Creative 16-Bit Sound Card User Manual
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Creative 16-Bit Sound Card User Manual

Creative 16-Bit Sound Card User Manual

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  • Page 1 16-Bit Sound Card User Guide On-line Version...
  • Page 2 Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent commitment on the part 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.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Contents Contents Contents Contents Contents Introduction ......................vii Document Conventions ..................viii Text Conventions ..................viii Key Combinations ..................ix Icons ......................ix W W W W W indows Applications indows Applications indows Applications indows Applications indows Applications W W W W W aveEditor aveEditor aveEditor aveEditor...
  • Page 4 Customizing WaveEditor ..................1-19 Recording ....................1-19 Mixer ......................1-20 Using WaveEditor Effectively ................1-20 Memory Requirements ................1-20 File Management ..................1-20 System Optimizing ..............1-21 Number of Open Files ..............1-21 Use of DOS SHARE Utility ............1-21 Compressed Wave Files ................
  • Page 5 Mixer Control Mixer Control Mixer Control Mixer Control Mixer Control Starting the Mixer ....................4-2 The Mixer Control Window ................... 4-2 Device Control Group Box ................ 4-3 Master Volume Group Box ............... 4-3 Output Group Box ..................4-4 Menu Bar ....................4-4 The Settings Menu ................
  • Page 6 MIXERSET Utility MIXERSET Utility MIXERSET Utility MIXERSET Utility MIXERSET Utility Knowing the MIXERSET Command ..............8-2 Using the MIXERSET Command ................8-3 Starting the MIXERSET Control Screen ............... 8-4 Knowing the MIXERSET Control Screen ............. 8-4 Volume Slider .................... 8-5 Balance Slider ....................

  • Page 7: Introduction

    Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction This User’s Guide provides you information on how to use the Windows and DOS applications included in your package. The chapters are organized as follows: Chapter 1, “WaveEditor” presents a Windows application for recording, playing, and editing wave data. Chapter 2, “QuickCD”...

  • Page 8: Document Conventions

    Document Conventions This guide follows certain conventions to help you locate and identify the information that you need. These conventions are described in the following sections: K Text Conventions K Key Combinations K Icons Text Conventions The following text conventions are used to help distinguish elements of the text in this guide (see Table I-1.) Table I-1: Text Conventions.

  • Page 9: Key Combinations

    Key Combinations In this guide, the following conventions are used to help you identify different key combinations (see Table I-2.) Table I-2: Key Combinations. Combination <Key1+Key2> A plus sign (+) between key names means you must press the keys at the same time. For example, “Press <Ctrl+Z>”...
  • Page 11 WaveEditor WaveEditor brings you to the next wave of sound editing. This easy-to-use yet powerful application allows you to record, play, and edit 8-bit (tape quality) and 16-bit (CD quality) wave data in the Windows environment. It also allows you to enhance your wave data with special effects.

  • Page 12: Starting Waveeditor

    Starting WaveEditor To start WaveEditor: 1. Double-click the WaveEditor icon in your audio card’s group window. The WaveEditor window similar to Figure 1-1 appears. Figure 1-1: The WaveEditor window. Understanding the WaveEditor Interface The WaveEditor interface has three main features. They are the Toolbar, Edit Window, and Status Bar.
  • Page 13 Creates a new window without any data. Loads an existing wave file. Saves changes made to the wave file. Cuts the selected data of the wave file. Copies the selected data of the wave file. Pastes cut or copied data onto the wave file. Plays the wave file that is currently active in WaveEditor.

  • Page 14: Edit Window

    Edit Window The Edit Window is the area where the content of a wave file is displayed (see Figure 1-3.) You can open several Edit Windows at a time and display them in cascades, vertical or horizontal tiles, or as icons.

  • Page 15: Using The Mouse

    Using the Mouse An easy way of selecting wave files for editing is to use the mouse. The following shows you how to use the mouse to select the data. To select a portion of the data: K Hold down the left mouse button anywhere on the Edit Window and drag the mouse.

  • Page 16: Edit Menu

    Edit Menu The Edit menu contains the following editing commands: Undo Restores the wave file to the state last saved. Copies and then removes the selected portion of the wave data. Copy Copies the selected portion of the data. Paste Pastes cut or copied wave data into the Edit Window.

