A sound card is an internal expansion card that provides input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under the control of computer programs. The term sound card is also applied to external audio interfaces used for professional audio applications.
Ad Lib, Inc. was a Canadian manufacturer of sound cards and other computer equipment founded by Martin Prevel, a former professor of music and vice-dean of the music department at the Université Laval. The company's best known product, the AdLib Music Synthesizer Card (ALMSC), or simply the AdLib as it was called, was the first add-on sound card for IBM compatibles to achieve widespread acceptance, becoming the first de facto standard for audio reproduction.
Sound Blaster is a family of sound cards and audio peripherals designed by Creative Technology/Creative Labs of Singapore. The first Sound Blaster card was introduced in 1989.
The Multimedia PC (MPC) was a recommended configuration for a personal computer (PC) with a CD-ROM drive. The standard was set and named by the Multimedia PC Marketing Council, which was a working group of the Software Publishers Association. The MPMC comprised companies including Microsoft, Creative Labs, Dell, Gateway, and Fujitsu. Any PC with the required standards could be called an "MPC" by licensing the use of the logo from the SPA.
The digital sound revolution refers to the widespread adoption of digital audio technology in the computer industry beginning in the 1980s.
The Gravis UltraSound or GUS is a sound card for the IBM PC compatible system platform, made by Canada-based Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd. It was very popular in the demoscene during the 1990s.
The Power Macintosh 6100 is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from March 1994 to March 1996. It is the first computer from Apple to use the new PowerPC processor created by IBM and Motorola. The low-profile ("pizza-box") case was inherited from the Centris/Quadra 610 and 660AV models, and replaced the Macintosh Quadra series that used the Motorola 68040 processor, Apple's previous high-end workstation line.
There have been various families of Yamaha audio controllers labelled as YMF7xx.
Soundscape S-2000 was Ensoniq's first direct foray into the PC sound card market. The card arrived on the market in 1994. It is a full-length ISA digital audio and sample-based synthesis device, equipped with a 2 MiB Ensoniq-built ROM-based patch set. Some OEM versions of the card feature a smaller 1 MiB patch set. It was praised for its then-high quality music synthesis and sound output, high compatibility and good software support.
The Ensoniq AudioPCI is a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)-based sound card released in 1997. It was Ensoniq's last sound card product before they were acquired by Creative Technology. The card represented a shift in Ensoniq's market positioning. Whereas the Soundscape line had been made up primarily of low-volume high-end products full of features, the AudioPCI was designed to be a very simple, low-cost product to appeal to system OEMs and thus hopefully sell in mass quantities.
Sound Blaster Audigy is a product line of sound cards from Creative Technology. The flagship model of the Audigy family used the EMU10K2 audio DSP, an improved version of the SB-Live's EMU10K1, while the value/SE editions were built with a less-expensive audio controller.
The Sound Blaster 16 is a series of sound cards by Creative Technology, first released in June 1992 for PCs with an ISA or PCI slot. It was the successor to the Sound Blaster Pro series of sound cards and introduced CD-quality digital audio to the Sound Blaster line. For optional wavetable synthesis, the Sound Blaster 16 also added an expansion-header for add-on MIDI-daughterboards, called a Wave Blaster connector, and a game port for optional connection with external MIDI sound modules.
The Sound Blaster AWE32 is an ISA sound card from Creative Technology. It is an expansion board for PCs and is part of the Sound Blaster family of products. The Sound Blaster AWE32, introduced in March 1994, was a near full-length ISA sound card, measuring 14 inches (356 mm) in length, due to the number of features included.
Media Vision Technology, Inc., was an American electronics manufacturer of primarily computer sound cards and CD-ROM kits, operating from 1990 to approximately 1995 in Fremont, California. Media Vision was widely known for its Pro AudioSpectrum PC sound cards—which it often bundled with CD-ROM drives—it is also known for its spectacular growth and demise.
This article describes audio APIs and components in Microsoft Windows which are now obsolete or deprecated.
Windows Sound System (WSS) was a sound card specification developed by Microsoft, released at the end of 1992 for Windows 3.1. It was sold as a bundle which included an ISA sound card, a microphone, a pair of headphones and a software package.
The 3DO Blaster is an add-on produced by Creative Labs from 1994 designed to allow compatible Windows-based PCs to play 3DO format games. It is a full-sized ISA compatibility card with the 3DO logic board included, with the input (controllers) and output redirected to the PC. Its name was derived from the company's other Blaster products for PC such as the Sound Blaster. The 3DO Blaster provided a simple plug and play alternative using the established 3DO standard, instead of building a custom graphics unit that may run into incompatibilities. Having partnered with The 3DO Company, Creative attempted to make the 3DO Blaster "the standard for PC games".
Laser Magnetic Storage International (LMSI) was a subsidiary of Philips that designed and manufactured optical and magnetic media. It began as a joint venture between Philips and Control Data Corporation. It later became Philips LMS.
The OPL series are a family of sound chips developed by Yamaha. The OPL series are low-cost sound chips providing FM synthesis for use in computing, music and video game applications.
