History and Functions of Soundcards

The sound map - history and ranges of application the ranges of application of a sound map extended in the last years strongly. Begun of simple beep tones, there are nowadays already the errors and such publications sound maps with a Subwoofer connection, even complete Sourround systems. Today the sound maps are used mainly for music hearing, in addition, in the play world the sound finds ever more trailer. When the first PC came on the market, was not to be thought of digital music from the computer yet at all. Only which a computer could do at that time at tones producing was bleepers and other monotonous, always same tones. Another aspect was that that there was little reason for a sound, since no applications were present, which could use these. The only tones were the so-called "Beeps", which a computer gave from itself whenever it had problems with any little thing. This "Beeps" gives it also today still, but these announce themselves only, if the computer receives and/or discovers a fatal error with the boat procedure. The Macintosh computer was one first, with which one could play high-quality sounds. This "sound map" was integrated with this computer in the hardware and software. An open architecture in the PC made it possible however to extend this and to thus develop and/or adapt new audio hardware for the PC platform. Although there was still no universal Multimedia standard at that time concerning the necessary hardware and software gave, a De-facto-standard could form despite everything. Today the sound map is often already present on the chip set of the Main board and offers a good Stereo sound. With sound maps the sound hardware sits in form of an audio adapter on the chip. By the adapter the connections are available for headphones/loudspeakers, microphone and "audio in". Around the sound however to play to be able a driver is necessary, which is mostly provided with the operating system. Often also some programs offer a driver, in order to be able to play the sound for application. The sound maps at first mostly found in plays their place of work. Many manufacturers manufactured sound maps, and there it at this time still no sound standard gave, would have had to insert the user for each play another sound map. In addition, at this time MIDI interface (musical instrument digitally interfaces) appeared. This MIDI interface spread at first in the music industry so strongly that it became affordable for the users after short time also. The sound maps thereafter came out, often possessed microphone entrance and an MIDI interface, so that these maps were first, which went beyond the area of application play. A disadvantage was that there was still no standard for sound maps. The standards are here then mostly determined by the market leaders, what one generally calls then De-facto-standard. This standard differs however from the De-jure-standard. The De-facto-standard has its cradle in the popularity of a product and the associated economic advantages. In the last years many sound map manufacturers achieved themselves the supremacy at the market as group. The market leader is however still an individual company, whose sound map the individual other manufacturers emulate simply (copy). The range of application for the sound extends over a large area. You find this here listed: - Stereosound for playing and maintenance software - improvement of the didactical effect for teaching programs and plays - expenditure of sound effects for presentations and training software in office space - production of digital music over the MIDI hardware and software - sound file production - audio signal production for operating systems - transformation of text files in language - dictating function, i.e.. "a speaking" of words into the PC - playing music (CD, non removable disk) like the whole other luxury in the PC was developed also the sound map at first exclusively for plays. Due to its some sound maps possess so-called Game adapters. This adapter is a special interface for Joysticks and other input devices for plays. However a conflict with the I/O area can emerge by these interfaces, because all play interfaces use this I/O area. In the modern plays one cannot exclude oneself a sound map any longer, since many plays become only playable by the sound at all. By the use of digitized human voices the plays in punkto reality proximity get a completely new dimension. However by diagram, and this is still so detail faithful, cannot be against-reflected the reality not correctly. If sound TRACKS are merged into a play, that can emphasize certain situations exactly as more strongly in films. The sound map - multimedia ranges of application with a sound map one can carry out different things. In addition e.g. the recording of digital sounds and songs belongs. These are converted by the sound map into a certain code, so that the later file needs little storage location. In order to receive a multimedia PC, one does not come around around a sound map. Here however is only clarified, what the term Multimedia means at all. Only times this term covers a number of PC technologies, which have to do mainly with videos, pictures and sounds as well as storing from data to. The term "Multimedia" designates thereby the ability of a computer, video, to process and show pictures and sounds and the data belonging to it. That is, that the PC should possess at least one CD /DVD drive assembly. Also a sound map and a good diagram map belong to. The so-called MPC (Multimedia PC marketing Council) developed the MPC level 1 and the MPC level 2 at the beginning of 2 standards. Later this standard was extended by the software Publishers Association (SPA) with the MPC level 3. All these standards set the minimum Vorrausetzungen for the PC. In the table you find a performance of the 3 standards. Today, as one can infer from the table, is the MPC level 3-Standard is a minimum for each PC, which is multimedially used. With the current systems the MPC level 3 is anyway far exceeded. However each Multimedia PC should possess at least Windows 95, 32 MByte RAM, 2 GByte non removable disk, a decent diagram map and naturally good loudspeakers. One must note however that the MPC level 3-Standard plans still no loudspeakers for the expenditure for sound, although these are indispensable for it. The MPC standards define the sound abilities of a Multimedia system beside the hardware also still. Among these abilities mentioned), the music synthesis and the Audiomixing rank the mechanism for digital sound recordings and showed (also "linear PCM Sampling". The quality of the sound files is likewise very important. There are in principle two kinds of files, which are used for the storage of the sound on the PC. A kind is the general sound file. It uses formats among other things such as