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Getting Started

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Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Creative Technology Ltd. No part of this 

manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without 

the written permission of Creative Technology Ltd. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement and may be used or copied 

only in accordance with the terms of the license agreement. It is against the law to copy the software on any other medium except as specifically allowed in the 

license agreement. The licensee may make one copy of the software for backup purposes.

Copyright © 1998-1999 by Creative Technology Ltd. All rights reserved.

Version 2.00

April 1999

Sound Blaster and Blaster are registered trademarks, and the Sound Blaster Live! logo, the Sound Blaster PCI logo, EMU10K1, Environmental Audio, and 

Creative Multi Speaker Surround are trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd. in  the United States and/or other countries. E-Mu and SoundFont are registered 

trademarks of E-mu Systems, Inc.. SoundWorks is a registered trademark, and MicroWorks, PCWorks and FourPointSurround are trademarks of Cambridge 

SoundWorks, Inc.. Microsoft, MS-DOS, and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other products are trademarks or registered 

trademarks of their respective owners.

This product is covered by one or more of the following U.S. patents:

4,506,579; 4,699,038; 4,987,600; 5,013,105; 5,072,645; 5,111,727; 5,144,676; 5,170,369; 5,248,845; 5,298,671; 5,303,309; 5,317,104; 5,342,990; 5,430,244; 

5,524,074; 5,698,803; 5,698,807; 5,748,747; 5,763,800; 5,790,837.

4620rlin.fm  Page 1  Thursday, April 8, 1999  5:42 PM

Summary of Contents for SB0060 - Sound Blaster Live

Page 1: ...eative Technology Ltd All rights reserved Version 2 00 April 1999 Sound Blaster and Blaster are registered trademarks and the Sound Blaster Live logo the Sound Blaster PCI logo EMU10K1 Environmental Audio and Creative Multi Speaker Surround are trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd in the United States and or other countries E Mu and SoundFont are registered trademarks of E mu Systems Inc SoundWor...

Page 2: ...r copies thereof b you do not retain any portion of the Software or any copy thereof and c the transferee reads and agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement 9 Limitations on Using Copying and Modifying the Software Except to the extent expressly permitted by this Agreement or by the laws of the jurisdiction where you acquired the Software you may not use copy or modify the ...

Page 3: ... remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect For questions concerning this Agreement please contact Creative at the address stated above For questions on product or technical matters contact the Creative technical support center nearest you ADDENDUM TO THE MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT WINDOWS 95 IMPORTANT By using the Microsoft software files the Microsoft Software provided w...

Page 4: ...r equipment certified to comply with the Class B limits All cables used to connect the computer and peripherals must be shielded and grounded Operation with non certified computers or non shielded cables may result in interference to radio or television reception 0RGLILFDWLRQV Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the grantee of this device could void the user s authority to opera...

Page 5: ... Conventions xi QRZLQJ DQG QVWDOOLQJ RXU DUGV On the Audio Cards 1 2 Installing the Cards and Related Peripherals 1 4 Positioning Your Speakers 1 7 Connecting Creative PC DVD 1 8 QVWDOOLQJ 6RIWZDUH LQ LQGRZV Setting Up the Audio Drivers 2 1 Installing the Applications 2 4 Using Sound Blaster Live 2 5 Configuring Your Speakers 2 6 Experiencing Sound Blaster Live 2 6 4620rTOC fm Page v Thursday Apri...

Page 6: ... the Installation Disc 3 2 Removing Unused Sound Blaster Drivers 3 3 8VLQJ 6RXQG ODVWHU LYH Sound Blaster Live Experience 4 2 Creative Launcher 4 2 Surround Mixer 4 4 AudioHQ 4 6 SoundFont Control 4 7 Device Controls 4 10 Creative Keyboard 4 11 Sound Graph 4 12 Environmental Audio Control 4 13 AutoEA 4 14 Vienna SoundFont Studio 4 15 Wave Studio 4 15 Creative Keytar 4 16 Creative Rhythmania 4 17 C...

Page 7: ...YTH II Soulblighter 5 13 7R R 7KLV 8VH 7KHVH SSOLFDWLRQV Content Creation 6 1 Multimedia Playback 6 5 Digital Entertainment 6 6 Gaming Reference 6 7 HQHUDO 6SHFLILFDWLRQV Features A 1 Connectivity A 3 Sound Blaster Live card A 3 Digital I O card A 3 6 PXODWLRQ LQ 06 26 LQGRZV Background B 1 Understanding the Installation Program in Windows 95 98 B 2 The AUTOEXEC BAT File Settings B 2 The CONFIG SY...