  • Page 17: Special Menu

    Zoom Zooms into the portion of the wave file selected. (You should select the desired portion before using this function.) Special Menu The commands on the Special menu allow you to add special effects to wave files. These commands are: Reverse Reverses the playback of the entire or selected portion of the wave file.

  • Page 18: Window Menu

    Display in Bytes Displays wave selection information in bytes. Display in Samples Displays wave selection information in samples. Display in Milliseconds Displays wave selection information in milliseconds. Always on Top Toggles WaveEditor as the topmost window. Window Menu The commands on the Window menu allow you to organize the Edit Windows when several wave files are open.

  • Page 19: Working With Waveeditor

    Actual Size Resets the zoom ratio of the wave display in the Edit Window to its actual size (1:1). Cursor Position Displays the wave file at the starting position of the wave selection. Zoom Zooms into the portion of the wave file selected.

  • Page 20: Opening Wave Files

    To listen to the playback of the wave file, choose Play.) 3. Choose OK. If you select a file with raw data (.RAW) or Creative’s Voice format (.VOC), a dialog box prompting you to confirm the conversion of the file to .WAV format is displayed.

  • Page 21: Recording Wave Files

    To use the drag-and-drop method: 1. Start File Manager and open the wave file's directory. 2. Arrange both windows so that the file and the WaveEditor window can be seen. 3. Hold down the left mouse button as you drag the file into the WaveEditor window.
  • Page 22 K Check the path and file name created in the Record To File group box. You can change the file name and directory by using the Browse button. K Check the recording format shown at the bottom of the dialog box. You can change the format by choosing the Settings button.

  • Page 23: Saving Wave Files

    Saving Wave Files To save a wave file: 1. Choose Save on the Toolbar or select Save from the File menu. 2. Enter the name of the file and the path if prompted. 3. Choose OK. To save a wave file with a new name or format: 1.

  • Page 24: Mixing Data Of Wave Files

    3. Select the desired file format and compression method from the Save File as Type and Compression/Conversion drop- down list boxes respectively. 4. Choose OK. Compression is not available for 8-bit wave files. Also, you can convert a Windows wave file to a different format by selecting PCM Conversion from the Compression/Conversion drop-down list box.

  • Page 25: Adding Special Effects

    5. Select the desired channels for copying data from the source file in the From Buffer Use group box and for mixing data with the target file in the Mix With Wave group box. Select Mono Channel for mono file. Select Left Channel, Right Channel, or both channels for stereo file.

  • Page 26: Add Echo

    Figure 1-11: The Reverse dialog box. 2. Select the desired channels. (No options are available for editing a mono file.) Select Left Channel, Right Channel, or both channels for stereo file. 3. Choose OK. Add Echo This effect modifies data in the wave file to give an echo effect. You can create a metallic sound effect by continually applying Add Echo to the same wave file until you have achieved the desired result.

  • Page 27: Rap

    2. Enter the echo magnitude (loudness of the echo) in the Magnitude text box. 3. Enter the echo delay (the time between the actual sound and the echo) in the Echo Delay text box. 4. Select the desired channel for stereo file. 5.

  • Page 28: Fade In And Fade Out

    Figure 1-13: The Force To Silence dialog box. 3. Select the desired channels. (No options are available for editing a mono file.) Select Left Channel, Right Channel, or Both Channels for stereo wave file 4. Choose OK. The selected portion is replaced by a straight line. Fade In and Fade Out You can create a fading in (soft to loud) or fading out (loud to soft) effect for your wave files.

  • Page 29: Amplify Volume

    For Fade In, the file will be linearly faded in from the starting magnitude (volume) to a 100% magnitude (volume). For Fade Out, the file will be linearly faded out from a 100% magnitude (volume) to the ending magnitude (volume). Amplify Volume This effect allows you to change the volume of wave files.

  • Page 30: Mixer

    To customize the record settings: 1. Select Record Settings from the Options menu. The Record Settings dialog box similar to Figure 1-2 appears. 2. Specify the desired settings. 3. Choose OK. Mixer To adjust the settings for Mixer: 1. Choose Mixer on the Toolbar. The Mixer window appears.

