News:  January 3-9, 2000

Sunday, January 09, 2000

FiringSquad CES 2000 Part 1: Creative Labs - Mark @ 18:51 EST

FiringSquad has just posted the first part of their Consumer Electronics Show (CES) coverage. In this first part, they focus mainly on Creative Labs' new MP3 players, the NOMAD II, NOMAD II MG, and NOMAD Jukebox. Here is a taste:

The NOMAD Jukebox has 6GB of storage built-in thanks to a 2.5 inch notebook hard drive. The Jukebox is shaped like a portable CD player; when you first see it, you're tempted to look for a non-existent CD eject button. The unit weighs in at just under a pound, 14 ounces with four AA batteries. The batteries only support 3-6 hours of continuous playback depending on battery type, but the Jukebox does come with an AC adapter. Like the NOMAD II and NOMAD II MG, the Jukebox uses a USB interface for PC connectivity.

Sonix S-2000 Speaker System Review - Mark @ 18:09 EST

3Dhardware.net has posted a review of the Sonix S-2000 Speaker System. As usual just a couple of comments. Overall I think its a pretty good review however I think the reviewer spends too much time talking about the size of the subwoofer writing as if a small sub cannot kick out a lot of bass. That might be the case here (well I have heard them and it is the case here) but its not a rule to live by. I also think too much is made about not expecting much from a 20 watt subwoofer. If you take a look many more expensive speaker systems you will see similar wattage rating. The DTT2500 for example uses a 20 watt subwoofer that kicks out tons more bass. Good sound and power is not just in the watts as the overall speaker and amplifier design have a lot more to say.
News Source: Anandtech

No Star Wars: Episode I on DVD - Mikael @ 02:16 EST

According to a report on Yahaoo Lucas Film said Star Wars Episode I (the movie not any game) "is not being released on the DVD format in 2000 or for the foreseeable future". According to this article the rumour says that it won't be out on DVD until 2005 when the Episode II and III movie is done. There is also some quotes from Lucas Films that support this theory since they say Lucas won't have the time needed to work on the DVDs until the movies are done. You can check out the article for the details.

Live!Drive II available in Europe - Mikael @ 02:11 EST

If you live in Europe you can now order Live!Drive II directly from Creative's site. There is some good and bad news on the site though. The good news is that the Live!Drive II comes bundled with Steinberg Cubasis VST (oem version), Wavelab Lite, Recycle Lite
Mixman Studio and the Live!Ware 3 CD. The bad news is it will cost you $181/o109 and according to the site it's only compatible with the CT4760 ( SoundBlaster Live! Player 1024 ) and CT483x range of cards. Important to note that this includes tax and free shipping. I'm not sure how high the tax is but if it's UK sales tax I think it's 17.5% (correct me if I'm wrong)

More disappointing news IMO is the lack of support for the original full Live. This is contrary to earlier info from Creative Labs and I can also say the Live!Drive II worked just fine with my original full Live except the Line-In 2 didn't work. Maybe it will work just fine it's just that they won't support it. Creative US may also come to another decision.

Nvidia will enter the audio chips market - Mikael @ 00:12 EST

Electronic Buyers' News reports that Nvidia will release their own audio chip late this year or early next year but it's not yet determined if it will be a discrete audio chip or an integrated graphics/audio chip. They say this would help Nvidia to expand beyond the PC market. They also mention that a audio chip requires only 1/3 of the gates of a low end 2D/3D graphic chip. Check out the article for more details.
News Source: AGN Hardware

New NFS High Stakes Car - Mikael @ 00:04 EST

Electronic Arts has released a new Need For Speed High Stakes car, BMW M Roadster. You can grab it from the official Need for Speed site
News Source: AGN

Saturday, January 08, 2000

Yamaha 8424S CD-RW Review - Mikael @ 23:41 EST

Atomic Geek has posted a review of the Yamaha's SCSI CDRW drive 8424S. It writes at 8x, rewrites at 4x and reads at 24x. No benchmark in this review but he confirms with some difficulties that it can write at 8X speed.
News Source: Anandtech

Some DirectX8 stuff - Mikael @ 23:24 EST

Microsoft DirectX Developer day will happen on March 8. You can find more about that on MS site.

Over at Vortext of Sound they got an e-mail from someone at MS DirectX team saying what MS did and did not license from Creative for DirectX8. Nothing really new but there been some confusion if they licensed the EAX api or not, which they didn't. You can read the post in yesterday's news on the Vortex of Sound news page. You can also check out the press release from early last year.

Finally Microsoft is now accepting applications for the DirectX8 beta test.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

X:Beyond the Frontier has gone gold - Mikael @ 23:13 EST

Well several site has been report this. It has been gold for awhile including English version it's just that it should be published in US, maybe with some slight changes. The publisher told us it would ship January 12 so should be on the shelves soon after. The game supports basic 3D sound using DS3D and A3D 1.X but since it's taken place in space EgoSoft didn't think EAX or wavetracing made much sense. Good thing they still thought sound was worth it though. You can grab the demo from 3dfiles

MP3 roundup - Mikael @ 23:03 EST

ZDNet has posted a roundup of 7 MP3 players including the new Rio 500 which got the editor's choice award. Here's a snip from their analysis

We found that sound quality didn't vary noticeably among these devices. Instead, the players vary in storage capacity, supported storage media, and the type of connection used for transferring music files from your PC to each MP3 player. Ease of use, additional features like voice recorders and radios, LCD quality, and the general design of the players are also important.

Pine D'music Portable MP3 Player. - Mikael @ 22:56 EST

GameWire has posted a review of the Pine D'music Portable MP3 Player.

The Pine D'Music Portable MP3 player is relatively unknown. This is their first attempt in the market with a 64 MB (32 int 32 ext) player. It has a built in microphone for recording voice and conversations or sound, perfect to record a lecture. Being as 99 percent of MP3s are ripped form CDs it's supports for MP3s with double CD quality is practically useless because the higher quality would make no difference in sound but make the file much larger. Lastly the MP3 player can also be used as a means to transport files meaning you can put any file from your computer into the memory for storage.

Cinema 6.1 Surround StarT - Mark @ 18:37 EST

You may recall the Yamaha XG-Movie 5.1 that we previewed very briefly prior to Yamaha's apparent exit from the sound card market. Well Star Multimedia did the design work for that card and they were also going to come out with a similar card of their own. However, they had to change their plans with Yamaha's exit and they updated their site in December (thanks Alan!) with two new cards with some significantly revised specifications. Based on what they have there I would hazzard a guess that the core of both cards will be Cirrus Logic's new CS4630 chip which I think you will see show up in a few other high profile places. I am not sure what else might be on board the Cinema 6.1 Surround StarT in order to get it Dolby EX support. In case you don't know Dolby Digital Surround EX technology is a system that carries 6.1 channels of audio instead of the 5.1 channels delivered by standard Dolby Digital or DTS soundtracks. The extra channel is a matrix-encoded rear center channel. You can read all about Dolby Digital-Surround EX in a piece that is about the Dolby SA10 Surround Adapter, a device targeted at theaters and not home users. I saw the Phantom Menace in an EX ready theater and must say that it makes a noticable difference so it will be interesting to hear just what the Cinema 6.1 Surround StarT will bring to the market.

Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400 Update - Mark @ 18:11 EST

If you read our forum you may be aware that some people have had concerns with a hiss with the excellent Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400 speakers. We also noted this hiss but did not find it an issue. Klipsch however did the right thing and developed a low gain preamplifier to correct the problem and was offering it at no charge to people with hiss concerns. Their initial position had been that the new preamp would not become the standard preamp as most people had no hiss issues. However, that position has changed as you can see from the following post from their forum:

The ProMedia v.2-400 will now come with the loan-gain preamp. This has been implemented in and all orders from this point forward will contain the low-gain preamp. This should end even the small possibility that your system might have the "hiss" problem. This is a running change, but will not have a different version label.

Matt
ProMedia Tech Support
1-888-554-5665
promediatech@klipsch.com

DVD Player Buyer's Guide - Mark @ 17:58 EST

If you are looking to get a DVD Player for your home theater system Sharky Extreme has posted a nice buyers guide to take you through all the key points to look for and even recommend a player in each of three price ranges. Just a couple of comments. In cases where the players have a built in DD or DTS decoder they will also have 6 analog outputs to connect to a compatible receiver/amplifier. Second, its worth noting that DTS is an optional DVD format and so all DTS movies will have another audio format on them so you can get sound even if you don't have a DTS decoder (usually Dolby Digital Surround (i.e. Dolby Surround) and in all cases you can buy the same movie in Dolby Digital 5.1 (or 5.0) format.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

Koss R-65B Communications Headset Review - Mark @ 17:42 EST

This one is a for you fans of voice communications in games. Gamespot has posted a review of the Koss R-65B Communications Headset. Here is a snip from this positive review:

The R-65B's have a frequency response of 18-20,000Hz, and the audio quality in both musical and game material is superb. The padded cushions make these sealed headphones quite comfortable, and the headband is also padded. These headphones come with an 8-foot cable that's split at the end, and a small, battery-powered microphone preamp if your sound card needs the additional boost (probably not).

UT Rejected Soundbites - Mark @ 17:38 EST

Grabed this snip from over at Unreal Universe:

While Unreal Tournament has some very colorful taunts...Epic didn't think that Xan Krigor (the Grandmaster of the Tournament) would be one to use "colorful phrases." Fear not however, as we just came across some pretty ones that didn't make the final cut...And yes, these are real! (all are between 60-80KB)

DigiTheatre in North America - Mikael @ 11:06 EST

Thanks to Skip (not Aureal Skip) for passing on the following info about when the DigiTheatre will be availbe in North America

The DigiTheatre will go on sale here in North America January 14. You will be able to order it on-line from the VideoLogic website. Your cost is $399.00, with transportation free (ground UPS), otherwise you will pay the air freight charges. These units will ship from our San Diego warehouse directly to your location. No P.O. Boxes please.
Orders will be accepted with either MasterCard or VISA.

Regards,
Ray Wells
Director of Sales, North America

Boston Acoustics Introduces Its First USB Speakers - Mikael @ 10:38 EST

Boston Acoustics yesterday introduced the BA735 USB subwoofer/satellite system, a digital multimedia sound system designed for computers that have a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection. The BA735 USB digital audio system is available immediately as an upgrade option on Gateway's new Astro and Profile computer systems.

Boston Acoustics claims The BA735 USB delivers three important benefits to the end user that sound card/speaker combinations can not - fast digital streaming through the USB connection, easy hookup to the computer and four-channel gaming with only two front satellite speakers. The four-channel claim which they call Virtual 4-Channel Gaming is based on the fact that they use QSound software to create the virtual speakers. I'm sure Aureal and Sensaura agree that this can only be accomplished using QSound or a 4-channel sound card :-) Maybe they base it on QMSS that's a sort of 4-speaker stereo expansion but otherwise it's really miasleading claim.
You can find the speaker specs in the press release.

MP3 Player for Nintendo Gameboy - Mikael @ 10:34 EST

Destiny Media Technologies announced yesterday a working agreement with SongBoy to license Destiny's rich media, secure MP3 format (MPE).
Songboy(TM) will be previewing a prototype cartridge plug-in for the Nintendo Gameboy(TM) at the Las Vegas, Consumer Electronics Show on January 6, 2000.

SongBoy(TM) is a digital multimedia player utilizing the Nintendo Gameboy(TM) unit currently owned by more than 80 million people worldwide. GameBoy(TM) owners can simply plugin SongBoy's module to access music from the Internet. SongBoy(TM) has a simple menu with its CD like controls (play, stop, forward, etc.) and all the necessary software to convert a personal music library to digital audio files, which can be downloaded to the player.

High-Performance Headset for Interactive Gaming - Mikael @ 10:17 EST

Minneapolis-based Telex Communications has announced that its Computer Audio Products group released the Telex H-51 Stereo Computer Headset. The new headset is the latest in Telex's extensive line of headsets and microphones for computer voice applications.

The Telex H-51 Stereo Computer Headset is a high-performance stereo headset for users of PC voice applications like interactive gaming, command and control, speech recognition and dictation, Internet telephony, video conferencing, and chat. The headset features noise canceling microphone technology to eliminate background noise and deliver clear, consistent voice input for PC applications. The Telex H-51 also features high-performance stereo speakers for crisp audio output. In addition, the Telex H-51 offers volume control and a mute button on the chord so users can quickly and easily adjust the sound.

You can find even more details in the press release for the remaining details.

RealJukebox Update 1 With Integrated Audio CD Creation - Mikael @ 10:16 EST

RealNetworksr, Inc and Adaptec yesterday announced an agreement to integrate CD recording capabilities into RealJukebox This integration will enable consumers to quickly and easily record their personal digital music and custom playlists in RealJukebox onto a standard audio CD that can be used for music playback on any standard audio CD player.

In a separate press release RealJukebox announced that the Update 1 is now available that among other things is including this CD cteation capabilities from Adaptec and also features built-in support for Iomega storage devices.

IEEE 1394 Support For Windows-Based PCs - Mikael @ 10:15 EST

I mentioned yesterday that I doubted FireWire (IEEE 1394) ever would catch on for PCs I guess I should mention that Sony and Microsoft Sony Corp. still thinks it will announcing that that they have collaborated to ensure a simple and reliable connection between IEEE 1394 devices, such as digital camcorders and recordable CD drives and PCs running Microsoftr Windowsr operating systems. Specifically, Sony and Microsoft cooperated on the implementation of the digital video (DV) software included with Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows 98 Second Edition. In addition, the two companies worked together in the testing of IEEE 1394 storage devices with those operating systems. You can check out the press release for the remaining details.

Zenith Shows First Digital Audio Products - Mikael @ 10:15 EST

Zenith Electronics Corporation is demonstrating an MP3 audio player and a dual-deck compact disc recording system at the 2000 International Consumer Electronics Show. Seems to be a me to MP3 player but you can check out the details in the press release.

New Sharp 1-Bit Amplifier and Super Audio CD Player - Mikael @ 02:22 EST

Sharp Electronics Corporation has introduced the SM-SX1, 50 Watt per channel 1-Bit Amp, and companion DX-SX1 Super Audio CD Player. The combination offers the industry's first ever ``Direct Bitstream Coupling'' capability, creating the ultimate in high fidelity sound. Doubt you will be able to afford it but still interesting to check out the specs which you can find in the press release.

Wall-Mountable Audio System has Unique 3-CD Changer - Mikael @ 02:19 EST

System Looks and Sounds Expensive, But Isn't Designed to be as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the ears, Fisher's stunningly versatile new SLIM-2000 is the industry's first slim-profile, wall-mountable audio system to offer the ultimate convenience of a built-in 3-disc CD changer. Check out the rest in the press release.

