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Technical News Association 003
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| |
| Technical News Association |
| |
| #3 |
| |
| The Gravis Ultrasound |
| By: Mr. Wizzard |
| |
------------------------------------------------------------------
Well this is the first text file in this newsletter. I was
thinking about what I could write, and then I got a Gravis Ultrasound
card. So I decided, what's better to write on that. So here it
goes.
Introduction
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Gravis Ultrasound (GUS) is a sound card. For a long time,
there has been a quest to reproduce music well, on the IBM PC. It
started with cards like the Adlib. More advanced cards, that could
also play back true, pre-recorded music, like the Sound Blaster then
appeared. Other cards, like the Roland MT-32, became popular, and
were much better than the Sound Blaster and Adlib, but also much more
expensive. And so it had been until recently, when Gravis released
its Ultra Sound card. It's sound quality surpasses that of the Sound
Blaster, and Adlib, (Even Sound Blaster Pro, and Adlib Gold), and is
nearly equivalent to that of a Roland MT-32. The difference being it
is much cheaper. It lists at $199 (United States), and one can be
bought at any old computer store for around $150.
Features
~~~~~~~~
I figured I'd start the analysis of this card, by listing the
features of the card as they are put on the back of the box, and the
instructions, and then talking about each of them. This first
section is just a LIST of features.
Ultrasound - CD Quality Sound From Your PC.
-Now you can add unheard of audio realism to your games and
presentations. UltraSound is the most advanced sound technology
available, delivering 16 bit, crystal clear sound to your IBM or
compatible PC. True CD quality, wave table synthesis and stereo
recording make UltraSound the ultimate sound solution.
CD Quality Sound
-UltraSound delivers 16 bit - 44.1 kHz sound with 96 db of
dynamic range for true CD quality sound at an affordable price.
32 Voices
-Supports 32 digital and/or synthesized voices for richer sound
effects and music quality.
Windows Multimedia
-UltraSound supports Windows Multimedia Extensions for added sound
impact in presentations and business programs.
UltraSound includes multi-source mixing capabilities and meets or
exceeds MPC standards.
Wave Table Synthesis
-Step beyond the limitations of FM synthesis. Wave table synthesis
is based on real sounds - it provides more realistic sound
reproduction and an infinite range of musical instruments.
Compatibility Plus
-"Compatibility" is your assurance that UltraSound will work
with existing games that support AdLib or Sound Blaster.
"Plus" means UltraSound will provide better quality sound from sound
files and games designed for other sound boards.
Recording/Sampling
-UltraSound features 8 bit digital rates from 2 to 44.1 kHz in either
mono or stereo. Separate circuits allow for simultaneous recording
and playback.
Standard MIDI Interface
-Industry standard MIDI interface (UART 6850) supports MIDI
In, Out and Thru with an optional low cost cable adapter.
Compatible with most MIDI programs.
Joystick Port
-Many of today's most popular games require a speed compensating game
port when used on fast PC's. UltraSound's built-in speed
compensating game port supports PC's up to a 50 Mhz 486 and beyond.
Connect a second joystick with an optional "Y" cable.
Amplified Output
-Built-in 2 watt amplifier supports desktop dpeakers and headphones.
Easy Installation
-Installation software eliminates the confusion of jumpers and
technical jargon. UltraSound provides full 16 bit bus
support and can be installed in either an 8 or 16 bit expansion
slot.
256k Onboard Memory
-Upgradeable to 1 megabyte with standard DIP memory chips.
Optional Add-on Boards
- 16 bit Stereo Recording*
- CD ROM Interface*
* Available Soon
System Requirements
-IBM PC or compatible XT, AT, 286, 386, or 486
-DOS 3.0 or greater
-286 or greater recommended
-Hard disk recommended
*Requirements for bonus software may vary.
Software Included
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This should be pretty straight forward. All the software takes
up about 6 megs when installed. This is all taken from the box
still.
Ultrasound Studio 8(TM)
-A desktop recording studio for playing, recording, mixing and
customizing digital sound files.
Windows (R) Driver
-For use with Microsoft(R) Windows 3.1.
Audio/Playdigi/Playfile
-Three programs for playing and recording digital audio.
Ultrafli
-A program for sychronizing digitized sound with .fli format
animations.
Playmidi
-A program for playing MIDI files.
Also Includes
-Sample Demo Music
-Sequences & Sounds
Feature Comparison
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Again this is taken from the back of the box. Information on
the UltraSound, Sound Blaster, and Sound Blaster Pro has been
confirmed by myself.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
| Synthesized Voices | GUS | ADL | SB | ADLG | SBP |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| Synthesized Voices | 32 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 22 |
|------------------------------|-----Ä|------|------|------|------|
| FM / Wave Table Synthesis | Wave | FM | FM | FM | FM |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| CD Quality Sound | Yes | No | No | No | No |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| Digital Audio Voices | 32 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| Stereo Digital Voices | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| Stereo Synthesis | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| On-Card Memory | 256k | None | None | None | None |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| Game Port (Sp = Speed Adj.) |Yes/Sp| No | Yes | ???? | Yes |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| MIDI Interface | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| Stereo Sample Rate (kHz) |2-44.1| None | Mono |1-44.1| 4-22 |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| MPC & Windows 3.1 Compatible | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| Recording Resolution (Bits) | 8/16*| N/A | 8 | 12 | 8 |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| CD Rom Interface | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
|------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|
| On-Board Mixer | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Critical Analysis
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CD Quality Sound
-Hey it's a great card, I love it, but CD's aren't in any danger from
your IBM PC.