Page 8: ... B 9 Digital Audio Options B 9 MS DOS Mode Utilities B 9 SBECFG EXE B 9 SBEMIXER EXE B 10 SBESET EXE B 11 SBEGO EXE B 12 KDQJLQJ XGLR DUG 6HWWLQJV Enabling Disabling Gameport Joystick Interface C 1 Enabling Disabling Other Features C 2 7URXEOHVKRRWLQJ Problems Installing Software D 1 Problems With Sound D 2 Problem with Surround Mixer D 5 Insufficient SoundFont Cache D 5 Problems With Joystick D 6...

Page 9: ...ior 3D positional sound and effects rendering that Environmental Audio provides creates real life multidimensional sound and multitextured acoustical environments for the most incredible 3D audio experience ever in games music and other applications Whether you are a musician sound designer or hardcore gamer Sound Blaster Live is the ultimate solution in PC audio technology System Requirements For...

Page 10: ...card allowing you to experience new functionality It is as if your audio card is reborn Your Card Is Up To Date because the latest Live Ware upgrades are only a download away When new standards and capabilities emerge your hardware is ready for it just download the functions and the card becomes up to date Before You Begin The README file on the installation CD ROM contains information and changes...

Page 11: ...ollowing typographical conventions are used throughout this document bold Text that must be entered exactly as it appears italic Title of a book or a placeholder which represents the information you must provide UPPERCASE Directory name file name or acronym The notepad icon indicates information that is of particular importance and should be considered before continuing The alarm clock designates ...

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Page 13: ... 1 Knowing and Installing Your Cards This chapter is organized as follows On the Audio Cards Installing the Cards and Related Peripherals Positioning Your Speakers Connecting Creative PC DVD 4620r 1 fm Page 1 Thursday April 8 1999 2 42 PM ...

Page 14: ... Microphone In jack red Connects to an external microphone for voice input Figure 1 1 Jacks and connectors on the Sound Blaster Live card Rear Out jack black Connects to powered speakers or an external amplifier for audio output Line Out jack green Connects to powered speakers or an external amplifier for audio output Also supports headphones Telephone Answering Device connector Provides a mono co...

Page 15: ...iDisc MD player recorder that supports SPDIF Audio Extension Digital I O connector Connects the Digital I O card to transfer digital audio signals to and from the Sound Blaster Live card Digital I O card Digital DIN connector Connects to a future digital input output audio device supporting multiple speakers Mini MIDI ln DIN connector Connects to a MIDI input device Digital I O cable Mini MIDI Out...

Page 16: ...ure that the card sits firmly inside the PCI expansion slot 7 Secure the card to the expansion slot with a screw 8 Place the metal bracket of the Digital I O card into an unused bracket on the computer casing 9 Secure the card to the casing with a screw Do not force the audio card into the slot If it does not fit properly gently remove it and try again Make sure there is sufficient space between t...

Page 17: ... Cards 1 5 10 To learn how to connect to other devices see Figure 1 5 11 Replace the cover onto your system 12 Plug the power cord back into the wall outlet and switch on the system 4620r 1 fm Page 5 Thursday April 8 1999 2 42 PM ...

Page 18: ... connectors of the same CD ROM or DVD ROM drive make sure in Surround Mixer you do not unmute CD Audio and CD Digital at the same time Figure 1 5 Connecting other devices CD ROM drive Line In Mic In Rear Out Joystick MIDI GamePad Line out Cassette and CD player Synthesizer etc Microphone MPC to MPC 4 pin audio cable CD Audio connector Line Out External digital device Digital In Out Digital I O car...

Page 19: ... blocking the path of your front speakers You may want to adjust the relative positions of the speakers until you get the audio experience you like best If you have a subwoofer place the unit in a corner of the room for the best bass experience Figure 1 6 Recommended speaker positions for the 4 speaker configuration Computer monitor Front left speaker Front right speaker Rear left speaker Rear rig...

Page 20: ... In in Surround Mixer Note You may need to select this configuration when playing certain DVD games with Dolby Digital video clips If you get distorted or no audio at all Reason Your CD ROM or DVD ROM drive does not fully comply to SPDIF specifications you must 1 Make sure there is a connection between the Sound Blaster Live card s CD In connector and the Analog Audio connector of the CD ROM or DV...

Page 21: ...drive CD ROM drive optional MPC to MPC 2 pin audio cable Sound Blaster Live card MPC to MPC 4 pin audio cable MPC to JST or MPC to MPC audio cable Disconnect this cable or mute the signal to the sound card when watching DVD movies MPEG2 decoder card The position of the jack and the connector type may differ from your card s To Dolby Digital AC 3 decoder e g DeskTop Theater 5 1 or DeskTop Theater D...

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Page 23: ...nd Blaster Live Uninstalling the Applications Reinstalling the Audio Drivers From the Installation Disc Playing Legacy Games Setting Up the Audio Drivers You need device drivers to control the components on your audio card After you have installed the card and switched on your system Windows 95 98 automatically detects the components and then either installs the drivers automatically or prompts yo...

Page 24: ...gure 2 3 appears 1 Insert the installation disc into your CD ROM drive and select the drive 2 If there is a Specify A Location check box make sure it is selected and clear the other check boxes 3 Click the Browse button and select the folder AUDIO Language WIN95DRV where Language is the language of the software that you want to install Figure 2 1 Message box indicating the detection of a device Fi...

Page 25: ... Some of the required files are copied to your hard disk However an error message stating that a file 2GMGSMT SF2 or otherwise cannot be found also appears 4 Click the OK button 5 At the Copying Files dialog box click the Browse button and select the folder AUDIO Language WIN95DRV where Language is the language of the software that you want to install 6 Click the Open button and then click the OK ...

Page 26: ...k the Yes button to keep the files Installing the Applications 1 If your installation disc is already in your CD ROM drive eject the disc and insert it again The disc supports Windows AutoPlay mode and starts running automatically If not see Problems Installing Software on page D 1 2 Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation Figure 2 5 Update Device Driver Wizard dialog bo...

Page 27: ...rt your applications and get to the Creative and the SB Live owners websites To display Launcher bring your pointer to the top of the screen Creative PlayCenter allows you to play most types of media multimedia files MIDI Wave MP3 etc audio CDs and video CDs using a single player There is no need to use different players to play different media types Just insert or select your media and PlayCenter...

Page 28: ... of Surround Mixer click the Test button under Speakers You should hear the selected sound being played If you do not see Problems With Sound on page D 2 Experiencing Sound Blaster Live Congratulations You have successfully installed Sound Blaster Live To enhance your experience it is highly recommended that you run SB Live Experience It demonstrates the many wonderful experiences Sound Blaster Li...

Page 29: ...move Programs Properties dialog box select the target programs including Sound Blaster Live and then click the Add Remove button 4 Follow the instructions on the screen to uninstall Quit the audio card s applications before uninstalling Applications that are still running during uninstallation will not be uninstalled Some applications may share files with other Windows applications If so the unins...

Page 30: ...your CD ROM drive 2 Run the UPDDRV95 EXE program from the AUDIO Language WIN95DRV folder of your CD ROM drive where Language is the language of the software that you want to install The updating process may take a while When the progress indicator box disappears the update is complete Playing Legacy Games For more information see Appendix B SB Emulation in MS DOS Windows 95 98 4620r 2 fm Page 8 Th...

Page 31: ... 0 includes the installation of audio drivers 1 Insert the installation disc into your CD ROM drive The AutoPlay screen appears 2 Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation Setting Up Joystick Drivers in Windows NT 4 0 1 Log on to your computer as Administrator 2 Click the Start button point to Settings and then click Control Panel 3 Double click the Multimedia icon click t...

Page 32: ...our Speakers See Using Sound Blaster Live on page 2 5 and Configuring Your Speakers on page 2 6 They also apply in Windows NT 4 0 Reinstalling the Audio Drivers From the Installation Disc You may want to reinstall the audio drivers if you think they are corrupted To do so 1 Insert the installation disc into your CD ROM drive 2 Run the UPDPCINT EXE program from the AUDIO Language NT4DRV folder of y...

Page 33: ...ay want to remove unused Sound Blaster ISA and PCI audio drivers after you have removed the cards from your computer To remove the drivers use the procedure in the previous section Reinstalling the Audio Drivers From the Installation Disc 4620r 3 fm Page 3 Thursday April 8 1999 2 48 PM ...

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Page 35: ...st important to the operation of your audio card is the Sound Blaster Live group Sound Blaster Live Experience Creative Launcher Surround Mixer AudioHQ SoundFont Control Device Controls Creative Keyboard Sound Graph Environmental Audio Control AutoEA Vienna SoundFont Studio Wave Studio Creative Keytar Creative Rhythmania Creative PlayCenter 4620r 4 fm Page 1 Thursday April 8 1999 2 54 PM ...

