kevin, Author at AudioWorld

InWorld Delivers Practical Tools for Java Audio

September 12, 1996 by kevin

Sausalito, CA. Java™, the cross-platform programming language developed by Sun Microsystems, has been the biggest buzz in the web developer community for about a year. But until now, the the interest has focused on putting Java to work on animation, user interface, and transaction-processing applications.

Audio has been left out in the cold, mostly because there have been no convenient tools for accessing Java’s audio capabilities. And perhaps also because support for audio in Java is somewhat limited: for example, it currently supports nothing but 8 kHz mono sound files.

Bay area start-up InWorld VR Inc. has just started shipping a package of Java tools that could turn things around in a hurry. InWorld’s “Automatic Audio” is a bundle of sixteen pre-built Java audio applets (small programs that download and run automatically on any Java-enabled browser, such as the current versions of Netscape Navigator™ and Internet Explorer™).

“I’m a composer and a sound designer, not a programmer,” says InWorld Sound Designer Frank Still. “If I can get Java sounds onto a web page with our product, any audio engineer or professional will be able to do it too.” The proof that Still can cut it is found on InWorld’s demo pages.

The Automatic Audio package allows the web audio developer to embed sounds on a web page that will play automatically when the page is accessed, loop in the background, play when the user clicks on a graphic or hot spot on the page, or when she moves the mouse over a graphic. Some of the applets also combine audio with simple animation: for example, moving the mouse over a page element might cause an animation to run, accompanied by sound.

The development process is straightforward. Create a digital sound file using any familiar tool, such as a workstation or a PC with a sound card. Convert the file to 8-bit, 8 kHz mono in “.au” format (the generic Unix/Sun audio standard). Then put define a few parameters calling the InWorld applet and the sound file in the HTML code of your web page.

From a professional audio standpoint, the major limitation for InWorld’s technology is the low standard of audio supported. “That’s a problem with Java, we can’t do anything about it right now,” explains Still. “But Sun has said that they will add a range of audio formats to Java by the end of this year. We’ll be upgrading our applets as fast as Java lets us. But with careful design, you can get pretty decent results from 8-bit 8 kHz right now.”

The major advantage of Java applets over other technologies for implementing sound and music on web pages, such as streaming audio (RealAudio™, StreamWorks™) and MIDI players (Crescendo™, MIDPlug™) is that the user doesn’t have to obtain and install additional software. “If the user has a Java-enabled browser, they’ll get the audio, it’s as simple as that,” says Still. “Of course you still have bandwidth concerns, you have to keep the audio files as small as possible. But our applets are very low overhead, the code is really compact.”

Interest in the product has been running about 50/50 so far between skilled audio developers and general web practitioners who just want to get some sound effects onto a web page. For those who don’t have a way to create their own audio, InWorld will be marketing packs of sound clips and effects, with the first due for delivery next week.

Filed Under: Pro Audio

550 New Radio Licenses Up For Grabs in Brazil

September 11, 1996 by kevin

Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Brazilian Ministry of Communications has announced that it will offer a large number of new radio and TV broadcasting licenses this month. A total of 610 franchises will be up for grabs, including 400 for FM radio and 150 for AM.

Ministry spokesman Francisco Mendonca says that the licenses will be awarded on the basis of technical merit rather than political influence. This would be a sharp break from the current practice. Of the 2,944 existing radio broadcast licenses in Brasil today, 40% are directly or indirectly held by politicians.

This is the first time new frequencies have been offered in Brasil since the late 1980’s. Decisions on who gets the new licenses will not be made until after municipal elections early in October.

“This is to avoid any suggestion or rumors that concessions are being awarded politically,” Mendonca said. “The government eliminated a provision allowing for personal criteria in awarding concessions and replaced it with competitive criteria to make it more democratic.”

Filed Under: Biz

Battle Against CD Piracy Continues in Luxembourg, China

September 11, 1996 by kevin

Brussels, Belgium. In the continuing crackdown on illicit international trade in pirated CD’s, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has accused Luxembourg of failing to enforce international copyright law.

Reuters reported yesterday that IFPI has asked the European Commission to take legal proceedings against Luxembourg for failing to intervene in the bootleg traffic of CD’s across its borders.

The IFPI claims that over one million bootleg CD’s enter the European Union through Luxembourg each year. IFPI estimates that pirate CD trade costs the music industry some $2.1 billion a year, 20 percent of it in the EU. Most of the illegal CDs entering Europe come from Israel, the Czech Republic and the Far East.

Luxembourg responded to IFPI’s charges by saying that its reputation as a conduit for bootleg CD’s is unfounded. And the head of intellectual property rights at Luxembourg’s economics ministry said the nation plans to enact new laws later this year to bring Luxembourg in line with the rest of the European Union.

According to IFPI, there are two areas where Luxembourg has allowed copyright violation to flourish: direct bootlegs and “back catalogues.” “Back catalogue” production involves CDs of music first recorded less than 50 years ago. Copyright enters the public domain after 50 years in most European nations, but in Luxembourg the period is 30 years.

This means that some of the strongest selling material of the 1950’s and 1960’s, including recordings by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley, are being pressed by manufacturers outside Europe, and entering the EU through Luxembourg.

Beijing, China. Meanwhile, the high-profile piracy battle in China rages on. 400 audio and video industry representatives in Beijing have promised to fight copyright piracy by manufacturing and distributing only legally copyrighted products, according to a report in the China Daily (an official newspaper) on Tuesday.

The report quoted China’s Vice-Minister of Culture Li Yuanchao saying, “the first important barometer is that the ratio of copyrighted products in the market has been improved.” He was referring to pressure brought to bear on China by U.S. and other international interests in June of this year.

However, pirated CD’s and CD-ROM’s are still widely available from street vendors in Beijing.

Filed Under: Production

“Father of Bluegrass” Bill Monroe Dead at 84

September 10, 1996 by kevin

Nashville, TN. Bill Monroe, bluegrass trend-setter and star of Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry for more than half a century died yesterday at Northcrest Home and Hospice Center in Springfield. He was 84 years old. Monroe had suffered a stroke earlier this year, said Tony Conway, his booking agent.

Monroe was a regular at the Opry starting in 1939. He recorded and broadcast constantly throughout his career, except for the war years 1941 – 1945. He recorded for RCA Victor, Columbia, and Decca/MCA. He sold more than 50 million records and remained active well until a couple of years ago.

His innovative emotional singing style and hot mandolin work inspired generations of musicians, including 1950’s rockers like Elvis Presley, folk revivalists of the 1960’s, and country stars of the current generation like Ricky Skaggs. In the mid and late 1940’s, his band the Blue Grass Boys featured Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, who went on to become influential bluegrass stars in their own right.

Monroe received the National Medal of the Arts from U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1995.

Filed Under: Events

Bowie Single to be Pre-Released on the Web

September 10, 1996 by kevin

Los Angeles, CA. Virgin Records will release David Bowie’s latest single “Telling Lies” tomorrow (Sept.11) exclusively on the web. Virgin claims that this release marks the first time a major artist has released a full song on the Internet.

The song will be available at the official Bowie web site, and through the Virgin web site. Fans and web surfers will be able to listen to the new single immediately via RealAudio streaming audio, or download the track as an audio file with compact disc quality. Downloads are free. The music will not be sold in stores or heard on the radio until a later date.

Bowie is currently working on a new album in New York.