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Summary of Contents for Creative SB0090

  • Page 1: How To Use This Manual

    • For best viewing, this PDF is by default set to "Fit Width" so that all the contents on every page is visible. If you are unable to read the text clearly, press Ctrl + <+> to zoom in or Ctrl + <-> to zoom out. To view full screen, press Ctrl + <L>.
  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Your Joystick/MIDI Bracket ..............1-3 Installation Steps ................... 1-4 Step 1: Prepare your computer ............1-4 Step 2: Install the Sound Blaster Audigy card ........1-5 Step 3: Install the Joystick/MIDI bracket (optional) ......1-5 Step 4: Connect to power supply ............ 1-6 Connecting Related Peripherals..............
  • Page 3 Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Applications..........3-1 Third Party Sound Blaster Audigy Applications ........... 3-2 Creative Taskbar..................3-2 Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Online Quick Start ........3-3 Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Experience ..........3-3 EAX ADVANCED HD Gold Mine Experience ..........3-3 Creative Diagnostics................
  • Page 4 Using Applications Multimedia Playback................4-1 Watching DVDs ................4-1 Playing MP3 or WMA files ............... 4-1 Playing back Wave and CD Audio files ..........4-2 Playing MIDI files................4-2 Creating non- General-MIDI- compliant files ........4-2 Digital Entertainment................4-2 Watching surround movies............. 4-2 Compiling personal albums ............
  • Page 5 Creating and playing back SoundFonts ..........4-4 Internet Entertainment ................4-5 Experiencing music with visual entertainment ........4-5 Encoding CD songs to MP3 format ..........4-5 Downloading and playing MP3 songs ..........4-5 Playing MP3 songs with EAX ADVANCED HD........4-5 Mixing MP3 songs .................
  • Page 6 Direct Memory Access (DMA) Channel..........B-5 Environment Variables................B-5 CTSYN Environment Variable............B-5 BLASTER Environment Variable ............B-5 Determining Resources................B-6 Selecting the Best Audio Options in a Game ..........B-7 Music Options................B-8 Digital Audio Options..............B-8 MS-DOS Mode Utilities................B-8 SBECFG.EXE ................B-8 SBEMIXER.EXE ................
  • Page 7 Insufficient SoundFont Cache ..............C-5 Problems With Joystick ................C-5 Problems with Multiple Audio Devices ............C-6 Problems with Sound Blaster Live! Series or Sound Blaster PCI512 card ..C-7 Resolving I/O Conflicts................C-8 Problems in Windows NT 4.0 ..............C-9 Problems with Encore DVD Player ............C-10 Problems with Software DVD Player ............
  • Page 8 Introduction...
  • Page 9: High Definition Digital Audio Entertainment

    With the onboard 24-bit Analog-to-Digital Convertor (ADC) and Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC), Sound Blaster Audigy delivers high-definition sound of astounding quality with 96 kHz SPDIF support. The Sound Blaster Audigy card, with its Audigy processor, is four times as powerful as its nearest competitor. This enables awesome EAX ADVANCED HD technologies for your games and music listening experience.
  • Page 10: What Is Eax Advanced Hd

    What is EAX EAX ADVANCED HD brings a new level of performance, power and flexibility to PC audio. Taking advantage of the increased processing capabilities of the Sound ADVANCED HD? Blaster Audigy HDA Processor, EAX ADVANCED HD delivers a host of new high definition audio features for gaming and music enhancement.
  • Page 11: Creativeware

    Creative’s upgradeable products. With CreativeWare, you can always be sure of having the best digital entertainment experience because: — You can easily upgrade your Sound Blaster Audigy card with the latest features, device drivers, and applications.
  • Page 12: Sb1394 Applications, Games And Dvd Viewing

    ❑ 128 MB RAM recommended for digital video (DV) capture and editing ❑ Ultra DMA type hard disk with 1 GB workspace (ATA-100, 7,200 rpm type and 6 GB recommended) for DV applications (300–500 MB of free hard disk space for games) ❑...
  • Page 13: Document Conventions

    The notepad icon indicates information that is of particular importance and should be considered before continuing. The alarm clock designates a caution or warning that can help you avoid situations involving risk. The warning sign indicates that failure to adhere to directions may result in bodily harm or life-threatening situations.
  • Page 14: Installing Hardware

    Installing Hardware This chapter tells you how to install the Sound Blaster Audigy hardware.
  • Page 15: What You Need

