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The Week in
Review: June 30 - July 6, 2003
Last week's features at
3DsoundSurge
Last week's sound news
Drivers and bugs
New
games, demos, patches and bugs
New Doomsday Engine
A new version (v1.7.11) of
the 3D sound supporting Doomsday engine has been released.
- Carlo Vogelsang on Lightning Quick 3D Audio with
OpenAL
Creative's Developer site has posted an interview with Carlo Vogelsang, a senior software engineer in
Creative's Developer Relations engineering team. In the interview they discuss OpenAL.
Here's a couple interesting Q&A:
Tell us about OpenAL - exactly what is this API for?
OpenAL is a 3D audio API with basic support for 2D (stereo) audio.
It was architected along the lines of OpenGL and one of the major requirements was to make
it very suitable for hardware acceleration. One of the major advantages is the separation
of sounds (OpenAL's buffers) and playback channels (OpenAL's sources). Another advantage
is that OpenAL allows for extensions, that's how Creative added EAX and AC3 capabilities
to OpenAL
The title of this interview is 'Lightning quick 3D Audio with
OpenAL' - just what are the performance benefits of the API?
Firstly, probably the most important performance benefit comes from
the fact that OpenAL can truly talk directly to our SoundBlaster hardware; there is no O/S
code in between, except for transitioning from user mode to kernel mode. We did add some
clever routines to minimize the number of costly ring transitions, which brings us to the
second benefit; we basically allow for deferring of all the calls made during an audio
frame and process them all using one call and thus one transition. Sort of a
StartAudioFrame() and EndAudioFrame() if you like.
Last, but not least, for applications that are not taking advantage
of our batch processing we added something else that DirectSound doesn't provide;
aggressive value caching, which reduces the number of actual calls made to the hardware by
comparing parameter values and only updating those that really changed.
- Hitman 2 Composer Interview
GameZone has conducted
an interview with composer Jesper Kyd. Games he composed for includes Hitman 2, Brute
Force, Messiah and MDK2. Here's a snip:
What type of music did the developers want Hitman 2 to have?
Jesper Kyd: They were looking for a big, heroic & bombastic symphony score. When Eidos
heard the score they decided to release 15000 promotional soundtrack CDs in Europe and the
US. Only the orchestral music was included on this CD. After H2 was released a label
called LynneMusic released the official soundtrack, which includes bonus tracks that never
made it into the game as well as tracks from Hitman Codename 47. Links for buying this CD
can be found at my web site - www.jesperkyd.com
Was it tough achieving that particular sound?
JK: Working out the different influences from around the world and
making these influences work with heroic and bombastic elements was a challenge. For
example, Japanese music is typically not heroic. Also, writing the music for the Sicily
levels was tough, since I didn’t want to include any typical Godfather-like elements.
I work on making my scores sound different. To me, that keeps everything fresh and
original.
Reviews of soundcards, speakers, headphones and MP3
players.
- PodPerch
Envy News has posted an overall positive review of the PodPerch,
a stand for desktop use of Apple's iPod digital audio player.
- Combo-Drives (CD-RW + DVD-ROM) Roundup
x-bit has posted a Combo-Drives Round-up featuring LG GCC-4480B, LG GCC-4320B,
Philips PBC03210G, Samsung SM-348B, Toshiba SD-R1202 and Toshiba SD-R1312.
Other sound news
- Gateway Expands Home Entertainment Line-Up With
Home Theater Systems
Gateway has introduced two home theater systems. Simple and affordable, Gateway's home
theater systems are complete with DVD player/receivers, speakers and subwoofers. The price
for the two systems is $499 and $699 respectively. You can find some details about the two
two systems in the
press release.
- Gateway Introduce DVD Player With Wireless
Connectivity
Gateway has introduced the Gateway(TM) Connected DVD Player, the first product of its kind
to deliver wireless PC connectivity to U.S. customers. The cutting-edge progressive-scan
DVD player that doubles as a digital media device is available today at just $250. The ability to access progressive-scan DVD movies, MP3 music files and
digital photos in the living room delivers a host of consumer benefits. For example, the
whole family can now enjoy slide shows of vacation photos on TV. MP3 music files can be
retrieved from the PC for playing on the stereo system in dynamic surround sound for
family and friends, while digital videos have double the impact when projected on a large
screen with realistic audio. You can find more details in
the press release.
- Xitel's New MD-Port(R) I/O Allows Users to Record
From PC to MiniDisc
Xitel has announced the release of the latest in its award winning line of audio
technology products. The new MD-Port I/O allows users to record music from PC to MiniDisc
and, for the first time, from MiniDisc back into the computer with the highest possible
fidelity. Xitel's prominent involvement in USB audio design and manufacture led Sony to
bundle the MD-Port AN1, DG1 and DG2 with its MiniDisc recorders around the world. The new
MD-Port I/O continues that heritage and incorporates Xitel's next generation technology
for superior digital output and versatile analog input, all designed specifically for the
special requirements of MiniDisc recorders. Xitel's new MD-Port I/O is now available in
the USA through selected retail stores nationwide and at Xitel's online shopping service.
The estimated street price for the new MD-Port I/O is $69.95. You can find more details in
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.
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