Page 36: ...y Creative Launcher is installed at the top of your screen If it does not appear move your mouse pointer to the top of the screen and Launcher should appear Creative Launcher consists of the system menu icon the Creative logo at the top left corner the website icon group tabs and the group items The Environmental Audio icon is on the right The Environments tabbed page offers a one touch Super Envi...

Page 37: ...group that may contain more items A plug in is a Creative software module that is integrated into Launcher Examples are the Volume Control Plugin and the Command Line Plugin The installation creates a number of group tabs in Launcher that may contain shortcuts to Creative applications such as PlayCenter and Control Panel It may also contain shortcuts to other applications for your hardware setting...

Page 38: ...4 4 Using Sound Blaster Live Surround Mixer 4620r 4 fm Page 4 Thursday April 8 1999 2 54 PM ...

Page 39: ...in a particular style each style having its unique set of positions of audio input sources Surround Mixer consists of three decks Preset deck It is always the top deck In the upper left corner is the Surround Mixer title clicking it displays the system menu At its right is the button clicking it switches the Surround Mixer among its three views the tooltip indicates the next view when the button i...

Page 40: ...ve and then click AudioHQ You can also access the AudioHQ menu by clicking the AudioHQ icon located at the bottom right corner of your Windows desktop AudioHQ uses the familiar Windows group to display the icon for each utility AudioHQ contains several control utilities that allow you to view audition or set up the audio properties of one or more audio devices on your computer 4620r 4 fm Page 6 Th...

Page 41: ...t the top of the Bank Stack box The top of the stack is indicated by an arrow 4 To replace a SoundFont file click the file and then click the Replace button OR Double click the file and select the replacement 5 To clear a bank from the stack select the bank and then click the Clear button A variation bank can only be cleared by clearing its main bank 6 Repeat Steps 3 4 or 5 as required By stacking...

Page 42: ...ank loaded on the Configure Bank tabbed page 4 Click the Load button and load a SoundFont or single instrument for example WAV file The last file loaded always appears at the top of the Instrument Stack with an arrow pointing to it 5 To clear an instrument from the stack select the instrument and then click the Clear button 6 For faster processing of SoundFont files the files are loaded into memor...

Page 43: ...Cache list To set the amount of cache for SoundFont files On the Options tabbed page of the SoundFont Control dialog box move the SoundFont Cache slider to set the amount of cache SoundFont Device To change the SoundFont device On the Options tabbed page of the SoundFont dialog box select the new device from the SoundFont Device list 4620r 4 fm Page 9 Thursday April 8 1999 2 54 PM ...

Page 44: ...s To set maximum simultaneous Wave playback sessions On the Wave tabbed page drag the Maximum Simultaneous Wave Playback slider to the right to set a higher number of Wave playback sessions or to the left to set a lower number of simultaneous playback sessions Sound Device To select the sound device to configure On the Options tabbed page click the device you want to configure from the Sound Devic...

Page 45: ... banks and instruments First connect a MIDI input device to your audio card and then select that device in Creative Keyboard Test an Instrument To test an instrument 1 In Creative Keyboard click the bank and the instrument you want 2 Click the keys on the keyboard to test the sound If you have an external MIDI input device you will probably find it easier to use it instead Tips To select multiple ...

Page 46: ... In Creative Keyboard click the All Notes Off button All the black points on the keyboard are removed Sound Graph Creative Sound Graph complements the record panel of Surround Mixer s Mixer deck by giving a graphical view of the sounds mixed for recording There are three display modes VU Display Mode displays the playback signal levels of the left and right channels Scope Display Mode displays the...

Page 47: ... to the Logarithmic Spectrum Mode Spikes Spectrum Mode or Fine Grain Spectrum Mode respectively Environmental Audio Control Environmental Audio Control allows you to configure the EMU10K1 effects engine It allows you to specify to a low level the components that make up the audio elements that in turn make up an environment An environment is the modeling of a real world experience We have provided...

Page 48: ...niDisc using Creative PlayCenter you may want to associate different super environments for the speaker outputs Live Surround and 4 Speakers 1 In the Application list select the audio application with which to associate a super environment for a particular speaker output If the application is not in the list click the Browse button to browse for and open the application 2 In the Speaker Output box...

