News:  April 24-30, 2000

Sunday, April 30, 2000

New 368DSP drivers - Mikael @ 01:37 EST

Aztech has released new 368DSP drivers (v1.30) for both NT4 and Windows 95/98. They were actually released mid March but I don't check Aztech's site very often. Only new bit mentioned in the readme is that they have included a program that let you test your 4-speaker configuration. No idea what's new beyond that but hopefully a much better reverb engine which other cards using QSound ships with. I may update our 368DSP next week.

TeamSound 4.8 Released - Mikael @ 00:58 EST

Version 4.8 of Team Sound has been released. In case you don't know Team Sound is voice communication program for gaming. You can download the new version from Team Sound's site. You can check out what's new here
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

Saturday, April 29, 2000

New article by the Summoner Composer/Sound Designer - Mikael @ 23:02 EST

PC.IGN has posted another instance of Summoner Thursday. This week it was once again time for the Sound Designer and Composer Wally Shaw to discuss what he is working on. Here's an interesting snip

In a movie or television show most ambience, walla, and much foley is actually part of the source sound. You'll notice, however, that in a cartoon you miss out on much of that because all sound is placed in post from sources outside the visual material. That's why cartoons sound, well, cartoony.

In Summoner, we treat the cutscenes like movies, not cartoons. We strive to envelop the player as much as any silver screen feature might. But this is tedious, given the restrictions of memory, format, streaming and various other issues. In my opinion, most cutscenes in games I've played come off more as cartoons than movies. A good example of a cartoon that took sound to heart is both entries in the Toy Story series. Grab those and listen to them in headphones. You'll notice that there is much going on soundwise. There are many subtle sounds going on that have no visual mate. And they're all in great 3D stereo. That's one reason why those were feature films and not long cartoons.

SoF Patch Info - Mikael @ 22:55 EST

Rick Johnson of Raven Software made the following patch in Raven's forum about the next SoF patch.

I will be taking next week off, but I will be bringing my work computer home and tinkering around with stuff.

I've added the "pure" server option to the menus, just need to tie it all together.

PocketSoft (the makers of RTPatch) have all of my assets and will hopefully be finding the patch bug that was crashing on Win98.

A CTF scoring issue has been addressed

I will have some one from Aureal look into the A3D issues. If people could email me with the specifics of their system / A3D sound cards where SoF doesn't detect it, that would help.

I may add a server password option.

If there is anything else that you would want to see in the patch or features not yet, email them to me. Make the subject "Patch Request". No promises though.

Most likely, with the 1.05 release, there will be a new SDK release with the game source code. Currently we have given out the source code to one person (under an NDA agreement) who is working on a bot.

Rick

BlasterKey MP3 Review - Mark @ 18:35 EST

3D Audio Immersion has posted a review of Creative Labs' BlasterKey MP3. What is the BlasterKey MP3? Here is a snip from the intro that will let you know:

MP3 has been the buzzword for almost a year now, and we don't see it slowing down. So in riding that MP3 wave, Creative has released the Blasterkey MP3 keyboard and midi controller. The keyboard itself is $99.99(US) with a bundle with the Live! MP3+ for $199.99(US). So what kind of velocity sensitive midi keyboard can you get for 100 bucks? Well, it's quite a bit...

StarSiege TRIBES 1.11 Patch - Mark @ 09:06 EST

Nothing sound related in the patch for the A3D 1.x and DS3D supporting StarSiege TRIBES but the patch fixes a bunch of cheats. Grab it from 3DFiles. If you don't have this great game in your collection you really should consider adding it and you can get it online from Gamestop for only $17.99! You can also get a detailed description of the game from the Gamestop link.

