 |
The Week in
Review: August 11-17, 2003
Last week's features at
3DsoundSurge
Last week's sound news
Drivers and bugs
New
games, demos, patches and bugs
Raven Shield v.1.4 Patch
A version 1.4 patch for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield is now available. You can
view the change list and select from a variety of download mirrors on the official patch page.
- Michael Giacchino Interview
PC Games has posted the results of an interview with Michael Giacchino, a composer
whose credits include the popular television series Alias, and renowned game soundtracks
for Medal of Honor Frontline, Medal of Honor Allied Assault, Medal of Honor Underground
and Medal of Honor. Here's a snip from the interview:
IGNPC: In playing the early games, it seemed like the cues came
about independent of the player's actions. You'd still have the accidental coincidence of
entering a room as the music swells. Are you tying music cues to triggers in the game now?
Michael Giacchino: We're planning on triggering more accurately. It
was always kind of a serendipitous moment when that happened in previous games. I remember
reading articles about the interactive music and thinking, it's just luck that you rounded
the corner just as the Nazi theme plays. We're trying to make that something that occurs
in response to things happening. On Call of Duty, we did a total of about 48 minutes of
music. We tried to figure out where it would best be used.
Reviews of soundcards, speakers, headphones and MP3
players.
- TEAC DV-W50D 4xDVD±RW Drive
CDRlabs has posted an overall very positive review of the
TEAC DV-W50D 4xDVD±RW drive. This unit delivers 4X DVD±R,
2.4X DVD+RW, and 2X DVD-RW writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 12X.
- Seasonic Super Silencer 400 watt Power Supply
Video Review
3dGameMan has posted a video
review of the Seasonic Super Silencer 400 watt Power Supply. Here's their text
introduction:
The Seasonic Super Silencer 400 watt Power Supply has all the
power needed for most current computer systems, it's extremely quiet and well made. This
product includes cables ties, split tubes and a cable mount to organize the messy power
supply cables and increase airflow. Watch the Video to find out more..."
Other sound news
- SRS Labs Reports 2003 Second Quarter Results
SRS Labs, Inc. has reported financial results for its second quarter and six months ended
June 30, 2003. For the three months ended June 30, 2003, the company reported consolidated
revenue of $4,525,846, a 12 percent increase over consolidated revenue of $4,028,360, for
the same quarter in 2002. For the quarter ended June 30, 2003, the company reported a net
loss of $33,882, or $0.00 earnings per share, compared to a net income of $204,553, or
$0.02 earnings per share, for the same period last year. The
company reported a pretax income of $292,632 and incurred taxes of $326,514, which
resulted in a net loss for the current quarter. Income tax expense consists of taxes on
profits generated from Hong Kong operations and foreign taxes withheld and paid on
licensing revenue earned. Foreign taxes on licensing revenue are paid regardless of the
financial performance of the company. As a result, the total mix of incurred taxes can be
higher than reported consolidated pretax income.
For lots more detail you can check out the full
press release.
- QSound Labs Reports Second Quarter Results for
2003
QSound Labs, Inc. has reported revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2003 of
$383,000 as compared to $870,000 for the same period in FY2002. The operating loss for the
quarter was $(401,000) or $(0.06) per share as compared to an operating profit of $188,000
or $0.03 per share for the same period last year. After allowing for non-cash items such
as depreciation, and foreign exchange gains, the net loss for the period was $(327,000) or
$(0.05) per share as compared to net income of $84,000 or $0.01 per share for the same
period in FY2002. Revenues for the six months ended June 30,
2003 were $1,214,000 compared to $1,625,000 in FY2002. The operating loss was $(223,000)
or $(0.03) per share in FY2003 and the operating profit was $356,000 or $0.05 per share in
FY2002. Net loss for FY2003 was $(239,000) or $(0.03) per share as compared to net income
of $173,000 or $0.02 per share in FY2002.
The Company reported a working capital surplus of $3,214,000 at June
30, 2003 of which cash comprised $3,082,000. Cash flow from operations totaled $480,000
for the six month period, most of which was retained, resulting in a cash increase of
$461,000 for the period.
For lots more details you can check out the full
press release.
