Unit 73 sound for computer games. P2 Understand the methods and principles of sound design and production exercise 1 Dean smith

unit 73 sound for computer games

the uncompressed formats uncompressed formats are formats that do not need to become compressed the way they would use uncompressed formats would be for blu ray disks as they may have 25gb from a single layer or double layer which is 50gb

Wav (waveform audio file format): wav is an Microsoft uncompressed filename extension and IBM audio file format which is used for storing audio bit-streams for PC's wav's are good when it come to be processed with Flash for web animations.

aiff(audio interchange file format): aiff is a uncompressed file format for personal computers and for other electrical technology it is used for mainly storing sound data from those devices and was developed by apple inc.

au file format: the au file format is a simple uncompressed file that was introduced by sun micro-systems this form of format was used for newer systems and maybe early web pages but now it supports audio encoding formats.

smp: Smp is an colour palette that is used for Gis images which stores colour information for a raster image that is in a RST file extension. 

voc: voc is an audio file which is used by creative labs hardware, this form of format may contain forms of audio for example audio clips,sound effects and instrumental sounds

lossy compression: lossy compression is a form of data encoding that uses inexact  approximation and partial discard to represent content this is to reduce date size for storage. these forms of compressions would be used for shorter storage or example cartridges

mp3: mp3 is a file format that compresses a sound sequence this can be music or even a sound effect into a small file for digital storage and transmission

ra: ra is a file extension for a streaming audio file format, which would normally contain audio data.

vox: vox is an audio file format which is optional for storing digitized audio voices at a low sampling rate these can be found in telephony applications and arcade redemption games

audio sampling 
resolution and bit depth of audio: depending on the file size of the audio the quality of the audio may be tamped this can be done by the resolution quality which means how many HZ it may use but also the bit depth which is the size of the audio, both of the sample scan change the size of the audio which also changes the file size.

sample rate
mono: Mono is a form of audio that is intended to be heard on a singular channel unlike stereo.

stereo: stereo is a form of audio that is directed by 2 or more speakers to surround the listener and make it come from more then one source. 

surround: surround sound is the form of audio that would use multiple speakers ( 3 to 4 speakers) to give the audio a more realistic feeling this is being used more often in video games as it makes the player more immersed into the game  they do this by placing microphones onto a manikin to represent the ears of a person they would use this to make different sounds around the manikin to give the surround sound effect which would later be used in game.

audio limitations for game platforms

DSP(digital signal processor): DSP is where it uses the use of digital processing which can be done by a computer to create a wide variety of signal processing operations, its accurate,cheap,flexible,easy to store data and time sharing however there are limitations for example the system complexity and the power consumption.

RAM(random access memory): RAM is the form of computer data storage that would store computer data and code that would be currently used,however the limitation of ram is that the amount of information it can store as the forms of bits can effect the ram. so you would require more ram to process larger files and more power to power that file.

File format: file formats are a standard form of storing information, each file format have different forms and objectives some file formats can even be uncompressed or Lossy compression, lossy compression can be a form of limitation as it does make the files smaller it does lose some of the quality that would made it a better quality but there can only be a certain form of format for audio it can't go into any other format.

Audio output: audio output is where a person could plug in either speakers or headphones this is done by the input which takes in signals from the devices which would give the output of sound, however some of the limitation for audio output would be the amount of memory for the output and the quality of the output this would be referred back to RAM and DSP.  

PCM(pulse code modulation): PCM is a method that used to sample analog signals this is a standard form of digital audio on computers and compact discs the limitations for PCM is the bandwidth for the PCM needs to be large for transmission and integrated digital network can only be a  gradual extension of noise

audio record system

Multi-track recording: whenever someone would be using multi track recording is when they would like to record an instrument or sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive whole.  

Midi: the situation in which you would use Midi is when you can create music as it has multiple digital instruments 

DAT: Digital Audio Tape's would be used whenever you would transmit sound from a DAT desk to the DAT to then be taken to a workplace but it also small and cheap to use.