Optimal Sound - Training in High Definition Audio for Windows Vista

Optimal Sound Offers Audio Training

How to develop pin configurations and verb tables

Optimal Sound provides training in developing pin configurations and verb tables for UAA-compliant audio hardware. You can also read Chapter 4 and Appendix A of the HD Audio book for more details. Contact us for more info.

How to Design UAA-Compliant Hardware

Let Optimal Sound teach your team how to plan your audio designs to take best advantage of the Microsoft UAA HD Audio class driver and the UAA audio architecture. Avoid common failures caused by inappropriate jack-switching in hardware or daisy-chaining of audio jacks. Learn basic analog design and layout techniques necessary to meet the audio fidelity requirements for Vista, including star grounding and how to prevent pops and clicks. Chapters 5 and 6 of the HD Audio book contain information on UAA-Compliant hardware design. Contact us for more info.

DTM Fidelity Testing

Optimal Sound can provide face-to-face or remote training (via Live Meeting) on how to configure a standalone DTM system consisting of a minimum of four computers and an Audio Precision test set:

Domain Controller (running Windows Server 2003)
DTM Controller (running Windows Server 2003)
Audio Precision Host (running Windows XP SP2)
System-under-test (running Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server)

Step by step instructions for successfully configuring each system are provided, along with screenshots. Overall system configuration recommendations such as hardware requirements for each system, overall system storage, security, and driver signing are provided.

A special emphasis on audio fidelity testing is provided. Step by step instructions on how to select and configure the Audio Precision System Two are provided. Additional training is provided on audio test fundamentals, as well as an analysis of each audio fidelity test required for Vista launch, and written steps on how to run the tests manually to generate the same results.

This training is required knowledge for the logo test team at each system vendor, unless the system vendor wishes to contract Optimal Sound to provide the testing.

Motherboard Design and Layout Techniques

Let Optimal Sound teach your team how to plan your audio designs to address problems before they become an issue. Correct analog audio system design often costs no more per unit than sloppy design, and can save on board re-spins. Chapters 5 and 6 of the HD Audio book contain information on best practices for audio design and layout. You can also download David Roach's presentation at Microsoft WinHEC 2005 in Seattle , discussing best practices for audio hardware design in PC environment. Contact us for more info.

Signal Flow

To date the signal flow of the typical PC has been poorly understood even by the engineers working on it. Until the publication of the HD Audio 22" x 17" PC Audio Signal Flow wall chart, this information was not available as a whole, especially when viewed as an entire system including software and hardware. Optimal Sound can teach you and your team how to understand the entire signal flow through the PC, and what kinds of signal degradation are possible at each stage, both analog and digital.

Audio Design Line has published Chapter 9 from High Definition Audio for the Digital Home, by Intel Press. This chapter documents the signal flow of Windows XP, plus a few Vista scenarios. You can view it here. Optimal Sound can provide this same level of detail for your Vista systems, in the form of training in signal flow for Vista, or in the form of custom signal flow diagrams. Contact us for more info.

Audio Precision

Incorporating an Audio Precision System Two into your DTM system is one thing, but learning how to use and understand the Audio Precision scripts and tests takes you to a whole different level. Optimal Sound can teach you how to perform all of the logo fidelity tests manually, and learn how to correlate your results with the DTM output logs. This includes an overview of audio basics. Contact us for more info.

Vista Audio Development Workflow

The Vista audio development workflow has many new steps compared to Windows XP. Optimal Sound provides training in the overall workflow, which requires contributions from many different team members, including audio software engineer, schematic design engineer, layout engineer, BIOS engineer, program manager, and audio architect. Contact us for more info.

Audio Troubleshooting Techniques

Optimal Sound provides training in basic audio troubleshooting techniques , including how to determine whether an issue is HW or SW, and other ways to identify and resolve audio issues. 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

Optimal Sound Offers Audio Training

News about HD Audio and Windows* Vista*