Downloadable Sounds Specification Established
TOP MULTIMEDIA COMPANIES ENDORSE NEW ADVANCED AUDIO STANDARD
Los Angeles, CA (May 1, 1996) -- The MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) today announced the creation of a new advanced audio standard for multimedia hardware. Targeted for CD-ROM and Internet entertainment applications, the new specification will result in higher quality audio from wavetable synthesizers, without any incremental memory costs. The new industry standard Downloadable Sounds (DLS) format was developed in cooperation with members of the Interactive Audio Special Interest Group (IA-SIG) and by leading multimedia companies including AMD, IBM, Microsoft, S3, NVIDIA, ESS, Crystal Semiconductor, Yamaha, Sequoia Development, and Creative Labs.
The Downloadable Sounds specification extends General MIDI by providing a means for game developers and composers to add their own sounds to the PC sound card, rather than relying on the fixed GM sound set. General MIDI is used in PC games for generating music scores, and is also very popular with musicians and hobbyists who use MIDI for composing or learning about music. With DLS, custom sounds can be created and existing instrument sounds can be augmented with special effects by simply downloading a new sample bank.
"Inconsistent and proprietary designs have stalled the widespread adoption of wavetable synthesis." said Tom White ,President, MIDI Manufacturers Association. " DLS 1.0 is the industry standard that will make wavetable and MIDI ubiquitous on mainstream consumer PCs. Consumers will experience enhanced interactive sounds beyond anything available today on the PC, and the title composers can rest assured that the consumer will hear exactly what was intended."
According to composer and recording artist Thomas Dolby, now President and CEO of Headspace, "Downloadable Sounds will give composers a universal delivery system for great-sounding music in computer games... I'm done apologizing for a string section that sounds like a squished bug!"
"We are excited about the MMA DLS 1.0 format," said Eric Engstrom, DirectX Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation. "In our effort to provide the industry with a suite of high performance standards and compliant APIs for gaming and Internet applications, we intend to support DLS 1.0 in the DirectMusic API scheduled for Q3CY96." Among the first chip set suppliers to announce support for the new standard is NVIDIA, whose NV1 PCI based Multimedia Accelerator is used in products such as the Diamond Edge ® 3D from Diamond Multimedia. "Wavetable synthesis with DLS will be a required feature for the consumer PC," said NVIDIA director of marketing Rob Csongor. "We have achieved unprecedented levels of integration by adding DLS 1.0 to our list of advanced audio capabilities." Ken Wirt, Vice President of Marketing, Diamond Multimedia Systems, added "DLS 1.0 will allow the Diamond Edge ® 3D to deliver compelling applications and games that utilize customizable sounds for truly interactive audio and graphics."
Creative Labs, who just recently announced their SoundFont ® 2.0 specification for downloading, also stated their intention to support DLS Level 1 files at the Computer Game Developers Conference earlier this month. Other manufacturers participating in the development of the DLS 1.0 specification expect to begin delivering sound cards and chip sets later this year.
Initial sound developer tools will be provided by Sonic Foundry, best known for "Sound Forge" sound editing software. Monty Schmidt, CEO, Sonic Foundry, said "We have been instrumental in driving this standard with the MMA. With our tools the incorporation of MIDI with DLS will be seamless and above all easy to use by developers."
The MMA is the industry trade association responsible for the development of the original MIDI specification in 1984, and the General MIDI (GM) specification in 1991. The specification is expected to be formally adopted by the MMA membership early this summer.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
Accolade Rudy Helm, Audio-Group Coordinator for leading game maker Accolade, said "Accolade is proud to have provided a consulting role in the development of DLS and we are eager to implement DLS technology in our software entertainment products."
OnLive! Technologies "We are excited by the potential Downloadable Sounds present for Internet audio content delivery and the impact they will have on custom audio production for multimedia as a whole" said James Grunke, Director of Audio, for OnLive! Technologies. OnLive! is a developer and marketer of client /server software enabling real-time voice communication between multiple people in graphically rich virtual worlds.
Sequoia Development Sequoia Development Group led the group of hardware companies that developed the DLS device architecture, and is a leading supplier of audio technology to the PC industry. "DLS is the portable platform that will change the face of interactive audio, in much the same way that the Web has changed the face of the Internet", said David Sparks, President, Sequoia Development Group, Inc. "We are working closely with our technology licensees to assure that their products support the standard".
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ABOUT THE MMA
Composed of over 140 hardware and software companies from various industries, the MMA provides forums for discussion and ratification of technology and applications aimed at improving and standardizing the capabilities and marketability of MIDI-based products. The MMA membership includes leading companies from every application of audio and MIDI technology, including stage and theater, music performance, home and studio recording, multimedia computing, film and broadcast, and many more. Membership is open to commercial ventures involved in the design or manufacture of MIDI hardware or software.
contact: Tom White
MIDI Manufacturers Association
POB 3173
La Habra, CA 90632
mma@midi.org