Encore 6X review - Mikael @ 02:16 EST

Computingpros has taken a good look at the Encore6X and found it to be a nice kit. The site is very slow when I post this so may have to do some refresh to read this review. For a second opinion and more focus on the audio aspect you could check out our review.
News Source: Anandtech

First On-Board AAC and MP3 Encoding - Mikael @ 02:15 EST

Texas Instruments Incorporated and Fraunhofer IIS has announced plans to develop the first MP3 and AAC encoders for portable audio players based on Fraunhofer's renowned encoder software. Combining Fraunhofer's software with TI's programmable digital signal processors (DSP) will enable OEMs to add on-board AAC and MP3 encoding functionality to portable audio devices for the first time, and gives consumers the ability to record directly from CD sources onto flash memory without the need for a PC. You find all the details in the press release.

MP3 in the car - Mikael @ 02:11 EST

In response to what is perhaps the most revolutionary trend in music history, Delphi Automotive Systems demonstrated one of the automotive industry's first MP3 audio playback original equipment applications at the 2000 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
For all the details about this demonstration read the press release.

I-Jam Multimedia Showcases Latest Devices - Mikael @ 02:02 EST

Jamr Multimedia is showcasing its newest product offerings in the digital audio arena - the IJ-888, a DVD/MP3 player, the IJ-883, a DVD ROM drive and IJ-828 , a portable CD player. The IJ-883 is just your typical internal DVD ROM drive for the computer, that features 6X speed DVD and a 32X speed CD-ROM. It will be available Q2 for $129.

The IJ-888 is much more interesting, it's a DVD/MP3 combo-player. Measuring 3.5- x 11- x 18-inches, this powerful AC power operated desktop unit features a luminous fluorescent display to show chapter, track number and elapsed time. It comes with a ``jogging'' knob, enabling users to play DVD titles at multiple speeds up to eight times faster, or slower than normal format. It also features a Dolby Digital/DTS RF output, the IJ-888 can connect to any Dolby Digital AC3 5.1 home theater amplifier. The IJ-888 will also be available Q2 but for the slightly higher price of $229. You can find more details about these DVD drives in the press release.

As mentioned I-Jam has also announced the a portable CD player -- the IJ-828. The IJ-828 is designed to playback music from compact discs, as well as MP3 and other audio content downloaded from the Internet.
It will be available Q2 for $129. Check out the press release for the details.

Sanyo Fisher Debuts Two Audio Players - Mikael @ 01:50 EST

Sanyo Fisher has announced their new portable SSP-PD7 Solid State Audio Player and SSP-HP7 all-in-one portable Headphone/Player feature SDMI compliance, advanced Liquid Audio SP3 security technology and a unique Multi-Decoder System. Not sure what's so unique about but they say it "ensures that the players will be able to play popular digital coding methods, including AAC, MP3 and others. This Multi-Decoder System features state-of-the-art programmable DSP chip technology. Playback of variously formatted audio is fully automatic and completely transparent to the listener." For more details check out the press release.

World's First Wrist-type Wearable MP3 Player - Mikael @ 01:46 EST

Casio during CES announced an amazing new WMP-1V Wrist Audio Player, the world's first wrist-type wearable MP3 player. It will store 33 minutes of CD quality MP3, built in USB interface, displays song titles and artist names, Animated Motion Graphic characters, four hours of continuous playback and Basic timekeeping includes current time, alarm, stopwatch, and more. For all the details check out the press release.

In a separate press release SanDisk announced that it will Supply MultiMediaCards to this MP3 player.

ASC Games dead but Werewolf will live? - Mikael @ 01:46 EST

Several reports says ASC Games now closed its door but that Werewolf: The Apocalypse will still be released. For one report head over to Avault.

SQ2500 review - Mikael @ 01:23 EST

Rizenet has posted a review of the SQ2500. This review come to a very positive conclusion. A couple of comments, Drakan doesn't support A3D2, it's only some game the SQ2500 is faster than other Vortex2 cards (see our review) and they are a bit off in their A3D vs EAX comparison. I will not touch what's better but you should be clear that EAX games uses DS3D for the basic positioning of sound sources and it's it's pretty similar to what you find in A3D 2. The difference comes with how they create the reverb which is what the review talk about. They also mention the disadvantage in MP of not hearing someone on the other side of the wall and that's mostly because of occlusion which only is suppored by EAX 2.0 games and A3D 2.0 using wavetracing. Not all EAX 2.0 games use this either and when it comes to A3D 2.0 it's possible to disable the occlusions and still have reflections which is the default setting in Quake3.
News Source: AGN Hardware

CDRW reviews - Mikael @ 01:22 EST

Tbreak.com has posted a review of Creative's CDRW 8432, which writes at 8x, rewrites at 4x and reads at 32. They found it to be an excellent drive with good performance and low CPU utilization.

Gamersdepot has also tried out a CDRW drive but they picked up HP's 8210. It uses the USB bus which limits the read speed to only 6X and Windows98 only for the time being. CPU utlization is low though and speed is enough for games but rather slow if you often install stuff or use DAE (assuming it works since the review doesn't mention it). Writing and rewriting is done at 4x. According to the review the drive lives up to the specs.

News Source: AGN Hardware

Amen Cancelled - Mikael @ 01:21 EST

Cavedog Entertainment has announced that their first person shooter has been cancelled. Certainly no surprise after the layoff of all the level designers and after the lead programmer left. The game was slated to supported DS3D with EAX and A3D 2.0

The music of Extreme Wing Chun VR - Mikael @ 00:23 EST

Unreality has done an interview with Jorn Lavoll, the composer for the Extreme Wing Chun VR project. At the end of the interview you can download a music track from this upcoming Unreal engine based game, which should mean support for both A3D 2.0 and EAX.

Anachronox chat log - Mikael @ 00:22 EST

Planetanachronox has posted a log of the recent chat with some of the guys working on this Quake engine based game. Here's a snip

Drakcap> will anox support eax or a3d?
ION_Sqrl> I'm sure both eax/a3d would be a cinch considering the miles sound system supports them easily (which we're using). But switz can tell
more about this.
Switz> Drakcap: Hopefully we will have time to add full EAX support. It'd be neat
Switz> Don't know if we'll be able to stick both EAX and A3D
Switz> in there
ION_Sqrl> hopefully at least eax environmental effects

WoT soundtrack news - Mikael @ 00:19 EST

Over at VE I saw that Andy Frazier made the following post to the official WoT forum

The official soundtrack CD is still on its way...and, since it's being handled by Magna Carta, should be available everywhere. My WoT style CD is also still in the works, and I'll post availability info about that here and on my website. As far as I know, Dahl will be on the official CD, and Journey will be on mine. Thanks for the interest!!

Friday, January 07, 2000

Quake III Arena Patch and Review - Mark @ 19:44 EST

"We've decided to make the point release beta, but public, because there's nothing like a few million beta testers! When running servers using this release we highly suggest running them as non-pure servers so that older clients can connect to them without problems. Please read the enclosed FAQ for a detailed list of which bugs and UI features we've addressed with this point release. If all goes well we'll go with a final version of the point release very soon. The Macintosh and Linux builds of the point release BETA will be out hopefully today as well." - id Software's Graeme Devine. Not sure if this patch fixes the problem with having to enable A3D every time you start the game but I will check later tonight. In the meant time you can grab it from 3Dfiles.

