3DsoundSurge FAQ Manager v1.0: Aureal Technology FAQ


	A question you want answered? Let us know and we will do our best to get you the answer.

Please support 3DsoundSurge by visiting our sponsors

3DsoundSurge FAQ Manager Version 1.0

F.A.Q: Aureal Technology FAQ

All about Aureal's technology including the APIs (A3D 1.0, 2.0, 3.0), sound cards, chips (including the Vortex 2 and Motorola DSP), speakers and anything else you can think of with respect to Aureal's technology. For support questions check out our support FAQ.

1. A3D 3.0: When will A3D 3.0 be released?

2. A3D 3.0: Can you elaborate more about the upcoming A3D 3.0?

3. A3D 3.0: What is volumetric sound?

4. A3D 3.0: Will A3D 3.0 require a new chipset, or will it be able to be implemented on the current Vortex 2.x boards?

5. A3D 3.0: What will the performance of A3D 3.0 be like?

6. A3D 3.0: Sony has mentioned doing A3D 3.0 in software on their new game console being introduced next year. Is the current sound hardware on the PSX2 capable of hardware A3D support, and is Aureal in talks at all about the PSX3 having an actual Aureal chip for sound?

7. A3D 2.0: What is wavetracing?

8. DRIVERS: Where can I get Linux drivers?

9. DRIVERS: The Vortex products are WDM ready … does that mean you have WDM drivers for them?

10. DRIVERS: Will the upcoming drivers for alternate OS's include A3D 2.x, 3.x and/or EAX?

11. DRIVERS: What's up with BeOS compatible drivers for Vortex1 and 2?

12. DRIVERS: When will we have access to feature complete drivers in Windows 2000?

13. DRIVERS: When will Aureal's Vortex cards support SMP NT systems?

14. DRIVERS: Will Aureal support 3D-Now! or any other SIMD set in their future drivers?

15. DRIVERS: How closely involved is Aureal in making drivers for different OS's such as Linux, BeOS, etc?

16. EAX/REVERB: What is the status of the EAX/2 support for Vortex 2 based sound cards?

17. EAX/Reverb: Are new drivers for Vortex 1 based cards being developed with reverb support?

18. EAX/REVERB: Will there be a performance hit from Aureal's reverb drivers?

19. GENERAL: What sound cards use the Vortex 2 chipset?

20. GENERAL: Will there be a TOSLink in future products?

21. GENERAL: What computer systems feature A3D?

22. GENERAL: Will Aureal continue to sell to OEMs and board manufactures, now that the direct market sell had been introduced?

23. GENERAL: Will current A3D 1.x and 2.x titles work with hardware T&L Cards or will they need to be patched?

24. GENERAL: Why do Vortex 2-based cards use more CPU time than the SB Live?

25. GENERAL: Will the new T&L accelerations of new cards coming out like GeForce and Savage2k affect how a3d wavetracing works?

26. GENERAL: What is Aureal doing to help get more advanced A3D support from developers?

27. GENERAL: When will Aureal release their next chip/card?

28. GENERAL: Is there going to be any support for hooking more devices to current or future Vortex hardware?

29. MP3: Does Aureal plan to offer hardware mp3 decoding?

30. OUTPUT: Aureal has noted that A3D 2.0 and the Vortex 2 have gone beyond 4 speaker panning and now use HRTFs. Can you talk about the 4 speaker HRTF? Is the HRTF used on all 4 speakers? What about up/down virtualization?

31. OUTPUT: Is there a negative impact on the HRTFs from using 4 speakers?

32. SPEAKERS: How does A3D technology handle the placement of sound to the side of the listener with a four speaker system?

