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The Week in
Review: April 7-13, 2003
Last week's features at
3DsoundSurge
Last week's sound news
Drivers and bugs
New
games, demos, patches and bugs
Run Like Hell for Xbox Ships
Vivendi Universal Games and Interplay Entertainment has announced that Run Like Hell(TM)
for the Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft has shipped to retail. This expanded
Xbox version of the survival horror game includes an additional "hydroponics"
level, five additional rooms and several new bloodthirsty creatures. Dolby® Digital 5.1
and High-definition (HDTV) will be supported in the game, and additional mini games and
skins are available at launch via Xbox(TM) Live.
News Source: Press
Release
- Enter The Matrix Composer Interview
Music For Games has conducted an interview with composer Don Davis who was scoring the
music for Matrix and its first sequel and Erik Lundberg who is scoring "Enter the
Matrix", the first video game of the Matrix franchise.
Reviews
of soundcards, speakers, headphones and MP3 players.
- Philips Sonic Edge 5.1
LANParty has posted an overall very positive review of the Philips
Sonic Edge 5.1. It's worth noting that the background noise that they describe as
having with the Sound Blaster Live 5.1 card is certainly not typical.
- Sound Card CPU Usage Testing
Tom's Hardware has posted an article that
takes a look at CPU usage for audio delivery on the Realtek ALC650, CMI-8738, NForce,
Audigy2 and Fortissimo III (CS4624). A couple of comments...First, the CMI-8738 does have
drivers with EAX 2 support, not just EAX 1 as mentioned in the linked article. Secondly,
Quake 3, which is one of the games used for testing, has no support for EAX. More
importantly, other than for very early builds of the game which supported Aureal's A3D 2,
it has no support for 3D audio so what they were likely testing with Quake 3 is Direct
Sound CPU usage. Thanks to Alex (Holden) for the pointer. For another look at CPU usage
you can check out the benchmark sections of our recent SoundMAX SPX
and nForce reviews.
- Aureon 7.1, M-Audio Sonica and Revolution 7.1
ExtremeTech has posted a a detailed review
that looks at three Envy24HT based sound cards. The cards
are the Terratec Aureon 7.1 along with the the M-Audio Sonica, and Revolution 7.1. All
three are contrasted with Creative's Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer. One point worth noting in
the UT2003 CPU usage tests is the Audigy (along with the nForce) have custom openAL
drivers and to enable use of these you have to go into the game configuration files.
Otherwise even when using Hardware audio plus EAX the game uses the default openAL that it
ships with. For another look at UT2003 using the custom openAL support on the nForce and
Audigy you can check out our nForce review. One other comment is there must be different driver
builds out there as a review on the Tech-Report
of the Revolution 7.1 was able to utilize 3DMark03's audio component, something
ExtremeTech was unable to do. Thanks to Rusk Reeder for the pointer.
- AOpen Tube Motherboard vs. Terratec Aureon 5.1
Sky
Lost Circuits has posted an interesting comparison of the
AOpen Tube motherboard and the Terratec Aureon 5.1 Sky sound card. One minor comment
on their historical overview and that is to be clear that Aureal delivered the Vortex 2
(their 4 channel chipset) in retail products a couple of months after Creative had been
shipping the 4 channel Sound Blaster Live. It's also worth noting for clarity that
Microsoft's DS3D is the positional API to which EAX is an extension.
- Bose QuietComfort Acoustic Noise Cancelling
Headset
Adrian's Rojak Pot has posted an update of its detailed review of Bose QuietComfort Acoustic
Noise Cancelling Headset. The $300 headphones are one of the top ANR (active noise
reduction) headphones in the world and can suppress about 17dB of noise across the range
of human hearing. They are designed for in-flight use but Adrian's Rojak Pot decided to
see how they would work on ground, both indoors and outdoors. They found it to work very
well, enough to easily be worth the $300 if you can afford it.
- Magic Star MP3 Player/pendrive
HeatSeekerz has done a review of Magic Star MP3 Player/pendrive. The review is overall
positive even though they note that you can easily find cheaper and more compact pendrives
if you are not interested in the MP3 playback capability.
