sounds
Latest
The secret behind Amazon Echo's alert sounds
The sounds we hear in our digital lives often contain more information than we think. Amazon's lead sound designer tells us the process behind the Echo's notifications
BBC will open its Sounds app to non-BBC podcasts
The BBC is opening its Sounds app to third-party podcasts in a bid to be a hub for audio talent.
McCormick's concept grill plays music based on what you're cooking
As someone who won't turn down an invite to a barbecue, the one thing missing in my life is a grill. That's the part about living in New York City that saddens me. So, when McCormick invited me to check out its new concept grill, the SUMR HITS 5000, you know I couldn't say no. Much to my disappointment, because the event was indoors, there wasn't any actual grilling involved. Still, it was a good opportunity to see the SUMR HITS 5000 in person, which features a built-in DJ station that can play music based on what you're cooking. The grill uses a mix of capacitive touch sensors, computer vision and machine learning to do this, and McCormick says it custom developed the hardware and software to show how to "combine the fun of music and act of grilling together."
Skywalker Sound and the challenges of making audio for VR films
Lauded Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu, best known for his work on movies such as Birdman and The Revenant, last year nabbed a "special" Oscar award for his VR exhibition Carne y Arena. The virtual reality project, dubbed Flesh and Sand in English, takes viewers into a world where they can experience what it's like to be an immigrant trying to cross a border. As much as visuals were important to tell this story, one of Iñárritu's focus was to also to create the most immersive sounds -- which can be complicated when going from traditional film to a completely new medium like VR.
'PUBG' roadmap includes new maps and more stable gameplay
PlayerUnknown's BattleGrounds left beta this past December, adding a second map and instant replay feature to the 1.0 release, which also came to Xbox One in the same month. Since then, developer Bluehole has made various improvements, like spawning players in different locations to cut down on server load and pre-match mayhem and easier ways to report cheaters. Now, creator Brendan Greene has published the game's roadmap for the next year, promising a much more realistic and stable game with major updates set for every two months.
British scientists create a 'tractor beam' of ultrasonic sound
A team of researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Sussex have developed the world's first functioning sonic tractor beam able to operate outside of a lab environment. The device uses 64 miniature speakers to generate high-amplitude, ultrasonic sound waves. These waves create an "acoustic hologram" (read: force field) capable of moving pea-sized objects without physically touching them. Adjusting the output of individual speakers allows the researchers to move, rotate and hold items at will.
Sound Circle won't let you sleep
I love napping. I could make excuses about it making me more productive and alert, but the simple fact is that naps and sleeping are a great personal pleasure. It's not easy to nap just everywhere and at anytime. I find that "white noise" and soothing sounds can really help me to nap on airplanes, while waiting in various lounges, or just when I want to catch a quick power nap. I've recently tested Sound Circle, an ambient noise app. Sound Circle requires iOS 7.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5. The app is free with a $1.99 in-app purchase for the timer and playlist functionality. When using an app to provide soothing sounds for napping I have just a few simple requirements. First, the app should present me with a selection of "environments" to select from, like softly falling rain, gentle waves, twilight in the forest with birds and insects, or generated electronic noises. The second basic requirement is a timer to let me confidently fall asleep knowing that I'll be awakened on time. Sound Circle does offer a nice, basic selection of sounds, but you have to purchase the timer feature. I do like how Sound Circle allows me to select multiple sound samples and combine them, setting each sound at the desired and separate volume. But I found the controls balky and unresponsive. The app also provides several built in piece of music. I'm not sure exactly how many, because each time I tried to move past the seventh selection the app crashed. Sound Circle is best used with headphones to give a full immersive experience. Professional nappers like myself also use a sleep mask to enhance the experience. The lack of a timer is a real shame. Frankly, it makes the app a non-starter for me. While I'd be open to purchasing sounds or other features, a timer is basic required functionality. Without it I just can't use this app for napping or sleeping when I'm concerned with waking at a specific time. Sound Circle offers a playlist option, but that's also part of the in-app purchase. Frankly, if you want to sleep to a playlist of your own music you can build your own with the built-in Music app and simply set a timer using the Clock function. I don't nap as easily to music (OK, soothing classical or ambient music can work), but many people enjoy falling asleep this way. You just don't need another app for that. My recommendation for music to sleep by? Brian Eno's Music For Airports. Especially nice for use when sleeping in airports and awaiting delayed flights. Sound Circle has potential, but it's not ready for prime time. If you're looking for a sleep noise app with reliable features I highly recommend White Noise.
