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The Week in
Review: June 16-22, 2003
Last week's features at
3DsoundSurge
Last week's sound news
Drivers and bugs
New
games, demos, patches and bugs
Multiplayer Chaser Demo
A multiplayer demo of Chaser is now available. You can grab it from 3D Gamers.
- Hollywood Sound Effects & Voice Over
Specialist Interview
GameZone has conducted
an interview with Bill Black, Hollywood Sound Effects & Voice Over Specialist.
Games he worked on includes Delta Force Black Hawk Down, Neverwinter Nights, Kessen II and
Ultimate Ride. Here's a snip:
How soon do you begin working on a game's sound? Do you work on
the sound throughout each game's development, or do you start working on it after the
title begins to take shape?
BB: When I get involved in a game for voice over I am really looking
at getting character descriptions, I try to see what is done so far to get an idea of the
scenes and characters. I look at script and get into pre-casting.
As for sound effects I want to get a copy and start to play the
game, I want cut scenes, stills, anything visual to start plugging in ideas. With creature
sound effects I really rely on screen creature of the sprite movements.
The developer often has placeholders in already as a starting point.
The challenge is try to stay unique.
Is there a major difference between directing actors in a live action movie and directing
voice actors for a game or an animated feature?
BB: Yes, substantially. On camera is usually a movie. You are
telling a linear story, you have make-up props, lighting, floor makers and a litany of
other elements. You are spending days on one scene capturing it from different angles.
A game isn’t always linear; the actor does not have the other
actor to play off of. With voice you have none of that. You just close your eyes and
listen to the voice, you manipulate the actor, create an illusion, a character that for
the moment has nothing other than it’s naked voice to create this imaginary
character. This is the true craft and challenge of voice acting. When well cast and well
acted it really creates magic.
- Adam Levenson (audio director) Interview
Gamer's Pulse has posted an interview with audio director at Immersive Sound. One recent
title they offered their service for is Enter the Matrix. Here's an interesting bit:
GP: What are the keys to implementing impressive sound and music
into games?
Didn't you mean "immersive" sound…? The key to
impressive sound is the understanding of what the game designer is trying to accomplish.
The lock is your technical and creative solutions to the challenges presented by the game
design. Put the key in the lock and turn. Every game is unique, just like every movie is
unique, and the decisions we make as audio developers need to reflect the needs of the
game. Beyond that, it's all about creating a balanced, dynamic mix that works to spark
emotion in the hearts of the players.
GP: What do you feel is the best system (PC and consoles) for
implementing great audio?
All of the next gen consoles, and new PC's, offer game audio
developers an incredible opportunity to make great sounding games. It's all about making
the absolute most out of the resources you have available to you. This goes back to the
last question: if the audio developer knows what the design goal is, then the next step is
figuring out how to make it happen. Multiple sample rates, real-time mixing of sound
elements, prioritized streaming, primed streaming, pseudo stereo techniques, are all
examples of techniques for getting around hardware design challenges.
Reviews of soundcards, speakers, headphones and MP3
players.
- Samsung HT-DB600TH
Envy News has posted a review
of the Samsung HT-DB600TH, a new 2003 model Dolby Digital/DTS DVD/Receiver
Home-Theater package from Samsung. Sporting impressive specs such as Progressive Scan
playback, a 5-Disc carousel, and a 100-watt subwoofer, Envy News says that the HT-DB600
packs a wallop for the sticker price.
- TDK Dual Format DVD Writer
Hardware Zoom has done a review of TDK $500 Dual Format DVD Writer. As the name suggests
it support both the DVD -R/RW and +R/RW formats. The review is overall very positive
(score: 9 out of 10) despite several complaints including not so great DVD-R/RW reading
speed.
- HP dvd300i DVD Burner
Byte Sector has posted an overall positive review of the HP dvd300i DVD burner. One point worth noting is that
when playing movies, a fast DVD-ROM drive gains you nothing more than possibly smoother
scanning and faster searching. Speeds above 1x do not improve video quality from DVD-Video
discs. Higher speeds only make a difference when reading computer data.
- Lite-On PhoMaster LVD-2001 DVD & Plus
CD-R labs has posted a review of Lite-On PhoMaster LVD-2001 DVD & Plus. The
Lite-On LVD-2001 is a new set-top box from Lite-On that is capable of playing DVDs and
VCDs though its DVD-ROM as well as still images from a memory card through its PCMCIA
interface. CD-R Labs was impressed and gave it an editor's choice award.