Page 49: ...o take a microphone plug it in to your Sound Blaster Live card and sample your voice Even if you just say hello Using Vienna SoundFont Studio you can create an instrument and place the sample to allow you to pitch shift your voice up and down the keyboard The next thing to do would be to try to apply articulation like Filter or any type of effects to actually change your voice Once you discover th...

Page 50: ...te tune all in a matter of seconds or minutes You only need to hold the chord with one hand until it is time to change the chord and use the other hand to strum or pluck the strings according to a tune s rhythmic variation Just rhythm no need to worry about notes You only need to know and memorize chord fingerings Learn how to use Keytar from its online help Properties Musician Reverb and chorus S...

Page 51: ...nstruments Creative Rhythmania easily allows you to Perform with auto accompaniment in Rhythm mode Four part Rhythm section Preset backing styles Interactive backing arrangement Chord Palette system SoundFont support Choose between two Keyboard types PC QWERTY keyboard or MIDI keyboard connected to your PC 4620r 4 fm Page 17 Thursday April 8 1999 2 54 PM ...

Page 52: ...er allows you to play most types of media multimedia files MIDI Wave MP3 etc audio CDs and Video CDs using a single player Just insert or select your media and PlayCenter does the rest The new SoundFont Association feature allows you to autoload SoundFont banks used by MIDI files such that you can experience the power of SoundFont technology seamlessly To run PlayCenter bring your pointer to the t...

Page 53: ...s an application that allows you to play back known audio format or compact discs for recording to digital recorders such as DAT players especially for MiniDisc MD recorders With MiniDisc Center you can create a personal album of your favourite songs each of which may be in a different audio format insert a preset amount of silence interval period automatically between each track play back your pe...

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Page 55: ...one With Cakewalk you can easily create music with any instrument even your voice Then you can edit and rearrange it print it and play it back all from your PC While using Cakewalk you can get context sensitive help help about what you re currently working on at any time Press the F1 function key or press the Help button on any dialog box The help system displays and takes you directly to the rele...

Page 56: ...cards keyboards and other electronic instruments Musical Instrument Digital Interface MIDI refers to the type of cables and plugs used to connect computers and instruments and the language they use to talk to one another MIDI gives a computer the ability to tell an instrument which notes to play which voice to use and many other things that make music music 4620r 5 fm Page 2 Thursday April 8 1999 ...

Page 57: ...trol up to 16 tracks of digital audio at the same time You can add music to multimedia presentations video projects websites even make custom tapes and CDs Mixman Studio is designed to be easy enough to start making music immediately To help you more easily learn Mixman Studio a series of step by step tutorials is included online Once you master the basics challenge yourself with Mixman Studio s a...

Page 58: ...ailable jazz pop hip hop rock and roll and so on featuring songs from many famous and popular artistes from the 70s to the 90s There are also songs available for all occasions Christmas birthdays farewells and so on Furthermore you can go to Soft Karaoke s Web site at www tune1000 com to update you database and download new songs Soft Karaoke also lets you change the tempo as well as the key of an...

Page 59: ... write an I with your mouse pointer to start your Internet browser Icon drag and drop For example after you train Prody Parrot drag an icon of a guitar onto Prody Parrot to open the CD Player program Commands List For example double click hello in the Commands window to greet Prody Parrot Prody Parrot can perform four types of actions for you Run applications for you in Windows Execute macros for ...

Page 60: ...ech input keystroke combinations mouse gestures double clicking commands and dragging icons Prody Parrot also gives you feedback in three ways through text speech and animation Customizable Program Options Choose when your assistant works and when he plays Teach Prody Parrot what to say and adjust the quality of his voice User specific Settings Store the commands and actions that you configured or...

Page 61: ...ls or on demand Prody Parrot will check for new messages in your e mail accounts then tell you how many messages have arrived who they are from and what they are about You can easily define what information about the mails you want to hear upon notification News Sports and Weather Updates Prody Parrot will get the latest news or weather information or scores for certain sporting events from the In...

Page 62: ...on to the TextAssist dictionary Feature Allows You To Synthesized speech output Have your computer read text aloud Predefined and user defined voices Choose between the predefined voices change the parameters of the voices or create voices Special text filters Define the reading manner of the program whether it should read signs embedded or quoted text or the header of e mail messages Adjustable r...

Page 63: ... Minimize command in the Commands window to minimize the active window on your desktop VoiceAssist automatically trains itself to recognize your commands so that you can perform an almost limitless number of tasks with a minimum of effort VoiceAssist acts as an intelligent assistant that runs in the background monitoring your input Whenever you open a program or window VoiceAssist automatically ex...

