surround sound

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Dolby issues Axon SDK to bring surround sound to online console / Mac gamers

Dolby’s Axon surround sound technology isn’t exactly new (it’s already used on a number of PC titles), but to date, it has yet to make a stand in the online console and Mac gaming sectors. All that changes today at GDC, with the aural company introducing an Axon software development kit that will make it possible for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and OS X titles to integrate the technology. According to the company, this here solution provides improved audio chain processing (noise suppression and echo suppression), surround sound voice chat over stereo headsets, 5.1 playback and support for any stereo headset. We’re told that the ports should be available for devs starting in April, though only time will tell how long it takes for your Xbox Live experience to go from haunting to all-encompassing.

Continue reading Dolby issues Axon SDK to bring surround sound to online console / Mac gamers

Dolby issues Axon SDK to bring surround sound to online console / Mac gamers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World’s most compact soundbar from ASUS: the Cine5

While we like to think everyone is sitting in front of huge flat panel displays listening to massive home theater speakers , the reality is that most of us spend the majority of our time in front of computer displays, even for gaming and movie-watching. ASUS has just come out with what they claim is the world’s most compact five-channel speaker, the Cine5. The 28-watt compact soundbar has five discrete channels to give a surround feel and in gaming, gives more precise imaging to help improve target location.

ASUS Cine5 is ‘world’s most compact’ five-channel speaker, doesn’t forget the blue LEDs

Seriously, who told manufacturers that we’re in love with garish LED status lights?ASUS has strapped a glowing orb of unnecessariness around the volume knob of the Cine5 — an otherwise perfectly acceptable and appreciably diminutive PC soundbar. With an array of speaker drivers integrated into that curvy body, ASUS claims the Cine5 produces realistic multidirectional surround sound, but does admit it’s mostly intended for smaller spaces such as study rooms. The announcement also includes a nod to FPS gamers, with claims that the improved positional audio on offer will benefit both gameplay immersion and accuracy when identifying a sound source, though we reckon the biggest boon will still be the elimination of the extra cables and speakers one usually needs to get one’s surround sound on. Price and availability have not yet been made public, but knowing ASUS both should be in the reasonable range of the market.

ASUS Cine5 is ‘world’s most compact’ five-channel speaker, doesn’t forget the blue LEDs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hanwha Japan’s tube-powered USB dongle promises DTS audio on-the-go

If you’re of the persuasion that likes to get their DTS surround sound from a pair of headphones (and we ain’t), the kids at Hanwha Japan have just the thing for you. The X-Tube is a USB dongle that contains a vacuum tube-shaped headphone jack that glows blue when in use. When combined with its Windows-only software and compatible headgear (both included) this bad boy promises DTS Surround Sensation (DTS’ surround sound effect from 2 speakers), and looks really cool to boot. See for yourself after the break. On sale now in Japan for $45.

Continue reading Hanwha Japan’s tube-powered USB dongle promises DTS audio on-the-go

Hanwha Japan’s tube-powered USB dongle promises DTS audio on-the-go originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sherwood’s internet-streaming R-904N NetBoxx receiver review

Sherwood's internet-streaming R-904N NetBoxx receiver review

Why have two gadgets when you can have one that does two things? The answer, of course, is when that one thing doesn’t do either of its two tasks well — the Jack of All Trades Syndrome. When Sherwood told us last year it was making a receiver that had built-in network playback capabilities, meaning we could ditch our media streamers (tiny though they may be), we were naturally stoked. Many months on we’ve finally had a chance to put one through its paces and, if you click through, you can read our impressions of this slim and uniquely styled audio/video receiver — and find out why we’ll be reluctantly hooking our dedicated streamers back up.

Continue reading Sherwood’s internet-streaming R-904N NetBoxx receiver review

Sherwood’s internet-streaming R-904N NetBoxx receiver review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1080p, 5.1 surround sound coming to Netflix Watch Instantly in 2010?

Netflix Watch Instantly fans could be due for a big upgrade, as CNET has heard the company will roll out 1080p and 5.1 surround sound later this year. No word on timing or any other details, but this could mean its moving to version 3 of Microsoft’s Silverlight streaming platform with its additional tweaks for adaptive streaming and hardware graphics acceleration. Also unknown is how much bandwidth would be necessary, but considering Microsoft already uses very similar technology for its 1080p Instant On videos on Zune Marketplace through the Xbox 360 while only requiring 3 Mbps and VUDU HDX 1080p videos only state a minimum of 4500 Kbps, a massive jump in available bandwidth might not be necessary if you already get clear 720p video. The last big hurdle? How much content will be available that way, Gizmodo points out only about 6 percent of current offerings stream in HD we’ll be watching carefully if the pace picks up going forward.

1080p, 5.1 surround sound coming to Netflix Watch Instantly in 2010? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1080p streaming video coming to Netflix, but will it matter?

Netflix fans, your streaming video service is just about to accommodate higher HDTV resolution in glorious 1080p. It’s unclear exactly when this 1080p streaming with 5.1 surround sound will be rolled out — Netflix says it will be sometime “later this year.” You’ll need more bandwidth to handle the higher resolution, probably exceeding the 7 to 10 Mbps required to stream the company’s 720p HD content on the Roku box, TiVo , the Xbox 360 , and PlayStation 3 . Let’s hope Netflix has a better compression scheme up its sleeve for this 1080p trick, supported by Microsoft Silverlight 1080p streaming introduced last March

Revealing Emperor’s new gaming and workstation

You thought 3D would be the ultimate gaming environment? Maybe, but the Alien pilot seat-like Emperor 1510 gaming and workstation may be - is there something higher than “ultimate”? The Emperor is a stainless steel enclosure that can be tricked out with three screens, surround sound, adjustable seat and leg rests, an adjustable keyboard tray, inputs for a Mac or PC, and can recline up to 15 degrees

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