  • Page 31: File Management

    To work effectively with compressed wave files, you need to know how compressed files are opened and edited. Opening Compressed Files WaveEditor currently supports 5 compression formats: Microsoft ADPCM, CCITT A-Law, CCITT µ-Law, IMA/DVI ADPCM, and Creative ADPCM. WaveEditor 1-21...

  • Page 32: Editing Compressed Files

    When you open a compressed wave file, WaveEditor will decompress the file first before displaying it. You must ensure that the file resides on a drive that has sufficient disk space to accommodate the uncompressed data. The amount of space required depends on the compression format adopted.
  • Page 33 Wave’OLE Wave’OLE plays and records wave data. There are six buttons that allow you to control the wave files. They are Play, Pause, Rewind, Forward, Stop, and Record. When you play a wave file, the LED Display shows the amplitude of the sound. Wave’OLE supports Object Linking and Embedding (OLE).

  • Page 34: Starting Wave'ole

    Starting Wave’OLE To start Wave’OLE: 1. Double-click the Wave’OLE icon in your audio card’s group window. The Wave’OLE window similar to Figure 3-1 appears. Figure 3-1: The Wave’OLE window. The Wave’OLE Menus Wave’OLE has four menus: File, Edit, Options, and Help. The File Menu The commands on the File menu are: Creates a new wave file.

  • Page 35: The Edit Menu

    The Edit Menu The command on the Edit menu is: Copy Sound as an Object Copies the sound data and OLE information to the clipboard. The sound data can then be pasted onto an OLE client as an embedded or linked object. The Options Menu The commands on the Options menu are: Wave Info...

  • Page 36: Opening A Wave File

    Opening a Wave File To open a wave file: 1. Select Open from the File menu. The File Open dialog box similar to Figure 3-2 appears. Figure 3-2: The File Open dialog box. 2. Type or select the wave file you want to open. You can preview the file before opening it by choosing Play.

  • Page 37: Recording A Wave File

    Recording a Wave File To record a wave file: 1. Select New from the File menu. 2. Choose Record. The Recording dialog box similar to Figure 3-3 appears. Figure 3-3: The Recording dialog box. To stop the recording, choose Stop. Selecting Recording Characteristics To select recording characteristics: 1.

  • Page 38: Embedding A Wave File

    2. Select the desired settings. K Select mono for one sound channel and stereo for two sound channels. Mono is suitable if you want to perform voice recording, while stereo is more suitable for music recording. K If you do not select a compression method, select the 8 bits option for normal recording and 16 bits for high- quality recording.

  • Page 39: Linking A Wave File

    3. Select Wave’OLE. 4. Choose OK. The Wave’OLE application opens. 5. Select Open from the File menu to select an existing wave file. Alternatively, you can do a recording and save it into a new file before you include the file in the document. 6.

  • Page 40: Quitting Wave'ole

    6. Select Paste Link from the Edit menu in Write. The icon representing the wave file appears. Quitting Wave’OLE To quit Wave’OLE: 1. Select Exit from the File menu. The Wave’OLE dialog box similar to Figure 3-6 appears if the latest changes have not been saved.

  • Page 41: Mixer Control

    Mixer Control Mixer Control is a powerful Windows-based audio mixer that allows you to combine and manipulate sound from various audio sources. With the Mixer, it is possible to control the volume of an audio source while running other Windows applications. You can also select and mix different audio sources during playback and recording.

  • Page 42: Starting The Mixer

    Starting the Mixer To start the Mixer: 1. Double-click the Mixer Control icon in your audio card’s group window. The Mixer Control window similar to Figure 4-1 appears. Figure 4-1: The Mixer Control window. The Mixer Control Window The Mixer Control window consists of the following: K Device Control group box K Master Volume group box K Output group box...

  • Page 43: Device Control Group Box

    Device Control Group Box The Device Control group box contains sliders that control the volume of various sources that your audio card supports (see Figure 4-2.) Figure 4-2: The Device Control Group Box. All of the above sources are in stereo except Microphone and PC Speaker.