Speaking of Quake III Arena, Aureal has posted one of their reader reviews of the game which is a little light on sound but very well written. It does downplay the frame rate hit of enabling A3D 2.0 in the game. I just picked the game up a couple of days ago and have not done much with it yet so can't comment first hand yet other than to say that other than for some bass loss with my own weapons my first impressions are it sounds very good. I will play and test over the weekend and hope to offer some more thoughts on Sunday. Extreme Hardware did a nice Quake 3 Arena A3D 2.0 analysis in their SQ2500 review and their numbers show that where the graphics card fill rate is not a bottleneck A3D has a fair hit but in a fill rate limited situation, "A3D's impact on performance is greatly reduced. For example, on a TNT2 Ultra running "High Quality" graphics (800x600x32), the A3D's performance penalty is less than 10%". So it seems like your milage will vary depending on your system and setup which is what we would expect.

Interview with SoF Sound Designer - Mark @ 19:25 EST

Clan Nexus has done a nice interview with Soldier of Fortune Sound Designer, Chia Chin Lee. Soldier of Fortune will of course support A3D 2.0 and EAX 2.0 and is a title we are expecting fantastic things from in the sound realm. Here's a taste:

Bolan
I understand that John Mullins had some input into the weapon sounds. To what degree did he get involved in your work? Was it helpful or hindering to have a non-sound non-game guy working over your shoulder?

Chia
I sat down with John Mullins during one of his visits to Raven as he critiqued my work in progress. Like most people, I have not experienced any real life combat situations, so I relied on his expertise for reference. Ironically, Mr. Mullins commented that my more subdued, "realistic" version of the weapon sounds were a little "over the top." However, he thought the weapons retained their characteristics. Most importantly, he told me they were satisfying to fire.

Sound designers are often required to create sonic realities he or she may never have existed in. Fortunately, Mr. Mullins is an expert at his field and thus contributed significantly to the sound design of the game. He pointed to the fact that soldiers' hearings become more acute during combat. The environmental sounds mount into exaggerated proportions. Mr. Mullins also described the sounds of combat, including the whimpers, screams, and moans that the injured soldiers make. The vocal utterances range from mute groans to shrill cries of despair. A bit morbid, isn't it? :)

Low-Cost Dolby Headphone Solution - Mikael @ 16:41 EST

Zoran Corporation announced during CES that Zoran's ``Golden Gate'' reference design, the first complete Dolby Headphone solution, is now being made available.

The Golden Gate uses Zoran's ZR38650, multi-format, programmable digital audio processor IC. Dolby Headphone, a development of Lake Technology Ltd of New South Wales Australia and licensed through Dolby Laboratories, creates a natural-sounding simulation of a surround sound speaker system through standard headphones. Sounds appear to come from all around the listener, rather than from inside the head, as with conventional headphone playback. You can check out the press release for additional details.

New Zenith DVD Players Include 5-Disc Changer - Mikael @ 16:40 EST

A new digital video disc (DVD) player with a five-disc changer is the headliner in Zenith Electronics Corporation's new family of DVD players shown for the first time at the 2000 International Consumer Electronics Show. One of five new models on display at the show, the advanced disc-changer player features 4x-16x moveable zoom, Spatializer 3-D virtual surround sound, high-speed (100x) scan and a shuttle universal remote. Jacks include component video output and coax/optical DTS and Dolby Digital support.

Check out the press release for more details.

WireFree Wireless Digital Audio Modules - Mikael @ 16:40 EST

Could we finally get rid of all the cables? Well according to Digital Harmony and Music Sciences this should be possible without any traditional pitfalls of audio radio frequency. The most common limitation is reliable sound quality, since magnetic fields -- from microwave ovens to the minor fields created when a human walks by a speaker -- disturb and distort radio transmissions, resulting in speaker crackling and, at worst, a complete loss of transmission. In addition, the FCC's recent allocation of UHF channels 60 through 69 to support digital TV will eliminate this spectrum from previously introduced RF speaker systems. Digital Harmony's WireFree technology does not suffer from these limitations.

The WireFree system transfers, securely and reliably, eight channels of CD-quality audio data at a rate of ten megabits per second. WireFree speakers can be placed more than 60 feet from an audio source, which is especially beneficial for rear speakers in home theater environments. You can check the press release for even more details.

First All-Digital Loudspeaker Technology - Mikael @ 16:17 EST

Avio Digital developers of the high-performance MediaWire home network technology, has announced new alliances with Apogee Technology and Huff Loudspeaker to deliver the first completely digital, end-to-end audio system. This design eliminates all analog signals from the circuit path, providing the ultimate in pure digital sound reproduction. There's more details in the press release but not when a product will ship or what it will cost.

Apogee Technology also released their own press release about their Direct Digital Amplification (DDXr) an all-digital amplifier solution enables the world's first pure digital sound capabilities in these devices.

Clear The Mess - Mikael @ 16:17 EST

The recent growth of home theater, satellite, audio/video devices, and video games has left many rooms with a tangled pile of wires and cables making rooms unattractive and often creating a dangerous environment. Jasco Products offers a simple solution with the introduction of GE brand CableNeat Tubing and CableNeat Ties. The line of tubing consists of two models with suggested retail price ranges from $8.49 to $9.99. Model AV92690 and Model AV92691 both measure 10 feet long and are 3/4 inch in diameter and 1 inch in diameter, respectively. The cables are easily concealed by pushing them into a slit that runs along the side of the tubing. Not as nice as wireless but if you think this is an interesting solution check out the press release.

New Toshiba DVD Players will use Zoran Vaddis IV Decoder - Mikael @ 16:16 EST

Zoran Corporation has announced that Toshiba Corporation is using Zoran's Vaddis IV(TM) DVD decoder chip to power its full line of new generation DVD players (SD-K330TA, SD-2109TA, SD-3109TE, and SD-K520). This single-chip solution incorporates software programmable video and audio processors, allowing this chip to support a vast array of features, such as video zooming and a variety of trick play functions. In addition, it has the ability to take advantage of Zoran's extensive SiliconSoftware(TM) library, giving it access to a wide variety of innovative audio algorithms including 3D virtual surround, 3D headphones, Karaoke and leading audio algorithms such as Dolby Digital(TM), HDCD(TM), and MPEG5.1 playback.

Playing games on your DVD with Nuon - Mikael @ 16:03 EST

VM Labs Inc. has developed a technology called NUON, which transforms passive digital video products such as DVD players, digital satellite receivers and digital set-top boxes into complete interactive video entertainment systems. The NUON media processing technology replaces the MPEG decoder chip currently found in digital video products and VM Labs claims that NUON enhanced players will not only play games but also ehance your DVD movie watching by vastly improved movie-viewing features and Nuon players will also be able to bring audio CDs to life with stunning visual effects modes.

I'm a bit doubtful Nuon will be a hardcore gaming platform where you play games as Quake3 but more likely it will be Deer Hunter type of games. They may have excellent audio though. For more about Nuon check out the press release they issued during CES. They also announced several new NUON Peripherals and Raite announced they will support NUON in their upcoming DVD player model RDP-741 that is expected to hit store shelves in April 2000 with an MSRP of $299 US.

