From: plutchak@porter.geo.brown.edu (Joe Six-pack)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard
Subject: FAQ: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard (generic)
Date: 2 Sep 1992 14:41:33 GMT
Organization: Brown University Planetary Geology
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: pilsner.geo.brown.edu


                       Frequently Asked Questions

                                 of the

                        comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard

                                Newsgroup


Last update: September 2, 1992            Previous posting: August 12, 1992


Here are the topics currently addressed:

   1) What sound card should I buy?
   2) How do I get in touch with company XXX?
   3) Where can I get free software and/or documentation?
   4) What programs can play XXX music files on YYY soundcard, or
      convert them into ZZZ type files?
   5) I don't run DOS.  Am I out of luck when it comes to sound boards?

========================================================================


1) What sound card should I buy?

   As with any consumer purchase, what you buy depends upon what you
   want to use it for and how much money you're willing to spend.  As
   of this writing, things are very muddy, what with one major player
   declaring bankruptcy, other companies pre-announcing new products,
   and new companies jumping into the field.
 
   Questions to ask yourself:

      Do I want the highest quality sound possible?  Do I want
      stereo?  Do I want MIDI capability?  Do I want it to be
      supported by a wide range of software?  Am I interested
      in multimedia?  Does the company provide good documentation,
      support, upgrades, etc?  Is software available that does
      want I want it to to?
   
   One person assesses things this way:  If you just want to enhance
   your gameplaying experience, and don't want to spend much money,
   pick up a low-end Soundblaster or Adlib card.  If you have
   high-end interests, and have the cash, buy from Turtle Beach.
   For a good compromise, with MIDI, stereo, etc., get a Soundblaster
   Pro or Pro-16, a Gravis Ultrasound, or a Pro Audio Spectrum 16.
   If you're strictly interested in MIDI, go with something with Roland
   MPU-401 compatibility.  The best thing to do, however, is to hear
   the boards yourself, and test out any relevant software ahead of
   time, if at all possible.
   

2) How do I get in touch with company XXX?

   Here are various names and addresses of soundcard manufacturers
   and major software vendors.  All telephone numbers are from the US
   unless specified:

      Adlib Multimedia Inc. - sound hardware
         220 Grande Allee East, Suite 850, Quebec, QC, Canada G1R 2J1
         Phone: (800) 463-2686
                (418) 529-9676
 
      Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Limited - sound hardware
         111-7400 MacPherson Ave.
         Burnaby, B.C.
         CANADA V5J 5B6
         Phone: ?????

      Creative Labs/Brown Wagh (Soundblaster) - sound hardware,
            programming toolkit
         2050 Duane Avenue, Santa Clara, CA 95054
         Main:    (800) 998-5227, 998-1461
         Support: (408) 428-6622
         FAX:     (408) 986-1777

      Media Vision, Inc (Pro Audio Spectrum) - sound hardware
         47221 Fremont Blvd, Fremont, CA 94539
         Main:    (800) 348-7116 or (510) 770-8600
         Sales:   (800) 845-5870
         Support: (800) 638-2807 or (510) 770-9905
         FAX:     (510) 770-8648 or (510) 770-9592
         BBS:     (510) 770-0968 & 770-1661 (2400,8,N,1)
                  (510) 770-0527 (9600,8,N,1)

      Passport - MIDI software
        ?????
 
      Roland - MIDI hardware, software
        ?????

      Turtle Beach Systems - sound hardware
         P.O. Box 5074, York, PA 17405
                  - or -
         Cyber Center, Unit 33, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, York, PA 17404
         Main:   (717) 843-6916
         FAX:    (717) 854-8319

      Voyetra - MIDI hardware, software, programming toolkits
         333 Fith Avenue, Pelham, NY USA
         (800) 233-9377 (US only)
         (914) 738-4500 (From anywhere)
         (914) 738-4500 (FAX)   


3) Where can I get free software and/or documentation?

   Various commercial and hobbyist bulletin board systems have forums
   dedicated to soundcards, music files, etc.  On the Internet, these
   are a few of the anonymous FTP sites and mailing lists which cater
   to the discerning PC sound enthusiast:


      FTP site                    Description
      --------------------------  ----------------------------------
      ccb.ucsf.edu                SND files and players
         (192.94.75.2)
      ftp.ulowell.edu             CMF and ROL files
         (128.63.32.1)
      louie.udel.edu              MIDI patches, samples, software
         (128.175.1.3)
      saffron.inset.com           Sounds, games, utilities, newsletter
         (192.94.75.2)
      snake.mcs.kent.edu          Soundblaster & Adlib stuff
         (131.123.2.222)
      sol.cs.ruu.nl               MIDI documentation, software, songs
         (131.211.80.17)
      tybalt.cco.caltech.edu      Soundblaster programming in /pub/heathh
         (131.215.139.100)
      wsmr-simtel20.army.mil      Sound players
         (192.88.110.20)
      wuarchive.wustl.edu         Lots of stuff
         (128.252.135.4)


      Newsgroup                   Description
      --------------------------  ----------------------------------
      comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard   This newsgroup.  PC soundcard topics
      alt.sb.programmer           Soundblaster programming topics
      comp.multimedia             Multimedia topics
      comp.music                  Computer music theory and research
      alt.binaries.sounds.misc    Digitized sounds and software
      alt.binaries.sounds.d       Discussion and follow-up group
      alt.binaries.multimedia     Supposedly multimedia sounds and software

      Note: All the above newsgroups except the first two are generic
            groups, so PC-specific topics probably aren't appropriate.


      Mailing list                Description
      --------------------------  ----------------------------------
      Soundblaster Programming    For discussion of Soundblaster
                                  programming issues.  For info,
                                  contact plutchak@porter.geo.brown.edu


4) What programs can play XXX music files on YYY soundcard, or
   convert them into ZZZ type files?

      Modplay - plays MOD files on Soundblaster and compatibles (freeware?)
      WOWII100 - plays MOD files on Soundblaster and compatibles (freeware?)
      SOX/Soundtool - converts between various sound file formats
         (freeware, portable source distributed)
      ScopeTrax - plays VOC, raw, and Amiga files on Soundblaster,
         parallel port DACs, or the PC speaker (freeware)
      CD-Box - plays most sound files, needs supporting drivers.
      DIGIStudio - VGA MOD editor for COVOX & Soundblaster (freeware)
      Windows 3.1 - plays WAV and MID files on most sound boards ($$$)

      Note: Also of interest, a FAQ concerning audio file formats is
            posted intermittently in the alt.binaries.sounds groups.


5) I don't run DOS.  Am I out of luck when it comes to sound boards?

   As of this writing, commercial support is nonexistent, though
   rumors of vendor-supported OS/2 drivers for the PAS and sound-
   blaster have been heard, and Gravis is reportedly *not* supporting
   OS/2.

   Various people in the community have written device drivers for
   the Sound blaster which run under Unix (BSD and System V) and
   OS/2.  Contact Lance Norskog (thinman@netcom.com) for information
   about an AT&T Unix V.3 and V.4 driver, or Steve Haehnichen
   (shaehnic@ucsd.edu) for information about a BSD Unix driver.

   Also, check the various archives and FTP sites for updates and
   late-breaking news.
========================================================================
Corrections, additions, comments, etc., are welcome; Email them to me
and I'll incorporate 'em.
--
Joel Plutchak, Research Programmer/Analyst
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard