News:  January 31 - February 6, 2000

Sunday, February 06, 2000

DirectX to Feature Real-Time Voice Technology - Mikael @ 07:15 EST

Microsoft announced a couple days ago plans to incorporate real-time voice technology, called DirectPlayr Voice, into the next version of its popular Microsoftr DirectXr suite of multimedia application programming interfaces (APIs). As you may remember MS got the technology/software when they bought ShadowFactor Software and their Battlefield Communicator (BattleCom), in June 1999.

SQ2500 Review - Mikael @ 01:37 EST

Gaming In 3d has posted a short review of the SQ2500. Just a couple of comments, Montego is a series of soundcards made by Turtle Beach not a company, A3D and EAX are two APIs and in case of A3D also a 3D sound engine not chips.

Saturday, February 05, 2000

HP 9100 CD Writer Plus Review - Mikael @ 09:04 EST

The TechZone has tested HP's new CDRW drive, 9100 CD Writer Plus. It features write seep of 8X, rewrite of 4x, read up to 32x and a bunch of software including Adaptec Direct CD, Adaptec Easy CD Creator, HP Disaster Recovery, Filing Central by eFax.com, Broderbund Print Shop Multimedia Organizer Professional and Corel Print Office for just $250. They found the HP drive to perform quite well but not much detailed testing or info about the bundled software.
News Source: AGN Hardware

Soldier of Fortune Demo Patch News - Mark @ 09:03 EST

Raven's Rick Johnson updated his .plan yesterday with the following on an upcoming patch for the SofF demo:

2/4/2000
At some point in the near future, I'll be releasing a patch for the SoF demo to address some of the issues that have come. A few of the more popular items / fixes that will be include in the patch are:

Raised player height

g_movescale cvar to scale the multiplayer move speed

A3D sound updated to 3.0, fixed some crash issues / speed

Fix for Default Sound / A3D crash in certain multiplayer circumstances

Fix for invisible players in DM

Better spectator movement

and a bunch of other things

The demo code is still very separate from the main product now, so that we are only bringing over select changes. No ETA on when I'll release this demo patch (a 'non-violent' demo is being QA'd with these changes, so I'll see if anything further comes back), but I will be updating the Raven servers later this evening.

Wheel Of Time patch - Mikael @ 03:21 EST

Legend Entertainment has released a new patch for Wheel Of Time that you can grab from 3dfiles. This is an updated version of the 333 patch that was released last month and just fixes the Movie and Music problems introduced by the 333 patch. It should also fix a crash problem when disguise was used in multiplayer games. No 3D sound in this yet but hopefully future patches will fix that since it uses the Unreal engine.

You can grab a copy of this game from Gamestop.

Friday, February 04, 2000

Lawsuits cloud open-source DVD player - Mark @ 21:21 EST

Linux users attacked the DVD industry on Friday, publicly debating the potentially far-ranging effects of pending litigation on the availability of an open-source DVD player on Linux. More than 150 members of the Linux community gathered at the Jacob Javits Center during the LinuxWorld show, worried about how the DVD industry's lawsuit against supporters of the unlicensed Windows-based DVD player known as DeCSS will affect their own efforts to bring DVD to the Linux platform. For more on this story you can head over to ZDNet.

Burn Your CDs - Mark @ 21:16 EST

Thats music to an MP3 fans ears and also the title of a CD-RW round up article over at CNET that takes a look at four different drives. Specifically they look at the HP CD-Writer Plus 9100i, the Iomega ZipCD, the Ricoh MediaMaster MP9060A and the TEAC CD-W54E. Their pick of the bunch was the HP CD-Writer Plus 9100i which they say delivered this good speed, easy installation, and a good software package (but a higher price). An interesting feature of the Ricoh MediaMaster MP9060A is not only is it a CD-RW, it also is a DVD player!
News Source: AGN Hardware

Terratec m3po Review - Mark @ 21:06 EST

3DAI beat us to the punch on this one ;). They have posted their review of the new Terratec m3po home based mp3 cd player. Here is a snip:

The internet has created a new audio and video revolution in the terms of digital media. With companies like Microsoft with their WMA format, and others like Liquid Audio, Real Audio and more, we keep seeing a influx of new technology and formats for audio and video. One format for audio that has been around for a while is the MP3 format. With compression rates up to 13:1, without a huge loss in quality, it has quickly become "de-facto" standard for internet audio. So Terratec has decided to take the MP3 to the home audio world with the m3po unit. With a relatively simple design, and a ingenious OS, the m3po comes to us with open arms.

Grand Theft Auto 2 Patch - Mark @ 20:57 EST

No details other than apparently this patch gets GTA2 running smoother and cleaner than ever. We are not positive that the game supports 3D audio but I did read one review that implied that it did we know that the developers were considering support of of both A3D and EAX using Miles Sound Systems. Regardless, if you have the game you can grab the 3.9 MB patch from 3Dfiles.

Unreal... - Mark @ 20:44 EST

There is a post in our forum that you might want to check out if you are looking for A3D 2.0 support in Unreal...

DigiTheatre review @ Sharky - Mikael @ 18:58 EST

Sharky Extreme has slapped up their thoughts on this DD 5.1 System from VideoLogic Systems. Here's a snip

Ok, so the DigiTheater worked as advertised right out of the box, that much is clear. But just how good did it sound while actually playing the DVDs?

The answer is darn good, but not perfect.

First, the highs coming from the satellites were sharp within reason. At low to medium volumes they sounded fantastic, rivaling stand-alone speakers costing much more. Their mid-range was also impressive, not suffering from the muddy ambiguity that plagues some of the low to medium range stand alone satellites currently being sold.

At the volume levels that we consider "comfortable, to slightly louder than comfortable" the DigiTheater's satellites and subwoofer performed at the level of a speaker system costing almost double what the entire DigiTheater package sells for.

However, at ranges above the aforementioned levels, including very loud ranges, the satellites began to distort. This is due in part to the 62.5 Watt RMS amplifier that propels the entire system, which simply doesn't have enough juice to power the load needed to go into the insanely loud audio range.

