jlg3@uafhcx.uucp (Jennifer L. Garner) (02/04/90)
We are announcing the development of a series of audio cards for the
Amiga. They will be designed for professional quality at all of the three
system levels we will offer. We are also asking you on the net for suggestions
on how we might improve our current products or later products.
Level I: Simple A/D and D/A
This Amiga Zorro II card will allow 16 bit audio sampling using
stereo A/D's and D/A's controlled by the Amiga's 68000. Sample rates will
be determined by the controlling software, though optimum sample rates must
be established for the design of the antialiasing filters. This is intended
as our low-cost option.
Level II: Audio DSP
DSP is suddenly a computer and audio industry buzzword. We have
designed a board using the Motorola DSP 56001 processor, one of the
standard DSP processors being used by many audio designers for their
systems, including Waveframe, NeXT, and digidesign. At this level, our
system will support digital filters, FFT's, and other real-time audio
applications, including recording to hard disk. We are currently developing
our own Motorola compatible assembler for the 56001, since Motorola is asking
$25,000 to buy the rights to port their official assembler to the Amiga.
Level III: DSP + Sampling
We are adding a feature unique to our Amiga DSP cards- optional
on-board memory. We will add to our basic DSP card 2 meg of memory on the
card directly addressable by the DSP processor. This will allow faster
access of memory, minimizing host bus speed limitations. Initially, the
system software will not support pitch shifting, but hopefully we will be
able to move into the MIDI expansion box realm. DSP processor speed will
limit simultaneous dynamic pitch-shifting and filtering, though an optional
add-on DSP daughterboard may make this application more realistic. The
initial proposed application for this configuration is a drum machine.
People we've talked to have discussed applications ranging from CD
quality audio editing to industrial noise cancelling. Our goals from the
beginning have been to create a SYSTEM, not just a series of hardware
products. We feel that these applications represent the tip of the iceburg
as far as what will be developed down the line. We are intending to extend
the audio system into a low-cost (in professional terms) audio workstation
that will sync into our proposed audio/video editing and animation suite
based on the Amiga.
Don Kennedy
Greg Garner
Jennifer Garner
Vision Quest
2925 Sunny Lane
Fayetteville, AR 72703
(501) 521-0420
email: jlg3@uafhcx.uark.edu
gmg@uafhcx.uark.edu