- Pyramat Sound Furniture Video Review
3D Game Man has posted a video review of Pyramat Sound Furniture model PM300. It
offers a comfy sound adventure! This product is compatible with gaming consoles (XBox,
PlayStation, GameCube, GameBoy), TVs, DVDs, Stereos, MP3s and CD Players. So sit back and
enjoy the rumble. Watch the Video to find out more.
Other sound news
- VIA Envy24 audio chip Interview
Tech-Report has conducted
an interview with Keith Kowal, Marketing Manager of VIA's Audio division. Here's four
Q&A:
TR: What are the key differences in capabilities and target
markets for Envy24, Envy24HT, and Envy24PT?
VIA: The original Envy24 Audio Controller was designed for the niche
hi-end audio market with a total of 12 inputs and 12 outputs and a built-in digital mixer,
among other features. I think today you will find most cards in that segment are based on
the Envy24 solutions. Even some consumer solutions like the Integra NES-2.3 . . .
integrate the VIA Envy24 controller.
Then around Computex last year we came out with the Envy24HT Audio
Controller. This device has the same hi-end core as the Envy24 but we took out some of the
Pro features. At the same time though we added features like support for 192kHz sampling
rates, making it the first audio controller to support all the formats found on a
DVD-Audio disc. The Envy24HT is aimed at the hi-end consumer market as we have seen with
design wins for M-Audios Revolution 7.1, Terratec's Aureon Space and Sky, and Audiotraks
Prodigy192.
Finally we came out with the Envy24PT Audio Controller, which is
aimed more at the onboard audio market as an integral part of the VIA Vinyl Audio
Strategy. This audio controller features 24/96 support on the digital outputs and 7.1
20/48 support for the analog outputs. There is also an enhanced version of the Envy24PT
that offers 24/96 analog outputs.
TR: Is VIA pushing the Envy24PT as a source for digital connections when paired with
sub-24-bit DAC/codecs?
VIA: Actually in the first implementations of the Envy24PT we expect
that most motherboard makers will implement it with our Six-TRAC codec an additional 3rd
party codec resulting in a 7.1/20-bit/48kHz analog section, and 24/96 for the digital. In
later implementations I think we will start seeing motherboard makers bringing 24-bit
analog connections to the motherboard with our enhanced version of the Envy24PT.
TR: Does the Envy24PT have any special requirements (power, traces,
etc..) that make it more difficult to integrate into a motherboard design than, for
example, a CMI8738?
VIA: Well both the Envy24PT and the CMI8738 are PCI based
controllers so I think in many ways their integration will be very similar. The most
significant difference is that the CMI8738 integrates the DACs and ADCs in a single chip
while the VIA Envy24PT requires an external codec. While on the face this might seem to be
a disadvantage, the C-Media solution suffers from very poor performance i.e. poor
frequency response, very poor intermodulation distortion etc. Therefore, the advantage of
having a separate codec is that you do not get interference from the controller signals,
and can lay out the chip more carefully, creating a proper ground plane, separate
analog/digital power supplies etc. This will result in a solution with far greater audio
fidelity.
TR: The Envy24 supports 32 DirectSound hardware channels and 16
DirectSound 3D hardware channels. Do the Envy24PT and HT support the same number of
DirectSound and DirectSound 3D hardware channels as the vanilla Envy24?
VIA: The Envy24 chip did include support for hardware acceleration.
However, in most implementations this feature was not used. For the Envy24HT we took out
the support for DirectSound hardware channels.
VIA's view is that hardware acceleration is a legacy feature that
can have a negative impact on sound quality. Today's high performance systems with
multi-gigahertz processors have plenty of extra cycles to process audio with no noticeable
effect on gameplay i.e. framerates. We also definitely see that game developers are moving
away from hardware acceleration. This will start with the new Doom III engine which is
completely software based (does not use hardware acceleration), and we feel most other
game developers will follow this trend as it enables much greater control of the gaming
sounds than relying on a third party API.
Another major point is that not enough attention is being paid to
the quality of gaming sounds. Many reviewers who have looked at Envy24 based solutions
have commented that the sounds of the games are crisper, clearer, and more realistic. The
best example I can think of is one user commented to me how much more the rifle in Jedi
Outcast sounded like the rifles in the actual movies, which I figure is what the sound
designer would have wanted.
