11 Leading PC Multimedia Companies Announce "3Dxp" 3D Audio Acceleration API for Windows
Los Angeles, Calif., July 17, 1997 - A "Who's Who" group of 11
leading PC multimedia technology companies have endorsed "3Dxp", a
means for extending Microsoft's DirectX 3.0 API to enable hardware
acceleration of 3D audio in PC games. Aureal Semiconductor;
Creative Labs; Diamond Multimedia; DiamondWare; Gulbransen; Qsound
Labs; Rockwell Semiconductor; S3, Inc..; Spatializer Audio Labs;
Texas Instruments; and VLSI Technology, Inc. have all announced
their support for this extension, which allows software developers
to address a variety of competing 3D audio technologies with a
single programming interface under Windows.
Common Interface For 3D Audio Hardware
Without hardware acceleration, applications must use the host processor for 3D calculations via DirectSound 3D. The resulting high workload placed on the CPU is likely to result in lower quality audio processing or reduced visual frame rates. The solution is to use dedicated hardware to accelerate the 3D functions, yet each of the current 3D hardware implementations has its own interface. "It seemed to us that the largest obstacle developers faced in using 3D sound was picking between all the incompatible and competing technology suppliers", said Tom White of the Interactive Audio Special Interest Group (IASIG) which released the specification. "What 3Dxp intends to do is level the playing field so that software developers will jump in and start using 3D audio in games."
Widespread Support
The 3Dxp DirectSound 3.0 API Extension is an open, royalty-free specification developed by members of the 3D Audio Working Group of the IASIG, which is also developing industry-supported recommendations for improving and evaluating current 3D audio solutions. The IASIG is comprised of 250 hardware and software developers as well as music composers and sound designers with a common interest in improving the quality of sound for interactive media.
Conrad Maxwell, chair of the 3D Audio Working Group comments: "The 3Dxp API should speed introductions of new generations of 3D PC audio hardware, as well as software. We've defined 3Dxp as an extension to the existing Microsoft DirectSound to ensure its compatibility with Microsoft Windows, and we will continue to assist interested companies to develop standards which meet the PC gaming industry's requirements."
The 3Dxp specification has been made available to the public on the IASIG web site ( http://www.iasig.org). Reference source code is available for developers from DiamondWare (at http://www.dw.com/DEV3D).
About the 3Dxp API Specification
APIs consist of specific computer language "words" and "phrases" that serve to define for hardware developers what a programmer wants to do. In return, the programmer gains confidence that a properly phrased command will result in an expected result from the hardware or computer.
The 3Dxp API consists of 14 commands that include various kinds of data needed to project 3D audio images from a pair of speakers or conventional headphones. Based on the Microsoft DirectSound API, 3Dxp includes additional commands to pass 3D audio parameters (object position, volume, speed, orientation, etc.) to dedicated audio processing chips and also prescribes a standard means of phrasing 3D audio data to expedite its processing by the computer.
Industry standard APIs simplify the work of programmers and speed introduction of new technologies. In the absence of standard APIs, programmers would be forced to modify software to conform to the peculiarities of multiple individual audio processing chips. Early industry-wide agreement on common APIs helps avoid future wars over industry standards that eventually confuse consumers and delay purchasing decisions.
For more information on the positions of individual companies endorsing the 3Dxp API specification, readers should contact the companies directly.
contact: Tom White
MIDI Manufacturers Association
POB 3173
La Habra, CA 90632
mma@midi.org
WWW: http://www.midi.org
3Dxp is a trademark of the MIDI Manufacturers Association
Incorporated.
Windows, DirectSound, and DirectX are trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation.
All other brand or product names are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of their respective owners.