Benwin BW2000 Review - Mark @ 08:57 EST

3DAG has posted a short review of the Benwin BW2000 flat panel speakers. A few points that I think are worth noting. You can't adjust treble in windows will all sound cards and I have never read anywhere before that excess treble can blow out flat panels. I have also not read that flat panels put out less volume than similar cone based systems, in fact, if we use the example of AVB's Sonix S2000 system (which I think is an overall better performer than the BW2000 thanks to a better subwoofer, but still behind the similarly MH500 system from Monsoon, based on what I have read (as I have not heard the Monsoons)) I can quote the following directly from their specifications:

With regard to performance versus power or design considerations AVB panels can be treated as conventional speakers. That is, when describing a 6W RMS satellite you will get equivalent sound pressure level from a cone or AVB panel.

Friday, April 28, 2000

X: Beyond The Frontier Patch Again - Mark @ 23:42 EST

Patch 1.96 for the English X-Beyond the Frontier following the release yesterday of 1.95. No idea whats new this time around, but its a pretty safe assumption that they fixed a bug of some sort :). Grab it from 3Dfiles

Need for Speed: Porscher Unleashed Online Beta - Mark @ 23:39 EST

Electronic Arts has released an online beta demo of their 3D accelerated racing game, Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed. Here's a bit on the demo:

To participate in the Need for Speed: Porscher Unleashed Online Beta program you can download and install this demo. This demo contains one track, and one car only.

FrontCPX Review - Mark @ 23:01 EST

What the heck is a FrontCPX? Its a product that uses a 5.25" drive bay to get you headphone, line-in, microphone and joystick connections on the front of your PC. The product is from the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC), works with any sound card and retails for $25.90. For more details you can check out the review over at TargetPC. One comment about the review, they don't see to understand what is on the LiveDrive or LiveDrive II as they make what are IMO some really unfair comparisons between the two products. The LiveDrive I and II of course both have much more advanced functionality than the FrontCPX, including, but not limited to, COAX SPDIF in and out on both LiveDrive and Optical in and out on the LiveDrive II. For lots more details on both versions of the LiveDrives you can check out our full review. Having said that, there are many people who don't need or want all that the LiveDrives have to offer or don't have a Live so can't use it. This looks to be an interesting product for those of you just looking to move some of the connections to the front of the PC. For more details of the FrontCPX, check out the Target PC Review. Thanks to Tim Keefer for the pointer.

Expensive Stereos Doomed by Latest Digital Advance - Mikael @ 19:44 EST

That's what JAM Technologies told John C. Dvorak during an interview on his show "Real Computing". The technology that makes this possible is Jam's REVA (TM) True Fidelity (R) audio amplifier which they claim brings ultra-high resolution audio to computers at no increase. In the press release they also mention that it will be available later this year and that they expect people to buy REVA True Fidelity computers instead of expensive stereo systems. For more details including how to check out the show read the press release. I haven't listened to the show or read the transcript yet (can't find it) so don't really know what's so special about this REVA.

MP3.com loses legal battle - Mikael @ 19:43 EST

A U.S. federal court ruled today that MP3.com violated copyright law with the creation of its my.mp3.com service which allows users to listen to their CDs through MP3.com's website if they just can prove that they own the CDs. The Music industry (RIAA) didn't think that was enough and claimed "Simply put, it is not legal to compile a vast database of our members' sound recordings with no permission and no license" and the court obviously agreed. RIAA also demands that MP3.com pays $6 billion in damages. The court didn't rule about that today and according to analysts it's unlikely to be that bad. If it did happen MP3.COM would certainly be out of business considering they only got a $370 million in cash on hand and a market cap of just 475.8M. Speaking of market Cap their share price went down 39.78% today to $7. One MP3 first day on the stock market someone actually paid $105 for one share and as late as mid March the stock closed at $29.0625. You can read more about this court decision on CNET or Reuters.

TerraTec's MP3 CD player m3po with new features - Mark @ 07:49 EST

You might recall our post from a few days ago about the firmware update for TerraTec's m3po, a component MP3 and CD player for hi-fi systems. Well TerraTec has sent out an announcement which details some of the key new features from that firmware upgrade and also summarizes the overall features of the unit. For all the details, check out the announcement. Look for our review of this unit in early May.