Cirrus Logic and S3's Diamond Multimedia Form Alliance - Mikael @ 16:02 EST

No Diamond isn't already breaking up from Ess. The Cirrus Logic partner ship will be in the design of Rio audio players and future Internet appliances. Not much details in the press release but Cirrus mention their Maverik chip may be used. For more about Maverick check out this press release from last year.

FireWire gets some momentum - Mikael @ 15:34 EST

FireWire also known as IEEE-1394 or i.Link finally seems to get some momentum in consumer electronic market, still a bit uncertain if it will ever catch on in the PC space. Here's the announcements that were made during the CES

1. 1394 Trade Association Joins CES 2000
   
2. Kenwood and Zayante Show Advanced IEEE 1394 'Firewire/i.Link' Applications at 2000 CES
   
3. First Multi-Brand IEEE-1394 Home Entertainment System Demonstrated at Consumer Electronics Show
   
4. Digital Harmony and Philips Semiconductors Create Standards-Compliant Interface Module for Consumer Electronics Products
   
5. Digital Harmony Demonstrates First Multi-Room Remote Controller for IEEE 1394 Audio/Video Devices

Rio 500 will be AudibleReady - Mikael @ 15:32 EST

Diamond Multimedia yesterday announced Rio 500 digital audio players will be able to store and play back approximately 28 hours of spoken audio downloaded from audible.com(TM) in February 2000, You can find more details about Audible.com in the press release.

DVD the Most Successful Consumer Electronics Launch Ever - Mikael @ 15:31 EST

Enjoying even greater sales than expected in the all-important fourth quarter, DVD-Video was hailed as the most successful consumer electronics product launch ever. Figures compiled by the DVD Entertainment Group (formerly DVD Video Group) based on retail and manufacturer inventory levels announced today at CES estimate that hardware player sales sold through to consumers since the format launched have reached more than 5 million players in North America (United States and Canada). You can check out the press release for more details.

With the great sales number from Q4 coming a record number of Hollywood studios in association with leading hardware companies yesterday announced a first quarter marketing program designed to catapult DVD sales even further.

Vortex 2 Reverb Drivers Getting Close - Mark @ 13:42 EST

According to a post on 3DSL, Aureal's long awaited Vortex 2 reverb drivers (e.g. EAX) should be out within the next 10 days. Thanks to Dennis Smith for the pointer.

PRs and More PRs - Mark @ 13:39 EST

Lots of new PRs in our PR section. We will get more of key points from them up in the news over the day but in the mean time if you are looking for lots of reading be sure to check out the PR section (and be patient as its a faily large index file).

Get PHAT Free - Mark @ 13:35 EST

PC entertainment company VisioSonic, Ltd. has unleashed a new version of its popular PCDJ(TM) free downloadable music player that according to their PR makes the MP3 listening experience better and more exciting than ever. The new enhancement to PCDJ, called PHAT (Pretty Hot And Tight), combines what say is most stable MP3 sound engine on the market with a mixer that allows users to mix any combination of CDs, MP3, ASF, or other music files, plus dozens of new convenience features designed to improve MP3 file organization and enjoyment. For all the details check out the PR!

WOW Thing Wins CES Award - Mark @ 13:30 EST

WOW Thing has been recognized by the Innovations 2000 program of the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)as one of the year's most innovative products. The WOW Thing, SRS Labs' first consumer product, is a small translucent- blue device that easily connects between external powered speakers or headphones and the sound card or CPU of any personal computer. The technology upon which the WOW Thing products are based is WOW(TM), a combination of patented spatial and spectral enhancement techniques that create a panoramic audio experience with more depth, width, height and bass than is achievable through standard stereo and sells for $29.95. SRS Labs also has a downloadable software version of WOW thing and is succeeding in getting their technology into lots of places. SRS also announced the debut of its music and entertainment broadcast hub, www.srswowcast.com. This first of its kind entertainment site is the Internet's only netcasting site using SRS's advanced audio enhancement broadcast technologies to significantly improve the quality of the listening experience. There are PRs on the award and srswowcast if you want more details.

Boston Acoustics on a Roll! - Mark @ 13:17 EST

Not all PC audio related but you can see from the following that Boston Acoustics is keeping very busy these days and we are looking forward to checking out their new PC lineup including the new 7500 system mentioned below. Yesterday they announced that they have won five Innovations 2000 awards for new product design and engineering excellence at the International Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Boston Acoustics received awards across the board in all product categories for its home, automotive and multimedia audio products. The five honored products are the Lynnfield VR965 floorstanding speaker, the DigitalTheater(TM) 7000 home theater system, the Competitor Series Automotive Subwoofer System C110, the PowerVentr PV1000 powered subwoofer and the new Digital BA7500 multimedia sound system with patent- pending SST(TM) thin-panel speaker technology that we will be getting at 3DSS as soon as possible. For more on these awards and some of the other happenings at Boston Acoustics including the new DigitalTheater 7000 home theatre system you can check out the following PRs

Boston Acoustics Wins Five Innovations 2000 Awards at CES Opening in Las Vegas

Boston Acoustics Offers Sneak Peek of Cutting Edge MobileConvergence(TM) Technology at Winter Consumer Electronics Show

Boston Acoustics Introduces Generator Series Automotive Subwoofers and Subwoofer Systems

Boston Acoustics Introduces Competitor Series C110 and C210 Subwoofer Systems at Winter CES

Boston Acoustics Cruises Along With New Competitor Series Subwoofer for the Automotive Audio Market

Boston Acoustics Introduces Complete High Performance Dolby(R) Digital Surround Sound System at CES

Boston Acoustics Challenges Mother Nature With Its New Voyager All-Weather Speakers

Thursday, January 06, 2000

Fifa 2000 Patches - Mark @ 23:59 EST

EA Sports has released a 1.0 patch for the EAX supporting FIFA 2000 as well as a UK Speech Patch. You can grab both from 3Dfiles but you better have a fast connection or a lot of time if you want the UK speech patch as its 90 MB!

A rushed SQ2500 review - Mikael @ 16:25 EST

Rush 3D has posted their rather negative impression of the SQ2500 where they complain about lack of support for games, game bundle a joke and poor over all quality. Here's a snip

Now Aureal likes to boost better over all 3d gaming perfomance than Creative, they often are seen sighting Prince of Persia as their game of choice. Normally company's like to brag whenever possible, so not buying into the propiganda we tested P.O.P with both the Aureal vortex 2 2500 and the Sound Blaster Live Platinum. Hate to tell you aureal the sound blaster kicked your ass. But none the less the game left us impressed with the sound quality of a A3d supported game, now if only there were more of them.

Guillemot Maxi Flat Speakers 2.0 Review - Mark @ 13:46 EST

Tech-Review has posted what is in my view a pretty fair review of Guillemot's $40, Maxi Flat Speakers 2.0. The only comment I would make is with respect to their "tin pan like sound" comment. I don't really disagree with them but I suggest that if you remove the subwoofer from many (but not all) multimedia speaker systems you would find that you get the same thing as most of these speakers systems were designed to work with a subwoofer. My point is the overall "tinny sound" is less a reflection of the flat panels and more a reflection of the lack of a subwoofer.
News Source: Aureal A3D Central

Spec Ops 3 will support A3D 2.0 - Mikael @ 12:06 EST

Aureal has added this game to their list and says it will support A3D 2.0 when it ships late this year.
News Source: Vortex of Sound

DVD Changer Design Ends Manual Turnover of 2-Sided Discs - Mikael @ 04:00 EST

Discovision Associates has developed a breakthrough DVD changer design that eclipses existing technology.
Users will enjoy faster more convenient disc selection and playback through this innovation.