- Audiotrak Starts Shipping of Prodigy 7.1 in North
America
Audiotrak has announced it has begun shipping a line of consumer audio products in North
America for the desktop and notebook PC markets. Audiotrak's premier product is its
signature design, the Prodigy 7.1 audio card that delivers high fidelity at 24-bit,
192kHz. The company's external solutions include the Maya EX7, Maya EX5, and OptoPlay for
high fidelity, surround-sound playback on notebooks. Audiotrak's exclusive Advanced NSP
software allows consumers to add pro-quality effects to any audio source and record
multi-channel content up to 7.1 channels at 24-bit, 96kHz. You can find more details in
the press release.
- SRS Circle Surround(R) Standard Sound Delivery
Format for Paramount Studios Television Series
SRS Labs has announced that its advanced Circle Surround® multichannel format has been
chosen by Larson Studios as its standard 5.1 surround sound mixing format for television.
Larson Studios, recently opened in Hollywood, Calif. by industry veteran Rick Larson,
provides a variety of post-production work for leading production companies such as
Paramount Studios. Circle Surround has been endorsed by Paramount and beginning from the
2002-2003 season, Paramount's hit television series Frasier and Becker are mixed in SRS
Circle Surround by Larson's 12-time Emmy winning audio mixer Tom Huth. You can find more details in the
full press release.
- SRS Labs Demonstrate Circle Surround Technology
for Professional Audio
SRS Labs has announced that at this week's National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)
conference in Las Vegas, it will be hosting seminars with Emmy-Award winning mixers, who
have chosen SRS Labs' Circle Surround (CS) technology as a premier surround sound format.
Speakers Tom Huth, Ed Greene, Gary Baldassari, and Ron Scalise will conduct real-time
demonstrations and tutorials on how to mix for and use Circle Surround to deliver 5.1 or
6.1 channel surround sound over any existing two-channel carrier. For more details read the full
press release.
- Iowa Tech Firm Creates Buzz in Audio Market
An Iowa research lab has created, they claim, one of the hottest products in today's audio
market. Shell Shocked Sound, Inc. -- also known as S3I -- has developed solid state audio
driver technology called DDrive and XDrive that eliminates the need for conventional
speakers. The technology works like this: the DDrive and
XDrive components -- coupled with an amplifier and power supply -- combine high force,
broad bandwidth and power handling capabilities into a very compact package. The
components can be used to turn walls, floors, ceilings, windows, furniture and other hard
surfaces into speakers. Each unit is only half the size of a coffee cup and weighs just
one-and-a-half pounds. For more details check out the press release.
- Sony Introduce New 4x DVD+RW Capable Drives
Sony Electronics has announced two new Dual RW drives that support 4X DVD+RW recording.
Sony's Dual RW drives are the first combination drives for the PC to support the DVD+RW,
DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD-R formats. Sony's next-generation Dual
RW drives, the internal DRU-510A and the external DRX-510UL, are the first DVD+R/DVD+RW
drives in the industry capable of recording to compatible 4X DVD+RW discs at up to 4X
speeds, which enables users to burn a full 4X DVD+RW certified disc in about 15 minutes.
You can find more details in the full press release.
- Pioneer Unveils Multiple Drive Professional
DVD-Video Recorder
Pioneer Electronics has unveiled its PRV-LX1 professional DVD-Video recorder at the
National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Conference 2003 in Las Vegas. Designed and
built based on direct feedback from customers and professional video users, the PRV-LX1 is
the industry's first modular DVD-Video recorder specifically designed for the professional
industrial video market. Among the key features of the
PRV-LX1 is its real-time video recording capabilities, which streamlines the DVD video
capture, compression, authoring and recording processes while operating with the
simplicity of a VTR. Users now have an alternative to high end PC-based DVD authoring
systems because the PRV-LX1 is designed to easily transfer video and audio content to DVD
while offering the ability to customize DVD menus and chapter points -- a first for a
standalone video recorder. Video and audio content can be recorded from multiple sources
direct to DVD or to the PRV-LX1's internal hard disk drive. The PRV-LX1 also allows users
to simultaneously record to both the internal hard disk drive and to DVD. 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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