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EnsoniqSoundscape.txt
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1996-04-25
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For more information:
EMAIL: SS_NSI@Sounds.wa.com
============================
NEXTSTEP Audio Driver released for ENSONIQ Soundscape multimedia
sound cards
BELLEVUE, WA- April 25 - Sound Consulting is shipping Release 3.30
of the EnsoniqSoundscape Audio Driver for NEXTSTEP.
Current support includes all of the shipping ENSONIQ sound cards
plus several third-party compatible sound cards which are based on
the ENSONIQ chip set. There is currently no bundle of the hardware
together with the driver. However, the combined price from separate
sources is still quite affordable and more than competitive.
BACKGROUND
The combination of the EnsoniqSoundscape Driver with any of the
supported sound cards is currently the only solution available for
NEXTSTEP providing support for both Audio and MIDI features on one
Intel-compatible bus adaptor board. The EnsoniqSoundscape Driver
is compatible with the currently shipping MusicKit MidiDriver,
enabling Intel machines running NEXTSTEP to allocate a single ISA
or EISA slot to the combined functions of Audio and MIDI.
According to the archives of the NeXTmusic mailing list: "Sources
at NeXT say the most reliable sound card for NEXTSTEP-Intel is the
Microsoft card. Microsoft [...] have stopped production, [...]"
The ENSONIQ Soundscape hardware is based on the same quality CODEC
chip as the Microsoft Windows Sound System, and is therefore the
only shipping option available to NEXTSTEP users which meets or
exceeds the same quality and reliability standards. Considering
that the Microsoft product did not include MIDI support and has
since been discontinued, the ENSONIQ Soundscape should be the
multimedia sound card of choice for NEXTSTEP now that a Driver is
available.
ABOUT THE DRIVER
The currently shipping version of the EnsoniqSoundscape driver is
designed to work with both the jumpered I/O hardware as well as
the newer software-configurable Plug-and-Play versions. Detection
and support is provided for the Soundscape line plus many third-party
compatibles, such as the NEC Harmony sound card. Installation and
configuration are made simple by a full-featured custom interface
for the Configure application, with driver-specific online help.
The driver has hooks to support a mixer application for managing
the hardware's on-board ten channel stereo mixer. The mixer
application is still in its beta phase of development and is not
currently shipping.
EnsoniqSoundscape requires NEXTSTEP Release 3.3 or higher on
Intel-based computers (486 or Pentium).
WHERE TO OBTAIN THE DRIVER
For additional information, please first visit http://nwlink.com/cyberartists/br
ianw/ss_nsi.html
For pricing and ordering information, please contact "Soundscape
under NEXTSTEP for Intel" <SS_NSI@Sounds.wa.com>
ABOUT THE HARDWARE
More information on the Soundscape line of multimedia sound cards,
featuring 16-bit stereo I/O and on-board General MIDI Synthesis,
can be obtained from ENSONIQ Corporation at http://www.ensoniq.com/
WHERE TO OBTAIN THE HARDWARE
The following cards are available directly from ENSONIQ via
http://www.ensoniq.com/mmd/fax/direct.htm
* ENSONIQ Soundscape
* ENSONIQ Soundscape Elite
OTHER SUPPORTED HARDWARE
The first few of the following cards are manufactured by ENSONIQ
as OEM for Gateway, and may be found pre-installed on newer Gateway
multimedia computers
* Soundscape 2, 2000, SS2000
* Soundscape (OPUS Based)
* Soundscape Plug-and-Play (Revision 0, Revision 1, et al)
* SoundscapeOFFICE Plug-and-Play
The remainder of the cards are not available from ENSONIQ, but are
instead manufactured by third-party hardware vendors and are found
on the retail market.
* Reveal SC-600
* Spea Media FX 16
* NEC Harmony Plug-and-Play
================
Sound Consulting has been providing quality software to the NEXTSTEP
community for over four years, and is also the developer of the
Windows NT Driver for the Soundscape, currently shipping via Gateway
and ENSONIQ. Some of the NEXTSTEP programs, which cover a wide
variety of applications, include sdformat, DoomView.app, MPEG_Play.app,
Calibration.app, News2mbox.app, eViewer.app and check_nibs.
ENSONIQ Corporation of Malvern, Pennsylvania, founded in 1982,
designs, manufactures, and markets products including synthesizers,
samplers, effects processors, mixers, sound cards, and chips.
###################
NeXT and NEXTSTEP are registered trademarks of NeXT Software, Inc.
Windows and the Windows Sound System are trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation.