OPTIMALSOUND.NET: Experts in High Definition Audio for Windows Vista

HD Audio Market Penetration is Complete

The Intel High Definition Audio bus is now standard in 100% of Macintosh computers, and over 95% of PCs being made today. Both Microsoft and Apple offer a class driver which queries the HD Audio codec to determine the system configuration and then configures the audio paths accordingly. And both have audio fidelity requirements and mandated testing in place. This is a big change from the previous era of computer audio, when custom drivers for each system were the norm, and audio fidelity varied dramatically from system to system.

Integrated HD Audio is a fundamental building block for Windows Vista, and is the only integrated audio solution which provides both the low pricing, low power consumption, and logo compliance that is demanded by the PC marketplace.

Optimal Sound is focused squarely on everything it takes to get consumer-grade and communications-grade audio quality from a mainstream computer system. Let us help you with your audio training, design, and testing needs.

News about HD Audio and Windows* Vista*

Microsoft clarifies the Audio Fidelity tests required for Vista Logo after June 1, 2007 Microsoft has provided clarification on the audio fidelity testing requirements for system logo submissions after June 1. All systems must have passing audio fidelity test logs after this date. For more info, click here.

Optimal Sound Announces Vista Audio Fidelity Test Fee Schedule To make sure that system vendors don't have to purchase an expensive audio test set, Microsoft allows system vendors to import audio fidelity test logs created by a third party. Optimal Sound is ready and equipped to provide this service. For more info, click here.

Microsoft Releases Updated Guide to Array Microphone Implementation A major update to this white paper from Microsoft provides previously-unavailable details on how the Acoustic Echo Cancellation and Microphone-Array Beamforming processing built into Windows Vista is implemented, as well as how to test it and use it. For more info, click here.

Microsoft includes built-in Acoustic Echo Cancellation and Microphone Array Processing in Vista As part of DirectShow 9, Microsoft has included Vista-only source code with the new Windows SDK. This source code can be compiled to create a test app which demonstrates the Acoustic Echo Cancellation DMO. While initially intended for use with USB-based array microphones, guidelines are provided for HD Audio implementation as well. For more info, click here.

Microsoft Documents Limit on DTM Test Storage, outlines possible solutions Driver Test Manager (DTM) is the new logo testing infrastructure used for both Windows Vista and Windows XP logo submissions. The default installation is limited to 2 GB of storage, which is enough to get started, but probably not enough for serious DTM users. To find out more options, click here.

Microsoft includes Audio System Effects in Vista Microsoft has released an updated white paper on how to use the Audio System Effects that are included at no charge in Windows Vista. In-box built-in effects include
    Loudness Equalization DSP (LFX)
    Forward Bass Management (LFX)
    Reverse Bass Management (LFX)
    Low Frequency Protection (LFX)
    Speaker Fill (LFX)
    Room Correction (GFX)
    Virtual Surround (LFX)
    Speaker Phantoming (LFX)
    Virtualized Surround Sound over Headphones (LFX)
    Bass Boost (LFX)
For more details, click here.

Microsoft WHQL postpones date that systems must pass audio fidelity tests On Thursday, August 30, Microsoft's Hardware newsletter announced that systems will not be required to pass the audio fidelity portion of the logo tests until June 1st, 2007. However, all submissions must include complete logs from the audio fidelity tests, which requires an Audio Precision System 2 test set to be connected to the DTM test environment. For more info, click here.

Windows Logo Kit 1.0.b Preview Release to Update Earlier DTM Releases Microsoft has separated the Driver Test Manager (DTM) to be separate from the Windows Driver Kit (WDK) and has created a new Windows Logo Kit which must be used for ALL logo testing after August 1, 2007. For more info, click here.

Microsoft Releases New Microphone Array Verification Tool Microsoft has released a command-line tool which can verify whether an audio driver accurately reports microphone-array geometry information and whether the Voice Capture DMO operating in microphone-array mode processes the captured data accurately. For more info, click here.

Audio Fidelity Testing Now Required for Vista Audio Device Logo Microsoft has released Windows Logo Program (WLP) specification 3.07, which has significant impact on the audio development and logo submission process for Windows Vista. Audio devices and drivers are now required to included passing audio fidelity test logs in order to qualify for device logo. For more info, click here.

Audio Design Line Publishes excerpt from HD Audio Book EE Times affiliate Audio Design Line, has reprinted Chapter 9 of the new book from Intel Press, High Definition Audio for the Digital Home: Proven Techniques for Getting It Right the First Time by David Roach, Scott Janus, and Wayne Jones. This chapter of the book describes the complete signal audio signal path of a modern PC, including both hardware and software audio components. For more info, click here.

Microsoft publishes sample code for 3 different Audio System Effects Microsoft has released sample code for three different sample Audio System Effects along with a retitled document describing how to use them. For more info, click here.

Microsoft Multimedia VP Amir Majidimehr writes about Audio System Effects included in Windows Vista Read first-hand the thinking behind the new Audio System Effects included in Windows Vista. For more info, click here.

Microsoft Channel 9 Video on audio hardware for Windows Vista features Hakon Strande and David Roach Check out the 38-minute Channel 9 video featuring Hakon Strande of Microsoft and David Roach of Optimal Sound discussing the audio hardware in Vista. For more info, click here.

Microsoft Releases HD Audio Pin Configuration Test Guidelines Microsoft has released a paper entitled Microsoft HD Audio Pin Configuration Implementation Test Procedure Guidelines. The paper describes how to use a Microsoft-supplied pin configuration utility to generate and validate a set of verb tables which is embedded in the system BIOS. The verb table describes the audio configuration of the system. If the verb table is configured incorrectly, the UAA HD Audio class driver will not function properly and the Windows Vista logo tests will fail. For more info, click here.

News about HD Audio & Vista

HD Audio Market Penetration is Complete

News about HD Audio and Windows* Vista*