From: 10667547@eng2.eng.monash.edu.au (JIMMY FANG)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: Amiga 4000 & HYPE! -Reply to Jerry Shekkel
Date: 1 Oct 92 02:16:03 GMT
Organization: Monash University, Melb., Australia.

In article <1992Sep28.182632.9432@sol.ctr.columbia.edu> jerry@connection.prospect.com (Jerry Shekhel) writes:
>From: jerry@connection.prospect.com (Jerry Shekhel)
>Subject: Re: Amiga 4000 & HYPE! -Reply to Jerry Shekkel
>Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 18:26:32 GMT
>10667547@eng2.eng.monash.edu.au (JIMMY FANG) writes:

>I think you're either confused, or your hearing is seriously different from
>mine.  On my sound card (PAS-16), FM music is *crystal clear*, clearer than
>any telephone transmission or radio I've ever heard.  Of course, it doesn't
>sound like it's being played by real musical instruments, but that's
>understandable given that it's synthesized and not digitized.

I never said that sound on home computers sounded like the real thing.  It 
doesn't feel anything like being at a concert hall listening to thunder of 
the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in full flight!

>Digitized music *does* sound like it's being played by real musical
>instruments, but its quality (clarity and richness) depends heavily
>upon several things, such as frequency and sample resolution.  CD's play 
>16-bit 44.1KHz stereo music.  MODs utilize only 8-bit samples, and the
>frequency is what, 22.1KHz?  This is *not* CD quality, even if we ignore the
>fact that MODs are compressed, sampling only one note per instrument.

Gosh, I can't hear anything higher than 19 kHz, so you and the dogs must be 
real happy with the high pitched 44kHz screeching :-)  Those Amiga mods 
being played on the IBM don't suddenly have their samples resampled at 
16bits!  But most samplers for the Amiga go up to 44kHz (in eight bits 
though), so it's not that big of a problem.

[stuff deleted]
>
>The SoundBlaster, as well as the newer sound cards, have digital channels
>as well as FM channels.  Yes, they can play your exalted MODs just fine.

But SoundBlaster doesn't sound very good.  The Amiga sound sounds much 
better.  The newer sounds cards (for many different platforms) are much 
nicer.  I like the Roland (something or other) on the IBM.

>>Having EXPLICIT support and actually using the features are two separate 
>>things.
>
>They are?  When I said "explicit", I meant just what you say.

Look, you could have a driver for your Super-Duper-X-Hi-VGA but if all it 
did was to give you a CGA display, what's the point?  Using the features and 
just supporting the card are two totally different things!

>>How many sound channels does the average games use?  For example, 
>>if the sound-tracks were written for an eight voice card, then if the game 
>>had a compatible driver for your super-duper 64 voice card, I doubt if you 
>>would suddenly hear 64 voices, would you?
>>
>
>Look, all I know is that I just saw the demo for an upcoming game from
>Microprose.  This game has the usual SoundBlaster support, as well as
>special (explicit?) support for the PAS+/PAS-16.  I played the demo in
>both modes, and it sounded considerably better in the PAS mode than the
>SB mode.
>
>>I've listened to Amiga mods played on the IBM.  Pitty that IBM people lack
>>the creativity to write their own mods.
>
>Pity that Amiga people can't hear the difference between MODs and real
>digitized music.

What do you mean by REAL digitized music.  My CD's sound better than most of 
the Mods I've heard, except for some real big one meg mods.  Get the CD "
Hats" or "A Walk Across the Rooftops" by the Blue Nile, they you lots of 
samplers and stuff.  It's probably the best combined digital and accoustic 
music I've heard.

Well, there's not much difference between MODS and real? digitized music if 
an Amiga MOD can make it onto the music charts.

Unless you mean real digitized music is stuff by the Electric Light 
Orchestra or Jean Paul Jarre (sp? name?), then I guess I'd have to say
that I find it dull.

>>One of my friends had HIS mod 
>>playing at an IBM show.  Boy was he annoyed having his music promoting an
>>(I) (B)ought a (M)istake clown!
>
>Yeah?  Well, I was playing a game on the Amiga, but then I tried something
>that the programmers hadn't anticipated, and 
>	(A)las, the (M)achine (I)nstantly (G)uru'd (A)gain! :-)

Hey, that was neat! :-)


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Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy