[comp.windows.ms] Sound under Windows...

monty@larry.sal.wisc.edu (Monty Schmidt) (09/19/90)

I've noticed that their seem to be some nice calls for sound generation 
under windows.  From the looks of them they look like they should be
compatable with an Adlib or Soundblaster board.  Has anybody got any info
on the sound portion of windows or tried to work with it??? If we need a
driver to make it happen does anybody know how one goes about finding out
the info needed to create such a beast??  Just curious...
Monty

dve@zooid.UUCP (David Mason) (09/23/90)

monty@larry.sal.wisc.edu (Monty Schmidt) writes:

> 
> I've noticed that their seem to be some nice calls for sound generation 
> under windows.  From the looks of them they look like they should be
> compatable with an Adlib or Soundblaster board.  Has anybody got any info
> on the sound portion of windows or tried to work with it??? If we need a
> driver to make it happen does anybody know how one goes about finding out
> the info needed to create such a beast??  Just curious...
> Monty

Since Microsoft is pushing multimedia for this release of Windows, and since 
there is a sound driver, it would be nice if someone WOULD come up with a 
sound driver for Adlib, at the least (it seems to be a fairly common 
standard). I realize that Mac Envy is not becoming, and that at this point 
in time it's not high on the list (though I could see how sound would be 
useful to a user, especially stereo) it's too bad that that some nice sound 
effects can't be incorporated into the operating system instead of the 
generic beep. That and the STUPID #(*$&# 8-character filenames...

strobl@gmdzi.gmd.de (Wolfgang Strobl) (09/27/90)

dve@zooid.UUCP (David Mason) writes:
>monty@larry.sal.wisc.edu (Monty Schmidt) writes:
>> 
>> I've noticed that their seem to be some nice calls for sound generation 
>> under windows.  From the looks of them they look like they should be
>> compatable with an Adlib or Soundblaster board.  Has anybody got any info
>> on the sound portion of windows or tried to work with it??? If we need a
>> driver to make it happen does anybody know how one goes about finding out
>> the info needed to create such a beast??  Just curious...
>> Monty

The only info I got about the sound portion of Windows is that these
functions seem to be very hard to document ;-). I tried to work with
them and came to the conclusion that they may perhaps be broken, under
Windows 3. I'm not sure, because I don't have the SDK 3 yet, so I can
only use them with the V2 SDK. Sound usage seems to interfer with memory
activity, causing crashes in Standard Mode or mysterious clock slowdown
in Enhanced Mode (just try to play KLOTZ with sound on and enforce a few
garbage collections using Kai Uwe Rommels STATUS). Of course, this may be
KLOTZs fault, but I doubt it.

About the Soundblaster: I am considering to buy it, but have
read here on Usenet that there is nearly no programming information
available for that card. This problem may be more serious than the 
question how to reimplement the SOUND driver of Windows.

Wolfgang Strobl
#include <std.disclaimer.hpp>