Linux World Expo report @ Ga-Source - Mikael @ 09:47 EST

Ga-Source has posted an one page report on what they saw the first day during the Linux World Expo. Here's an interesting bit about Creative

Currently, Creative is at the forefront of Linux support in the gaming hardware market.

After talking with Jacob Hawley and Jon Taylor, it is clear that they truly understand the Linux market and why it is important to support it in good faith. Creative implemented a support plan where they have released open source drivers and have always projected an attitude of respect towards the spirit of "open source" and the 'open source" developer. Because of this, they have managed to inspire active community participation in their "open source" drivers program. The developer support is so active that they now have a new version of the SBLive! driver almost every day! This truly shows the power of "open source" and shows that a major corporation can support "open source" and Linux in good faith while not losing control over their proprietary intellectual property.

I can only hope that other hardware companies follow Creative's lead and release Linux drivers for their hardware. Look for an update on the Linux support for the Creative dxr2 drivers for Linux tomorrow. :)

Vortex 2 functionality in Windows 2000 - Mikael @ 09:47 EST

Not sure if this is really new but Aureal had the following to say about the functionality of the Vortex2 drivers shipping with Windows 2000 in yesterday's Q&A at A3D.com

The drivers bundled with Windows 2000 provide basic audio functionality in the operating system. After the release of the operating system, we will be releasing an updated driver package that will expand upon them with S/PDIF output and A3D support.

Anachronox Tidbits - Mark @ 07:52 EST

Ion Storm's Tom Hall has posted the following response in the Anachronox forum to a question on what their "Anachronox Programming Environment" (A.P.E.), can do:

How about some cool things APE can do (or that Anachronox does that APE can access)?

--Display various windows styles
--choose from a variety of fonts
--built-in bulleted menus
--play WAVs, MP3s or DirectMusic
--display PCXs, BMPs, TGAs
--spawn and control movement and rotation of 3D objects
--control AI actions of actors in the level

USB Radio Review - Mark @ 07:45 EST

We don't usually post too many of these as it seems like one of those devices that's being done via the PC just because they can. One thing it does let you do is work with the FM audio as a digital source and others may have an all together different view point. For one such view check out the review of the D-Link USB radio over at Boomgames.

Thursday, February 03, 2000

All About Lusas Arts, THX, etc - Mark @ 23:34 EST

Sound and Vision's website has a very interesting article on Lucas Arts including a section on the new Multimedia Speaker THX certification. Here is a snip:

Fincham describes the difficulties of trying to hold multimedia speakers to THX's rigorous standards. While computer companies have begun to beef up the fidelity of their audio systems, the gap between the A/V and PC worlds is still considerable. "People don't seem to be willing to pay much more than $200 for computer speakers," Fincham says. "That places limitations on what these speakers can do, but it doesn't mean they can't produce good - sometimes startlingly good - sound."

The first THX-certified multimedia product was the Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400 speaker system, which drew praise upon its release last year. The latest entry is the Altec Lansing AD885 (available with Dell computers), which has digital crossovers and uses more sophisticated signal processing than the Klipsch system. According to Dashwood, THX will soon be certifying other multimedia gear, including "entire desktop PC home theater systems."

Guillemot's Fortissimo to Include New Software Bundle - Mark @ 21:04 EST

Guillemot today announced four new programs that will be included with their Yamaha YMF744 based Maxi Sound FORTISSIMOT. The FORTISSIMOT, which uses Sensaura's 3D audio technology, now comes with PowerDVD - a high-quality software DVD player- and three MP3 players and demos - MusicMatch Jukebox 4.4, Liquid Audio Liquid Player 5.0, and Mixman Studio demo. This new software is in addition to Sonic Foundry's ACID DJ music software that was in the original bundle. Now if only they would release the 2013 based drivers it would be a good gaming bargain for its suggested list price of US$49.95. We will post a review of this card this month. If Guillemot does release 2013 (or newer) drivers for the Fortissimo then our impressions the card will be very similar to what you can read in our Hoontech Digital-XG review. In terms of hardware the main difference in between the two boards is the Fortissimo has an optical output and the Digital-XG has an optional bracket board with COAX, optical and AES/EBU input and outputs. If you already have a Fortissimo you can grab the 2013 reference drivers here and while they work fine for us, don't expect any support from Guillemot if you have problems. For more details on the new software bundle for the Fortissimo you can check out the press release.

AudioX 2000 Open Standard Gains Momentum - Mark @ 21:01 EST

One year after professional audio manufacturers agreed on the AudioX open-standard specification for Windows, the industry is moving forward with new AudioX-compatible audio hardware and software products for NAMM 2000. The growing list of AudioX-compatible hardware and software products now includes the Yamaha DSP Factory, the new Digital Audio Labs TDIF 2496 Pro, the Sonorus STUDI/O(TM), as well as Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 multitrack software. Support from Digital Audio Labs and Sonorus rapidly follow Cakewalk's recently released AudioX Software Developer's Kit (SDK). For some more details on the standard and the hardware that's using it you can check out today's announcement.

Mixman Introduces Studio VST for Cubase - Mark @ 21:01 EST

Mixman Technologies, a division of Beatnik Inc., today announced the new Mixman Studio VST, a loop-based sampling and remix Virtual Instrument for Steinberg Cubase VST sequencing software. Mixman Studio VST is the first professional-grade solution for both Mac and PC platforms to extend Mixman's leading tools and effects to the Cubase user community. The new Mixman Studio VST seamlessly integrates Mixman's award-winning remix engine with Cubase VST. It provides a 16-track sampler that keeps all loops properly synchronized in tempo with Cubase while playing them in real-time -- without changing pitch. Mixman Studio VST also offers a multi-effects studio with more than 100 presets, and the ability to apply up to five individual effects per sample. The new Mixman Studio VST speeds up the remixing process by enabling users to use macros ``snapshots'' of tracks, as well as trigger sounds using MIDI. It also saves processed sounds as new TRK files, which is ideal for mixing and producing Mixman D*Plates interactive songs. For quite a bit more detail you can check out the announcement.

