Industry's First Complete MP3
Sound Solution Delivers 3D Music Videos Plus Desktop Digital Sound
for Internet Music
MILPITAS, Calif., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/
-- Creative Technology Ltd., the leading provider of multimedia
solutions for personal entertainment, today announced the
availability of the Sound Blaster® Live! MP3+ audio card, a
comprehensive solution that allows Internet music enthusiasts to
seamlessly create, organize and play MP3 and other audio files at
CD-quality fidelity. The Sound Blaster Live! MP3+ also features
the genre-expanding technology LAVA!(TM) (Live Audio Visual
Animation), an innovative visual music animator that creates 3D "music
videos" in real time for the enhancement of MP3 and other Internet
music files.
Based on the award-winning Sound
Blaster Live!, which set a new industry standard for processing
power when introduced last year, the Sound Blaster Live! MP3+
utilizes the unrivaled power of the EMU10K1(TM) audio processor to
give music fans and artists alike the ability to create and
manipulate studio-quality sounds with digital-to-digital
processing and playback of MP3, MIDI, WAV, Internet and CD audio
files. The Sound Blaster Live! MP3+ allows users to easily 'rip'
songs from their personal CD collection and convert them into MP3
files at up to 5X acceleration for easy storage and access on
their PCs.
"MP3 has changed the way the world
listens to music, but until the release of the Sound Blaster Live!
MP3+ audio accelerator, there has not been a complete,
user-friendly solution that integrated all of the tools necessary
to really enjoy MP3 encoding in a fully digital environment," said
Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and chief executive officer of Creative
Technology Ltd. "By including LAVA! in our new audio card we are
empowering MP3 enthusiasts, consumers, and artists alike to
personalize their Internet music experience by creating a
compelling interactive 3D music video. Sound Blaster Live! MP3+
and LAVA! are powerful but easy-to use solutions that will change
way Internet music is promoted and experienced."
LAVA!
Bringing an entirely new dimension
to Internet music, LAVA! (Live Audio Visual Animation) allows
users to create a compelling visual montage that animates Internet
audio music files such as MP3 with synchronized 3D images.
Recently debuted at Woodstock 99, the LAVA player generates images
in real-time that respond to different frequencies in the music,
creating an "instant 3D music video."
Taking up less than 100KB of hard
disk space, LAVA! gives visual expression to music, throwing open
a new door of creativity. LAVA! challenges MP3 enthusiasts,
musicians and artists alike to develop inspired uses for this
breakthrough technology. Choosing from a set of eight different
templates, users can then customize LAVA files with various
elements such as band logos, album art and rendered text. Once
applied to an MP3 file, the integrated music and image package can
be sent to friends or housed on a web site for download and
viewing. Developed at the Creative-Emu Technology Center, LAVA
uses a sophisticated combination of audio analysis and hardware
accelerated graphics to generate a new visual language for
Internet music applications.
Key features of the Sound Blaster Live! MP3+
-- EMU10K1 Digital signal processor: Processes every audio signal at full
32-bit resolution providing for the highest level of clarity and
accurate 3D positional audio. The digital output connector enables a
pure digital connection to Creative's FourPointSurround(TM)FPS2000
Digital speaker system.
-- Creative Digital Audio Center Software: Allows users to encode, decode
and archive MP3 files, as well as convert an unlimited number of CD
tracks from personal CD collections and catalog them according to
preference. The Digital Audio Center software bundle also includes the
following software: Mixman®, CakewalkExpress®, Sound Forge®, and
Media Ring Talk® '99.
-- CD-Quality sound: Features a full 320k encoder and up to 5X
acceleration for generating MP3 files with superior sound quality that
can be downloaded to a portable MP3 device, such as Creative's NOMAD
digital audio player. Creative's patented 8-point interpolation
improves the quality of music playback.
-- Integrated software package: Comes complete with all of the necessary
software to create and organize MP3, MIDI, WAV and Internet Audio
files.
-- Environmental Audio? support: Enables users to encode and playback MP3
and other audio files with extensive effects such as "concert hall" or
"tunnel" and more. Using pre-sets, users can instantly add or access
desired effects on the fly for a customized listening experience.
-- LAVA!: With LAVA, MP3+ users can incorporate visual animations into
their audio files, creating "instant music videos" for sharing with
friends or promoting songs and bands.
-- LiveWare(TM) Support: Creative's online resource keeps hardware
through upgrades -- new features, formats and functionality for
authoring, playback and gameplay.
Pricing and Availability
The Sound Blaster Live! MP3+ is
now available through Creative's extensive network of distributors
and resellers worldwide at an estimated street price of US$99.99.
About Creative
Creative Technology Ltd. develops,
manufactures and markets a wide array of advanced multimedia
solutions for the PC, entertainment, education, music and
productivity tools markets. Creative's products are marketed
through the OEM, systems integrator and retail channels under a
variety of trademarks, including the "Blaster" family name. With
the new Sound Blaster® PCI standard, Creative has produced a
solution that utilizes a combination of hardware and software for
near-perfect compatibility with existing DOS and Windows titles.
Creative's corporate headquarters and primary manufacturing are
based in Singapore, with sales, distribution and research and
development being carried out through an extensive, global network
of subsidiaries located in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
This announcement relates to
products whose launch are in the United States of America. The
product names, contents, prices and availability may differ
elsewhere in the world according to local factors and
requirements.
NOTE: Sound Blaster is a
registered trademark and Blaster is a trademark of Creative
Technology Ltd. Microsoft and Windows are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States
and/or other countries. Sound Blaster is a registered trademark
and Environmental Audio, EMU10K1, Environmental Audio Extensions,
EAX, Creative Multi Speaker Surround are trademarks of Creative
Technology Ltd. in the US and other countries. E-mu Systems and
SoundFont are registered trademarks of E-mu Systems, Inc.
Cambridge SoundWorks is a registered trademark and PCWorks and
Desktop Theater are trademarks of Cambridge SoundWorks, Inc. All
other product names mentioned herein are trademarks of their
respective owners and are hereby recognized as such.
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