November 1999

APS 2.0 Drivers Will Work for SBLive!
30 November 1999 - Clarence

For those of us hacking away at the APS 1.5 and resoldering pins on our SBLive! cards, EMU and Creative has finally heard the calls for APS support on SBLive! The APS 2.0 drivers to be released by March/April 2000 will work with the SBLive!, though you'll definitely have to pay for it. Check out the musician section for more info!

A3D in Quake 3 Demo Test
30 November 1999 - Clarence

Some of you have mailed be telling me that you are unable to turn on A3D in Quake 3 Demo Test. All I did was to click to turn on A3D and it worked without a hitch. Check that you have an A3D.DLL file of size 59,392 bytes in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder. If you have figured out how to get it to work, let me know!

3DsoundSurge Updates
30 November 1999 - Clarence

Lots of new stuff from the guys at 3DsoundSurge! If you're looking for a set of 4 point speakers for your setup, you can check their review of Altec Lansing's first 4-point speakers, the ACS54 PowerPlay Plus.

They've also got a interview with Scott Snyder, the sound designer for Slave Zero. It covers aspects including EAX, Aureal's wavetracing, 3D audio, sound effects and some API comparisons we well!

And of course those in Europe and are looking at the Sound Blaster Live Player 1024 can check out their review.

SBLive! Reviews
13 November 1999 - Clarence

• nV News has a review of the SBLive! X-Gamer and highlights the differences from the other SBLive! cards available.
• 3DsoundSurge has a review of the European version of the SBLive! Platinum which comes with a better bundle than the American version. It consists of the Live!Drive II (with optical inputs and outputs, and RCA line inputs), InterVideo's WinDVD software DVD player, Steinberg Cubasis VST, Steinberg Wavelab Lite, and Steinberg Recycle Lite.

Flat Panel Speakers & DTT2500 Review
13 November 1999 - Clarence

3D Wars has some detailed coverage of flat panel speaker technology and reviews some models out there.

Articles at 3D Wars:  Part 1 - Planar Focus vs NXT  |  Part 2 - Monsoon MH-500 speakers

3DsoundSurge also has a review of the Cambridge SoundWorks DTT2500 speakers.

Creative PRs
12 November 1999 - Clarence

Some new press releases from Creative, including a new Cambridge SoundWorks Digital speakers (2 channels) with 2 analog inputs, a digital input, and also comes with desktop stands.

Cambridge SoundWorks Takes Highly-Acclaimed Speakers To The Digital Domain
Sound Blaster Live! Driver Now Available For Open Source Linux Development
Bring On The Noise! Creative Invades Fall Comdex 1999 (Ear Plugs Not Included)

Creative's dot.com Strategy
11 November 1999 - Clarence

An article in ComputerTimes outlines Creative's strategy to transform themselves into an Internet company.

Due to the way which ComputerTimes updates their web site, the link may be overwritten with another article in a week's time. You may need to search the archives for this article.

The Industry Moves to 5.1
11 November 1999 - Clarence

Came across this interesting PR on Philips 5.1 Audio Accelerator, the ThunderBird Avenger. Supports tons more 3D accelerated streams than the EMU10K1 can handle, EAX, and Dolby Digital!

By the way, Yamaha is also moving into the 5.1 arena with their upcoming Dolby-certified sound card, the XG-Movie 5.1 Digital Surround Card, supporting both Dolby Digital and DTS. The recently announced A3D 3.0 will do Dolby Digital as well. Now its time for Creative to play catch up!

Tech Updates
10 November 1999 - Clarence

In the Tech section, I have added the following:

• links to how you can install Live!Ware 3 on Win2000
• an excellent soundcard buyer's guide from Sharky Extreme
• how to get coaxial output from the yellow digital minijack
• a link to 3DsoundSurge's SBLive! FAQ

Do mail me if you come across articles that would be useful to other SBLive! users.

Creative Goes Open Source
10 November 1999 - Clarence

Some good news for Linux users. You should be able to use the S/PDIF jacks and the EAX effects in future drivers. GA-Source has news that Creative will be assisting the open source community in developing the drivers.

News from GA-Source:
Creative Labs to Embrace the Open Source Philosophy
Loki Entertainment on Creative Labs Linux Sound Drivers