Creative Executive Interview On RadioWallStreet.com - Mark @ 21:00 EST

You can hear RadioWallStreet.com's interview with Creative Technology Ltd. Director of Custom Engineering, Creative Labs, Inc., Jacob Hawley, from the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City on RadioWallStreet.com today. The interview will be (or has been) conducted by Steven Buchsbaum, Financial Commentator with RadioWallStreet.com. To see a complete list of companies being interviewed, and to listen to this specific interview, go to www.radiowallstreet.com/companypage.cfm?companyid=2364. This interview can also be accessed through Investor Broadcast Network's RadioWallStreet.com website at www.radiowallstreet.com. First time visitors to RadioWallStreet.com may need to go to the website at least fifteen minutes before these events to download and install any necessary audio software. Archives of each interview will be available for one year from the date of the interview. If you are looking for the interview after the day of the event, you will find this interview in the ``All Recent Shows'' section of the website.

Creative Unveils BlasterKey MP3 - Mark @ 20:58 EST

Creative today unveiled the Creative BlasterKey MP3, the industry's first Internet-centric, low-cost MP3 keyboard. This intelligent, touch-sensitive 49-note MIDI keyboard connects easily to Creative's award-winning Sound Blasterr Live! audio card. Bundled with a suite of interactive software, BlasterKey MP3 also offers EAX support. Users will be able to download new musical content, loops and ``fun-mixes,'' and software upgrades from www.blasterkey.com. The website will also feature latest news, promotions, demos, shopping, support and more. Creative BlasterKey MP3 will be available in Spring 2000 through Creative's subsidiary E-mu/Ensoniq, at music retailers across the USA and at http://www.blasterkey.com at an estimated street price of US$99. For a full list of features you can check out the press release and even though the product is not officially released yet you can already check out two reviews! One is courtesy of Sonic Control and the other is courtesy of Live! center

Creative Releases LAVA Producer - Mark @ 20:57 EST

Creative today announced LAVA Producer which according to the announcement is the first authoring tool from LAVA.com, that enables artists to construct infinitely unique and stunning 3D Music Video scenes to accompany their songs without the need for software programming skills. Featuring 3D object replacement and object scaling within LAVA! scenes, integration with the Video Blasterr WebCam products from Creative Labs, and an 'MP3/MusicVideo3D' locking option, on-line musicians are empowered to create their own digital song packaging to distribute and promote their music over the Internet. LAVA! allows music listeners to experience their MP3s accompanied by LAVA! MusicVideos -- sophisticated environments of 3D objects, textures, images and messages that dynamically evolve in sync with the music. Using a combination of sophisticated audio analysis and 3D graphics acceleration, LAVA! delivers a hypnotic 3D audio-visual experience to Internet music enthusiasts and provides a cost-effective and highly compact vehicle for musicians to promote and distribute with their music over the Internet. What you need to use LAVA is the LAVA Player and as we noted earlier this week, version 2.01 is now available for download at no cost. The new player automatically detects your sound card and installs either the sound card-independent or the Sound Blaster Live! version. The former plays MP3 songs while the latter can play music from any media source when launched from the Creative PlayCenter. The LAVA! Producer will be available in March for $29.95 via download at www.lava.com. For details on the features of LAVA Producer you can check out the announcement.

Cakewalk Pro Suite Announced - Mark @ 20:57 EST

Cakewalk today announced Cakewalk Pro Suite , a comprehensive Windows workstation that provides professional multitrack recording, hard-disk based digital sampling, and real-time effects processing -- all for under $1,000 U.S. In addition to the flagship Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 multitrack digital audio and MIDI software, Cakewalk is including the NemeSys GigaSampler LE sampling/synthesizer software, which delivers multi-gigabyte sampling capabilities on a Windows workstation. GigaSampler LE seamlessly integrates with Pro Audio 9 to provide a sampler/synthesizer capable of real-time playability, a critical feature not provided by competing software synth plug-in formats. Delivering an arsenal of professional DirectX audio effects, Pro Suite also includes the Cakewalk Audio FX 1 Dynamics Processor, Audio FX 2 Vintage Analog Simulator, and Audio FX 3 SoundStage Designer. To round out the offering, Cakewalk is also including Musician's Toolbox III-- a two-CD-ROM collection of digital audio and MIDI loops, digital video libraries, and sound production tools. Sold separately, these products have a combined retail value of over $1,300 U.S. Cakewalk Pro Suite combines these professional software tools for the cost-effective price of $829 U.S. For more detail on each of the components you can check out the press release.

Cakewalk Software to Support Roland USB Digital Studio U-8 - Mark @ 20:56 EST

Cakewalk today announced an agreement with Roland ED Corporation to include a special edition of Cakewalk Home Studio 9 multitrack digital audio and MIDI software with the Roland ED USB Digital Studio U-8. The Roland U-8 is a new audio and MIDI interface that also provides the user with an eight-track digital recording/mixing control surface and built-in audio DSP effects. The U-8 control surface also allows the user to navigate and select all of Home Studio 9's menu commands without ever touching the PC mouse. The All-in-one studio hardware simplifies installation by connecting to a computer through its USB port.

Home Studio 9 provides eight tracks of stereo or mono digital audio and up to 256 MIDI tracks. Other features include WavePipe(TM) technology for low-latency audio mixing and playback; real-time audio and MIDI effects processing; support for DirectX audio plug-ins; non-linear multitrack editing; audio waveform editing with volume and pan automation; graphical MIDI note editing; integrated notation printing; and a trial-version of the patented Fraunhofer MP3 encoder for delivering music and sound on the Internet. Users of the U-8 edition of Home Studio 9 can also upgrade to Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 software at any time, directly through Cakewalk. The special edition of Cakewalk Home Studio 9 with the Roland U-8 has a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $695 U.S. and is scheduled to ship in March 2000. For more details including how the special edition of Home Studio 9 ``talks'' directly to the U-8 control surface, and some of the hardware features of the U-8 you can check out the press release.

Soldier of Fortune support FAQ updated - Mikael @ 13:32 EST

Quite a few sound related changes only the SB Live 3.0 answer remains the same and I still don't know what they mean with it. Here's the full sound list again

The (1.) SBLive! 3.0 is currently in beta testing and because of that, unexpected errors may occur. If you are using SBLive! 3.0 and are experiencing problems we recommend that you run the game using the default sound.dll.