- Spatializer Audio Laboratories, Inc. Announces
Second Quarter Operating Results
Spatializer Audio Laboratories, Inc. has announced its financial results for the second
quarter ended June 30, 2003. Revenue decreased to $251,000 in
the three months ended June 30, 2003 from $471,000 in the comparable period last year, a
decrease of 47%. Revenue in the six-months ended June 30, 2003 decreased to $583,000 from
$911,000 in the comparable period last year.
The Company reported a net loss of ($212,000) (-84% of revenues),
$0.00 per share, in the three months ended June 30, 2003, compared to net income of $3,000
(1% of revenues), $0.00 per share in the comparable period last year. Net loss increased
to ($287,000) (0% of revenue), $0.01 per share, in the six-months ended June 30, 2003 from
net income of $24,000 (3% of revenue), $0.00 per share in the comparable period last year.
For lots more detail you can check out the full
press release.
- DivX Certified KiSS DP-500 Networked DVD Player
Now Available
The first officially DivX Certified DVD player, the KiSS DP-500, is now available for sale
on www.divx.com. The DP-500, powered by
the EM8550 DVD processor from Sigma Designs, is a revolutionary network-connected DVD
player from KiSS Technology that is capable of playing back DivX video, including versions
3.xx, 4.xx and 5.xx. In addition to supporting DivX video
technology, the DP-500 offers a number of cutting-edge features, including progressive
scan, Ethernet 10/100, Internet radio streaming, PC-Link, support for DVD, SVCD, VCD, CD,
MP3, Ogg Vorbis, CD-RW & DVD-RW/+RW playback, and a photo album feature that enables
users to view digital photos on a television.
DivX.com is the first retail channel in the United States to offer
the DP-500 for sale at the price of U.S. $299. For lots more detail you can check out the full
press release.
- InterVideo Adds Dolby Digital Audio Capabilities
to WinDVD Creator Platinum 2 and WinDVR 3
InterVideo, Inc. has announced that its family of WinDVD Creator(TM) Platinum 2 software
video editing products and WinDVR(TM) 3 Digital Video Recorder (DVR) software have been
enhanced with a new Dolby® Digital Consumer Encoder (DDCE). With the new two-channel
Dolby Digital audio encoder, businesses and consumers can now create DVDs with
high-quality Dolby sound for a more in-depth listening experience. Developed by InterVideo
in collaboration with Dolby Laboratories, the new audio encoder software has been granted
Dolby Digital Consumer Encoder certification by Dolby Laboratories. InterVideo's new audio encoder leverages the Dolby technology consumers have
been enjoying in movie theaters and commercial videos for nearly a decade. Dolby Digital
also features the same technology specified by the DVD formats for stereo or multichannel
surround audio on both PAL and NTSC DVD discs. As a result, Dolby Digital-encoded files
created with WinDVD Creator 2 and WinDVR 3 will be compatible with the broad range of
consumer electronics players and recorders that support the DVD format.
For more details you can check out the full
press release.
- Rio Introduces Line-Up of Seven New Digital Audio
Players
Rio Audio has introduced seven MP3 players featuring radical new designs that create the
smallest MP3 players on the market, deliver over 15 hours of play time, and allow for easy
transfer of music from almost any music source. From hard disk to flash based players, the
Rio Karma, Rio Nitrus, Rio Cali, Rio Chiba and Rio Fuse MP3 players offer a complete
line-up to suit the needs of any and all MP3 consumers. For lots more detail you can check out the full
press release.
For more news from last week check out our news archive.
Upcoming features at 3DsoundSurgeReviews that we are currently working on:
Updated Santa Cruz/Sonic Fury and GameTheaterXP reviews
Hercules Fortissimo II
Terratec DMX Xfire 1024
CMedia CM8738 Reference Review
Full Audigy Review
Full Philips MMS305 Review
There are several other hardware reviews in the pipeline
including, but not limited to the following:
Guillemot Maxi Sound MUSE
Terratec m3po
DigMedia MusicStore
Philips Seismic Edge
Lots of other stuff on the go in including several guides and major site revisions that we
will soon be releasing more details on.
As always if you have any ideas for products we should review or features we should do,
please let us know.
Previous "The week in
review".
|
|
All content, design and work is ©
2001 - 3D Sound Surge Please respect the copyrights of the articles and writers herein. All copyrights are enforced by 3DSS.