Optimal Sound News -Audio Fidelity Testing Now Required for Audio Device Logo

Audio Fidelity Testing Now Required for 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.

In a reversal of the policy stated in WLP 3.06, audio devices and drivers must pass the Audio Fidelity logo tests in order to qualify for logo for Windows Vista. The AUDIO-0006 and AUDIO-0025 logo requirements now show a requirements date of June 1, 2006 rather than June 1, 2007. System logo submissions must include an audio device and optional 3rd-party audio driver which have passed the audio fidelity logo tests, even though the systems themselves do not need passing logs until June 1, 2007. Audio Fidelity logs including the results from an Audio Precision test set are required for ALL logo submissions for Vista.

To help in understanding these various levels of requirements, Optimal Sound has compiled a comprehensive table of audio fidelity requirements contained in AUDIO-0006, AUDIO-0025, SYSFUND-0118, and SYSFUND-0127, showing the fidelity requirements for Basic and Premium logos. Additionally, the Premium logo requirements have separate sections for desktop and laptop. The Premium laptop requirements are virtually identical the basic requirements, while the Premium desktop requirements take a step up from the basic requirements for most categories.

Click here to view the WLP 3.07 audio fidelity requirements chart.

Additionally, Microsoft has removed the "If implemented" language from the AUDIO-0003 requirement, which bans analog mixing paths from input to output of a Vista PC. Previously this was required if a WaveRT driver was in use, including the UAA HD Audio class driver. This has been changed to be a Premium logo requirement. Even if an audio codec includes analog mixer paths capable of connecting line in to line out, or analog CD in to line out, a driver which qualifies for Vista Premium logo must not expose these signal paths.

The reason for this change is due to usability. In order for the operating system to provide the per-application volume controls and level meters that are new in Vista, all audio must be digitized as it passes through the system. Any connection from input to output must be accomplished through software.

Optimal Sound provides complete audio fidelity logo testing , training , and design services . WHQL logs from Optimal Sound can be included with device and system submissions, so you don't need to purchase an Audio Precision test set and become an expert on using it. 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 Fidelity Testing Now Required for Audio Device Logo

News about HD Audio and Windows* Vista*