(2.) If you have an A3D sound card or a card that supports EAX and Soldier of Fortune is "hanging" or "crashing," try adding "+set snd_dll defsnd.dll" to your command line (note: for more information on adding to the command line see section III, number 1, "Enabling the console").

(3.) Q: I'm having sound stuttering/cutting off/glitches. Is there a workaround?

A: First, make sure you have the newest drivers for your sound card; you can see a list of newest sound card drivers at: http://www.voodooextreme.com/hw/Binaries/drivers.html. If that doesn't solve the problem, turn down the sound options to 8 bit and 11 hertz. Also disable the DS Buffer (note: all of this can be done in-game in the options menu). If all else fails, add "+set snd_dll defsnd.dll" to your SoF command line, (note: for more information on adding to the command line see section III, number 1, "Enabling the console").

(4.) Q: My Yamaha sound card has a lot of problems. What do I do?

A: Go to http://www.intel.com and get the latest Yamaha drivers. Here's a direct link: http://developer.intel.com/design/motherbd/se2/se2_drive.htm That should fix the problem. If not, Try going into your settings/control panel and double click on "Yamaha DS-XG Audio Config." Click on the "DirectSound" tab. Check the "Disable 3D" box and click apply.

(5.) Q: How do I tweak my A3D settings using the console? What are the variables?

A: This is an unsupported feature recommended only for advanced users, but here is the A3D Command Variable List.

For non sound issues check out the full FAQ.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

Altec-Lansing ACS54 Review - Mikael @ 13:02 EST

We haven't seen many reviews of this unit which is the best 4-speaker system I've listened to that you can find below $100. CPU review decided to try it out and found it to offer good sound quality considering the low price. They complained about hiss when turning the volume above 70% which I never found to be a significant issue but distortion is pretty bad at that level and worse the bass is then lacking so I don't agree with this review that you can play game just fine at maximum volume. Could be worth noting that 0.8% THD isn't something you will notice but it's of course much worse and noticeable when you crank it up. Not sure if the THD level they give is actually measured or just what the amplifier produce. For more about his impression read the review if you can stand that they open a second browser with some form of ad every time you open a new page.

You can check out my review for a second opinion.
News Source: Anandtech

Pioneer 10X DVD-104S Review - Mikael @ 13:01 EST

The TechZone has posted a review of Pioneer's 10X DVD-ROM drive which uses the ATAPI model and cost $112 according to the review. The review is rather short and thin on details beyond the spec list.
News Source: Anandtech

WinDVD Patch for Europe and Asia Live - Mark @ 07:44 EST

Thanks to Jeff for pointing out that Creative Singapore has posted a WinDVD patch for those of you with the versions of the Live (Europe and Asia) that ship with WinDVD. The Singapore site shows it as a patch for the Dxr2 and Dxr3 but that has to be a typo. Its also worth noting that the Singapore site shows it as a beta patch and the Europe site does not mention beta but the dates are similar. Regardless, there are several language versions available between the two sites and it patches version 1.2.93 of WinDVD that shipped with your Creative product (is it more than the Live that Creative bundles WinDVD?)to version 1.3.5. It apparently resolves a problem where WinDVD's installation routine would not install the program correctly in Windows 95/98 and provides greater support and resolves MP3 playback incompatibilities. You can grab it from Creative Singapore or Creative Europe. Note that the patch requires your bundled WinDVD CD present in your CD-ROM drive for the patch to fully install so its probably not worth the download if you have a 1.2.93 version from a different source.

Another S4 MidiLand 7100 review - Mikael @ 03:15 EST

This time it's Gamespot that has tried this 5.1 kit and found it to be difficult to setup. Once setup he found quality for games and DVD to be quite good but music a bit lacking. When it comes to loudness he measured up to 105 dB but noticed significant distortion at that level. Check out the review for more details.
News Source: Aureal A3D Central

RAVISENT First To Ship HDTV-Ready DVD Player - Mikael @ 02:51 EST

RAVISENT Technologies yesterday announced that all of its shipping DVD/MPEG-2 decoder/player products are "HDTV-ready." All copies of the company's CineMasterr decoder product line, the leading software-based DVD decoder/players for personal computers shipping since mid-1999, now incorporate advanced proprietary algorithms enabling the decoding of all eighteen (18) digital television formats specified by the Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC), including all the high definition television (HDTV) formats. Check out the press release for more details.

Microsoft Supports Postage-Stamp-Sized Memory Format - Mikael @ 02:49 EST

Microsoft, Panasonic, SanDisk and Toshiba yesterday announced that the new SD Memory Card specification includes support for the Microsoftr Windows Media Format. This new memory card, the size of a postage stamp, is designed to store secure digital media content, including digital music, on portable music devices. The SD Memory Card will have initially up to 64 MB of memory and store more than two hours of Window Media-formatted digital music. The new SD Memory Card will also provide both a high-density memory capacity and Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI)-compliant copyright protection. In addition to supporting the Windows Media Format, the SD Memory Card copy protection (CPRM*) can be accessed via the Windows Media Device Manager, which is designed to provide secure transfer of digital media between Windowsr operating system-based PCs, portable devices and portable memory. Production of the new SD Memory Card is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2000. Production shipments are expected to commence in the second quarter of 2000. The card will initially be available in 32MB and 64MB capacities. It is expected that application products that use the new card will be available in the first half of this year. For more details on the development of the SD Memory card and the support from Microsoft you can check out the press release.

Hardwar beta patch test adds support for DS3D and EAX - Mikael @ 02:41 EST

You can now sign up to be a beta tester of the long awaited Hardwar patch that among other things will add support for DS3D with EAX.