Kenny Masaki, Discovision Associates' Executive Vice President noted, ``Our new patent-protected design takes disc changer technology to a new level -- for the first time, users of desktop-sized models can play a 2-sided disc without having to turn it over manually. We're proud to offer this innovation to the electronics industry as a technology available for license to a limited number of companies.''

Check out the press release for the rest.

DVD-Video Household Penetration to Exceed 10% in 2000 - Mikael @ 03:55 EST

InfoTech reported yesterday the total number of DVD-Video households worldwide reached 8.5 million in 1999, an increase of 247% over 1998. InfoTech also determined worldwide DVD-Video title sales and rental revenue in 1999 totaled over $2 billion.

The US market has been the strongest to date, accounting for one out of every two DVD-Video players sold and contributing nearly 70% of title revenue since the format's launch. I wonder if that includes all us in Europe that buy region 1 discs.

InfoTech projects DVD-Video penetration of US households will exceed 10% during 2000, fulfilling expectations that the format will be greater than previous consumer electronics product sales records.

There is some additional details about non US markets in the full press release.

If you dig these reports you could check out Cahners In-Stat Group's report from late last year.

D-Link introduce USB PC Radio + MP3 Recorder - Mikael @ 03:37 EST

D-Link yesterday announced that it is launching a DSB-R100 USB PC Radio as the first in a series of PC-based consumer digital electronics and multi-media peripherals. Targeted at the general PC user, the DSB-R100 will deliver crisp clean reception, while taking advantage of the power of a PC to deliver great sound and clarity that is amazing.

The D-Link DSB-R100 USB PC Radio provides a full FM Radio Band (no AM) radio receiver and software that lets the user capture and record music. The USB interface gives the user true Plug and Play installation. Users simply plug it into the PC USB port, insert the CD and Windows finds the drivers all by itself. This new multi-media technology lets the user listen to their favorite radio programs or music right for their PC.

WOW enhanced MP3 hardware decoder - Mikael @ 03:37 EST

SRS Labs yesterday announced another major market breakthrough for its recently released and immensely successful WOW(TM) technology. As a result of the long-term collaboration between SRS Labs and ST Microelectronics (STM), the world's first WOW enhanced MP3 hardware decoder -- the STA014 -- is now available for sampling prior to wide-scale delivery in the market.

Positioned as the decoder of choice for Internet audio delivery, the STA014 is a single chip MPEG-2 layer III decoder. It supports all MPEG-1 and -2 sampling frequencies and accepts MPEG-2.5 layer III elementary compressed bit streams with data rates from 8 to 320 Kbits/s. Enhanced and differentiated by SRS' WOW technology, the chip provides better than CD quality music for traditionally 'poor audio performance' file formats. STM anticipates a very strong market response as MP3 player manufacturers worldwide struggle with providing improved performance for online music delivery.

The STA014 will debut at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 6, 2000 in Las Vegas.

SRS Labs yesterday also announced that The WOW Thing was honored as a finalist for Macworld(TM) Magazine's 1999 Best Consumer Hardware Product of the Year at Eddy Awards, the magazine's Annual Editors' Choice Awards.

The WOW Thing is a small translucent-blue device that easily connects between external powered speakers or headphones and the sound card or CPU of any personal computer. The WOW Thing is available online for $29.95 from www.wowthing.com.

ExtremeDVD Digital Entertainment System - Mikael @ 03:17 EST

NetTV and MGI announced that NetTV's ExtremeDVD Digital Entertainment System will join with MGI Pure DIVA to showcase the ``Digital Lifestyle'' for the New Millennium during the CES 2000 (Jan. 6-9). NetTV's ExtremeDVD is a powerful digital entertainment system combining DVD playback, Internet, CD-ROM, 3-D video games, Dolby Digital sound and Music Management System.

NetTV has also announced that it is shipping an enhanced version of its ExtremeDVD set-top box incorporating Device Bay technology from Granite Microsystems. The addition of Granite's Device Bay architecture dramatically increases flexibility and service ability of ExtremeDVD because peripherals can be quickly added or removed from the system without opening the enclosure, powering down or rebooting. Three bays allow consumers to easily add or remove a peripheral. Two bays in the back of the box can be used for OpenCable TV receiver modules and modems or a hard drive. The front bay can be used for things like a recordable DVD or CD-R drive.

VideoDisc Recording - Mikael @ 02:48 EST

Panasonic announced that it will market its first DVD video recorder, model VDR- 10000. The long-awaited DVD-RAM recorder allows consumers to digitally record video on DVD-RAM discs. When connected to home theater components, the Panasonic VDR-10000 enables consumers to enjoy playback of multiple digital entertainment formats. Boasting extraordinary picture quality, multi disc (DVD/CD) playback capability, digital recording and random-access capability, the VDR-10000 is the ultimate high-end audio/video home entertainment product. The Panasonic VDR-10000 DVD video recorder and VDR-HB47 4.7 DVD-RAM optical disc are expected to be available Summer, 2000.

Amoisonic Electronics Company and Stream Machine yesterday also announced they would introduce a digital video recorder. They say it will be the world's first home VideoDisc Recorder, VDR.
The VideoDisc Recorder/player is enabled by Stream Machine's MPEG-2 digital video real-time encoding and decoding technology and is the first low-price, high-performance recordable digital video solution designed for consumers. The VideoDisc Recorder is similar to traditional analog VHS VCRs in features and functions with the additional convenience, quality and interactivity of digital video technology. You can find some additional details in the press release.

Wired yesterday also announced their video recording solution called Digital MediaPress (DMP). The solution specifically enables simple, real-time transcoding of DV content -- the fast-emerging standard used in new high-quality, low-cost digital camcorders -- to MPEG format used in today's new DVD consumer equipment. For more details check out the press release

Wired also announced FireWired AV(TM) and FireWired DV(TM). Both solutions are geared towards making the process of capturing and converting analog/digital video a faster and more efficient process. FireWired DV is an external device that lets users convert analog video to DV format, or vice-versa. FireWired AV is also a FireWirer device, but instead of focusing on conversion, it lets users capture uncompressed video for use with editing and encoding systems. As always you can find more details in the press release.

Sony Showcases New Digital Lifestyles at CES 2000 - Mikael @ 02:25 EST

During the year 2000 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Sony will demonstrate Digital Televisions, Digital Network Recorder, DVD-Video Players, Digital Satellite System, Digital Music Players, Digital 8 Handycamr Camcorders, MiniDisc Players, Telephones and Xplod(TM) Car Audio Systems. You can find all the details in the press release. Sony also issued separete press releases for their new New DVD-Video Lineup, Digital Entertainment Solutions for the Home Network and their new MiniDisc Line-Up.