33. SPEAKERS: What configuration is the A3D algorithms optimized for?

34. SPEAKERS: Will the Vortex 2 allow you to play music CDs through four speakers?

35. SPEAKERS: What is the projected release date for Aureal's new speakers?

36. VORTEX 2: What are the new features of the Vortex 2 over the Vortex 1?

37. VORTEX2: What can you tell us about the streaming capabilites of the Vortex 2?

38. SQ3500: What can you tell me about the SQ3500's DSP?

[e-Mail me the FAQs] - [Search our FAQs] - [Question Not Answered?]
All about Aureal's technology including the APIs (A3D 1.0, 2.0, 3.0), sound cards, chips (including the Vortex 2 and Motorola DSP), speakers and anything else you can think of with respect to Aureal's technology. For support questions check out our support FAQ.: 1. A3D 3.0: When will A3D 3.0 be released?; 2. A3D 3.0: Can you elaborate more about the upcoming A3D 3.0?; 3. A3D 3.0: What is volumetric sound?; 4. A3D 3.0: Will A3D 3.0 require a new chipset, or will it be able to be implemented on the current Vortex 2.x boards?; 5. A3D 3.0: What will the performance of A3D 3.0 be like?; 6. A3D 3.0: Sony has mentioned doing A3D 3.0 in software on their new game console being introduced next year. Is the current sound hardware on the PSX2 capable of hardware A3D support, and is Aureal in talks at all about the PSX3 having an actual Aureal chip for sound?; 7. A3D 2.0: What is wavetracing?; 8. DRIVERS: Where can I get Linux drivers?; 9. DRIVERS: The Vortex products are WDM ready … does that mean you have WDM drivers for them?; 10. DRIVERS: Will the upcoming drivers for alternate OS's include A3D 2.x, 3.x and/or EAX?; 11. DRIVERS: What's up with BeOS compatible drivers for Vortex1 and 2?; 12. DRIVERS: When will we have access to feature complete drivers in Windows 2000?; 13. DRIVERS: When will Aureal's Vortex cards support SMP NT systems?; 14. DRIVERS: Will Aureal support 3D-Now! or any other SIMD set in their future drivers?; 15. DRIVERS: How closely involved is Aureal in making drivers for different OS's such as Linux, BeOS, etc?; 16. EAX/REVERB: What is the status of the EAX/2 support for Vortex 2 based sound cards?; 17. EAX/Reverb: Are new drivers for Vortex 1 based cards being developed with reverb support?; 18. EAX/REVERB: Will there be a performance hit from Aureal's reverb drivers?; 19. GENERAL: What sound cards use the Vortex 2 chipset?; 20. GENERAL: Will there be a TOSLink in future products?; 21. GENERAL: What computer systems feature A3D?; 22. GENERAL: Will Aureal continue to sell to OEMs and board manufactures, now that the direct market sell had been introduced?; 23. GENERAL: Will current A3D 1.x and 2.x titles work with hardware T&L Cards or will they need to be patched?; 24. GENERAL: Why do Vortex 2-based cards use more CPU time than the SB Live?; 25. GENERAL: Will the new T&L accelerations of new cards coming out like GeForce and Savage2k affect how a3d wavetracing works?; 26. GENERAL: What is Aureal doing to help get more advanced A3D support from developers?; 27. GENERAL: When will Aureal release their next chip/card?; 28. GENERAL: Is there going to be any support for hooking more devices to current or future Vortex hardware?; 29. MP3: Does Aureal plan to offer hardware mp3 decoding?; 30. OUTPUT: Aureal has noted that A3D 2.0 and the Vortex 2 have gone beyond 4 speaker panning and now use HRTFs. Can you talk about the 4 speaker HRTF? Is the HRTF used on all 4 speakers? What about up/down virtualization?; 31. OUTPUT: Is there a negative impact on the HRTFs from using 4 speakers?; 32. SPEAKERS: How does A3D technology handle the placement of sound to the side of the listener with a four speaker system?; 33. SPEAKERS: What configuration is the A3D algorithms optimized for?; 34. SPEAKERS: Will the Vortex 2 allow you to play music CDs through four speakers?; 35. SPEAKERS: What is the projected release date for Aureal's new speakers?; 36. VORTEX 2: What are the new features of the Vortex 2 over the Vortex 1?; 37. VORTEX2: What can you tell us about the streaming capabilites of the Vortex 2?; 38. SQ3500: What can you tell me about the SQ3500's DSP?