Wednesday, February 02, 2000

PowerDVD GeForce Contest - Mark @ 23:46 EST

With PowerDVD's new skin technology, you can be a part of the PowerDVD Design Team. The winners of the five best designs will get FREE Nvidia GeFroce cards. Moreover, according to Cybrerlink, the designs will be shared with over 100 million worldwide users of PowerDVD. If you have PowerDVD you can drop by the Cyberlink Contest Page to grab a PowerDVD skin design manual (PDF format) and the PowerDVD skin specs (PDF format) which will give you detailed explanations of each elements of the PowerDVD user interface and will guide you to create your designs. According to the site, you may submit your skins anytime and by end of each month, they will post all skin designs on the CyberLink website and let the panels rate your design for a period of time. The skins with the highest ratings will get a big prize. For the first run, skin submission will be collected till March 10. Ratings will begin in by mid March and the final winners of the free Nvidia GeForce cards will be announced by April.
News Source: AGNHardware

Tribes 1.10 Patch - Mark @ 23:34 EST

A new patch has been released for the excellent A3D 1.x and DS3D supporting Starsiege: Tribes. Here is what it does (nothing audio related):

Fixed a health kit bug/cheat issue.

Fixed armor/damage level bug.

Fixed a server crash bug issue.

Fixed OpenGL "black bug" with new maps.

MidiLand S4 7100 review - Mikael @ 18:02 EST

Sharky Extreme has posted a review of MidiLand's 5.1 system, 7100 which IMO shouldn't be called DD 5.1 system it's just DD 5.1 (or DTS for that matter) ready. Sharky Extreme found the system to be much better than the DTT2500 but complained about the satellites to suffer from distortion when playing really loud. When it comes to DVD they had the following confusing bit

Even though MidiLand bills the S4 7100 over and over as a true DD 5.1 surround sound solution, we were shocked to find that they've omitted both a coaxial SPDIF IN port as well as a digital optical IN port on the subwoofer/amplifier.

No SPDIF ports? Grrrrr...
The only way to connect a DVD player or another DD 5.1 capable source to the S4 7100 is through its six gold-plated RCA composite jacks.

It's possible that the upcoming DD 5.1 decoder upgrade module for the S4 7100 will include a coaxial SPDIF IN port, but that hasn't been confirmed.

I would also point out that you shouldn't make too big deal of the Watts RMS rating of a system. One system with just 50 Watts RMS can be louder than one with 100 Watts RMS.
News Source: Anandtech

ProMedia to Europe? - Mikael @ 17:24 EST

I just saw the following post in Klipsch's ProMedia forum about when we may see a 230V version

We're still working to get a completion date on a 230 V. version. We should know fairly soon, but also must caution that we do not expect having it before late spring/early summer.
Sorry if anyone had the impression it was imminent.

In another thread I saw that Klipsch currently has five to six week back order on the ProMedia.

Spec Ops Postmortem - Mark @ 14:15 EST

Gamasutra has posted a postmortem of Spec Ops: Rangers Lead the Way. Aureal has Spec Ops: Ranger Gold on their list for A3D 1.0 support but if you have the original Spec Ops: Rangers Lead the Way you won't find anything more than Direct Sound according to the postmortem. Here's a snip:

We created the sound engine with Microsoft's DirectSound. The initial implementation was fairly easy, but we spent months twiddling with it to deal with a variety of problems that popped up. Furthermore, we were using DirectX 3 when we began the project, but we shipped with DirectX 5. While there were supposedly no changes to the DirectSound API between these releases, the sound panning stopped working when we updated to version 5. Furthermore, because of some sort of multithreading issue, the sound never quite played correctly on Windows NT. Audio designers actually sampled the sounds of weapons being fired.

In response to these DirectSound problems, we tried briefly to switch to DiamondWare's tools, which perform much better under Windows NT and have an easier-to-use API. Overall, DiamondWare Sound Toolkit was a better solution, but it also had a threading problem: it was monopolizing the bus and causing the 3D accelerator to hiccup. The company's technical support people said that they were aware of the problem and had no solution. In the end, we went back to DirectSound and lived with its problems.

With the spreading popularity of 3D sound hardware (such as Aureal), hopefully much of the sound mixing and spatial placement will be offloaded from the CPU. We strongly considered adding support for Aureal's A3D, either in a patch or an expansion pack for SpecOps.

Q3A PoW - Mark @ 13:52 EST

If you have the A3D 2.0 supporting Quake 3: Arena and are into mods and then you may be interested to know that The Black Knight Productions page has the first beta release of their Prisoners of War (PoW), a teamplay mod for Quake III Arena, along with info on a beta server where the mod is running.
News Source: Blue's News

Drakan Patch News - Mark @ 13:48 EST

Surreal news has posted the full list of changes coming via the 445 patch for the DS3D with EAX supporting, Drakan: Order of the Flame. Nothing sound related but they note that this is a HUGE patch for multiplayer! The patch is scheduled to be released tomorrow if all goes well.
News Source: Blue's News

Top selling games at Gamestop - Mikael @ 03:14 EST

Here's the top selling games at Gamestop last week that support some form of 3D sound and/or EAX. The links will get you to Gamestop's page for the game where you can find a lot more info about the game.

1. Final Fantasy VIII (EAX)
   
2. Unreal Tournament (A3D 2.0 with wavetracing and DS3D with EAX)
   
3. Quake III Arena Elite Edition(A3D 2.0 with wavetracing)
   
4. Rainbow Six Rogue Spear (DS3D with EAX 2.0)
   
5. Planescape Torment (EAX)
   
6. EverQuest (DS3D with EAX and A3D 1.X
   
7. Rainbow Six Gold Edition(DS3D)
   
8. System Shock 2(DS3D with EAX and A3D 1.X)
   
9. Half Life Game of the Year Edition(A3D 2.0 with wavetracing and DS3D with EAX)
   
10. Baldurs Gate: Forgotten Realms(EAX)

TOP PREBOOKS

1. Diablo 2(A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX)
   
2. Team Fortress 2 (A3D 2.0 with wavetracing and DS3D with EAX)
   
3. Soldier of Fortune (A3D 2.0 with wavetracing and DS3D with EAX)
   
4. Messiah(A3D 3.0 with wavetracing and DS3D with EAX)
   
5. Duke Nukem Forever (A3D 2.0 with wavetracing and DS3D with EAX)
   
6. Everquest: The Ruins of Kunark (DS3D with EAX and A3D 1.X)
   
7. Vampire the Masquerade(A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX)

MX400 review @ Ga-Source - Mikael @ 02:50 EST

Ga-Source has posted the third review so far of the MX400. Interesting to see that the Audio Catalyst (MP3 encoder) and MixMan Studio are both limited to 50 uses so it's just a demo, not sure if the other reviews mentioned it but I certainly missed it if they did. I assume you can continue to use the The RioPort MP3 encoder after you run out of the AudioCatalyst one but not sure. They also mention that AudioCatalyst (Xing MP3 encoder) is the only MP3 encoder to support VBR which may be true (not sure) but important to know that other software packages like Music Match also support it but they have licensed the MP3 encoder from Xing. The review also mentions a mystery DVD that contains the full versions of V-Rally and Super Busby for free which isn't mentioned on Diamond's site.