Wednesday, January 05, 2000

Fireteam Postmortem - Mark @ 22:52 EST

Gamasutra has posted another of their great postmortem series. The article originally ran in the April 1999 issue of Game Developer Magazine and features Multitude developer Art Min's postmortem on Fireteam. Fireteam was an isometric squad based multiplayer-only title and while it did not have 3D audio support one of its big feautures was real-time voice communication. Here is a taste:

Fireteam uses the Elemedia SX2.0 Voice Codec to do its voice compression and decompression. Multitude's proprietary software wraps around this voice codec and interfaces with the Windows sound system for both input and output. The game mixes multiple voices on the client side rather than the server side. Clients simply send voice packets to the server, the server then routes them on to the appropriate teammates. In the future, spectators or enemies will be able to listen in on the voice chatter. Our voice software handles both DirectSound and non-DirectSound drivers because some sound cards work with DirectSound in full duplex. Full duplex means recording from microphone and playing sound at the same time.

The Glyphs for Heretic2 - Mark @ 22:44 EST

Version 0.9a of The Glyphs, a multiplayer mod for the A3D 2.0 with wavetracing supporting Heretic II has been released. This initial release sports two maps and modified player models. Rather than the weapons found in Heretic II, in The Glyphs the standard weapon is a flying disk that you throw at enemies, that returns to you. Scattered across levels are Glyphs, which give your disk a special ability for a limited time. For lots more info including how to download it you can head to the official site.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

Nomad II MG And Nomad JukeBox Announced - Frank @ 20:17 EST

Creative Technology Ltd. today announced two new additions to its growing family of Personal Digital Entertainment (PDE) products, the NOMAD Jukebox and NOMAD II MG. Building on the success of Creative's NOMAD and the anticipation of the NOMAD II portable digital audio devices, the NOMAD Jukebox and NOMAD II MG players will be available to consumers in Q2 of this year. The NOMAD Jukebox and NOMAD II MG include USB support, are programmable and both support multiple compressed audio formats including MP3 and WMA file formats.

Benwin BW2000 Flat Panel Speakers - Mikael @ 12:37 EST

SystemLogic has posted their rather positive impression of this Flatpanel system. Just like many other reviews they found the sats to be great but the subwoofer to be weak.

Vortex2 SQ2500 review - Mikael @ 12:01 EST

If you still haven't decided if you should buy this card you could check out Gamers Depot review. I'm not sure from where they got their review unit, maybe it fell of a truck since they say it has no support for NT4, MIDI quality not better than FM Synthesis and says it comes with no software bundle. Well they still found it to be a great card.
News Source: Anandtech

Trident 4DWaveNX - Mikael @ 00:44 EST

There was not so long ago a day when you just knew that a sound card that shipped with an no-name OEM assembled PC was going to come with some very poor quality card that you would immediately rip out of your system if you knew well enough. Well what would you say if I told you that at an OEM outlet you could for around $30 find a board that has 64 3D sound channels, supports EAX 1.0, SoundBlaster support in DOS, 64 voice wavetable engine, DLS 1.0 and SF 2.0 support and SPDIF out and has quad speaker output and low CPU utilization? That's what we look at here in the form of a reference board using Trident's 4DWaveNX chip.

Tuesday, January 04, 2000

Week in Review - Mark @ 22:32 EST

We have posted our latest edition of the 3D Audio Week in Review covering December 27-January 2. 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.

OEM Montego sound cards Comparison - Mark @ 20:11 EST

Dan's Data has posted a very nice comparison of Turtle Beach's various Montego offering plus a whole lot more. The article goes into what 3D sound is all about, the different APIs, etc, etc. The only impression I would disagree with is despite the fact that that Vortex 2 boards don't do rear speaker HRTF I don't think there is any comparison between 2 and 4 speaker modes. In my view four speakers give tremendously better front rear positioning over two speakers. I also think its arguable whether or not the Vortex 2 is more powerfull than the 10K1.
News Source: Blue's News

Crusaders of Might and Magic FAQ - Mark @ 19:23 EST

3DO has posted a FAQ for the multi 3D audio API supporting (including A3D 1.x and DS3D with EAX) via Miles Sound System, Crusaders of Might and Magic. Here are the audio related Q & A's:

the Question (1/3/00): I have an Aureal A3D based sound card. Why do I keep dropping into their program?

Answer: Don't be alarmed if the game is minimized by the Aureal A3D driver. After their logo has played, simply activate the game by clicking on it in the taskbar.

Question (1/3/00): When I start the game, the sound is really loud. Why?

Answer: On some sound cards (most notably Creative Labs Sound Blaster PCI128) the default volume level for the music may be too loud. If it is too loud, reduce the music volume in the audio options menu.

Question (1/3/00): I can't hear the dialogue for most of the NPC's no matter how high I turn up my speakers. What can I do about that?

Answer: If you have trouble hearing game dialogue you should consider lowering or disabling either or both music and sound effects.

SQ2500 review - Mikael @ 16:28 EST

Cole3D has slapped up their review of the SQ2500 from Aureal which they found to be a great card. A couple of comments/clarifications: DirectMusic in hardware will require WDM drivers so not supported with the current drivers, SQ2500's excellent 3D sound engine is just as useful in DS3D games as it's in A3D 1.X games, the spec list is from a 2-speaker Vortex2 card with pre 2040 drivers and not the SQ2500. The correct spec list should have mentioned 576 voice wavetable synthesizer, S/N 98 dB, Quad AC97 Codec, SPDIF Coaxial (RCA) out and of course front and rear line out.

In this review they also have some Quake 3 benchmarks that seems a bit odd. According to those there is almost no performance hit for enabling A3D with low quality sound effects except when choosing the fastest graphic setting. I don't think he is correct about "Unlike Quake III, UT benchmarks take the highest frame speed and the lowest, then average them out. The same thing occurs when you try to benchmark Half-Life. " And finally our testing doesn't support his claim that SQ2500 is much faster than other Vortex2 cards, it's really only in Half-Life where we have noticed a significant difference.
News Source: Anandtech

Pontis MP3 Player - Mikael @ 16:26 EST

3D Accelerated Gaming has posted a review of the Pontis SP503 MP3 player. They found sound quality to be excellent but complained about pretty much everything else including small storage (16MB), poor display and very slow transfer rates.
News Source: Anandtech

Jagged Alliance 2 1.06 Updated Patch - Mark @ 14:19 EST

A updated version of a 1.06 patch for Jagged Alliance 2 is now available for download from 3Dfiles. Its a fairly significant fix as the previous version 1.06 patch was missing the updated Miles Sound System DLL file, mss32.dll, and thus cause problems for some people trying to run Jagged Alliance 2. If you have already installed the 1.06 patch you can also just grab the missing dll file from the same download link as the demo. In case you missed it, the game was Aureal's last A3D Game of the day. Early next year the expansion pack Jagged Alliance 2 : Unfinished Business will be available. Both will support A3D 1.0 and since the game uses Miles Sound System it probably support DS3D as well. You can grab a demo from the official site or for just $29 you can grab Jagged Alliance 2 from Gamestop.

Sales of the Imeron's Intensor LX Triple Expectations - Mark @ 14:09 EST

Imeron today announced that sales of their Intensor LX sensory entertainment chairs have far exceeded expectations. When the chair was released in September, sales began strong and continued to be brisk through the holiday season, tripling sales forecasts. The new Intensor LX is the updated version of the Intensor Sensory Gaming Chair. Like the original, the LX features a patented, built-in, immersive sound system that provides a strong tactile feedback sensation and creates a more realistic gaming experience. However, the Intensor LX features a recontoured seat for greater comfort, and the controls have been moved from the front to the right side of the chair for easier access. The LX is designed to be used with all video game platforms past and present (console, PC, etc.) including the Sony PlayStation game console and Nintendo 64, as well as all PC games. With easy-to-use hook-up features, the Intensor LX can also be used with any other home entertainment product including VCRs, Compact Discs, DVDs, all stereo systems and televisions. For more info on where you can find it you can check out the PR and for lots more on the chair you can check out our in-depth review.