    Installing Hardware Before you begin installation, be sure that you have these: What You Need In addition, you will also need an available PCI slot and another adjacent available slot on your computer. Joystick/MIDI bracket Sound Blaster Audigy card Analog CD audio cable...
  • Page 16: Your Sound Blaster Audigy Card

    Your audio card has these jacks and connectors which allow you to attach other Your Sound devices: Blaster Audigy CD Audio connector (CD_IN) Connects to the Analog Audio output on a Card AUX connector (AUX_IN) CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive using a CD Connects to internal audio sources audio cable.
  • Page 17: Your Joystick/Midi Bracket

    Your Joystick/MIDI bracket has this connector that can be attached to other Your Joystick/ devices: MIDI Bracket Joystick/MIDI connector Connects to a joystick or a MIDI device. You can buy an optional MIDI kit that allows you to plug in a joystick and MIDI device Rear view of connector bracket simultaneously.
  • Page 18: Installation Steps

    1. Turn off your computer and all peripheral metal devices. brackets computer 2. Touch a metal plate on your computer to ground yourself and to discharge any static electricity, and then unplug the power cord from the wall outlet. PCI slots Turn off the main power 3.
  • Page 19: Step 2: Install The Sound Blaster Audigy Card

    Step 3: Install the 1. If you are installing a joystick or MIDI device, secure the Joystick/MIDI bracket to the slot next to the Sound Blaster Audigy card with the second screw. Joystick/MIDI 2. Connect the Joystick/MIDI cable to the Joystick/MIDI connector on the Sound bracket (optional) Blaster Audigy card as shown in Figure 1-4.
  • Page 20: Step 4: Connect To Power Supply

    Step 4: Connect to 1. Replace the computer cover. 2. Plug the power cord back into the wall outlet, and turn on the computer. power supply To connect your Sound Blaster Audigy card to other devices, see “Connecting Related Peripherals” on page 1-7.
  • Page 21: Connecting Related Peripherals

    Sound Blaster Audigy will most undoubtedly give you endless hours of listening Connecting pleasure. Figure 1-6 shows you how to connect related peripherals to your Sound Related Blaster Audigy to optimize your enjoyment. Peripherals CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive Analog/Digital Out jack Analog Mode (default): Connects to Center and Subwoofer channels.
  • Page 22: Connecting Speaker Systems

    If you have a 5.1 channel speaker system, you can upmix your stereo sources (such as CD Audio, MP3, WMA, MIDI and Wave) to 5.1 channels by using the Creative Multi Speaker Surround (CMSS) technology. To upmix, you need to enable the CMSS feature in PlayCenter (Player view).
  • Page 23: Connecting External Consumer Devices

    Subwoofer channels using a 3.5mm Inputs (stereo)-to-RCA cable, connect the white RCA jack to the Center input and the red RCA jack to the Subwoofer input of the amplifier. Figure 1-8: Connecting external consumer devices to the Sound Blaster Audigy card. Installing Hardware...
  • Page 24: Positioning Your Speakers

    You may want to adjust the relative speaker speaker 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 Rear-left Rear-right bass experience. speaker...
  • Page 25: Installing Software

    Installing Software This chapter tells you how to install the Sound Blaster Audigy software.
  • Page 26: Installing Drivers And Applications

    Installing Software You need to install device drivers and applications to use Sound Blaster Audigy. To Installing Drivers install these drivers and the bundled applications, use the following instructions. and Applications The instructions are applicable to all supported Windows operating systems.
  • Page 27: Windows 98 Second Edition

    Windows 98 Second turn it on. Edition 2. If prompted, insert the Windows 98 SE CD into the CD-ROM drive and click the OK button. 3. If a Version Conflict message appears, click the Yes button to continue the installation.
  • Page 28: Uninstalling The Applications And Device Drivers

    3. If prompted, click the Yes button to let the setup program detect the MS DV drivers. 4. When prompted, restart the system. You may at times need to uninstall and then reinstall the applications to correct Uninstalling the problems, change configurations, or make version upgrades. The following...
  • Page 29: Updating Windows 2000 (Service Pack 2)

    DVD viewing. Click the website address below to go Windows 2000 to Microsoft’s Windows 2000 web site to download the Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 to enjoy this support and to fix other issues in the Windows 2000 OS. (Service Pack 2) http://microsoft.com/windows2000/server/evaluation/news/bulletins/sp2.asp...
  • Page 30: Installing Digital Video Update

