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Music is a form of entertainment that dates back to as early as Bheatoven could pick up a music book and blast out a symphony, yet as time has advanced more and more Software/Hardware fixes have been released to create an experience which helps to bring the world of Video Games/Movies/CD's and other entertainment area to life in a way that our ears could never imagine. Dolby 5.1 and Dolby DTS bring sound into a 3 Dimensional atmosphere which puts the viewer into the heat of the action. There seems to be no limits to what the music industry can do with a set of Speakers and a Sub-Woofer (so to speak), yet it all seems far away from the average person's wallet and the average persons' will to want.
After Mono and Stereo sound were released people finally got a clear and precise set of sounds coming from the Television or Radio speakers, but now there is so much more to choose from. Over the past year Dolby Digital 5.1 systems have become more and more affordable to the average movie buff and Video Game fan and you can even pick up a full system for under £150 with just the click of 1 link (Tony and Schroeder slip the money under the door).
For those of you who are lucky enough to experience the delights of Home Cinema sound will know exactly what I am talking about, but for those of you who haven't get out and treat yourself (remember you only live once). The first film to contain full Home Cinema sound was Jurassic Park back in the early Nineties and the roar of a 'T-REX' travelling around 500 Watt Speakers was enough to give anyone the chills. As the film industry gradually introduced Dolby Digital sounds into their movies we then saw the release of DVD's. Unlike a VHS, DVD's support 5.1 and DTS play-back which puts the viewer into the centre of the action and into the heat of the game or film.
The newly released 'Training Day' displayed some of the most impressive 5.1 work that I have yet to experience on a DVD. Bullets dropped behind me, birds flew between speakers, I was Denzel Washington! After experiencing the delights of 'Training Day' in full surround sound I began to wonder what it would be like for games to sound this good. Microsoft's high flying Xbox is the first Games console to include a Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS ship which enables systems to run off the console to bring both the world of home movies and games into a fully interactive 3 Dimensional environment.
For those of you who own an Xbox will probably also own the award winning 'Halo' which is one of the most impressive video games of all time. Halo was the first game to be programmed to utilise the capabilities of a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound System. The main voices of the game come from the central speaker which should lie under your Television set and all the deep low sounds come from the Sub-Woofer (which can also act as an Air Conditioner ;)). To feel as though you are battling away on a different planet and hearing objects and people all around you is something that really has to be experienced to believe.
Dolby Digital mainly caters for the sound effects found in gaming, yet what about the music? The most impressive display of music I have yet to experience in both film and gaming is in Konami's master piece... 'Metal Gear Solid 2'! For the game Konami looked for the expertise of 'Harry Gregson' who composed the music for 'Gladiator' and other top Hollywood productions. Never before have I embraced such tension to be created by music in a video-game, everything from the opening bridge assault to the end of the tanker mission had my spine tingling with shivers. 'Metal Gear Solid 2' set the standard of what we should expect from a video-game in terms of music and so far developers have tried to emulate the success of the 'Playstation 2' title onto their next generation games.
After Bill Gates decided to include an 8GB Hard-Drive for the Xbox console everyone was left wondering what it would be used. After weeks of guessing Bill Gates and the 'Microsoft TM' revealed that for the first time ever you would be able to upload songs to the Xbox Hard-Drive and then play them back through a host of different titles. As some developers didn't want other sounds replacing the ones they had planned the stakes for in-game sound tracks became a lot higher. 'Jet Set Radio Future' contained tracks mixed by professional DJs to create a funky and stylish gaming environment, 'Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding' included 15 albums worth of music to play back through the game as well as utilising the Xbox play back feature and 'Grand Theft Auto 3' took the great radio stations from the first two in the series and made them even better, music was truly becoming "The Food of Gaming..."!
As Christmas arises once more and the New Year beckons what will be the new musical gadget of 2003? 6.1, 5.1, DTS... what ever next will companies come up with to drag the public into the heart of their productions? The future of sounds looks very bright for the gaming industry and I am glad to be a part of both Dolby Digital and Microsoft for the next 2 years of video-gaming and movies. Forget Mono, drop stereo and go out and become a part of feeding your brain with sounds that will make your ears dance all night long (figuratively speaking), if "Music be the Food of Gaming then Play on, Give me excess of it"!
Thankyou for Reading
Garbe123
The only game that uses music well is GTA3, really. With all the others you're probably better off listening to a CD of your own.