Top selling games at Gamestop - Mikael @ 01:55 EST

Here's the top selling games at Gamestop last week that support some form of 3D sound and/or EAX

• Planescape Torment (EAX)
  
• Quake III Arena (A3D 2.0 with wavetracing)
  
• Rainbow Six Rogue Spear (DS3D with EAX 2.0)
  
• Unreal Tournament (A3D 2.0 with wavetracing and DS3D with EAX)
  
• Battlezone 2 (A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX)
  
• Half Life Adrenaline Pack (A3D 2.0 with wavetracing and DS3D with EAX)

Monday, January 03, 2000

DVD Anywhere Kit Review - Mark @ 23:52 EST

BoomGames has posted a nice review of X10's DVD Anywhere Kit. I actually just finished reassembling my PC after lugging it all over to the TV to do some head to head comparisons for the finishing touches on our own DVDAnywhere review and basically agree with all they said. A couple points I will add is the stereo audio that the unit transmits can of course carry Dobly Surround encoding so even though you won't get Dolby Digital you will get Dolby Prologic if you have a Prologic receiver with your TV (as I do). I also can't get the remote software to work correctly with WinDVD or at all with my Dxr3 decoder so I am instead using the Mouse Remote with the Remote Selector software which works great with the Dxr3.

TreadMarks Demo - Mikael @ 23:26 EST

The demo of the DS3D and A3D 2.0 supporting Tread Marks has been released. TreadMarks is an Off-Road Battle Tank Racing and Combat game. You can grab the demo from 3dfiles.

One Terabyte of Digital Storage for $1499 - Mikael @ 23:22 EST

PowerFile C200, the world's first FireWire(TM)DVD/CD changer, has begun shipping. This unique 200 disc, FireWire(TM)peripheral includes two DVD-ROM drives and provides a terabyte of digital storage space for a suggested retail price of $1,499. The PowerFile C200 changer gives users the ability to securely manage and share a wide variety of productivity and entertainment media, including DVD-ROMs, CD-ROMs, DVD movies, and music CDs across a network.

You can find some additional details in the press release

Digital Camera + PC Camera + MP3 Player + Voice Recorder - Mikael @ 23:18 EST

Pretec Electronics will preview a new model of digital multimedia equipment which combines the functions of digital still camera, USB PC camera, MP3 music player, and Voice recorder in one palm-sized unit, named DC-530,during Consumer Electronics Show (CES). It will not be shown to the public though.

You can find more details in the press releaese.

Fuji Unveils New 80-Minute CD-R and CD-RW Products - Mikael @ 23:15 EST

The Magnetic Markets Division of Fuji Photo Film has announced the addition of 80-minute CD-R Audio and CD-RW Audio discs to its line of blank media products.

Both products, which are currently shipping to retailers, are available in 80-minute lengths in one-, three- and five-pack configurations. Other configurations will be announced shortly.

DVD Genie v3.24 - Mikael @ 22:57 EST

A new version of DVD Genie from InMatrix has been released. It allows you to modify the region code for popular software-based DVD players such as Cinemaster, PowerDVD and WinDVD. It also supports Hollywood Plus according to the readme. It offers some other customizations to the DVD players, including enabling unsupported features.

This version fixes numerous bugs, introduces extra features for WinDVD, including GeForce acceleration, and more!

It's just 215 kb so no reason to not try it out.
News Source: 3dfiles

Rio 500 review @ Ga-Source - Mikael @ 22:51 EST

Ga-Source has posted a review of Diamond's new Rio 500 MP3 player. Nice features includes uses USB to transfer the MP3 files, upgradable firmware and Macintosh Compatible. The reviewer complains about the fact Rio 500 doesn't use the information on track name from the ID3 tags embedded in the MP3 file. They also mention it can't store any other files than MP3 files on the player but then downplays it as a non issue.
News Source: Anandtech

Plextor PlexWrite 8/4/32 - Mikael @ 22:51 EST

Damage Gaming has posted yet another review of this drive and like most other reviews they found it to be a nice performing drive.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Sound Blaster Live! Platinum review - Mikael @ 22:50 EST

ActiveWindows has posted a review of the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum. They list some of the software included in the US and Europe version but miss to mention that the US version ships with Live!Drive I while the Europe edition ships with Live!Drive II. For a lot more details about this card you can check out our Live!Platinum Americas Edition or Live!Platinum Europe edition.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Deus Ex Feature - Mark @ 14:27 EST

3dfxgamers has posted a couple features on Deus Ex including a game overview, screenshots and music tracks from the game. Speaking of music tracks, I see they have also posted an article entitled "MP3-Players - The Wave of the Future?"
News Source: AGN3D

Sharp MD-M3 MD Micro System - Mark @ 14:22 EST

Something a little different over at Electronics Review Zone worth noting due to its Mini Disc capabilites. According to the review the Sharp MD-M3 is the first MiniDisc bookshelf system to offer double speed CD to MiniDisc recording. For all the details on what they thought of this rather inexpensive system (in my view $349 for a full microsystem with CD and MD is inexpensive) you can check out the review.
News Source: AGNHardware

Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400 - Mark @ 14:14 EST

IGamer.net has posted a review of Klispch's excellent THX certified ProMedia v.2-400 speaker system. Its not a very technical review and I agree with their impressions so just a couple of minor points to clarify. First is the rear speaker cords are 5 meters long. Next is just to avoid confusion, the speakers do not have any AC3 decoding ability so you need to use a hardware or software MPEG decoder that does 4 speaker downmixing in order to use them to their full potential. The review does not say otherwise but its ambiguous enough that someone might think the speakers had a decoder. Last is they actually do mention the hiss that is noticable when the system is not in use. This hiss really bugs some people (one of the few reviews to mention it) but I wonder if thats the hiss they are hearing as they state it can be fixed using the Windows volume controls. If they have a hiss that can be fixed from the volume control then its coming from their sound card and not the speakers. For a more technical look at the ProMedias you can check out our own review.
News Source: Aureal A3D Central

OdysseySound 2i Speaker Review - Mark @ 14:00 EST

GA-Source has posted a review of Gallant's $30.00 OdysseySound 2i speaker system. Since I have been complaining about reviews that put inexpensive speakers against higher end systems I should also take the time to point out that GA-Source has done this review the right way from my point of view by going into the review expecting a $30 system. A couple of other comments are that you should of course not use any stereo enhancement options if you are going to use the speakers with a sound card that supports A3D or DS3D. The other comment is given the lack of bass that GA-Source reports for these speakers they would in fact make poor rear speakers as all sound when postioned behind you will lack bass making for rather odd effects. Back to the Gallant speakers, its worth noting that the stereo expansion is done by QSound's QExpander technology that you can read more about in our QSound technology article.
News Source: Aureal A3D Central

Plextor PlexWrite 8/4/32 IDE CD-RW Drive - Mark @ 13:46 EST

Tech-Review has posted a review of the Plextor PlexWrite 8/4/32 IDE CD-RW Drive and conclude that the performance is on par with the specifications and the drive is exactly what they expected which is haive quality. For more on why check out the review.
News Source: Anandtech

News from December 27, 1999 - January 2, 2000

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