MD vs. MP3 article - Mark @ 07:37 EST

Gadget Squad has posted a buyer's guide for portable music devices comparing MiniDisc (MD) to MP3 players. The article takes a look at how the formats compare and which one is right for your lifestyle. On a quick read of the article, the one thing I would add is more detail on the fact that MP3 is no longer the only format used by portable "MP3" players and its an additional factor to consider in buying decisions. You can get a quick overview of those different formats in the intro of our Best Data CABO review, which really is 'just' a portable MP3 player ;)

Thursday, April 27, 2000

Final Fantasy VIII MIDI Configurator v 1.0 Released - Mark @ 22:44 EST

The Final Fantasy SoundFont Project has released a "configurator" which can be used to select what MIDI device should be used in Final Fantasy VIII. This enables you to use hardware synthesizers, like SBLive! (which means you can get full soundfont support), instead of the default software Microsoft Synthesizer. They also have two soundfonts customized for FF8 available for download and one better (and bigger) DLS file, if you don't happen to own a Live or other card with soundfont support. Visit their website for additional details and download links. Thanks to Jari Huttunen for dropping us a line.

MidiLand Unveils the MK-01, Computer Speaker System Mounting Kit - Mark @ 22:26 EST

MidiLand has announced the MidiLand MK-01, a handy, space-saving wall mounting kit which they note offers effortless assembly and installation. Specially designed for use with satellite speaker systems, the MK-01 allows users to tailor their audio environment. The highly durable material, Platallic(tm) is used in the Back Plate and Molded Nut, ensuring the MK-01's longevity and ability to hold up to 10 lbs of weight. Comparable wall mounting kits on the market today are available at an ESP of close to $50.00 and above. This kits will be offered at only $39.99 ESP with a 1-year limited warranty. Aside from the press release, you can get more details from MidiLand's site where they also have a picture of the mount.

MidiLand Announces 3-Year Limited Warranty Over All Its PC Speaker Systems - Mark @ 22:18 EST

MidiLand Inc. announced that a 3-Year limited warranty has been extended over all its multimedia computer speaker systems. According to the announcement, no other computer speaker manufacturer currently offers a warranty that covers such an extended period of usage. It also notes that MidiLand speakers have maintained less than a 0.2% defective rate since 1994 and are manufactured in ISO-9002 certified facilities, the highest quality control standard established by the International Standard Organization. You can find some more details in the press release.

Creative Reports Record Earnings for Q3 - Mikael @ 20:58 EST

Creative Technology today announced financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2000, ended March 31, 2000. Sales for the third quarter were higher than expected at $330.0 million, driven by strong demand for audio systems, including speakers. This compares to $313.7 million for the same quarter last year. Net income was $88.3 million dollars and earnings per share were $1.01 including investment gains of $0.80 per share. This compares to net income of $18.3 million and earnings per share of $0.20 for the same quarter last year.

Creative also mentioned that "Audio systems, including speakers, accounted for half of our total revenues, posting fifty percent year-over-year gains for the category in the quarter, which helped drive our gross margin to its highest level in eight quarters. "

You can find all the numbers and many other details including Recent Highlights (e.g. Nomad II) and Awards.

CineMaster Powers Consumer DVD Player - Mikael @ 20:57 EST

RAVISENT Technologies today announces that Vestelr Electronics is including RAVISENT's Software CineMaster decoder with the ST Microelectronics STi5505 single-chip DVD solution, in a consumer electronic DVD player. You can find more details in the press release I just found it interesting that one of the DVD software engines are used in a stand alone DVD player.