Other sound news
- QSound Labs Presents Business Update at
Shareholders Meeting
QSound Labs held its Annual Meeting of Shareholders yesterday. At the formal portion of
the meeting, resolutions re-electing the board of directors and appointing the auditors
were passed. Afterwards, CEO David Gallagher provided an update on the Company's current
business opportunities.
"At last year's shareholders meeting, management outlined its product roadmap for
growth given the market conditions then prevailing," stated Gallagher. "In the
past twelve months, we have focussed on executing this strategy. Significant progress has
been made in our audio business through in-house product development and the recent IP
telephony technology acquisition has added to our product portfolio. The Company has
strengthened its financial position as evidenced by its financial reports over the past
year and is now in a position to benefit from the product development efforts of the past
year." For more details
read the full press release.
- SRS Labs' WOW(TM) Featured in Sony's New Desktop
PC
SRS Labs has announced that Sony, one of the world's most respected electronics and
entertainment brands, has expanded its use of SRS Labs' WOW audio technology to include
desktop personal computers. Sony's new VAIO® W Desktop PC, model PCV-W500, is a new breed
of sophisticated PCs that integrate home theater functionality, such as CD, DVD and TV
playback, in an all-in-one, true plug-and-play design. This new model from Sony is the
first PC product in the world to ship with SRS WOW technology integrated in the audio
system and it began shipping for the domestic Japan market on May 24. You can find more details in the
press release.
- MegaWorks 510D Recall
Creative Europe is recalling certain units of the MegaWorks 510 due to a potential
electrical problem with a number of units in a batch of subwoofers from their range of
Cambridge SoundWorks MegaWorks 510D Speak. For more details check
Creative's European site where you will find out if you have one of the defective
units.
- InterVideo Sets Pace for Next Wave of DVD Players
with WinDVD 5
InterVideo has announced the release of WinDVD(TM) 5, the latest version of InterVideo's
software for DVD playback on a PC. Both WinDVD Gold 5, the standard consumer edition, and
WinDVD Platinum 5, InterVideo's high-end version, offer new features to make watching
videos on a PC or a laptop easier and more entertaining. InterVideo has also unveiled two
new add-on packs that enable users to customize WinDVD playback capabilities. The Audio
Booster Pack enhances users' listening experience by delivering surround sound and
increased user control. The Centrino(TM) Pack enables extended battery life when playing
DVDs on Intel® lower-powered laptop CPUs such as Centrino. With
InterVideo's new Audio Booster Pack, both Gold and Platinum WinDVD 5 users can create a
customized home theater experience with advanced technologies such as SRS TruSurround
XT(TM). In addition to delivering virtual surround sound over just two speakers or
headphones, TruSurround XT includes SRS TruBass® for a more theater-like bass response,
and SRS Dialog Clarity(TM) for crisper, clearer dialog. TruSurround XT also creates 3D
audio from mono and stereo material. You can find more details
about WinDVD 5 as well as the new Audio booster pack in the press release.
- CyberLink PowerDVD 5 Takes a Giant Leap
CyberLink has announced the release of PowerDVD 5. "In general, consumer electronics
delivers better video and audio quality than the PCs," stated Alice H. Chang, CEO of
CyberLink Corp. "With our new technologies, PowerDVD 5 significantly improves video
and audio quality, enabling a rich home theater experience on the multimedia PC that is
comparable to any home theater device." You can find more details in
the press release.
- Iomega Announces New Super DVD All Format 4X
Internal Drive
Iomega Corporation has announced one of the first DVD drives to support all major DVD and
CD formats, including DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, and DVD-RAM. The new Iomega® Super DVD All
Format 4X Internal Drive is expected to ship in the U.S. for availability in August and in
Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Asia for availability in September. Suggested retail
pricing is $329.95 (U.S. pricing). You can find more details in
the press release.
- Hitachi Expands DVD Product Line
Hitachi America has announced the addition of a DVD recorder to its 2003 product line, the
DVRX5000U. Hitachi's first-generation DVD recorder, the DVD-RAM, DVD-R compatible
DVRX5000U, is a progressive scan DVD player that records to DVD-R disks and DVD-RAM. The
DVRX5000U can play back in a range of formats, including DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-Video,
CD-Audio, Video CD and CD-R/RW. The unit also features functions such as chasing playback,
time slip recording, and simultaneous recording and playback -- all of which provide the
user with more convenient viewing and recording options. You can find more details in
the 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.
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