  • Page 44: Output Group Box

    Output Group Box The Output group box contains check boxes that allow you to listen to or mute the audio from the CD-audio, Line-in, and Microphone (see Figure 4-4.) Figure 4-4: The Output Group Box. You cannot mute the other Mixer sources. For example, if you play audio from a MIDI source, you will hear the audio if the volume is at an audible level.

  • Page 45: The Options Menu

    The Options Menu The Options menu contains the following commands: Lock L/R Vol Locks both left and right channels of all stereo sources, so that both channels move at the same time when you drag the slider thumb. Always On Top Displays the Mixer as the top-most window.

  • Page 46: Selecting A Recording Source

    Selecting a Recording Source The Mixer allows you to select one or a combination of the following audio sources for recording: K Microphone K Line-in K MIDI device K CD-audio To select a recording source: 1. Select Recording from the Settings menu. The Recording Control dialog box similar to Figure 4-5 appears.

  • Page 47: Saving The Mixer Settings

    Saving the Mixer Settings You can save the Mixer settings before you exit. To do so: 1. Select Save Setting On Exit from the Options menu. Any Mixer settings that you have made will be saved when you exit Windows. Quitting the Mixer To quit the Mixer, do one of the following: K Select Exit from the Settings menu.

  • Page 48: Quickplayer

    QuickPlayer QuickPlayer allows you to play a wide range of multimedia files consisting of sound, animation, movie, and video files. But, before you play a file, you should have the appropriate software setup that accomodates the type of file you want to play. Within QuickPlayer, you can start the Mixer to adjust the volume and tone of multimedia files.

  • Page 49: Starting Quickplayer

    Starting QuickPlayer To start QuickPlayer: 1. Double-click the QuickPlayer icon in your audio card’s group window. The QuickPlayer window similar to Figure 5-1 appears. Figure 5-1: The QuickPlayer window. Playing Multimedia Files You can quickly and easily play multimedia files using controls on the QuickPlayer window.

  • Page 50: Playing Audio Cds

    4. Select a file in the list box. The selected file appears in the File Name text box. 5. Choose Play. Alternatively, double-click the file in the File Name list box. 6. Choose Stop when you want to stop the file. You can also play all or a selection of the multimedia files in the File Name list box in sequence.

  • Page 51: Adjusting The Volume And Tone

    Adjusting the Volume and Tone You can adjust the volume and tone of sound files using the Windows Mixer. To start the Mixer: 1. Choose the Mixer button to display the Mixer Control window. For more information, refer to the chapter on Mixer Control. Quitting QuickPlayer To quit QuickPlayer, do one of the following: K Choose Quit.
  • Page 52 QuickPlayer...
  • Page 53 By simply entering a command, you can now play Microsoft Wave (.WAV), Creative Voice (.VOC), MIDI (.MID) and Creative Music (CMF) files. And if you want to play a set of files with the same file extension, the utility gives you the flexibility to play them in sequence without requiring you to specify each file individually.

  • Page 54: Knowing The Play Command

    .WAV, .VOC, MID and CMF. K Before you play a Creative Music (.CMF) file, you have to load the SBFMDRV.COM driver into memory. This is done by typing SBFMDRV at the directory where the driver is found.

  • Page 55: Command Line For Playing Audio Cds

    containing five characters and beginning with TEST will be played. PLAY *.* or PLAY TEST.* will not work because PLAY can only work with files of one type collectively. K When you play a MIDI file, the program searches for the MIDI environment variable.

  • Page 56: Using Play

    Using PLAY The following are some examples of how you can play sound files and audio CDs in DOS: K To play a Creative Music File (SONG.CMF): Make sure SBFMDRV.COM is loaded in memory. Type PLAY SONG.CMF and press <Enter>.

  • Page 57: Controlling Playback

    Controlling Playback You can control the playback of files using hot keys. A menu of the available hot keys appears when you enter PLAY without the /Q switch. Wave File Control Hot Keys The following are the hot keys you can use while playing wave files: <C>...

  • Page 58: Midi File Control Hot Keys

    MIDI File Control Hot Keys The following are the hot keys you can use while playing MIDI files: <C> Resumes playing the paused MIDI file. <Esc> Stops the MIDI file (if one is playing) and exits the program. Left or Right Arrow Reproduces the sound in a different key by raising or lowering the pitch.

  • Page 59: Audio Cd Control Hot Keys

    < > < > or < >, and Selects and plays another CMF file if press <Enter> more than one file is specified. Audio CD Control Hot Keys The following are the hot keys you can use while playing audio CDs: <C>...

  • Page 60: Record Utility

    Sound is recorded into a sound file in Microsoft Wave (.WAV) or Creative Voice (.VOC) file format. This chapter provides you detailed information on using RECORD. It is organized as follows:...

  • Page 61: Knowing The Record Command

    Knowing the RECORD Command Before you record a sound file in wave or voice format, you should be familiar with the command line syntax of RECORD. The command line for recording wave or voice files is: RECORD file [/A:xx] [/C:xx] [/M:xx] [/R:xx] [/S:x] [/Q] [/H] [/?] file Specifies the name of the file and its extension, .WAV...

  • Page 62: Using Record

    You need to take note of the following when using RECORD: K If you enter RECORD without any parameters, the online description for using RECORD appears. K If you did not specify the recording mode, sampling rate and sample size, the sound will be recorded in mono 8–bit wave file format with 11025 Hz sampling rate.

  • Page 63: Mixerset Utility

    MIXERSET Utility The MIXERSET utility allows you to interactively control the Mixer settings. With the mixer, you can control the volume of various audio sources supported by the card. You can use the utility as a command at the DOS prompt or invoke the MIXERSET interface to control the Mixer settings through a full- screen window consisting of check boxes and sliders.

  • Page 64: Knowing The Mixerset Command

    Knowing the MIXERSET Command The Mixer is configured using switches that follow the MIXERSET command. To use the MIXERSET command: 1. Change to your sound directory. 2. Type MIXERSET [switches] ... and press <Enter>. where switches can be one or a combination of any of the following: /? or /H Displays help messages.

  • Page 65: Using The Mixerset Command

    For example, /MA:200;5 sets the master volume at 200 and the balance at 5 (this means that the volume will be reduced in the left channel). /MA:;-5 setting reduces the volume in the right channel. /OPS:ss Sets the audio output switches (OPSW) on or off. ss represents one or a combination of CDz, LIz and MICz, where z is + (on) or - (off).

  • Page 66: Starting The Mixerset Control Screen

    Starting the MIXERSET Control Screen To start the MIXERSET Control Screen: 1. Change to your sound directory. 2. Type MIXERSET and press <Enter>. The MIXERSET Control Screen shown in Figure 8-1 appears. Figure 8-1: The MIXERSET Control Screen. Knowing the MIXERSET Control Screen The MIXERSET Control Screen consists of the following components: K Volume Slider...

  • Page 67: Volume Slider

    Volume Slider Controls the volume levels of the input sources. Balance Slider The sliders control the balance of the left and right speakers for audio sources with stereo capability. Moving the slider to the left decreases the volume of the right speaker but the left speaker volume is left consistent.

  • Page 68: Using The Mouse And Keyboard

    Using the Mouse and Keyboard Using the MIXERSET interface, the Mixer can be configured with a mouse or a keyboard. K Choose the option if it is a check box. K Move the slider by the click and drag method or click at the extreme end of the slider to increase or decrease the Volume.
  • Page 69 Stereo recording uses two channels. See also Balance. .CMF Filename extension for sound files saved in the Creative Labs, Inc. music data file format. Compression A technique for compacting data for more efficient transmission or storage. The sound quality of compressed data is generally reduced.
  • Page 70 Embed To insert an object in a document that supports Object Linking and Embedding (OLE). An embedded object becomes a part of the document. Objects can be embedded using methods such as drag and drop or copy and paste using the Clipboard. See also Linking;...
  • Page 71 Linking To insert an object in a document using Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) where subsequent changes made to the object will reflect in the document. An object is linked using methods such as drag and drop or copy and paste using the Clipboard. The linked object remains a separate file.
  • Page 72 .WAV, .MID, .VOC and .CMF extensions. Stereo To record sound using two channels. See also Channel. .VOC Extension for sound data saved in Creative Labs, Inc. Voice format. .WAV Extension for sound data saved in Microsoft wave format. 16-bit...

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