Optimal Sound Design Services: Audio for Windows Vista

Audio Design Services for Windows* Vista*

System Architecture

Planning the overall audio system architecture properly in the first place will always save time and money in the long run. Optimal Sound will work with your marketing and design teams to define an audio system architecture which is easy to support and maintain, sounds great, and is easy to use and understand. Contact us for more info.

Flowcharts

Get more complete understanding of your system by developing detailed audio signal flow block diagrams, similar to the 22" x 17" wall chart from Intel Press that shows the complete audio signal flow diagram of both hardware and software in a modern PC. Contact us for more info.

PinConfigs

Developing pin configurations is one of the critical new steps in the Vista audio development process. Optimal Sound will develop pin configurations and verb tables for your UAA-Compliant hardware. Deliverables include assembly-language verb tables for inclusion in the BIOS and .REG or .INF files containing temporary pin configuration settings. An optional audio flow diagram for each audio endpoint is available. Contact us for more info.

Schematic and Layout Design and Review

If your system is failing the audio fidelity logo tests, then adjustments to the layout are probably needed, followed by a re-spin of the motherboard. This is an expensive and time consuming process that should be avoided when possible. The best way to avoid re-spins is to design the audio circuitry properly in the first place. You can download David Roach's presentation at Microsoft's WinHEC 2005 in Seattle, discussing best practices for audio hardware design in a PC environment. Contact us for more info.

APO Development

Unlike Windows XP, Vista does not perform audio processing in a WaveRT driver. Instead, all system-wide audio processing is performed in user mode Audio Processing Objects (APOs). If you need a custom APO developed to replace existing functionality or provide new functionality, or if you need to combine technologies from multiple vendors into a single APO, Optimal Sound can help. Contact us for more info.

WaveRT Driver Development

While many systems will be able to take advantage of the UAA HD Audio class driver included with Windows Vista, some systems may require additional functionality that can only be provided by a customized WaveRT driver. The WaveRT driver model replaces earlier driver models including WavePCI and WaveCyclic. While these older driver models will continue to function properly on Windows Vista, they do not qualify for the Windows Vista premium logo. Optimal Sound can help in assessing the need for a customized WaveRT driver, and then providing development services if needed. Contact us for more info.

Technical Documentation

Optimal Sound provides technical documentation and graphics. The 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 is a good example of the work that Optimal Sound can provide. Audio Design Line has published an excerpt of Chapter 9 of this book, and an excerpt from Chapter 6 discussing clicks and pops is available from the Intel Press Web site.

Use Optimal Sound services to add an audio expert to your team, and ensure that your systems sound great, are easy to understand, and function properly with Windows Vista. Contact us for more info.

News about HD Audio and Windows* Vista*

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 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.

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.

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.

Windows Vista RC2 to be released October 6, 2006 Recently disclosed details of Windows Vista RC2 release indicate that Vista build 5743 will be released Friday, October 56, 2006, and will be designated as Vista Release Candidate 2 (RC2). 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

Audio Design Services for Windows* Vista*

News about HD Audio and Windows* Vista*