Sound effects play a big part for atmosphere, but that's obvious.
Anyway, any self respecting gamer should spend more money on games and less on surround sound stacked speakers!
Music is a form of entertainment that dates back to as early as Bheatoven could pick up a music book and blast out a symphony, yet as time has advanced more and more Software/Hardware fixes have been released to create an experience which helps to bring the world of Video Games/Movies/CD's and other entertainment area to life in a way that our ears could never imagine. Dolby 5.1 and Dolby DTS bring sound into a 3 Dimensional atmosphere which puts the viewer into the heat of the action. There seems to be no limits to what the music industry can do with a set of Speakers and a Sub-Woofer (so to speak), yet it all seems far away from the average person's wallet and the average persons' will to want.
After Mono and Stereo sound were released people finally got a clear and precise set of sounds coming from the Television or Radio speakers, but now there is so much more to choose from. Over the past year Dolby Digital 5.1 systems have become more and more affordable to the average movie buff and Video Game fan and you can even pick up a full system for under £150 with just the click of 1 link (Tony and Schroeder slip the money under the door).
For those of you who are lucky enough to experience the delights of Home Cinema sound will know exactly what I am talking about, but for those of you who haven't get out and treat yourself (remember you only live once). The first film to contain full Home Cinema sound was Jurassic Park back in the early Nineties and the roar of a 'T-REX' travelling around 500 Watt Speakers was enough to give anyone the chills. As the film industry gradually introduced Dolby Digital sounds into their movies we then saw the release of DVD's. Unlike a VHS, DVD's support 5.1 and DTS play-back which puts the viewer into the centre of the action and into the heat of the game or film.
The newly released 'Training Day' displayed some of the most impressive 5.1 work that I have yet to experience on a DVD. Bullets dropped behind me, birds flew between speakers, I was Denzel Washington! After experiencing the delights of 'Training Day' in full surround sound I began to wonder what it would be like for games to sound this good. Microsoft's high flying Xbox is the first Games console to include a Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS ship which enables systems to run off the console to bring both the world of home movies and games into a fully interactive 3 Dimensional environment.
For those of you who own an Xbox will probably also own the award winning 'Halo' which is one of the most impressive video games of all time. Halo was the first game to be programmed to utilise the capabilities of a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound System. The main voices of the game come from the central speaker which should lie under your Television set and all the deep low sounds come from the Sub-Woofer (which can also act as an Air Conditioner ;)). To feel as though you are battling away on a different planet and hearing objects and people all around you is something that really has to be experienced to believe.
Dolby Digital mainly caters for the sound effects found in gaming, yet what about the music? The most impressive display of music I have yet to experience in both film and gaming is in Konami's master piece... 'Metal Gear Solid 2'! For the game Konami looked for the expertise of 'Harry Gregson' who composed the music for 'Gladiator' and other top Hollywood productions. Never before have I embraced such tension to be created by music in a video-game, everything from the opening bridge assault to the end of the tanker mission had my spine tingling with shivers. 'Metal Gear Solid 2' set the standard of what we should expect from a video-game in terms of music and so far developers have tried to emulate the success of the 'Playstation 2' title onto their next generation games.
After Bill Gates decided to include an 8GB Hard-Drive for the Xbox console everyone was left wondering what it would be used. After weeks of guessing Bill Gates and the 'Microsoft TM' revealed that for the first time ever you would be able to upload songs to the Xbox Hard-Drive and then play them back through a host of different titles. As some developers didn't want other sounds replacing the ones they had planned the stakes for in-game sound tracks became a lot higher. 'Jet Set Radio Future' contained tracks mixed by professional DJs to create a funky and stylish gaming environment, 'Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding' included 15 albums worth of music to play back through the game as well as utilising the Xbox play back feature and 'Grand Theft Auto 3' took the great radio stations from the first two in the series and made them even better, music was truly becoming "The Food of Gaming..."!
As Christmas arises once more and the New Year beckons what will be the new musical gadget of 2003? 6.1, 5.1, DTS... what ever next will companies come up with to drag the public into the heart of their productions? The future of sounds looks very bright for the gaming industry and I am glad to be a part of both Dolby Digital and Microsoft for the next 2 years of video-gaming and movies. Forget Mono, drop stereo and go out and become a part of feeding your brain with sounds that will make your ears dance all night long (figuratively speaking), if "Music be the Food of Gaming then Play on, Give me excess of it"!
Thankyou for Reading
Garbe123