From: plutchak@porter.geo.brown.edu (Joel Plutchak)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard
Subject: Generic FAQ posting
Summary: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Date: 15 Oct 92 14:46:01 GMT
Organization: Brown University Planetary Geology
NNTP-Posting-Host: pilsner.geo.brown.edu


                       Frequently Asked Questions

                                 of the

                        comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard

                                Newsgroup


Last update: October 14, 1992          Previous posting: September 2, 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
   reorganizing after 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.

   The diehard do-it-yourselfer can also build his/her own device
   which attaches to the computer's parallel port.  A fair number of
   freeware/shareware programs support such devices, though commercial
   support should not be exepcted.  You can get schematics in the
   Modplay Pro package, among other places.


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 in 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: (604) 431-5020

      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
         BBS:     (408) 428-6660

      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.brad.ac.uk              MOD files
         (143.53.2.5)
      ftp.ulowell.edu             CMF and ROL files
         (128.63.32.1)
      ftp.uwp.edu                 Sound (and graphics) demos
         (131.210.1.4)
      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


      Miscellaneous               Description
      --------------------------  ----------------------------------
      Sound Site Newsletter       An electronic newsletter devoted to the
                                  computer sound hobbyist.  Available on
                                  many BBS' and anonymous FTP archives,
                                  and posted to several newsgroups.


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

      Modplay Pro - plays MOD files on Soundblaster & compatibles
         and parallel port DACs (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)
      PLAY410 - VGA raw sound file player (freeware?)
      CD-Box - plays most sound files, needs supporting drivers (shareware)
      DIGIStudio - VGA MOD editor for COVOX & Soundblaster (freeware?)
      Muzika - Windows MIDI editor (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 group(s).


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

   As of this writing, commercial support is sketchy, though rumors of
   vendor-supported OS/2 drivers for the PAS and Soundblaster have been
   heard, and Gravis is reportedly *not* supporting OS/2.  Also, the
   Soundblaster reportedly works under OS/2's MMPM/2 (multimedia
   extensions).

   Various people in the community have written device drivers for the
   Soundblaster 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.  A prelimary version of an
   OS/2 driver was spotted at the astro.as.arizona.edu (128.196.176.1)
   FTP site.

   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
Xref: sparky comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard:2775 comp.os.ms-windows.apps:3760