NBC will Use Dolby E Technology - Mikael @ 20:57 EST

Dolby announced today that NBC has made a decision to use its Dolby E and Dolby Digital equipment and technology for the distribution of multichannel and stereo sound with Digital Television (DTV) programming. NBC will use Dolby E encoders at the Network to encode the audio, enabling NBC viewers who receive digital programming to receive full Dolby theater-like sound at home. In addition, Dolby will provide technical assistance to NBC and its affiliates to ensure a smooth transition to multichannel sound. You can find more details about the deal and Dolby E in the press release where you will also learn that there is now 42 million consumer products that include Dolby Digital. That can't include content (that is movies) but probably includes DVD players that just down-mix it to stereo/dolby surround.

Skout 1.05 Patch - Mikael @ 20:15 EST

Another German patch for the A3D 1.0 supporting Skout has been released. As usual you can download it from 3dfiles

X: Beyond the Frontier Patch - Mikael @ 20:14 EST

A new patch (1.95) for the A3D 1.0 and DS3D supporting X: Beyond the Frontier Patch has been released. Just bug fixes so they only suggest you get it if you have problems. You can grab it from 3dfiles. You can buy the game from Gamestop

GunShip! Demo - Mikael @ 20:09 EST

Hasbro Interactive has released a demo of the helicopter simulation Gunship. The game is on Aureal's list as an A3D 1.0 title that will ship early 2000. Now it already shipped sometime ago but not sure if it actually supports A3D or not. If you know let me know. You can buy Gunship from Gamestop where you can also find some more info on the game

Live! Drivers for OS/2 - Mikael @ 19:57 EST

If you still for some unknown reason still uses OS/2 you may be interested to know that an OS/2 port of the open source Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live! drivers for Linux has been released. Head over to OS2.org for more details
News Source: Live! Center

Thief II: The Metal Age German Patch - Mikael @ 19:53 EST

Eidos has released a German version 1.18 patch (18MB) for Thief II: the Metal Age. It should offer the same fixes that the English patch released earlier this month included.

News Source: 3dfiles

Boston Acoustics BA4800 Review! - Mark @ 08:09 EST

Boston Acoustics has always been a name associated with quality, a quality that has been apparent in their multimedia speaker line. Their first entry into the 4.1 multimedia speaker market is their new BA4800 speaker system which is competitively priced at two hundred dollars direct from Boston Acoustics. The system includes 4 satellites, a subwoofer, two desktop stands, two floor stands for the rear speakers and the necessary speaker wires and cables, and comes with a maximum sound level rating of 106 dB plus the usual Boston Acoustic satisfaction guarantee. In this review we will look at how the system stacks up against the competition in the same price range. That range reaches down to capture the somewhat less expensive Cambridge SoundWorks FPS2000 and Altec Lansing ACS56 and reaches up to the somewhat more expensive Klipsch ProMedia v.2-400. For all the details check out the review!

Version 1.0 Q3Radio Mod Released - Mark @ 08:04 EST

Version 1.0 of Quake 3 Radio has been released. This mod will add audio radio messages to Quake III Arena. In addition to the 38 messages that you can send to either your teammates or your target (available in version 0.2 released yesterday) the new release adds a new voice (by John Dick), adds a few console commands and makes general code improvements. You can get more info from the official Q3Radio site
News Source: Blue's News

Lee Jackson Q&A - Mikael @ 00:55 EST

The Stratos Group has done an interview with 3D Realms' Music/Sound Director Lee Jackson. Not much about Music or sound in this review but here's at least one question that's about Music and sound

Stratos Group: Your official job title at 3D Realms is 'Music/Sound Director.' What exactly does your job entail?

Lee Jackson: On the surface of things, my job description means that I write music and create sound effects for our games, as well as for some games produced by outside developers like Remedy, Wildfire, n-Space, and the like. Look deeper and you'll see a lot of other things that I'm responsible for.

First, I handle all aspects of voiceovers, including casting, directing, acting, producing, editing, and occasionally scripting (George or someone from an outside team that we're working with usually handle scripting, but I throw things in at times). Second, I'm responsible for all sound design, which includes buying CD collections, recording sounds, and editing sounds to create new effects. Third, I handle everything when it comes to music. This means that I'm not just a composer - I also perform, engineer, produce, and master all recordings of my works. No outside mastering agencies are involved. Finally, I'm responsible for handling some of the legal chores, like making sure that we have contracts with any outside recording studios and/or voice talent.

Cirrus Logic Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2000 Results - Mikael @ 00:43 EST

Cirrus Logic yesterday announced financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2000, which ended March 25, 2000. Net revenues for the fourth quarter grew sequentially to $160.2 million, compared to $150.8 million in the prior quarter. Net income for the fourth quarter was $62.1 million and earnings per share was $0.99 on basic shares outstanding, and $0.82 on a diluted basis. For the year, net revenues were $564.4 million compared to $628.1 million for the previous year. The company's fiscal 2000 net loss per share was $0.77 compared to a net loss per share of $6.77 reported in fiscal 1999. You can check out the press release for a lot more numbers

Samsung announces a combined CD-R/CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive - Mikael @ 00:41 EST

Samsung introduces a new and innovative product, COMBO. In one package, COMBO (SM-304) provides speeds such as 4X CD-Recording, 4X CD-Rewriting, 24X CD-ROM Reading, and 4X DVD-ROM reading. With competitive seek times in the industry, Samsung's COMBO offers Average Access Times of 120ms for DVD and 110ms for CD. The COMBO drive package is bundled with Adaptec's Easy & Direct CD, Power DVD, and CD-R/RW media. The retail bundle price for Samsung's COMBO is $349. COMBO begins shipping May 1st, 2000. You can find a few more details in the press release.

TeamSound 4.6 Released - Mikael @ 00:03 EST

Version 4.6 of Team Sound has been released. In case you don't know Team Sound is voice communication program for gaming. You can download the new version from Team Sound's site. You can check out what's new here
News Source: Voodoo Extreme

Nascar Legends demo - Mikael @ 00:01 EST

Sierra has released a demo of this DS3D and A3D 2 supporting racing game. I assume the demo support it as well since 3dfiles list as one of several feature on the demo download page. You can grab it from 3dfiles. The full game can be ordered from Gamestop.

Wednesday, April 26, 2000

Monsoon MM-700 Review - Mark @ 18:34 EST

The Game Den has posted a review of the Monsoon MM-700 flat panel system. Just like every other review I have seen of this system, its a positive one. One comment is they note that the flat panels can be placed on walls. While that is physically possible, my understanding is that because the panels radiate sounds from both directions, such a placement will be detrimental to sound quality. For more on placement and some more detailed test results you can check out the review over at Neoseeker.

Digital I/O Boards Comparison on Live! Center - Mark @ 18:24 EST

The "Digital I/O boards for Live!" pages on Live! center has been updated. They now feature all available digital daughterboards for the Live! family,
including the Live! Drive I and II. On these pages you'll find descriptions of the different boards, comparison tables, pictures and user comments. You can also check out our review of the LiveDrive I and II and we will have a review of the Digital I/O 2 board next month.

Tuesday, April 25, 2000

'Jaws' Leads Spielberg Classics to DVD - Mikael @ 21:49 EST

Reuters reports that Steven Spielberg has finally relented and will begin introducing his library of blockbuster movies on DVD, beginning this summer with ``Jaws.''

Universal Home Video is expected to announce Tuesday a special 25th anniversary collector's edition of the 1975 monster hit to be released July 11. It will include deleted scenes, outtakes, a trivia game and a new digital widescreen view with a choice of Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 Surround-sound. E.T., Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Schindler's List are expected to follow soon after. It may take awhile yet until we will see his Indiana Jones since it's not a Universal title.