On to more interesting part of the review they found the drivers much better than the ones that shipped with Terratec's DMX I would guess it's because they based them on later reference drivers from ESS and not that Diamond did any major rework. They found the performance (CPU utilization) to be ok but behind the live while they thought the 3D sound was the best available. They were also very impressed with the DVD using 4-speaker down-mixing. No mention of reverb quality but I think it's behind the Live. This review is quite good so be sure to check it out before you buy this or any other card.

Adding value to your CD-R(W) - Mikael @ 02:24 EST

Ars Technica has tried four CD-R(W) burning applications that should improve the recording quality of your burner in case you are unhappy the one that comes bundled with your CD-R(W) drive. The four programs put under the test are Adaptec's Easy CD Creator 4 Deluxe, Gear CD-R Suite, Ahead Software's Nero, and Sonic Foundry's CD Architect.

X: Beyond The Frontier And Blaze And Blade shipping in US - Mikael @ 02:18 EST

X:Beyond the Frontier was released some time ago in Europe but it's now shipping in US and Canada. It's a space combat simulation and supports DS3D and A3D 1.X. You can order it for just $25 from from Gamestop, where you can also find some more details and a review of the game.

Labtec Puts New 'Spin' on Multimedia Speakers - Mikael @ 02:01 EST

Labtec Inc. yesterday announced the launch of its Spin Series of multipurpose speakers that according to the press release features "a hip-but-functional new design inspired directly by consumers and are "Engineered for superior sound and styled for ultimate convenience, the Labtec Spin Series delivers the perfect combination of performance and value in a smart, functional form.". What these are is value priced systems and Labtec has done a pretty good job recently of offering a good bang for the buck it will be interesting to hear how they have done with the Spin-50, Spin-60, and Spin-70.

All three speaker systems have front-mounted headphone jacks and volume control and, a bass port that allows air to move freely without distortion for richer bass. The Spin-60 and Spin-70 also include a front-mounted microphone jack, treble/bass control and an internal power supply. The Labtec Spin Series will be available February 15, 2000 at estimated street prices of US$19.99 (Spin-50), US$29.99 (Spin-60) and US$39.99 (Spin-70). For some additional details you can check out the press release.

Sigma Designs Announces Linux Support - Mikael @ 01:59 EST

We mentioned this last week when an employee from Sigma pre announced it in a newsgroup but yesterday Sigma Designs officially announced that it will add Linux support to its new REALmagicr NetStream(TM) 2000 card and EM8400 progressive MPEG-2/DVD decoder chip. NetStream 2000 is specifically designed for flawless-quality MPEG-2 and progressive DVD digital video playback on VGA monitors and TV screens. Sigma will demonstrate Linux DVD playback at InfoValue Computing's Booth 274-276 during the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo this week at New York's Jacob Javits Center.

They have no intention to support Linux for their Hollywood+ card though but I doubt you will see any press release about that :-)

Additionally, Sigma and Eagle Wireless International announced that Eagle has selected Sigma's EM8400 chip for its Webflyer Linux-based Convergence Set-Top Box products. The Eagle Wireless CSTB(TM) featuring REALmagic decoder silicon on the motherboard for DVD and streaming MPEG-2 playback is designed for residential deployment by broadband ISPs.

You can check out the press release for more about hte EM8400 chip and the Netstream 2000 where they also claim to be the first to support Linux even though their is unsupported Linux drivers for the Dxr2 card.

Pioneer Achieves Milestones in DVD Technology - Mikael @ 01:54 EST

Not as exciting as it may sound but Pioneer Pioneer New Media Technologies Inc welcomed the new millennium by celebrating one of its most notable years in DVD technology achievements. Highlighting Pioneer's list of industry ``firsts'' for 1999, the company introduced the 4.7GB DVD-Recordable drive, a unique 720-disc, 3.3 terabyte modular FlexLibrary (DVD jukebox), and the industry's first 6X and 10X DVD-ROM drives. Pioneer also expanded its line of DVD media becoming the first to offer printable DVD-R discs for more convenient and efficient disc duplication and labeling. For more about this and some rewards they got last year check out the press release.

Interactive Objects Will Use CompactFlash - Mikael @ 01:51 EST

SanDisk Corporation and Interactive Objects, Inc., yesterday announced that Interactive Objects' digital music player supports CompactFlash(TM)(CF(TM)) memory cards. Interactive Objects recently released a Portable Audio Reference Platform based on the Cirrus Logic Maverick(TM) processor as you may recall. For more about this deal check out the press release.

For more about Interactive Objects platform you could check out the press release from last month when they announced their deal with Ciruss Logic.

Ricoh Announces 12X Multi-Speed 80 Minute CD-Recordable Media - Mikael @ 01:45 EST

Ricoh's Disc Media and Systems-Center (DMS-C) has introduced an ultra high-speed 12X media designed to support the first 12X CD-Recorders. It will begin shipping in mid-February. Called Ricoh Platinum, the 12X multi-speed media also records at lower speeds, delivers 700MB for an extra 50 MB of storage or approximately 80 minutes of audio recording. The new media will be sold via Ricoh's e-commerce site and through other e-commerce vendors. MSRP is $38.99 per 25-disc pack and is also available through VAR and OEM channels where Ricoh is a major supplier. The Platinum multi-speed CD-R media is based on Ricoh's advanced Phthalocyanine organic dye formula and includes enhancements in the base groove, recording and reflective layer thickness. According to Ricoh, the enhancements produce very low jitter characteristics, wider power margins at 1x and 12X speeds and a higher tolerance for recording variations. For more information you can check out the press release.