    If you have installed DirectX 8.0 or 8.0a run time, install the latest update for this Installing Digital application. This update provides 1394 Digital Video equipment users PAL support Video Update and improved device support. This is applicable for Windows 98 SE and Windows 2000 users.
  • Page 31: Sound Blaster Audigy Applications

    Sound Blaster Audigy Applications This chapter tells you how to get the most out of your Sound Blaster Audigy.
  • Page 32: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Applications

    Sound Blaster Audigy Applications Sound Blaster Audigy is supported by a full range of applications to help you get Creative Sound the most from your audio card. The following software is most important to the Blaster Audigy operation of your audio card: ❑...
  • Page 33 Creative Taskbar is an application that allows you to perform tasks with your audio Creative Taskbar card easily and quickly. Just select a task and everything is done for you — the necessary applications are started and your mixer and effects settings are configured automatically.
  • Page 34: Eax Advanced Hd Gold Mine Experience

    This is a good starting point from which you can learn about Sound Blaster Audigy. Creative Sound The online Quick Start consists of several interactive and informative demos that Blaster Audigy feature different aspects of Sound Blaster Audigy, like experiencing digital music and digital gaming, watching movies, connecting speakers and performing tasks.
  • Page 35: Creative Surround Mixer

    As in Control Panel, you can view AudioHQ's control applets in the main window as large icons, small icons, list items or detailed list items. You can also select all or invert the selection when you are in the Applet view. The number of items in the main window, however, varies with the control applet or device selected.
  • Page 36: Soundfont Control

    EAX Control EAX Control allows you to configure the Sound Blaster Audigy chip's 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 audio effect.
  • Page 37: Creative Wavestudio

    It promises to deliver sounds that are so life-like, you can almost see them! It is the computer industry's first system to recreate and deliver real-world, interactive audio experiences in games, music, and other audio applications. These audio effects take your computer beyond home-theater quality, immersing you in sound so vivid your imagination can almost "see it".
  • Page 38: Creative Recorder

    For more information and usage details on Creative Oozic Player, refer to its online Help. If you are new to desktop music, Vienna SoundFont Studio is just what you need to Vienna produce your first masterpiece. This is a professional sampler that allows you to...
  • Page 39: Creative Minidisc Center

    MiniDisc Center (MD) recorders. With MiniDisc Center, you can: ❑ create an album of your favorite songs, each of which may be in a different audio format ❑ insert a preset period of silence automatically between each track ❑ play back your personal album and record it to your MD recorder ❑...
  • Page 40: Creative Restore Defaults

    MIDI recording. You can record from MIDI instruments or from Creative) any audio source such as a microphone or an electric guitar. It allows you to do multi-track recording and play back up to 16 audio channels and 64 MIDI tracks.
  • Page 41: Mixmeister

    “killer mixes” of MP3 music files. With just a few clicks, you can easily mix your music, just like a radio DJ, and produce results that you will be amazed with. MixMeister automatically determines when to fade between songs and shows you how the music fits together in the mix, without you having to worry about details.
  • Page 42: Using Applications

    Using Applications This chapter tells you which applications to use for content creation, gaming and entertainment purposes.
  • Page 43: Multimedia Playback

    DVD movies. However, if you do not have an external Dolby Digital (AC-3) decoder, you must first have a DVD-compatible drive and a set of speakers that supports up to six Some software DVD channels such as Creative Inspire 5.1 Analog Speakers. Next, you must have a...
  • Page 44: Playing Back Wave And Cd Audio Files

    MIDI (*.MID) is a music format that uses an internal synthesizer for playback. Use Creative PlayCenter or the MIDI sequencer in the Sound Blaster Audigy Installation CD for playing MIDI files. To achieve the best quality, load the 8MB GM bank in the SoundFont applet found in the AudioHQ group.
  • Page 45: Content Creation

    SoundFont banks instruments. Applying voice When singing and recording you own songs, you can enhance your voice, or even add special effects. You can do this with EAX Control, which can be accessed from effects Creative Surround Mixer. Recording sound Creative Recorder is an easy way of recording any audio source without worrying about mixer settings.
  • Page 46: Creating Music

    You can even print your own music score. transcribing music Recording and You can record any sound effects or sample loops and then use them as a MIDI instrument — all using Vienna SoundFont Studio. You can also edit existing editing musical SoundFont banks.
  • Page 47: Internet Entertainment

