AMD's Interwave Audio Processor Earns Fat Labs MIDI Certification.AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 1996--AMD today announced that the InterWave wavetable A group of sampled sound waves used in MIDI. See wavetable synthesis and MIDI. (hardware, music) wavetable - A type of sound generator often built in a sound card. A wavetable contains digitised samples of real instrument sounds or effect (FX) sounds. audio processor has been awarded the Fat Labs, Inc. "Fat Seal of Approval," certifying compliance with all General Musical Instrument Digital Interface (music, hardware, protocol, file format) Musical Instrument Digital Interface - (MIDI /mi'-dee/, /mee'-dee/) A hardware specification and protocol used to communicate note and effect information between synthesisers, computers, music keyboards, controllers, and other electronic (MIDI) industry standards. The InterWave audio processor and its embedded VoiceCrystal General MIDI A standard set of 128 sounds for MIDI sound cards and devices (synthesizers, sound modules, etc.). By assigning instruments to specific MIDI patch locations, General MIDI provides a standard way of communicating MIDI sound. patch set have successfully completed Fat Labs extensive suite of tests, proving the processor's MIDI compatibility and its capacity to produce well-balanced, CD-quality wavetable audio synthesis from a General MIDI musical score. Sound cards based on the InterWave device are also likely to pass Fat Lab's testing and earn General MIDI certification. "We certify that the InterWave processor will work in a musically balanced way with any General MIDI software known," said George Alistair Sanger, known in the multimedia community as The Fat Man. The certification means that the sounds generated by the InterWave audio processor, called a MIDI patch One of 16 channels in a MIDI device. Many keyboard synthesizers and MIDI sound modules can handle several waveforms per patch, mixing different instruments together to create synthetic sounds. Each waveform counts as a MIDI voice. set, are fully compatible with all General MIDI software applications and will accurately reproduce the MIDI audio files commonly found in many popular game and music applications. "All we wanted was for the General MIDI music we write to sound good to the people who play our games. The folks at AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, www.amd.com) A major manufacturer of semiconductor devices including x86-compatible CPUs, embedded processors, flash memories, programmable logic devices and networking chips. have paid close attention to that issue. The InterWave processor is a great sounding product, and we recommend it heartily," said The Fat Man. "It is great for the InterWave audio processor to be certified by Fat Labs as a MIDI compatible leader in multimedia sound," said Dean Grumlose, multimedia products marketing manager at AMD. "This certification proves that our focus on the overall sound quality of the InterWave processor has paid off and will allow our customers to deliver the best in wavetable sound at a very competitive price." AMD's Am78C201 InterWave wavetable audio processor is a single-chip PC-audio solution featuring wavetable synthesis The technique used by MIDI for creating musical sounds by storing digitized samples of the actual instruments. It provides more realistic sound than the earlier FM synthesis method, which generates the sound waves entirely via electronic circuits. sound, a 16-bit audiophile An individual who is very interested and enthusiastic about the sound quality of a stereo or home theater system. Quality audio components are designed to reproduce the audio without adding any distortion or coloration. codec (1) (enCOder/DECoder) A hardware circuit that performs analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) and digital-to-analog (DAC) conversion. When analog signals are entered into a computer, cellphone or other device via a microphone or video source such as VHS tape or analog TV, for CD-quality recording and playback, an audio mixer, an MPU-401 MIDI port, and a Plug-and-Play interface for easy installation. The InterWave processor supports all of today's major PC-audio standards and provides an ideal engine for running the Microsoft Windows 95 Game SDK (Software Developer's Kit) See developer's toolkit and Windows SDK. SDK - Software Developers Kit (or "Software Development Kit"). audio feature set. About AMD AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets. AMD produces processors, flash memories, programmable logic devices, and products for communications and networking applications. Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, Calif., AMD had revenues of $2.4 billion in 1995 (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : AMD). About Fat Labs, Inc. Fat Labs, Inc. was established as a testing facility to ensure quality General MIDI music. The lab has crafted a thorough set of specifications and tests that ensure that music comes out of the computer the way it was programmed in. The Fat Labs' sound module testing service protects the consumer by insuring a high degree of General MIDI compatibility between instruments at a musical level. About The Fat Man The Fat Man is the biggest name in music for multimedia. Along with Team Fat, his team of cowboy composers in Austin, Texas, he has helped create sound for a list of hit products unmatched by anyone in the business. In addition to composing and producing, his testing work with sound card companies is galvanizing galvanizing, process of coating a metal, usually iron or steel, with a protective covering of zinc. Galvanized iron is prepared either by dipping iron, from which rust has been removed by the action of sulfuric acid, into molten zinc so that a thin layer of the zinc the computer audio industry. Credits include: The 11th Hour, The 7th Guest, US Navy Fighters, Wing Commander 1 & 2, Ultima Underworld, Master of Magic, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, Putt Putt Saves the Zoo, This Means War, Shannara, NASCAR Racing and over 90 others. -0- World Wide Web: Press announcements and other information about AMD are available on the Internet via the World Wide Web. Type http://www.amd.com at the URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. prompt. Note to Editor: Additional information may be obtained by calling 800/222-9323 or 408/749-5703. Please do NOT use editor contact or corporate telephone numbers for sales information. InterWave is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. VoiceCrystal is a trademark of Eye&I Productions, Inc. VoiceCrystal is licensed by Eye&I Productions, Inc. The Fat Man is a registered trademark of The Fat Man and Fat Labs, Inc. General Notice: Product names used in this publication are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies. CONTACT: Advanced Micro Devices John Wilkinson, 512/602-2292 john.wilkinson@amd.com |
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