Sonic Solutions Sales Of DVDit! Tops the 10,000 Unit Mark - Mikael @ 01:44 EST

Sonic Solutions announced that sales of DVDit!, the company's DVD authoring application for Windows PC systems, have topped the 10,000 unit mark. Sonic DVDit! gives video professionals and enthusiasts the power to create interactive DVD content from virtually any video and audio file on their PC. With the ability to simply drag-and-drop video and audio content into the DVDit! application, design interactive menus and burn the final content to DVD-RAM, DVD-R or CD-R/RW, Sonic DVDit! is being used by video producers worldwide to publish high-quality DVD versions of client presentations, merchandising and promotional materials, advertising comps, interactive training materials, multimedia presentations and even special events and weddings. Available as both a stand-alone product for $499 or bundled with third-party hardware and software, Sonic DVDit! has been shipping since August, 1999. DVDit! is also a featured addition to digital video systems from Avid, Matrox, Media 100, NEC and Sigma Designs. For more details check out the press release.

Spatializer & VM Labs Provide Audio Enhancement for NUON - Mikael @ 01:42 EST

Spatializer Audio Laboratories Inc. announced yesterday that VM Labs, Inc. will offer Spatializer's audio enhancement algorithms on NUON platform. VM Labs' NUON technology turns a DVD player into a complete video entertainment system. Standard DVD movies will not only run on NUON enhanced DVD players, but will benefit by improved movie-viewing features. NUON enhanced players will also be able to play a wide variety of entertainment and educational software as well as offer visual effects modes to audio.

N-2-2 is Spatializer's flagship product for the DVD player market. The technology employs psychoacoustic signal processing to create a realistic home theatre surround experience from just two speakers. To date the technology has been incorporated in DVD players from Toshiba, Samsung, LG, Acer, Hitachi, GE, Zenith, Marantz, Emerson, and others. For quite a bit more info on the NUON technology you can check out the press release.

Macworld 'Best of Show' Awarded to Creative - Mikael @ 01:39 EST

Creative yesterday announced its Sound Blasterr Live! Platinum audio card was honored by the editors of Macworld Magazine as one of the 'Best of Show' products at the recently held Macworld Expo in San Francisco, CA. To be eligible for 'Best of Show' consideration, products were either making their public debut at Macworld Expo or were recently introduced and likely to generate excitement on the show floor. In addition, Macworld editors had to see the products in action, although some evaluations were based on beta versions or prototypes. Creative's popular line of Sound Blasterr Live! audio solutions and Personal Digital Entertainment (PDE) Internet appliances will be the first in a series of products to support the Mac. Creative announced they would support the Macintosh platform late last year, as you may recall.

Week in Review - Mikael @ 00:59 EST

We have posted our latest edition of the 3D Audio Week in Review covering January 24-30. 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.

Tuesday, February 01, 2000

LAVA 2.01 Released - Mark @ 21:51 EST

I am not sure exactly when this came out of beta but LAVA Player 2.01 is now available for download. Besides the new user interface, the player also contains the following new features:

Additional new scenes for more fanciful creation of music videos,

Multi-scene playback where you can switch between the various scenes in a music video, like in an MTV,

An introduction screen you can choose to launch before a music video starts where you input your band's image, information, song title, message or greetings.

WinAmp A3D 2.0 plug in - Mark @ 21:42 EST

Vortex of Sound has posted news of a new WinAmp Plugin that they got from Denis Dubrov, who is one of their readers. According to the post, this plug in uses A3D 2.0 to render the WinAmp audio streams in 3D. They also note that this is the first release, and the author is looking for feedback from users on their experiences with it, as well as what he should add to the next version. You can grab the 60k file from the Vortex of Sound Other Downloads page.

MagicDVD 8x review - Mikael @ 17:59 EST

Ga-Source has posted a short review of the MagicDVD 8X DVD-ROM drive. As the name suggests it's 8X speed max and comes bundled with WinDVD for $110. In his testing he found actual DVD performance to vary between 8X and 4X and CD speed to vary between 16 and 32x. This review just like the WinDVD vs PowerDVD review we posted this morning complains about stuttering when using a PIII550 together with a GeForce graphic card (don't think WinDVD supports the motion compensation for the GeForce). As mentioned I have not noticed this with a slower CPU, maybe I'm blind or just need to test the right movies.
News Source: AGN Hardware

FAKK2 music - Mark @ 13:22 EST

According to FAKK YOU the latest issue of the Incite Magazine has some info on some of the bands scheduled to produce some music for the soundtrack on Ritual's Quake3 engine powered Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.2. Here's the list:

Pantera
Biohazard
Coal Chamber
APT-26
Monster Magnet
Machine Head
System of a Down
Bauhaus
Days of the New
MDFMK (formerly KMFDM)
Insane Clown Posse
Billy Idol
Queens of the Stone Age
Zilch
Puya
Sons of Domination do these guys play UT? hmm
Full Devil Jacket and
Econoline Crush

Music From Terminus - Mark @ 13:15 EST

A Talent For War has posted a musical piece or Epilogue, from the upcoming 3D accelerated space simulation/role-playing game, Terminus. The musics comes from the end game, while the credits roll through. It is available in both MP3 or VQF formats. Terminus is on Aureal's list for A3D 1.x support and it will also support DS3D.
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

UT JailBreak Update - Mark @ 13:10 EST

Caught this on VE and since I posted news of the UT JailBreak I figured I had better post this update from Dave "anarchy" Dynerman of the JailBreak team:

Anyways, the fact is that UTJB 0.5 is FAR from complete. It is a work in progress. This beta was designed so that mappers could get started on testing their maps, and so that the few JB nuts out there could start giving us gameplay feedback There are several glaring errors that make the mod look very unprofessional. The release was intended to be a one-channel IRC, and a post on a forum that doesn't get much traffic (usually) It turned into something that had quite a few downloads, so we'd like to clarify that although .5 may seem rough around the edges right now, we can assure you it will be a product of the utmost professionalism when completed. Please don't draw conclusions from this early beta!