    Mixing MP3 songs Download MP3 songs and then use MixMeister to create party mixes like a DJ. MixMeister takes care of the details while you dance all night, and allows you to fine-tune your mixes whenever you want. Using Applications...
  • Page 48: Gaming Reference

    For more information and usage details, see “SB Emulation in MS-DOS/Windows 98 SE” on page B-1. Enjoying audio You can enjoy audio effects even if your game does not have EAX ADVANCED HD support. Your card is bundled with a good selection of presets for use with games. presets in games These can be accessed through Creative Taskbar.
  • Page 49: Customizing Environments For Non-3D Games

    Customizing You can create customized environments for your non-EAX ADVANCED HD games using the EAX Control panel, which can be accessed from Creative Surround Mixer. environments for non-3D games Using Applications...
  • Page 50: A General Specifications

    General Specifications This section displays the specifications of your Sound Blaster Audigy card and Joystick/MIDI bracket.
  • Page 51: Features

    ❑ Unlimited size of SoundFont bank can be mapped to host memory (limited by available system memory) ❑ Mixes analog sources such as CD Audio, Line in, Auxiliary, TAD and PC speaker, High Quality Audio Microphone in via AC’97 Codec with internal digital sources Path ❑...
  • Page 52: Professional Digital Audio Processing

    Audio Processing ❑ SPDIF output up to 24-bit resolution at selectable sampling rate of 44.1, 48 or 96 Note: SPDIF output not available during playback of protected digital audio contents authored with DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology ❑...
  • Page 53: Sb1394Tm Compatibility

    • ANALOG OUT: Center and Subwoofer channels • DIGITAL OUT: Front, Rear, Center and Subwoofer SPDIF digital outputs ❑ Two line-level analog outputs via stereo jacks on rear bracket, Front and rear Line-Outs 1 and 2 ❑ Stereo headphone (32-ohm load) support on Front Line-Out...
  • Page 54: Sb1394 Interfaces

    ❑ One 2 x 5 pin Internal SB1394 connector (J6) on card for connection to the Audigy SB1394 Interfaces Extension card ❑ One 6-pin SB1394 connector/port on rear bracket The 6-pin SB1394 connector/port has a 2 watt maximum power output.
  • Page 55: Bsb Emulation In Ms-Dos/Windows 98 Se Background

    SB Emulation in MS-DOS/ Windows 98 SE This section tells you how to use your Sound Blaster Audigy card to play MS-DOS games.
  • Page 56: Installing Ms-Dos Drivers

    Click Start -> Programs -> MS-DOS Prompt. ❑ In MS-DOS mode There may be times when you do not want to or cannot run a game from the MS- DOS box. The legacy game may be incompatible with Windows 98 SE, or there are insufficient system resources to play the game with Windows 98 SE loaded.
  • Page 57: Understanding The Installation Program

    OK button. To start the system in MS-DOS mode at system startup: 1. At startup, as Windows 98 SE is loading, press and hold the F8 key. 2. At the startup menu, choose the Command Prompt Only option, and then press <Enter>.
  • Page 58: Config.sys File Settings

    SBEINIT.COM into high memory when using the NOEMS option if SBEINIT.COM fails to run SBELOAD.EXE or SBECFG.EXE. In the rare case that an MS-DOS game will not work with a memory manager, you will not be able to use the Sound Blaster Audigy card with the game.
  • Page 59: Input/Output (I/O) Addresses

    330H to 331H Stereo music synthesizer 388H to 38BH Interrupt Request An IRQ line is a signal line that a device uses to notify your computer’s central processor that it wants to send or receive data for processing. (IRQ) Line Table B-2:Possible default interrupt request (IRQ) line assignment.
  • Page 60: Direct Memory Access (Dma) Channel

    Direct Memory A DMA channel is a data channel that a device uses to transfer data directly to and from the system memory. Access (DMA) Table B-3:Possible default direct memory access (DMA) channel assignment. Channel Usage Default DMA Channel First DMA channel...
  • Page 61: Determining Resources

    “Direct Memory Access”. They correspond to the sequence of entries in Table B-1 and Table B-3. If the number of entries do not match, a good estimate of the identity of the device is its I/O address or DMA channel.
  • Page 62: Selecting The Best Audio Options In A Game

