDDrive component speakers, subwoofer and wide screen, color LCD monitors.

``We're spending as much time in our cars as we are our homes, so it's only natural that we extend the comforts of home to the car,'' said Stephen Witt, Alpine's vice president of Brand Marketing. ``With the Alpine mobile theater system, we're taking home theater quality audio and video inside the vehicle. On-the-road entertainment will be taken to a whole new level.''
News Source: AGNHardware

MP3's highway to investor hell? - Mark @ 20:18 EST

Thats the title of an interesting article on ZDNet with the lead-in stating that "internet music companies that delighted Wall Street with recent stock debuts are playing a more somber tune as investors take another look at their plans to reshape the music industry".

Sound and Game Development - Mark @ 20:14 EST

You coders and designers might want to check out our updated links section which has some pointers to some excellent resources on sound and game design.

Live vs Vortex 2 - Mark @ 18:03 EST

PC Paradox has posted an article that takes a look at the Aureal Vortex2 and Creative Sounblaster Live! (EMU 10K1) chipsets. Included are some benchmarks from the newly released A3D 2.20 and Liveware 2.1 drivers. Along with the benchmarks are spec comparisons along with the author's view of what each card and API has to offer. Here is a quote from the article:

In a world of 3D cards and blistering graphics, sound seems to take a back seat to it all. For years now, sound and music have been merely "nice" additions to a game. Most often, sound is low quality, CD music was either techno or sparse, and unimaginative at best. But now because of games like Half-Life, Theif-The Dark Project, Sim City 3000, and many others, sound is making a huge splash. Not only has the quality of the sound we hear gone up, but now some games are being made with sound in mind and having sound be an integral part of gameplay. Also, the sound we can hear now may come from not 2, but 4 speakers and a subwoofer. What this effectively does is simulate "real life" sound and projects it all around us. Some people may doubt the usefulness of this, but I can attest to the fact that 3D surround sound adds an amazing new level to gaming.

USB CD-Rewritable Drive - Mikael @ 06:58 EST

QCP announced this CD-RW drive for the USB port yesterday. Here's a snip from the press release

Similar to the successful Que! Drive for the iMAC, the new drive is designed for PC-USB computers. The gray 4x2x8x external drive allows users to easily record, erase and rewrite CDs, and is affordably priced at $299 MSRP. A kit option allows the drive's gray panels to be converted to match different PC colors including dark gray, blue and black.

Wave Surround review - Mikael @ 06:12 EST

3dimensional has done a review of Wave Surround for Winamp. They don't mention a headphone setting so I guess it's version 1.0 they have reviewed. For more details about Wave Surround 2.0 check out the press release from last week.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Prince of Persia movie - Mikael @ 06:10 EST

This upcoming game is said to support A3D and DS3D with EAX. No demo released yet but you can now download a 23 MB movie from 3Dfiles, where they also have the following blurb about the game

Prince of Persia 3D is a 3rd person, real-time adventure/action game which is a sequel to the best-selling, award-winning Prince of Persia games originally created by Jordan Mechner. Prince of Persia 3D includes all the features which made Prince of Persia so popular, including fluid, realistic animation, devious traps, and an elegantly simple interface for running, jumping, climbing, and sword fighting. The story line, co-authored by Mechner, is in the rich tradition of the Arabian Nights and pulls the player through the exotic and fantastic locales of ancient 12th century Persia. Environments will include ornate palaces, labyrinthine caverns, mystical ruins, and bizarre fortresses, all of which will be vividly portrayed in the rich aesthetic characteristic of middle eastern culture. The new version of Prince of Persia uses advanced 3D technology to combine the fast-action combat of a fighting game with the depth and immersion of a classic adventure/action game.
Features of Prince Of Persia 3D include... More personality than any other previous computer graphic protagonist. 15 exotic, expansive Persian environments to explore featuring highly original and challenging level designs. Compelling storyline that pulls you through the action and written in consultation with Jordan Mechner, original creator of Prince of Persia. Tons of devious traps to avoid and puzzles to solve. Sword fighting combat based on a simple, elegant interface, but which puts a premium on real sword fighting techniques (precision and timing important). Different sword fighting styles depending on your weapon of choice.

More than 30 distinct opponents (both human and fantasy creatures) with Al that adjusts to match your combat style. Magic Spell and Potions allow you to harness mystic powers for survival. Bow and Arrow used for long-distance combat. Magic Carpet allows you to travel to places that you can't get to by foot alone.

Live review - Mikael @ 06:09 EST

Exxtreme3D has done a review of the Live. In this review they mention that the Live is the only card that supports EAX but that isn't true all new cards that use QSound's Q3D or Sensaura's 3D audio technology supports EAX.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Cirrus Logic/Crystal Audio interview - Mikael @ 04:54 EST

These days lots of attention gets paid to Creative Labs and Aureal and people tend to forget about the "little" guys. Well you may be surprised to find out that one of the "little" guys is ranked right at the top of the pack in PC audio sales. Cirrus Logic / Crystal Audio is who we are referring. In order to get some background we contacted David Crowell who is the Product Marketing Manager for Computer Audio products at Cirrus Logic / Crystal Audio. And asked him if he could offer us some insight into this silent giant.