Page 64: ...iness presentations Web content musical recordings computer games and digital video productions Three methods of obtaining help functions online are included in the Sound Forge XP program Select Contents on the Help menu or press the F1 key Either action opens the help table of contents from which you can search by topic or get information about using online help In a dialog box press the Help but...

Page 65: ...perspective 3D fantasy action adventure game from Looking Glass Technologies which supports Environmental Audio Using Looking Glass proprietary Dark Engine which features a full 6 D engine raycast lighting realistic physics modeling motion capture biped movement photo realistic textures and unique Act React environment simulator it is the next generation in computer role playing simulation In the ...

Page 66: ...Choose to play as Colonial Marine or Predator and prepare for the ultimate deep space battle You ll need to master each character s unique weapons and abilities to stay alive in this heart pounding first person action adventure Play single player against the deadliest creatures in the galaxy or set up your own interspecies wars in multiplayer mode There s more than enough extraterrestrial combat w...

Page 67: ...wards Best Strategy Game by Computer Game Developers Assn PC Games A List by PC Games Magazine Twice as good Soulblighter returns Myth II Soulblighter boasts numerous improvements to the game engine and added features that improve gameplay In Myth II destruction reigns supreme Castle walls will crumble under a barrage of Dwarven mortar fire Drawbridges will lower before your besieging army Flaming...

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Page 69: ...eve your goals Content Creation Advanced Content Creation Applications Multi track recording Cakewalk Sound Blaster Live lets you create a home music studio It bundles software that lets you put together your own productions consisting of multiple music tracks from a MIDI Synthesizer internal or external your guitar or external musical instrument Line In a digital device SPDIF or a microphone 4620...

Page 70: ... for you You can even print your own music score Sampling Sample Editor Vienna SF Studio Sound Blaster Live is an excellent sampler that allows you to record any sound effects or sample loops and then use them as a MIDI instrument all using Vienna SF Studio You can also edit existing musical instruments or what we call SoundFonts Digital Hard Disk Recording Sound Forge Creative WaveStudio With the...

Page 71: ...ities for use with your own music Create your own SoundFont banks in Vienna SF Studio and then use them in your bundled MIDI sequencer Content Creation Applications Music Creation For Non Musicians Mixman Studio Mixman Studio provides an easy means for you to create your own music even if you are not trained in playing any musical instrument Sound Libraries 1 000 SF Instruments bundled Sound Blast...

Page 72: ...sed from Creative Surround Mixer Real AudioTM conversion for use on Internet Sound Forge If you are doing content creation for the Web use this software to convert your audio productions into the popular Real Audio streaming format Record audio effects Creative Recorder Creative Recorder provides an easy means to record any audio source without worrying about your mixer settings You can also recor...

Page 73: ...s in both Wave and CD Audio formats WAV is the format for digital audio files on the Windows operating platform CD Audio is played back from an audio compact disc on your CD ROM drive MIDI MIDI MID is a music format used by musicians that is played back from the internal synthesizer on the Sound Blaster Live card You can use Creative PlayCenter to play back MIDI files or use the MIDI sequencer bun...

Page 74: ...tive PC DVD Encore s solution as well as the Cambridge SoundWorks DeskTop Theater 5 1 Play Customized Albums With your Sound Blaster Live card you can compile your own albums containing your favorite music using the bundled Creative PlayCenter whether they are in CD Audio WAV or even MIDI format Play Guitar Your Sound Blaster Live card lets you play the guitar on your PC With the bundled Creative ...

Page 75: ...ng the bundled TextAssist application Voice Recognition Your Sound Blaster Live card allows you to enjoy voice recognition on your PC Give commands to your PC and control applications using your voice using the bundled VoiceAssist application Digital Entertainment Applications Games Applications EAX1 0 Support and above Enjoy the many Environmental Audio titles by top game developers that immerse ...

Page 76: ...till enjoy Environmental Audio effects even if your game does not have Environmental Audio support You card bundles over 50 presets for use with existing games These can be accessed from Creative Launcher You can also associate effects individually with your favorite games Launch the AutoEA applet Customized environments for non 3D audio games You can create customized environments for your non En...

Page 77: ... Patented 8 point interpolation that achieves the highest quality of audio reproduction 64 voice hardware wavetable synthesizer Professional quality digital mixing and equalization Up to 32 MB of sound RAM mapped to host memory Stereo Digitized Voice Channel True 16 bit Full Duplex operation 16 bit and 8 bit digitizing in stereo and mono modes Playback of 64 audio channels each at an arbitrary sam...