    General MIDI music with Sound Blaster digital audio. In such a case, there are often two separate menus to configure. Some games allow you to set the MIDI port address and IRQ for music and sound. Make sure that these settings correspond to the values displayed by SBECFG.EXE or the Resources tabbed page of the Creative EMU10Kx SB16 Emulation Properties dialog box.
  • Page 63: Music Options

    Music Options Most MS-DOS games offer a menu choice for sound when they start up. If you have a choice between General MIDI and MT-32, always choose General MIDI, since it will provide 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.
  • Page 64: Sbemixer.exe

    SBEMIXER SBEMIXER /S:64 /W:120 /C:50 /M:0 which corresponds to “set the synth volume to 64, the Wave volume to 120, the CD audio volume to 50, and turn off the Synth MT-32/LAPC-1 mode”. Note: In Windows MS-DOS box, if you adjust the Wave/Master Volume, the emulation volume will be affected.
  • Page 65: Sbeset.exe

    SBESET -A240 -I5 -D3 -w0 which corresponds to “set the 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”.
  • Page 66: Sbego.exe

    SBEGO.EXE Use this to confirm whether SB16 Emulation is properly installed and working. SB Emulation in MS-DOS/Windows 98 SE B-11...
  • Page 67: Troubleshooting

    Troubleshooting This section provides solutions to problems you may encounter during installation or normal use.
  • Page 68: Problems Installing Software

    1. Double-click the My Computer icon on your Windows 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.
  • Page 69: Problems With Sound

    The last selected preset is an inappropriate environment for the current audio file. To switch to an appropriate environment: 1. Double-click the EAX Control Panel icon in AudioHQ. 2. In the Environment box, click the down arrow to select (No effects) or an appropriate environment. No sound from the headphones.
  • Page 70 ❑ You have selected the correct source in the Mixer panel. ❑ If both the above 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.
  • Page 71 Main panel of Surround Mixer. For example, the CD Audio balance in Windows Volume Control is on the left but in Surround Mixer you have panned the CD Audio to the right.
  • Page 72: Insufficient Soundfont Cache

    SoundFont file is its lower Do one of the following: sound quality. ❑ On the Configure Banks tabbed page of the SoundFont Control applet, select a smaller SoundFont bank, if available, from the Select Bank box. ❑ Increase the system RAM on your computer.
  • Page 73: Problems With Multiple Audio Devices

    You may have an existing audio device installed in your computer. The audio device Multiple Audio may be an audio card or an onboard audio chipset. Before you install your Sound Devices Blaster Audigy card, you are advised to completely uninstall and remove your existing audio device.
  • Page 74: Problems With Sound Blaster Live! Series Or Sound Blaster Pci512 Card

    ❑ If your computer detects any other installed audio card, a message box recommending that you completely uninstall and remove the older audio device will appear. Click the Yes button to continue with the installation of the Sound Blaster Audigy card.
  • Page 75: Resolving I/O Conflicts

    Device Manager in Windows 98 SE/Me. If you still do not know which card is causing the conflict, remove all cards except the audio card and other essential cards (for example, disk controller and graphics cards).
  • Page 76: Problems In Windows

    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 98 SE/Me to reassign resources to your audio card and/or the conflicting device.
  • Page 77: Problems With Encore Dvd Player

    5. Click the OK button to close the dialog box. The drivers are removed. The Encore DVD Player is not launched when a DVD disc is inserted into the drive. Problems with To solve this problem: Encore DVD 1. In the Windows system tray, right-click the Disc Detector icon, and then click Player Properties.
  • Page 78: Problems With Dv Driver For Windows 98 Se/2000/Me

    DVConnect 240.exe file. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the setup. If you are in Windows 98 SE, you may be prompted to insert the Windows 98 SE CD-ROM first. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete this setup.
  • Page 79 Index...
  • Page 80 AUX connector 1-2 Analog Audio connector 1-6 features A-1 Analog CD audio cable 1-6 1394a Compliant Physical Layer analog/digital out jack 1-2 Controller A-3 CD Audio connector 1-2 applications Audigy Processor A-1 CD SPDIF connector 1-2 AudioHQ 3-4 Dolby digital (AC-3) decoding...
  • Page 81 SoundFont Cache C-5 in Windows 98 SE B-1 Windows NT 4.0 C-9 in Windows Me B-1 microphone in jack 1-2 Turning off main power supply 1-4 Legacy games B-1 multimedia playback 4-1 understanding installation music with visual animation 4-5 program B-2 SB1394 port 1-2 SBECFG.EXE B-8...

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