Microsoft

USB Promoter Group Stages First Industry-Wide Review of USB 3.0 Specification

Dan Moore — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:47:00 GMT

The Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 Promoter Group is looking for additional contributors to its initial draft of the group's proposed specification with a goal to have it completed by the first half of 2008.

"SuperSpeed" USB will create a backward-compatible standard with the same ease-of-use and plug-and-play capabilities of previous USB computer connection technologies, ports and cabling. The personal USB interconnect is targeting to deliver over 10 times the speed of today's connection and will be optimized for lower power and improved protocol efficiency.

Click here for the full Technical Bulletin:

http://www.usb.org/press/press20/2008_11_28_usb30promotergroup.pdf

An Overview of Windows Sound and Music "Glitching" Issues

Dan Moore — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:31:00 GMT

Steve Ball of Microsoft has a very interesting blog started on the Windows Vista Blog site about audio "glitching" issues in the Windows OS.

Click on the link below to go to the full story:

Overview of Windows Sound and Music "Glitching" Issues

2007 Guitar Player's "Guitar Hero" Competition Recap

Dan Moore — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:57:18 GMT

What do you get when you put over 500 guitarists in a room with multiple bars, a stage with a house band, and a PA system? Even though I'm sure there's a humorous anecdote brewing, the real answer is the 2007 Guitar Player Guitar Hero competition at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

So, was this the video game "Guitar Hero"? Not really...even though it was sponsored by Activision/Red Octane, the creators of the Guitar Hero game title for Xbox 360. Rather, this was the final stage of Guitar Player magazine's next "Guitar Hero" competition, that started with thousands of entries from guitarists all over the world to compete for the grand prize and the sole title of the next "Guitar Hero".

The AMP Alliance was proud to be a contributing sponsor along with Microsoft, Digidesign, and Activision. As a drummer (and, alas, not technically a musician), I was very curious to see what this was all about...so I hopped aboard the non-stop from SEA to SFO to check it out.

Once we got inside, we noticed a line of people along the side of the theater. Curious as to what the hubbub was about, we maneuvered around the side and found out they were waiting for their turn to play the Guitar Hero game on an Xbox 360 unit and a 42" wide screen. It was really cool to see the level of excitement this game has generated, and that it is helping raise awareness of musicianship and creative expression to households all over the world.

It wasn't hard to see the promotional stuff...our logos and branding was everywhere, from the programs to the videos playing back on the main projection screen. They sold 578 tickets to the show (about 3/4 capacity of the Hall) with a marketing and promotion reach through the trades and web sites of over 500,000. We had a really cool "Creativity is Fundamental" full page ad located on the back cover of the program that caught a lot of attention and tied in well with our other promos and branding around the venue and the promo materials.

We had a chance to get backstage and rap with a few of the contestants, including Danny Harvey, Les Robot, and the eventual winner Ladd Smith out of Nashville. We also had a chance to meet and chat with the legendary Joe Satriani and Steve Lukathur, who were both part of the panel of judges for the event.

It was great to work with Music Player Network in the implementation of Silverlight as their web media format for all the Guitar Hero Event web casts. Since then, Music Player Network has used Silverlight for all the videos associated with their Bass Player Live event in New York City. All these web casts can be viewed on the Guitar Hero web site or the Bass Player web site, respectively.

We teamed up with Line 6 to help build out the prize packages given to all contestants, judges, and VIPs. Everyone received a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate and the GuitarPort software from Line 6. These guys walked away with some serious tools...but they deserved it!

This Soapbox clip one is Juan Coronado from Ontario, who was one of my favorite contestants:

Video: Juan Coronado at the Guitar Hero Competition

Many thanks to John at New Bay Media for making this event happen!

Cumulative Update Rollup for USB Core Components in Windows Vista

Dan Moore — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 22:08:00 GMT

USB has always been a widely used interface protocol between a Windows PC and external audio devices. But there have been several issues reported with respect to USB functionality on Windows Vista.

On October 2nd, Microsoft released an update for USB components for Windows Vista SKUs. Click on the link below to go to the Microsoft Help & Support Center to find out which USB issues have been addressed by this update:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941600

Remix Hotel Atlanta 2007 Recap

Dan Moore — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:01:00 GMT

The Alliance was proud to team up with Crossfader and Microsoft to be the Title Presenting Sponsor for Remix Hotel Atlanta 2007. This is an annual end-user event held in the US capital for urban and hip hop music, and is a major buzz generator for music enthusiasts, producers, and performers alike around the technologies and services that fuel this market space.