Power DVD 2.5 vs. WinDVD 2000 - Mikael @ 04:49 EST

Fast Mhz has posted a review of these two popular software DVD players. He thinks WinDVD 2000 has better image quality but he had problem with pauses due to CPU utilization with WinDVD 2000, he didn't have that issue with PowerDVD 2.5. I have never tried WinDVD 2000 but never had this issue with WinDVD 1.2 even though I have a slower computer. When it comes to UI he found the WinDVD to be sleeker but not as feature rich as PowerDVD. No mention of audio other than the options that are available.
News Source: 3DSL

PlexWriter 8/4/32 review - Mikael @ 03:24 EST

The PlexWriter CDRW drive with specs of 8 (write)/4 (rewrite)/32 (max read) is certainly one of the most tested drives available. This time it's Hot Hardware that put it through their test lab and the drive performed quite well with an average read speed of 24x, DAE at 11.6X and the write and rewrite delived on the specs.
News Source: Anandtech

Boostaroo Headphone Splitter / Amplifier - Mikael @ 01:56 EST

Every so often you come across a product that is so simple and so functional that you say to yourself, "why didn't I think of that". In this review we are going to take a look at such a product. It's called the Boostaroo which is a miniature audio amplifier that claims to enhance audio listening quality and also extend battery life of any personal audio device. The better quality sound is a result of not having to push your system as hard to get the desired volume level thereby reducing distortion. From a PC perspective the device might just be the solution to low volume resulting from unamplified outputs on sound cards when it comes to using headphones! So how well does this $19.95 device work? Check out the review for all the answers!

Monday, January 31, 2000

Vortex Windows NT drivers - Mark @ 21:47 EST

Aureal has released new reference drivers for the Vortex 2 and Vortex Advantage chipsets which fixes the issue of audio being lost on dual processor Windows NT machines. Aureal is classifying these as beta, so be sure to give them feedback via their bug reporting system.
News Source: Vortex of Sound

Final Fantasy VIII reviews - Mikael @ 15:47 EST

First up 3Dgaming has posted a rather long review of Final Fantasy VIII. Here's their sound snip

This was probably the hardest portion of the game for me to judge, because its going to be different for everybody. First off, the sound effects. The sound effects are perfect in Final Fantasy 8. The slash of the sword, the gunfire, the roar of a Guardian Force. It's all there. Even the ambient sounds of the birds, or the waves rolling on the docks are presented with amazing accuracy. Final Fantasy 8 supports EAX, so when you are traipsing around the Garden at 2 in the morning, you can hear your footsteps echo in those hallowed halls. It's all good.

Now we come to the music. The music is brilliant. Nobuo Uematsu is probably the greatest game music composer the world will ever see; he's truly the "Mozart of Gaming". Every score perfectly illustrates each location and moment, adding just the right tension and mood. Final Fantasy 8 might not prove to be his best soundtrack ever, but since the PC gaming community is rarely blessed with any of his soundtracks at all, it stands out as tops on the PC platform. Which is why I was so hurt by the fact that it is all done in MIDI. Depending on what sound card you have it may sound spectacular, or it may sound disappointing. I honestly can't expect Square to orchestrate every track from Final Fantasy 8 into another format, but it just leaves you wincing when you realize what it could have been. Final Fantasy 8 does ship with a pretty good software synthesizer that you can install to help make the MIDI music sound better, but the best solution is to get a really good General MIDI card. I own a Sound Blaster Live! and I used a large 32MB Soundfont file that made the game sound better than the Playstation version, but your mileage may vary. And because of this variance, I couldn't award the sound and music the grade it truly deserves.

Wing Chun VR interview - Mark @ 14:41 EST

Voodoo Extreme has posted an interview with with Zen Tao Interactive's Alex "Cybermind" Redman, regarding Zen Tao's upcoming Unreal Tournament powered Extreme Wing Chun VR. Here's a bit from this interview:

VE: Let's talk about the sound. Who is currently working on Extreme Wing Chun VR's music? What type of music can we expect (techno, rock, etc.)?

AR: That's one aspect of EWC's development I'm EXTREMELY proud of. I'm working on voiceovers and audio effects, and Jorn Lavoll is the man responsible for the soundtrack. Jorn is nothing short of absolute pure genius.

VE: What about sound effects? Is there any special something you are using to make those?

AR: Well, we start by setting up a row of Q3:A players, bending them over a barrel, and wh00ping their asses with a big metal rod.. all while carefully miking the whole ordeal. Naw, seriously it's a trade secret, and I'm not talking. ;)

Q3A and UT Mods Galore! - Mark @ 14:27 EST

If you are into mods there are a few updates to tell you about today. First for the A3D 2.0 and DS3D with EAX supporting Unreal Tournament, UT Jailbreak Beta has been released. You can get more info here. Jailbreak is based on the popular Quake II team-play mod that puts fragged players in jail to either be freed by a heroic teammate, or executed when the whole team is caught. Next up, Demiurge Studios Presents Headhunters for UT, the Unreal Tournament version of the popular Quake mod where you collect heads from victims after you frag them, and cash them in by sacrificing them at an alter. Scoring increases as you sacrifice more heads in a group, but so does the risk, since if you are fragged, someone can grab your whole head stash. The current release is version 1.1, and there is a link to a dedicated server running the mod.

For the A3D 2.0 supporting Quake 3 Area there is a new version (1.1b) of the Challenge mod. Challenge offers various gameplay options for Q3A matches, many of which can be decided by a group vote. The new version features auto-selection of team captains "required to finish the team management," and some other tweaks and fixes. Finally, TeamWar website has the debut release of their WarCTF mod for Quake III Arena, which they describe as similar in function to the popular L-Fire CTF for Quake II. The mod is server-side only, and adds several variables to assist in running organized matches.
News Source: Blue's News

Final Fantasy VIII demo supports EAX 2.0 - Mikael @ 10:19 EST

Thanks to Sensaura's Pete Clare for letting us know that the demo version of FF VIII does use EAX and it is EAX 2.0. As mentioned in the previous post you can grab the demo from 3dfiles.

News from January 24-30, 2000

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