GadgetSquad Launches - Mark @ 20:37 EST

Our buddy Alan Dang asked us to pass on the news that GadgetSquad was launched today. GadgetSquad is a website dedicated to the world of consumer electronics for a new generation. Their coverage includes mid-range to upper-echelon consumer electronics including PDAs, digital cameras, home audio, home theater, portable music devices, and even lifestyle gadgets such as digital cellular phones - if it's a cool gadget, they will cover it. Head on over an pay them a visit. There are few interesting audio related pieces to start the site including an article called Portable Music Devices 101 and an in-depth review of the Sony Memory Stick Walkman to mention a couple.

Turtle Beach Unveils First Mass Market PC Appliance at WinHEC - Mark @ 20:21 EST

Voyetra Turtle Beach, Inc. today announced its first mass market PC appliance - the Turtle Beach AudioTron - at Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC). The device incorporates home networking technology to remotely play digital music stored on a user's personal computer, as well as audio originating from the Internet. For instance, an AudioTron in the living room can play WMA and MP3 files saved on a PC located in another part of the house. AudioTron is expected to ship this fall for the U.S. and Canadian holiday buying season.

AudioTron consists of four components - the song capture and management software (Voyetra's AudioStation( 4.0), an HPNA-compliant phone networking card, the base unit, and a remote control. Since the digital files are transmitted over home phone wires using the HPNA 2.0 standard, and decompressed on the fly by the base unit (up to a CD-like sample quality of 48KHz), users will experience no interference with normal phone calls or DSL Internet connections. An add-on board providing Ethernet and USB connections will be available for use in homes or offices wired with a dedicated network.

Users can play existing digital audio files, record songs from CDs that they own, or download supported file types and streaming audio from the Web. Turtle Beach is currently working with a number of industry organizations to define the rights management attributes of AudioTron, as well as with selected music labels to ease the ability of AudioTron owners to audition and purchase songs through the unit.

For more information you can also check out a second PR which mentions the AudioTron Digital Music Deck and visit www.AudioTron.net

Final Fantasy VIII 1.2 Patch - Mark @ 17:54 EST

There are several fixes in this patch for the EAX 2.0 supporting Final Fantasy VIII. Patches are available in both GeForce and non GeForce versions and include two sound related fixes, one of which is a an updated EAX.dll (Unified EAX 2.0 Wrapper) file which should allow cards supporting only EAX 1.0 to get EAX support. Here are two sound bits from the readme:

There were complaints about an error message popping up after the players installed FF8. On the patch there is a new EAX file.

There was a crash issue when the player had Direct X 7.0 installed and tried to play the game with the Yamaha Software Synth. Whenever the player would finish a battle the game would crash to desktop. --Addressed and Fixed.*Note* The file needed to correct this issue is available in a separate download.

SRS Labs' Circle Surround for Game Consoles - Mikael @ 02:25 EST

SRS Labs has announced a new technology aimed at the game market, Circle Surround Interactive (CS-I). This latest customized version of SRS Labs' Circle Surround technology will deliver real time, interactive multi-channel sound capability, when used in conjunction with existing and future game consoles such as Sony PlayStation, Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo Dolphin or Microsoft X-box, adding surround sound realism for all supported games. Circle Surround Interactive products and technology will be demonstrated May 11-13 at E3, the Entertainment Electronics Expo, held this year at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and will be available first in Japan beginning 3Q00.

CS-I was developed by SRS Labs and is based on SRS Labs' patented multi-channel Circle Surround 5.1 technology. Based on a combination of software and hardware developments consisting of real-time 5.1 channel encoding technology that can be incorporated into console game software. The first available hardware product will consist of a custom CS-I decoder and two-rear surround speakers, which in conjunction with the stereo speakers of a TV or a separate stereo system can play back the CS-I encoded game audio signals in five channels. The center speaker is simulated as a phantom source using the front left and right speakers. Game developers will be able to take advantage of these sound advancements for real-time position encoding through easily integrated ``middleware'' which will be available from various SRS Labs partners. By utilizing the encoding API, developers can achieve real-time movement of sound locations; front, back, left and right, in accordance with the movement of game objects relative to the user. Not sure how this will compare to the 4-speaker support offered by soundcards, but sounds pretty similar. You can check out the press release for a couple more bits.