The Remix Hotel provides hands-on access to the technology and equipment used to create today's electronic and urban music via artist presentations and demonstrations, workshops, clinics and discussions. Remix puts the tools of the trade into the hands of the end user, and helps inspire young, up-and-comers to realize their creative potential through all the great tools of the trade.

Events like Remix Hotel allow us to carry out our mission in a way that draws people in and excites their imagination….instead of a top-down overbearing branding and marketing approach. It is a unique opportunity to leverage existing relations with our partners and enable them to position their product offerings as solutions that integrate seamlessly with the PC environment. It also is one of few events that allow us to accomplish several goals in one setting. Our goals were to spread the word about the Alliance, capture content for Crossfader, and help our partners showcase their great tools for the PC.

Held in a 40-seat mini-theater complete with projector, professional A/V equipment and surround sound, the Microsoft Master Class & Lecture Room provided a quiet, focused environment for our managed partners to showcase their latest offerings for PC content creation. The schedule was packed with product demos and tutorials from Digidesign, Roland, Ableton, and Yamaha. All these demos and tutorials were packed with eager enthusiasts and the presenters Mike Acosta, Alex Jinh, Houston Singletary, and Phil Clendenin We’d like to give a big shout out to our friends at Rain Recording, who supplied one of their new shiny LiveBook PCs for these demos – thanks Bill & Kevin!

We were fortunate enough to capture interviews with producers Scott Storch (Christina Aguilerra, Pink, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Ja Rule, Beyonce Knowles, and Janet Jackson), and Hank Shocklee (Public Enemy, Bomb Squad), Ray Williams from Music Marketing (Toronto), plus demos of the Melodyne software by Celemony, the Moog Voyager, Steinberg Sequel, and a bunch of other stuff. We also attended some of the panels going on in Atlanta, such as “How do I get my music heard?” and “Beatology 101” in which famous panelists shared their perspectives and impressions with an eager young amateur audience looking for advice on how they can take the next step in their careers.

All in all, a great show and a very productive time for everyone involved. And we were blown away by Talib Kweil's performance in the Velvet Underground! He was slamming it out like never before. Check out the footage and interviews on Crossfader.com.

123rd AES Convention Recap

Dan Moore — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:02:00 GMT

The Audio Engineering Society, now in its fifth decade, is the only society devoted exclusively to audio technology. Its membership of leading engineers, scientists and other authorities has increased dramatically throughout the world, greatly boosting the society's stature and that of its members in a truly symbiotic relationship. AES Sections serve members in 47 concentrated geographic areas throughout the world. Sections in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, Mexico, South America, and the United States hold local meetings regularly for the dissemination of the most current audio information. The AES Show is a great opportunity to work with OEM and specialty PC builders to evangelize the use of Windows Vista, build awareness and generate members for the AMP Alliance, and create an influential “buzz” about Microsoft in content creation.

By the numbers:

AES reported over 20,000 registrations with a total estimated 24,000 visitors and attendees, including booths and showcases from over 150 software & hardware partners.

AES is the most influential organization in the professional audio arena, and as such has an enormous impact in how partners design and implement new technologies and components. AES is the leader in file format adoption standards and technology protocols that help shape the way music and audio products are developed. The Alliance's participation at this year's AES Show demonstrated a commitment to supporting and assisting the leaders of audio & music development.

Why was the AMP Alliance at AES?

- Support our partners in showcasing PC solutions on the trade show floor

- Build brand awareness and increase membership

- Conduct meetings with key partners and new alliances

- Capture stories and testimonials for Crossfader

The Alliance was proud to sponsor the 2007 Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Awards ceremony and the TECnology Hall Of Fame induction ceremony. The TEC Awards celebrates the technological innovations and products that sit behind the scenes in music, film, video game, and broadcast production scenarios. The TEC Awards are presented by the Mix Foundation which supports organizations that work to educate professionals and the public about the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss, and endows numerous scholarship programs for students of the communications media arts. The Mix Foundation has contributed more than half a million dollars to these causes.

Every year the TEC Awards inducts new members into their Hall of Fame. This year the recipients of the HOF Awards were legendary broadcast audio guru Ed Greene and world famous producer Al Kooper.