For all the details please check out the full interview

Headphone review - Mikael @ 04:48 EST

Absolute PC has kicked up a review of Sony MDR-NC5 Noise Canceling Headphones Here's how they get this one going

Estimated Price: $99.95

So you’ve just spent 350 bucks on that great Mini-Disc player you’ve always wanted (Why, I’ll never know). Or maybe it’s the brand new Rio (*drool*). Or maybe you’re just buying a new portable CD player. Either way, are you really thinking about what headphones you have for it? Some of you probably are, I know I wasn’t for a long time. And then I found this new product from Sony Electronics. What are they? Noise Canceling Headphones.

Yes, I can hear you saying it now. "Yeah right, like that really works." Well folks, let me tell you, I thought the very same thing you did, and I was surprised.

EAR and Yamaha - Mikael @ 04:47 EST

Ear posted the following blurb on what they are working on

We have been green-lighted to complete the Yamaha solution; we will be beta-testing as early as next week, so stay tuned.NOTE: This card is not yet commercially available; it is the Yamaha XG Quad, which is not the same as the Yamaha XG or the OPL3x family. Therefore, we cannot use outside beta testers.

MP3 player review - Mikael @ 04:40 EST

iXBT has done a great review of MPIO - Second Generation MP3 Player from Daewoo. Here's how they start this one

After we have tried a couple of portable MP3 players - Rio PMP300 from Diamond and MPMan F20 from Saehan, we decided to refrain from this topic unless something absolutely new appears in the market. Really, what's the use of telling you about the products with almost identical features and similar drawbacks. However, the relaxation period didn't last long. A week after the MPMan F20 review came into the world we got another portable MP3 Player by Daewoo. Having taken a quick look at the device we got very delighted with its features and functions available. A bit later we arrived at the conclusion that MPIO probably represents the second generation of portable MP3 players and can be regarded as the first spark of a large fire. Why so, you will ask? Well, follow us and you'll get the answer!

Aureal sponsors Quake 3 Tour - Mikael @ 04:39 EST

Thanks to Fred Mah for catching that Aureal will sponsor the Quake 3 Tour and provide both cutting-edge soundcards and speaker systems. This doesn't have to mean Quake3 will support A3D 2 but Carmack said it was likely he would support 3D sound if it was available for NT4 which now is the case for A3D 2. When it comes to the speakers I don't know if it's Aureal's upcoming speakers Aureal will provide but the last Q&A on A3D.com mentioned they were in the final stages of the design process and the Tour starts this week so I doubt they will be included when the tour starts but maybe before it ends, end of October. Aureal also mentioned they will have both analog and digital conenctions. For more about the Quake 3 Tour check out the press release.

New A3D 2.0 SDK - Mikael @ 04:37 EST

Aureal has released A3D 2.0 SDK (Release 2). They don't mention any new feature so I guess it's just bug fixes and probably includes the latest (2.22) A3D files. For those that don't know SDK stands for software development kit and is what developers use to develop games.

Monday, August 02, 1999

Theater 2000 - Mark @ 17:36 EST

Thanks to Kam Haren for the following information:

Theater 2000 is a compact,user friendly "plug & play" component that easily attaches to any existing 2-speaker stereo or 5-speaker home theater system, turning it into a virtual Theater SurroundSound environment. Theater 2000 by Spectrum Research delivers an enhanced version of two award winning,patented technologies by SRS Labs, TruSurround (for TV, VCR or DVD movies) and 3-D Sound (for CD & music video listening). Turns a 2-speaker system into the audio of a 5-speaker system, and a 5-speaker system into a completely immersive, digital Surround Sound experience, bringing out rear speaker audio like you've never heard before. Sensational sound at a sensational retail price of $169.95 ! Check out our web site at www.TheaterSound.com

MP3 Benchmarks - Mark @ 10:47 EST

Softwarecenter.net has posted their new mp3 bench tests using QuakeIII. The performance tests show which is the fastest mp3 player and who is doing what lately.
News Source: VoodooExtreme

Cirrus Logic Acquires AudioLogic - Mark @ 03:51 EST

Cirrus Logic Inc. has announced an acquisition that enriches its portfolio of advanced audio technologies and bolsters its position to be a leading supplier in the rapidly emerging Internet music market. AudioLogic's intellectual property encompasses the highest performance, all- digital pulse width modulation (PWM) technology for next-generation audio systems, and the world's lowest power digital signal processor (DSP). Developed to meet the extraordinary requirements of hearing aids, and suitable for virtually all audio applications, the AudioLogic technologies deliver 2 to 3 times better power efficiency than alternative power amplifier and DSP methods. Cirrus Logic expects to leverage these new technologies to lead the industry in developing highly integrated, low-power chip solutions for portable devices, such as the MP3-class audio players.

Another application of the AudioLogic technologies is the ubiquitous high- performance audio amplifier - which represents a market opportunity measured in hundreds of millions of dollars in consumer products alone. Beyond significantly expanding the total available market for Cirrus Logic's Crystal® audio brand - the market leader in the $1.6 billion audio IC market according to research firm Forward Concepts-the acquisition adds cutting edge PWM and ultra-low power DSP technologies to existing competencies. Spanning a range of emerging applications such as Internet audio players and DVD systems, the Crystal product line includes high- performance analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters (ADCs and DACs), codecs, application-specific DSPs, and embedded software.

For more details you can check out the press release.

News from July 26 - August 1

Search 3DsoundSurge News

Looking for a particular story or issue?   Why not search our news archives.