32 Voices
-Yes it seems to have 32 voices. No real way to check this I don't
think.
Windows Multimedia
-Yes it is Windows Multimedia compatible. Was it easy to setup? No,
but I'll talk about that more under the installation section.
Wave Table Synthesis
-This provides wonderful sound quality compared to FM Synthesis, even
on some games and applications designed for the Sound Blaster and/or
Adlib.
Compatibility Plus
-It is definately SB and Adlib Compatible, and the sound quality is
better on applications designed for them, especially drum sounds.
However, it's not like that with just the hardware, you need a
special driver provided with the UltraSound (Look under the SBOS
section for more details)
Recording/Sampling
-This works ok, but the included software (USS8) needs some work.
There is somehow an addition of hiss when using that program in
stereo mode, but PLAYFILE's record feature works flawlessly. I have
played Digitally Sampled music and it works spectacularly. This
includes .VOC, .WAV and Gravis's .SND format.
Standard MIDI Interface
-I can't really tell you much about this until they release the cable
to go with it. I assume it'll work fine. You can also use the MIDI
adapter for a Sound Blaster with it they say.
Joystick Port
-I use this port now. It functions very well on my 486-40. So it
should work on just about anything. Even improved one game I play.
Amplified Output
-While it supposedly has less of an amp then the Sound Blaster or the
SB Pro, I find it to be much louder than my SB and SBPro.
256k Onboard Memory
-Used for playing MIDI files. It's upgradeable to 1 meg using 256x4
DRAM chips. You need 6 more to go to 1 meg. Some people have
problems using the UltraSound with MIDI files that are complex with
only 256k, but I've had no problem. It is also noted that there are
no MIDI files on Gravis's BBS yet.
System Requirements
-Definately need a 286 and a Hard Drive. You must have 5.3 megs
available to install all of the software.
Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think this needs its own topic heading like this. While
Gravis promises easy installation, it is anything but that in
actuality. Granted all it was comprised of was using many different
DMA and IRQ settings, it was still a rather annoying process to go
through. All setup (except for port address) is through software
fortunately. I settled on Port #220, DMA #1, Ultrasound IRQ #5, Midi
IRQ #11. The IRQ's and port address are default, the DMA isn't. An
added problem is that Gravis's setup program constantly hung up on
me. I have since called Gravis's BBS (xxx)xxx-xxx and downloaded a
new version that is supposed to not hang. It can also be obtained on
either The Wall BBS or Skyline BBS (See #'s at the bottom of this
file).
Well Windows was also semi-difficult to set it up with too. I
THOUGHT I had tried my above settings above without good results in
Windows, but I suppose I was wrong. The drivers themselves are easy
to install (Like all Windows drivers). Make sure you get rid of any
Sound Blaster drivers if you are upgrading from one.
In AUTOEXEC.BAT the following lines are the only ones that were
added/changed. Gravis's Setup program will do it for you however.
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T1
{Author Comment: A = Address I = IRQ D = DMA and T = Type?}
SET ULTRASND=220,1,1,11,5
{Author Comment: Address, DMA, DMA, IRQ of Card, IRQ of MIDI}
E:\ULTRASND\ULTRINIT
SET ULTRADIR=E:\ULTRASND
E:\ULTRASND is the directory I have my Ultra Sound files in. Yours
would be different accordingly.
SBOS (Sound Board Operating System)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a program included with the UltraSound, responsible for
making it Sound Blaster compatible. I was disappointed that it must
be done through software, but I'll live due to the quality of the
board, and planned future support. The version with the UltraSound
is 1.20. It worked just fine for me on all things I tried it with.
However, others were having problems with it (As with all software),
so new versions have been released (and more are promised). I
have also tried version 1.22 Beta. It works the same for me, but
others have said it works with some games and such that 1.20 did not
work with. I now have version 1.2 Beta (as it is called). It
included new instruments and other various info. The latest version
of SBOS may be obtained from either the Wall BBS (908)294-8830 or
Advanced Gravis's BBS (604)431-5927 anytime. The only minor flaw I
have observed is that the digital sound effects (voices, etc) tend to
be of a lower volume than the music. Others have also experienced
this problem and Advanced Gravis knows of it. I suppose they will
fix it in the future.
Future Support
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many companies (I won't bore you with a list) have pledged
support for the UltraSound. Some (Like Electronic Arts) intend to
release patches that will make their old games support the UltraSound
in native mode. Sierra is currently the only major company that I
know of that has not planned support for the card in the near future.
Acknowledgments
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-I would like to thank Advanced Gravis since most of this information
comes either from the back of their box or from the docs.
-I would also like to thank those people on Prodigy that are
contributing to the wealth of information just being explored.
Mr. Wizzard
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Technical News Association Distribution Sites
The Wall BBS (908)294-8830
Skyline BBS (908)363-3832
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