The Week in Review: July 28 - August 3, 2003

Last week's features at 3DsoundSurge

Last week's sound news

Drivers and bugs

• New nForce drivers
  nVidia has released new nForce (v2.45) drivers. Here's the release notes:
  1. WHQL certified kit for nForce and nForce2 (NOTE: the graphics drivers in the English only kit is not WHQL certified. However, it is the same driver version as the international kit)
  2. Includes support for nForce2 400 and nForce2 Ultra 400
  3. EAX fixes and compatibility improvements in
     1. Operation Flashpoint
     2. The Matrix Reloaded
     3. Grand Theft Auto: ViceCity
     4. Mafia
     5. Battlefield 1942
  4. Updated audio control panel
  5. 3D audio performance improvements
  6. NOTE: NVIDIA accelerated IDE drivers are not included in this release.

New games, demos, patches and bugs

• Raven Shield Patch
  A new (v1.31) patch for Raven Shield Patch has been released.

• WarCraft III Patches
  New patches (v1.12) for WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne has been released.

Reviews of soundcards, speakers, headphones and MP3 players.

• Hercules Gamesurround Muse Lt
  Bjorn3D has posted a mixed but overall positive (considering the low price) review of Hercules Gamesurround Muse Lt.

• iRock! 730i MP3 Player
  A new mixed (score: 72%) review of iRock! 730i MP3 Player has been posted on GamingIn3D.

• Creative LX100 MP3 Player
  T-Break has posted a mixed but overall positive review of Creative LX100 MP3 Player.

• RCA Lyra RD1071A MP3 Player
  Computing on Demand has posted an overall positive review of RCA Lyra RD1071A MP3 Player, which they describe as small and inexpensive (about $100).

• Samsung yepp YP-35H Digital Audio Player
  FutureLooks has posted a positive (score: 8 out of 10) review of Samsung yepp YP-35H Digital Audio Player.

• QuietPC QuietFeet Vibration Isolation Feet
  A new review of QuietPC QuietFeet Vibration Isolation Feet has been posted on Ripnet-uk. They found them to help reduce the noise but only really as part of a solution together with other noise reducing products.

• Cyberlink PowerDVD 5 Deluxe
  Warp2Search has posted a review of Cyberlink PowerDVD 5 Deluxe. It's a very positive review (4.5 out of 5) but they was not impressed with the virtual surround options.

Other sound news

• SRS Labs Becomes the Dominant Audio Enhancement Provider to TV Manufacturers
  SRS Labs has announced that it has extended its penetration of the television market through recently launched 2003 models from top TV manufacturers. The company's advanced audio enhancement technologies are now featured in models from over 20 of the world's leading TV manufacturers, including Aiwa, BenQ, Changhong, Gateway, Haier, Hisense, Hitachi, Konka, LG/Zenith, Loewe, Mitsubishi, RCA/Thomson, Sampo, Samsung, Skyworth, Sony, Sharp, TCL, Toshiba and Viewsonic.

  According to the Gobi International, in 2003, the global production of televisions is expected to reach over 228 million units. Will Strauss from Forward Concepts states, "With the advent of new high definition and plasma display models, there is an increasing importance placed on the audio quality of TVs. From 2002 to 2007, the market for HDTV alone is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 58.7 percent. Demand for better audio will far exceed this growth rate." You can find more details in the press release.

• Meridian 861 Upgrade Adds Room Correction
  Meridian Audio Limited, the award-winning British manufacturer of digital home theatre systems, has released a significant upgrade to its flagship digital processor, the 861.

  The new Version 4 software, coupled with the new EF20 DSP Card for the 861 includes a completely new feature: Meridian Room Correction. Conventional room equalization systems attempt to simply invert the room/speaker response ­ something which cannot be done accurately and produces undesirable effects such as listener position dependence, ringing, pre-echo and loss of headroom. Meridian¹s Room Correction system, in contrast, relies on controlling room modes at low frequencies, where room problems are the most noticeable and extremely effective results can be obtained for a broad range of listening positions. It should, of course, be remembered that room correction supports, rather than replaces, good room acoustics. You can find more details in the full press release.

• Creative Ships NOMAD Jukebox Zen NX
  Creative (Nasdaq: CREAF), a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products for PC users, today expanded its popular line of award-winning NOMAD® Jukebox Zen digital audio players by announcing the ultra sharp-looking NOMAD Jukebox Zen NX. The NOMAD Jukebox Zen NX is the slimmest, lightest NOMAD Jukebox yet and features a removable, high-capacity Li-Ion battery for up to 14 hours of continuous playback versus just eight hours for the Apple® iPod(TM). The pocket-sized NOMAD Jukebox Zen NX features USB 2.0 connectivity for super fast file transfers and compatibility with virtually all PCs. The 30GB NOMAD Jukebox Zen NX is now shipping with an ESP of only US$299.99. A 20GB model is also shipping with an ESP of only US$249.99. You can find more details in the full press release.

• Creative Introduces NOMAD MuVo NX 256MB and 128MB MP3 Players
  Creative has announced U.S. shipment of the NOMAD® MuVo® NX digital audio player, featuring up to 256MB of memory and a backlit LCD for easy on-the-go music navigation. The compact NOMAD MuVo NX is the first MP3 player to feature M-PORT(TM) compatibility enabling direct connectivity and audio streaming to any Creative I-Trigue(TM) speaker system featuring an M-PORT interface. The sleek, silver NOMAD MuVo NX with 128MB is small enough to fit on a key chain or wear around the neck, yet can hold up to four hours of music and is now shipping at an estimated street price of US$149.99. An even higher capacity NOMAD MuVo NX, featuring 256MB to hold up to an amazing eight hours of music in the same small form factor, will ship in August 2003 at an estimated street price of only US$199.99. You can find more details in the press release.

• TEAC America Introduces 4X DVD+/-R/RW Dual Desktop DVD-Recorder Drive
  TEAC recently announced the introduction of its new DV-W50D Dual DVD-Recorder drive, a 4X DVD+/-R/RW IDE/ATAPI DVD-Recorder drive. The TEAC DV-W50D offers support for both DVD+R/+RW and DVD-R/-RW recording formats. It writes at 4X speed to DVD+R and DVD-R, rewrites at 2.4X speed to DVD+RW and 2X speed to DVD-RW media and plays DVD movies at 12X speed. The drive is capable of recording to CD-R media at 16X speeds, rewriting to CD-RW media at 10X speed, combined with a higher read speed for CDs at 32X speed maximum. You can find more details in the press release.

• Plextor Supports Leading DVD Format Standards with New Dual DVD+/-R/RW Drive
  Plextor® Corp has announced its first ever drive to burn DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, and CD-R/RW discs. Plextor's PX-708A drive supports 8X DVD+R and 4X DVD-R Writing; 4X DVD+RW and 2X DVD-RW Rewriting; and 12X max DVD-Reading. The new DVD/CD burner also boasts high-speed 40X CD-R Writing, 24X CD-RW Rewriting, and 40X max CD-Reading. You can find more details in the press release.

Upcoming features at 3DsoundSurge

• Reviews 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.
  

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