Six-Channel Audio DAC Offers 24-Bit Resolution and 192kHz Sampling - Mikael @ 02:17 EST

Burr-Brown yesterday announced the PCM1604, a high-performance, six-channel audio DAC (digital-to-analog converter) featuring 24-bit resolution and 192kHz sampling rate for use in a wide variety of multi-channel audio applications such as DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). This highly integrated device features 105dB dynamic range and -95dB THD+N on each of its six channels. The internal digital filter operates at 8x oversampling (96kHz sampling rate) or 4x oversampling (192kHz sampling rate), with two selectable roll-off performances: sharp roll-off or slow roll-off. The digital filter offers -82dB stopband attenuation and +/-0.002dB passband ripple.

The PCM1604 is priced from $6.95 in 1,000 piece quantities and is packaged in an LQFP-48. You can find a more details in the press release

Week in Review - Mikael @ 02:12 EST

We have posted our latest edition of the 3D Audio Week in Review covering April 17-23.

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.

Blitz may not support A3D - Mikael @ 01:47 EST

Blitz: Disc Arena is on Aureal's list as an A3D 2.0 supporting title but Vortex of Sound received an e-mail saying "... we have not announced any support of a3d technology." According to Aureal's list it will ship this summer which if true is close enough that I would take the e-mail to mean it will not support A3D and since he didn't mention it I assume it won't feature DS3D support either.

Diamond Audio Technology Inc. Wins "Best of RetailVision" Award - Mark @ 01:02 EST

Diamond Audio Technology, the Santa Monica, CA based manufacturer of high performance automotive and multimedia speakers where recently honored with the RetailVision "Best Accessory" award for their ProMedia 3025 computer speaker system. The "Best of RetailVision Awards" are voted on by retailers to recognize attending vendors whose products and programs lead the industry. Other speaker manufacturers in attendance at RetailVision included Creative Labs, Labtec, Yamaha, Altec Lansing and Benwin. According to the PR, the $70 ProMedia 3025s (no relation to the Klipsch ProMedia) are " designed to compliment today's LCD flat panel displays, the 25 Watt (RMS) ProMedia 3025 features 2 unobtrusive satellite speakers with built in digital control and a powerful subwoofer. It's revolutionary DLP circuitry modulates amplifier gain when distortion is detected, ensuring crisp, accurate sound reproduction at all times.". I just recently had the chance to try out the 3025s and was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality. A full review should be out next month.

Monday, April 24, 2000

Daikatana will support 3D sound - Mikael @ 22:47 EST

That's what the readme file posted on Daikatana HQ claims. Here's the relevant bit

3) Sound Issues
a) 3D Sound
Due to programming difficulties, we do NOT have 3D Sound Support in this initial release. We will issue a patch shortly that will fix this problem. The game runs and sounds just fine without 3D Sound, though.

No EAX fixes in the Sof Patch - Mikael @ 11:28 EST

Just got a confirmation from Raven's Rick Johnson that the last SoF patch doesn't include any of the EAX fixes. He had to pull it for the reasons mentioned in his plan file but the readme file wasn't updated. Shouldn't take long until a patch with the EAX changes is released.

Utopia Live! Soundfont Review - Mark @ 10:45 EST

If you have a Sound Blaster Live you may or may not be aware of the awesome MIDI power that is lurking under the hood of your engine. To take advantage of that engine the Live ships with a number of GM instrumental/GS percussion soundfonts, the best of which is the 8 MB soundfont. This most definitely produces excellent quality sound but if you are going to listen to a lot of MIDI music you may find yourself still looking for more. Even if you are happy with your 8 MB sound font I am going to tell you here that there is a another, better option. Its called Utopia Live and its a professionally created 31.5 MB custom soundfont designed to take advantage of the Sound Blaster Live! For all the details check out our review.

News from April 17-23, 2000

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