We were also thrilled to learn that Epic Games (an AMP Alliance member) in conjunction with Microsoft Games Studios was nominated for a TEC Award in the category of Sound Production for Interactive Entertainment. We wish to extend our congratulations and acknowledgement to Mike Larson and his staff for their amazing work!

AES also marked the first time the AMP Alliance worked together with two specialty PC builders (Rain Recording and PC Audio Labs) in supporting the presence of custom-built, Windows-based PCs for professional audio production. The Alliance was able to achieve visibility in brochures and handouts around the show floor that helped increase visibility of our brand and drive awareness to our cause.

Plus, our TEC Awards sponsorship afforded us a full page ad placement in the TEC Program Guide. So, all in all, AES was a very successful brand awareness win and helped get the Alliance launched on the right foot.

These are exactly the kinds of initiatives that can help build the Alliance into a strong influencer in the audio business and a useful resource for partners and end users alike.

But what would any music or audio show be without a party???

The tried and true voice of professional audio, Mix Magazine, was celebrating their 30th anniversary during the AES show. And they weren't the only ones - it just so happens that on the same weekend the infamous New York based recording studio Avatar Studios was celebrating their 50th anniversary. Naturally, it made sense to join these two into one big party! Keeping in tradition, who were we to refuse? The studios were decked out impeccably with multiple bars, live music, sessions going on in side rooms, and plenty of products and toys to marvel over.

This year's AES show was one to remember - not to mention the July-like weather we had - and will continue to be a must-see in future years.

DirectX 10 Information and Resources

Microsoft — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:19:00 GMT

The future of the DirectX platform is heaeded in the direction of graphics support for gaming scenarios. Click here to learn about the latest DirectX 10 version and what it offers for gaming and multimedia applications:

http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/AboutGFW/Pages/DirectX10.aspx

Vista SP1 release information announced

Dan Moore — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:01:00 GMT

August 29, 2007 (Computerworld) -- Microsoft Corp. today confirmed months-long speculation that the first service pack for Windows Vista will be out sometime in the first quarter next year, along with a third and final service pack for its hardy predecessor, XP.

The first major update to Vista will contain a number of tweaks to speed up the operating system and fix nagging reliability problems, according to David Zipkin, a senior product manager for Windows Vista.

"This is not about adding new features," he said.

The SP1 beta will be released by the end of September, though it will be limited to no more than 15,000 Microsoft partners and customers, Zipkin said. Another beta or release candidate will be distributed to a larger pool of testers before SP1's final release, which is slated for sometime before March 31.

Read the full article here

Issue Resolution: MIDI Ports still showing active even after device has been disconnected

Microsoft — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:58:00 GMT

Some developers may have noticed MIDI ports from an external device are still showing up as being connected and active, even if the device has been physically unplugged from the computer. The iussue is that the computer is not re-enumerating itself to refresh the status of the connected MIDI ports, and their eventual availability to the host DAW application.

This has been addressed with the following fix:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938055

Incident Reports for Technical Support from Microsoft

Microsoft — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:46:00 GMT

One of the most common questions I get: "We have encountered a problem working with Windows Vista as compared to Windows XP. Is there a fix available?"

If you have run into an issue or a problem in your development for the Windows platform or any other Microsoft platform, you need to do is create a support incident report from here:

http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?Gprid=7289

This gives us the means to track your incident alongside the movement and delivery of any related fixes. Please note that you will be prompted for your Live or Passport ID if you are not already signed in. If you don't already have a Live or Passport account, please visit here to get one started:

https://accountservices.passport.net/ppnetworkhome.srf?lc=1033

Cakewalk SONAR 6.2 maximizes the Windows Vista experience

Microsoft — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:33:00 GMT

Find out how the new Version 6.2 of Cakewalk SONAR takes full advantage of the new audio infrastructure of Windows Vista here.

You can also watch the Channel9 interview of Cakewalk's Noel Borthwick and Carl Jacobson to leanr how they went about implementing the new APIs and what benefits they afford their users.

AMP Alliance to sponsor Project Bar-B-Q 2007

admin — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:53:00 GMT

As our inaugural sponsorship, we are participating in the 2007 Project Bar-B-Q Conference at Lake Buchanan, Texas in October. We are proud to be able to support this unique think tank environment comprised of some of the greatest minds in the computer audio business, and learn what

Many thanks to Linda Law and everyone at the Fat Man, Inc. for their effort.

Porting Drivers from WDM to KMDF

Microsoft — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 22:01:00 GMT

These two white papers provide will help guide you through the process of porting drivers from the Windows Driver Model (WDM) to the kernel-mode driver framework (KMDF) component of the Windows Driver Framework (WDF) for Windows.

Porting Drivers from WDM to WDF outlines a strategy for porting and describes differences between the two driver models in detail

Summary of KMDF and WDM Equivalents includes tables that show the corresponding KMDF and WDM object types, functions, and buffer pointers.

Applicable to: Windows Vista, Windows XP, WinServer 2003, and Win2K.

FAQs - PlayReady content access technology

Microsoft — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 20:26:00 GMT

Below are some of the FAQs about the new PlayReady technology, which supports both a wider digital media delivery path for developers & content providers as well as a simpler, more connected user experience for media content on multiple mobile devices.

Q.	What is Microsoft PlayReady technology?
A.	Microsoft PlayReady is a new content access technology optimized to help mobile operators, content service providers, and handset manufacturers create products and services for digital entertainment and commerce.
Q.	What are the key features of Microsoft PlayReady?
A.	Microsoft PlayReady technology supports a wide range of audio and video formats, including WMA, WMV, AAC, AAC+, enhanced AAC+, and H.264. It also moves beyond audio/video to also support games, images, and ringtones, and it supports many business models for content, including purchased downloads, subscription, rental, preview, and pay-per-view. These features are crucial components for mobile operators, handset vendors, and content services who desire to deliver an expanding range of entertainment-focused content, services and devices–-now and in the future.
Q.	Is Microsoft PlayReady an application? A Software Development Kit (SDK)? Something else?
A.	Microsoft PlayReady is a technology platform that offers components tailored for different parts of the ecosystem. Mobile device manufacturers can now license the Microsoft PlayReady porting kit, which includes source code and documentation, while content services can use the upcoming server-side SDK to package their content for delivery to customers.
Q.	When will Microsoft PlayReady be available?
A.	The PlayReady Porting Kit is available now. A server-side PlayReady Rights Manager SDK for content services is planned for release in the first half of 2008.
Q.	When will devices and services be available?
A.	This is dependent on the product development cycles of device manufacturers and content services. Devices and services that support Microsoft PlayReady are expected to be available for consumers in 2008.
Q.	What does this mean for my company as a potential licensee?
A.	It means that you have access to a content access technology that supports virtually any file type and business model you choose to implement.
Q.	What are the licensing terms?
A.	Please see the Microsoft PlayReady License Terms page for licensing details.
Q.	How is Microsoft PlayReady different from Windows Media DRM?
A.	Microsoft PlayReady is backward compatible with Windows Media DRM 10, so devices that support PlayReady will be able to play content that is protected using Windows Media DRM 10. PlayReady also offers significant functionality not available with Windows Media DRM 10. PlayReady is optimized first and foremost for the mobile industry, and for services wishing to provide content to mobile devices. As such, it is designed to enable the delivery of virtually any digital file to mobile handsets using a variety of business models.
Q.	Can I still license Windows Media DRM 10?
A.	Yes. Microsoft PlayReady will support playback of content protected with Windows Media DRM 10, but you can continue to license Windows Media DRM under its existing and long-standing terms and conditions, if that suits your needs.
Q.	What does this mean for my content service that currently uses Windows Media DRM 10?
A.	Devices that support Microsoft PlayReady technology will be able to decrypt content that is protected using Windows Media DRM 10.
Q.	What does Microsoft PlayReady mean for consumers?
A.	Microsoft PlayReady will enable content services and device manufacturers to make more content available to consumers, and to make that content more portable than it is today. PlayReady’s support for domains will make it easy for consumers to transfer and play their content on any of their devices that are part of the domain.

HD Audio Device Driver Interface (DDI)

Microsoft — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:35:00 GMT

As part of the operating system, Windows Vista provides a bus driver for managing the Intel High Definition Audio (HD Audio) bus interface controller, as well as a Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) class driver for managing a UAA-compliant audio codec that is connected to an HD Audio controller.

Get all the details about the HD Audio Device Driver Interface (DDI) here:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms790041.aspx