Page 78: ...layback control of Master Digitized Voice and inputs from MIDI device CD Audio Line Microphone Auxiliary TAD PC Speaker I2 S PC DVD SPDIF Wave DirectSound device and CD Digital CD SPDIF Separate bass and treble control Front and Rear Balance control Muting and balance control for individual playback sources Creative Multi Speaker Sur roundTM CMSSTM Multi speaker technology Professional quality pan...

Page 79: ...connector on card Audio Outputs Two line level analog outputs via stereo jacks on rear bracket Front and Rear Line Outs Stereo headphone 32 ohm load support on Front Line Out Interfaces D Sub MIDI interface for connection to external MIDI devices Doubles as Joystick port MB_PRO 2x5 pin header MIC_CONN 1x3 pin header VOL_CTRL 1x4 pin header PC_SPK 1x2 pin header Digital I O card Audio Inputs and Ou...

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Page 81: ...es Determining Resources Selecting the Best Audio Options in a Game MS DOS Mode Utilities Background Legacy games in the market have been designed for only MS DOS SB Live supports MS DOS games There are two ways to play MS DOS games From the MS DOS box in Windows 95 98 This is the recommended method To open the box Click the Start button on the taskbar of Windows 95 98 point to Programs and then c...

Page 82: ...n button and then click the OK button To start the system in MS DOS mode at system startup 1 At startup as Windows 95 98 is loading hold the F8 key 2 At the startup menu choose the Command Prompt Only option and then press Enter Understanding the Installation Program in Windows 95 98 The installation program modifies your AUTOEXEC BAT and CONFIG SYS files The AUTOEXEC BAT File Settings The install...

Page 83: ...to your memory manager For example DEVICE C WINDOWS EMM386 EXE NOEMS if C WINDOWS is your Windows directory You may load this driver into high memory in the AUTOEXEC BAT file even though the default is not For example LOADHIGH C PROGRA 1 CREATIVE SBLIVE DOSDRV SBEINIT COM Do not remove the memory manager altogether Do not attempt to load SBEINIT COM into high memory when using the NOEMS option if ...

Page 84: ...card encounters a conflict with a peripheral device you may need to change its resource settings For details see Resolving I O Conflicts on page D 7 When any resource setting is changed make sure that the environment variables see Understanding the Environment Variables on page B 6 reflect the changes as well You can view your system environment by typing SET at the DOS prompt In the following tab...

Page 85: ...s to notify your computer s central processor that it wants to send or receive data for processing Table B 1 Possible default input output I O addresses Device Default I O Address Range SB interface 220H to 22FH 240H to 24FH 260H to 26FH 280H to 28FH MPU 401 UART MIDI interface 300H to 301H 310H to 311H 320H to 321H 330H to 331H Stereo music synthesizer 388H to 38BH Table B 2 Possible default inte...

Page 86: ...e CTSYN Environment Variable The CTSYN environment variable points to the location of the CTSYN INI file which usually resides in the Windows directory The syntax for this variable is as follows CTSYN path where path is the location of the CTSYN INI file BLASTER Environment Variable The BLASTER environment variable specifies the base I O address IRQ line and DMA channels of the SB interface Its sy...

Page 87: ...rol Panel 2 In the Control Panel window double click the System icon 3 In the System Properties dialog box click the Device Manager tab 4 Double click Creative Miscellaneous Devices and then double click Creative SB Live SB16 Emulation 5 Click the Resources tab You can use the information in the resource list to help you configure MS DOS games for use with the SB Live card The resource list may sh...

Page 88: ...ddress 330 Selecting the Best Audio Options in a Game Most MS DOS based games that provide sound have some procedure for audio setup These procedures generally present you with a list of popular audio cards or audio devices from which to choose The methods used by games to present audio options can vary greatly Some may present a single choice that corresponds to a particular audio device that is ...

Page 89: ...vide you with the best sound quality If you need to use MT 32 you must first switch from the General MIDI instrument set the default to the MT 32 instrument set using SBEMIXER Be sure to switch back to the General MIDI set when you are finished using the MT 32 instrument set Digital Audio Options SB Live supports Sound Blaster Sound Blaster Pro Sound Blaster 16 and Adlib digital audio emulation If...

