################ ##### ### # ## ## ## # ## # ### # ## # # ## # ##### ## # ## # # ### ## # ## # # ### ## # ## # ########### ## # ## # # ### #### # ### # ### ###### ### ## ### ##### ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | | Technical News Association | | | | #3 | | | | The Gravis Ultrasound | | By: Mr. Wizzard | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ Well this is the first text file in this newsletter. I was thinking about what I could write, and then I got a Gravis Ultrasound card. So I decided, what's better to write on that. So here it goes. Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Gravis Ultrasound (GUS) is a sound card. For a long time, there has been a quest to reproduce music well, on the IBM PC. It started with cards like the Adlib. More advanced cards, that could also play back true, pre-recorded music, like the Sound Blaster then appeared. Other cards, like the Roland MT-32, became popular, and were much better than the Sound Blaster and Adlib, but also much more expensive. And so it had been until recently, when Gravis released its Ultra Sound card. It's sound quality surpasses that of the Sound Blaster, and Adlib, (Even Sound Blaster Pro, and Adlib Gold), and is nearly equivalent to that of a Roland MT-32. The difference being it is much cheaper. It lists at $199 (United States), and one can be bought at any old computer store for around $150. Features ~~~~~~~~ I figured I'd start the analysis of this card, by listing the features of the card as they are put on the back of the box, and the instructions, and then talking about each of them. This first section is just a LIST of features. Ultrasound - CD Quality Sound From Your PC. -Now you can add unheard of audio realism to your games and presentations. UltraSound is the most advanced sound technology available, delivering 16 bit, crystal clear sound to your IBM or compatible PC. True CD quality, wave table synthesis and stereo recording make UltraSound the ultimate sound solution. CD Quality Sound -UltraSound delivers 16 bit - 44.1 kHz sound with 96 db of dynamic range for true CD quality sound at an affordable price. 32 Voices -Supports 32 digital and/or synthesized voices for richer sound effects and music quality. Windows Multimedia -UltraSound supports Windows Multimedia Extensions for added sound impact in presentations and business programs. UltraSound includes multi-source mixing capabilities and meets or exceeds MPC standards. Wave Table Synthesis -Step beyond the limitations of FM synthesis. Wave table synthesis is based on real sounds - it provides more realistic sound reproduction and an infinite range of musical instruments. Compatibility Plus -"Compatibility" is your assurance that UltraSound will work with existing games that support AdLib or Sound Blaster. "Plus" means UltraSound will provide better quality sound from sound files and games designed for other sound boards. Recording/Sampling -UltraSound features 8 bit digital rates from 2 to 44.1 kHz in either mono or stereo. Separate circuits allow for simultaneous recording and playback. Standard MIDI Interface -Industry standard MIDI interface (UART 6850) supports MIDI In, Out and Thru with an optional low cost cable adapter. Compatible with most MIDI programs. Joystick Port -Many of today's most popular games require a speed compensating game port when used on fast PC's. UltraSound's built-in speed compensating game port supports PC's up to a 50 Mhz 486 and beyond. Connect a second joystick with an optional "Y" cable. Amplified Output -Built-in 2 watt amplifier supports desktop dpeakers and headphones. Easy Installation -Installation software eliminates the confusion of jumpers and technical jargon. UltraSound provides full 16 bit bus support and can be installed in either an 8 or 16 bit expansion slot. 256k Onboard Memory -Upgradeable to 1 megabyte with standard DIP memory chips. Optional Add-on Boards - 16 bit Stereo Recording* - CD ROM Interface* * Available Soon System Requirements -IBM PC or compatible XT, AT, 286, 386, or 486 -DOS 3.0 or greater -286 or greater recommended -Hard disk recommended *Requirements for bonus software may vary. Software Included ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This should be pretty straight forward. All the software takes up about 6 megs when installed. This is all taken from the box still. Ultrasound Studio 8(TM) -A desktop recording studio for playing, recording, mixing and customizing digital sound files. Windows (R) Driver -For use with Microsoft(R) Windows 3.1. Audio/Playdigi/Playfile -Three programs for playing and recording digital audio. Ultrafli -A program for sychronizing digitized sound with .fli format animations. Playmidi -A program for playing MIDI files. Also Includes -Sample Demo Music -Sequences & Sounds Feature Comparison ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Again this is taken from the back of the box. Information on the UltraSound, Sound Blaster, and Sound Blaster Pro has been confirmed by myself. ------------------------------------------------------------------- | Synthesized Voices | GUS | ADL | SB | ADLG | SBP | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | Synthesized Voices | 32 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 22 | |------------------------------|-----Ä|------|------|------|------| | FM / Wave Table Synthesis | Wave | FM | FM | FM | FM | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | CD Quality Sound | Yes | No | No | No | No | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | Digital Audio Voices | 32 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | Stereo Digital Voices | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | Stereo Synthesis | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | On-Card Memory | 256k | None | None | None | None | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | Game Port (Sp = Speed Adj.) |Yes/Sp| No | Yes | ???? | Yes | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | MIDI Interface | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | Stereo Sample Rate (kHz) |2-44.1| None | Mono |1-44.1| 4-22 | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | MPC & Windows 3.1 Compatible | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | Recording Resolution (Bits) | 8/16*| N/A | 8 | 12 | 8 | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | CD Rom Interface | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | |------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------| | On-Board Mixer | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | ------------------------------------------------------------------- Critical Analysis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CD Quality Sound -Hey it's a great card, I love it, but CD's aren't in any danger from your IBM PC. 32 Voices -Yes it seems to have 32 voices. No real way to check this I don't think. Windows Multimedia -Yes it is Windows Multimedia compatible. Was it easy to setup? No, but I'll talk about that more under the installation section. Wave Table Synthesis -This provides wonderful sound quality compared to FM Synthesis, even on some games and applications designed for the Sound Blaster and/or Adlib. Compatibility Plus -It is definately SB and Adlib Compatible, and the sound quality is better on applications designed for them, especially drum sounds. However, it's not like that with just the hardware, you need a special driver provided with the UltraSound (Look under the SBOS section for more details) Recording/Sampling -This works ok, but the included software (USS8) needs some work. There is somehow an addition of hiss when using that program in stereo mode, but PLAYFILE's record feature works flawlessly. I have played Digitally Sampled music and it works spectacularly. This includes .VOC, .WAV and Gravis's .SND format. Standard MIDI Interface -I can't really tell you much about this until they release the cable to go with it. I assume it'll work fine. You can also use the MIDI adapter for a Sound Blaster with it they say. Joystick Port -I use this port now. It functions very well on my 486-40. So it should work on just about anything. Even improved one game I play. Amplified Output -While it supposedly has less of an amp then the Sound Blaster or the SB Pro, I find it to be much louder than my SB and SBPro. 256k Onboard Memory -Used for playing MIDI files. It's upgradeable to 1 meg using 256x4 DRAM chips. You need 6 more to go to 1 meg. Some people have problems using the UltraSound with MIDI files that are complex with only 256k, but I've had no problem. It is also noted that there are no MIDI files on Gravis's BBS yet. System Requirements -Definately need a 286 and a Hard Drive. You must have 5.3 megs available to install all of the software. Installation ~~~~~~~~~~~~ I think this needs its own topic heading like this. While Gravis promises easy installation, it is anything but that in actuality. Granted all it was comprised of was using many different DMA and IRQ settings, it was still a rather annoying process to go through. All setup (except for port address) is through software fortunately. I settled on Port #220, DMA #1, Ultrasound IRQ #5, Midi IRQ #11. The IRQ's and port address are default, the DMA isn't. An added problem is that Gravis's setup program constantly hung up on me. I have since called Gravis's BBS (xxx)xxx-xxx and downloaded a new version that is supposed to not hang. It can also be obtained on either The Wall BBS or Skyline BBS (See #'s at the bottom of this file). Well Windows was also semi-difficult to set it up with too. I THOUGHT I had tried my above settings above without good results in Windows, but I suppose I was wrong. The drivers themselves are easy to install (Like all Windows drivers). Make sure you get rid of any Sound Blaster drivers if you are upgrading from one. In AUTOEXEC.BAT the following lines are the only ones that were added/changed. Gravis's Setup program will do it for you however. SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T1 {Author Comment: A = Address I = IRQ D = DMA and T = Type?} SET ULTRASND=220,1,1,11,5 {Author Comment: Address, DMA, DMA, IRQ of Card, IRQ of MIDI} E:\ULTRASND\ULTRINIT SET ULTRADIR=E:\ULTRASND E:\ULTRASND is the directory I have my Ultra Sound files in. Yours would be different accordingly. SBOS (Sound Board Operating System) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a program included with the UltraSound, responsible for making it Sound Blaster compatible. I was disappointed that it must be done through software, but I'll live due to the quality of the board, and planned future support. The version with the UltraSound is 1.20. It worked just fine for me on all things I tried it with. However, others were having problems with it (As with all software), so new versions have been released (and more are promised). I have also tried version 1.22 Beta. It works the same for me, but others have said it works with some games and such that 1.20 did not work with. I now have version 1.2 Beta (as it is called). It included new instruments and other various info. The latest version of SBOS may be obtained from either the Wall BBS (908)294-8830 or Advanced Gravis's BBS (604)431-5927 anytime. The only minor flaw I have observed is that the digital sound effects (voices, etc) tend to be of a lower volume than the music. Others have also experienced this problem and Advanced Gravis knows of it. I suppose they will fix it in the future. Future Support ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Many companies (I won't bore you with a list) have pledged support for the UltraSound. Some (Like Electronic Arts) intend to release patches that will make their old games support the UltraSound in native mode. Sierra is currently the only major company that I know of that has not planned support for the card in the near future. Acknowledgments ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -I would like to thank Advanced Gravis since most of this information comes either from the back of their box or from the docs. -I would also like to thank those people on Prodigy that are contributing to the wealth of information just being explored. Mr. Wizzard ------------------------------------------------------------- Technical News Association Distribution Sites The Wall BBS (908)294-8830 Skyline BBS (908)363-3832 -------------------------------------------------------------