CEDAR DNS1500
The CEDAR (dist. by Independent Audio, www.independentaudio.com) DNS1000 ($6,974) made its mark by saving otherwise unusable audio for film and TV and audio forensic investigation, saving costs in ADR and looping. Taking the DNS1000 to the next level, the DNS1500 updates the style, design and performance of its predecessor. With an improved chassis and updated processors, it couples the practical ergonomics of the DNS1000 with improved 2-channel performance and up to 100kHz capabilities for increased compatibility in today's audio environments.

SIMS Audio INFRA-SONIC BLOW5D Digital Monitors
Featuring onboard D/A conversion using Burr-Brown op amps, these new monitors from SIMS Audio (www.simsaudio.com) feature room-compensation controls and a low-frequency response switch, letting the user adjust the monitors to the listening space. The speakers support up to a 24-bit/192kHz sample rate, and can accept a wide range of inputs including SPDIF, RCA, AES/EBU, XLR, TRS or TS. The 14-pound, front-ported monitors ($550) feature a 5.25-inch low-frequency driver and 0.75-inch silk-dome tweeter with waveguide and measure approximately 7.5x12x10 inches.

Fairlight CC-1 Media Production Engine
Promising lower latency than ever and a mound of new features, this scalable processing card from Fairlight (www.fairlightau.com) offers 8.5 GFLOPS of processing power from a single PCIe card, promising to reduce power consumption from 600 to 12 watts with a 98-percent reduction in heat generated. The CC-1 leverages advances in FPGA-powered processing (Field Programmable Gate Array) to execute a vast number and type of operations in parallel, requiring far fewer cycles when compared to serial-processing devices such as CPUs. The unit also boasts FPGA reconfigure on-the-fly, a technology development that enables its application to reconfigure the hardware during run time. The first released CC-1 engines are capable of delivering 230 channel paths; each with eight bands of EQ, 3-stage dynamics processing, floating insert point with return, onboard HD video, 12 auxiliary sends and up to 72 user-definable mix buses.

Marantz PMD620
This handheld recorder from Marantz (www.d-mpro.com) offers 24- and 16-bit recording and features two built-in condenser microphones, stereo or mono recording modes and a choice of uncompressed 44.1kHz WAV files or three levels of MP3 file compression. The PMD620 ($499) uses an SD Flash memory card for data storage and can accept memory cards up to 2 terabytes. The unit features one-touch recording, familiar transport controls, a thumb-operated scroll wheel and a vivid organic LED (OLED) screen. The PMD620 is powered by two AA batteries, and the display features two font sizes, allowing more information on the screen with the smaller font and more readable key information with the larger one. Other features include Copy Segment editing, which uses nondestructive cut-and-paste-style editing to create a new sound file and Skip Back, allowing transcribers to review recorded audio from 1 to 60 previous seconds. Files can be downloaded via the unit's USB port.

News You Can Use

New Company: Activision Blizzard
Activision Inc. and Vivendi (announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to combine Vivendi Games, which includes Blizzard Entertainment, with Activision. The new company, Activision Blizzard, is expected to have approximately $3.8 billion in pro forma combined calendar 2007 revenues and the highest operating margins of any major third-party videogame publisher. On closing of the transaction, Activision will be renamed Activision Blizzard and will continue to operate as a public company traded on NASDAQ under the ticker ATVI.

Jean-Bernard Lévy, chairman of the management board and CEO of Vivendi, says, "This alliance is a major strategic step for Vivendi and is another illustration of our drive to extend our presence in the entertainment sector. By combining Vivendi's games business with Activision, we are creating a worldwide leader in a high-growth industry. We are excited about the opportunities for Activision Blizzard as a broader entertainment software platform."

Robert Kotick, Activision's chairman and CEO, comments, "This is an outstanding transaction for Activision and our stockholders, as well as a pivotal event in the continuing transformation of the interactive entertainment industry. By combining leaders in mass-market entertainment and subscription-based online games, Activision Blizzard will be the only publisher with leading market positions across all categories of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry and reach the broadest possible audiences. By joining forces with Vivendi Games, we will become the immediate leader in the highly profitable online games business and gain a large footprint in the rapidly growing Asian markets, including China and Korea, while maintaining our leading operating performance across North America and Europe."

For more information, visit www.activisionblizzard.com.

Music and Games Biz Opp
Musicians looking to get work in the videogame industry has a new outlet: The International Executive Board of the Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM) is the newest addition to the Game Audio Network Guild's (G.A.N.G.) Diamond Sponsorship. The Board also authorized its officers to enter into a series of "one-off" agreements, allowing publishers to use videogame music from their titles for other purposes, including DVD bonus features, trailers, commercials and soundtrack albums.

In just these few steps, the AFM has opened a large door for working musicians to get a foot into the videogame market, a highly profitable career move. On the flip side, videogame creators now have another outlet to employ high-profile musicians for all their audio needs.

'Hitman' Soundtrack Now Available to Download
Sumthing Else Music Works Inc., through its licensing relationship with Eidos Interactive Ltd., announced that the music soundtrack for the videogame Hitman™: Blood Money is now available on iTunes and Sumthing Digital. Previously released on CD, the 15-track digital download album features the original music score composed by British Academy Award--winner Jesper Kyd.

This game's music soundtrack received numerous accolades, including the Best Original Score Award from IGN.com. The score was also nominated for Best Original Video Game Score at the MTV Video Music Awards and GAMES™ magazine recently rated the music of Hitman among the Top 5 videogame scores of all time.

Karpman Conducts Videogames Concert
Emmy Award-winning composer Laura Karpman conducted the second "Games In Concert" event in Holland, which featured live symphony orchestral performances of popular videogame music scores. The concert was performed by the Metropole Orchestra and PA'dam Choir at the Music Centre Vredenburg Utrecht in The Netherlands on December 8, 2007.

Some of the orchestral arrangements performed include Final Fantasy, Grandia II, Halo, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Kingdom Hearts, Legend of Zelda, Max Payne, Shadow of the Colossus, Soul Calibur 2, Super Mario Bros., Star Fox, StarCraft, Tetris and Unreal Tournament, as well as Karpman's scores for Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest II and Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom.

Berkleemusic Offers Intro to Game Audio
The new Introduction to Game Audio class starts of with an overview of game sound development, and the basics of sound effects libraries and working with animation. The course will cover typical studio effects, sound manipulation, and addresses technical hurdles an engineer might encounter.

More advanced concepts and techniques taught include recording custom effects, proper integration of audio and mixing techniques particular to the gaming industry, as well as looking at the business side of the industry.

At the end of the course, the student will have completed full audio (including sound design, dialog and music) for a short game or portion of a full-length game for a portfolio.

For additional information, click here.

Spotlight: Out Now

'Heroes' Flight Combat Game
The Heroes flight combat franchise will soon be available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC. Developed by Transmission Games (formerly known as IR Gurus) in Melbourne, Australia, and powered by an all-new engine, Heroes Over Europe revisits the action in the key European air battles of World War II, following the stories of three allied pilots and their actions in the war, from the invasion of France to the devastation of Berlin in 1945. The game features new and unique game modes, a deeper and more comprehensive online focus and cutting-edge graphics. The console games are expected to be available for purchase in fall of 2008 with the Windows PC version shipping soon after in early 2009.

ADVERTISEMENT

---