Page 90: ...gs in Windows 95 98 To set SBEMIXER values in the command line At the DOS prompt type the SBEMIXER command in a single line Its syntax is SBEMIXER S x W x C x M x where square brackets denote optional parameters and This Parameter Specifies S x Synth volume x can be a value from the range 0 to 127 W x Wave volume x can be a value from the range 0 to 127 C x CD audio volume x can be a value from th...

Page 91: ...s conflict in DOS before it can boot to Windows SBESET EXE is run from the command line To set SBESET values in the command line At the DOS prompt type the SBESET command in a single line Its syntax is SBESET Axxx Ix Dx Hx Pxxx dx wx where square brackets denote optional parameters and This Parameter Specifies Axxx SB interface s base I O address Ix IRQ line used by the audio interface Dx First DM...

Page 92: ... SB interface s base I O address to 240 the IRQ line used by the audio interface to 5 the First DMA channel used by the audio interface to 3 and use the Windows assigned resource configuration SBEGO EXE Use this to confirm whether SB16 Emulation is properly installed and working 4620r b fm Page 12 Thursday April 8 1999 4 44 PM ...

Page 93: ...eport Joystick Interface The Gameport Joystick interface on your audio card can be enabled or disabled in Windows 95 98 To enable or disable the interface in Windows 95 98 1 Click the Start button point to Settings and then click Control Panel 2 In the Control Panel window double click the System icon 3 In the System Properties dialog box click the Device Manager tab 4 Double click Sound Video And...

Page 94: ...Device Manager has a red cross Enabling Disabling Other Features In Windows 95 98 and Win dows NT 4 0 Use the applets under Creative AudioHQ to enable or disable features such as Stereo Enhancement Effect To open an AudioHQ applet from the Sound Blaster menu Click the Start button on the taskbar point to Programs point to Creative point to Sound Blaster Live and then click AudioHQ Check out the ap...

Page 95: ...dows desktop 2 In the My Computer window right click the CD ROM drive icon 3 On the shortcut menu click AutoPlay and follow the instructions on the screen To enable AutoPlay through Auto Insert Notification 1 Click the Start button select Settings and then click Control Panel 2 In the Control Panel window double click the System icon 3 In the System Properties dialog box click the Device Manager t...

Page 96: ...list select No effects or an appropriate environment No sound from the headphones Check the following The headphones are connected to the Line Out jack In the Environment deck of Surround Mixer make sure that the Speaker entry is Headphones In a 4 speaker configuration there is no sound from the rear speakers Check the following The rear speakers are connected to the audio card s Rear Out jack If ...

Page 97: ...eck that you have unmuted the correct source in Mixer deck If both these conditions have been met and you still do not get any sound click the red plus sign above the VOL control and check whether the Digital Output Only check box is selected If it is you are in the Digital Output Only mode and so must connect to digital speakers to hear the sound from your audio card See the section on Digital Ou...

Page 98: ... the card and a peripheral device See Resolving I O Conflicts on page D 7 The Speakers selection in the Environment deck of Surround Mixer corresponds to your speaker or headphone configuration The Original Sound sliders in either or both the Master and Source tabbed pages of the Environmental Audio applet are set to 100 No audio output when playing CD Audio OR No audio output when playing DOS gam...

Page 99: ...Surround Mixer you have panned the CD Audio to the right To solve this problem Open that other mixer and center the balances for all the audio input sources This ensures that your analog sources will not turn silent when you pan them in Surround Mixer Problem with Surround Mixer Unwanted change of mixer settings with every change of super environment presets To solve this problem Dissociate the mi...

Page 100: ...stick port and use the system port instead For details see Enabling Disabling Gameport Joystick Interface on page C 1 The joystick is not working properly in some programs The program may use the system processor timing to calculate the joystick position When the processor is fast the program may determine the position of the joystick incorrectly assuming that the position is out of range To solve...

Page 101: ...tem Properties dialog box click the Device Manager tab 4 Under the Sound Video And Game Controllers entry select the conflicting audio card driver indicated by an exclamation mark and click the Properties button 5 In the Properties dialog box click the Resources tab 6 Make sure that the Use Automatic Settings check box is selected and click the OK button 7 Restart your system to allow Windows 95 9...

Page 102: ...rted into the drive To solve this problem 1 In the Windows system tray right click the Disc Detector icon and then click Properties 2 On the General tabbed page of the Creative Disc Detector dialog box make sure that Enable Disc Detector check box is selected 3 Click the Players tab 4 Select the DVD Disc entry and then click the Select Player button 5 In the Players Properties dialog box click the...

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