Album of inaudible animal sounds puts you inside the head of a bat
Even with fancy Hi-Fi equipment, the weak link is often our ears and their limited 20Hz-20,000Hz hearing range. As pointed out by Motherboard, artist Jane Winderen wants you to get a feeling for what it's like to be a whale or bat with her "Out of Range" album. To do that, she used special equipment to record bat echolocation signals, marine vocalizing and other sub- and ultrasonic sounds from glaciers, oceans, and forests. From there, she slowed frequencies as high as 100KHz until they became audible, then mixed them with other exotic sounds that are within our hearing range. The end result (below) is hypnotic 40 minute recording of sounds that normally pass you right by.
Keezy is a simple sampler that thrives with silliness and whimsy
There isn't enough whimsy in the world. Largely people work too much, are stressed about money, life, and the world in general. It can get downright sullen sometimes. Keezy is a free simple solution to a possible lack of whimsy in your life. Keezy is a sampler app for iOS. It provides you with eight colorful keys. To record your sample you press and hold the key and make whatever sound you like. Play a clip from a movie. Beatbox. Put your hand against your mouth and record eight different fart sounds. To play back your samples just press the key again when you're done recording. By activating multiple samples to play at once you can easily layer samples together by recording on another key tile. Sample yourself singing, then beat boxing. Play them at the same time and record the results. When you want to delete a sample swipe your finger up and from the bottom you can either delete or undue a previous deletion. Best of all there's no sharing of your samples so you don't have to worry about someone posting an embarrassing battle rap of yours on YouTube. Keezy isn't a tool, it's a toy. It encourages you to relax, be goofy, and have a little fun. Even their own product description in the iTunes store makes it clear that whimsey is their goal. Stuff you can do with Keezy: - Record grunts and beatbox with your fingers - Harmonize with your own voice - Blast your own samples over music at a party - Make an insult generator & diss your friends - Sample an entire octave of a piano or something - Whatever you want - even farts!! It says so right there. "Even farts!!" With two exclamation points. No one will know about your silliness but you. You're a serious person. That's why you're reading our wonderful and, normally, serious website. But even serious people need to be goofy from time to time. Add a little whimsy to your day. Give Keezy a spin this weekend.
Lord of the Rings Online offers up the Helm's Deep soundtrack
All right, Lord of the Rings Online fans, another expansion is coming out really soon. It's only a week away. But maybe you still can't stand the wait. You're logging in and playing the game every night but you need something to make the next few days bearable. That's a bit of an overreaction, but Turbine has you covered with the addition of the Helm's Deep soundtrack to SoundCloud. Yes, you can now listen to the entire soundtrack from wherever, although you won't be able to download the tracks for obvious reasons. The music is the same orchestral score that players have come to expect from the game, with an atmosphere of desperate conflict and impending violence. It's the sort of thing that's very well-suited to a protracted siege and a last stand against Mordor, in other words. Even if you're not a fan of Lord of the Rings Online you can enjoy the soundtrack.
Owl City's Adam Young says he created iOS 7′s sounds
The American electronica musician Adam Young of Owl City has revealed on his discography page that he created at least some of the new system sounds in iOS 7. Under "Artist," Young lists "Apple" and under "Year" and "Label," Young lists "2013" and "Sounds for iOS7." Besides completely remastering virtually all of the previous iOS's system sounds, many new ones were introduced, including a number of ringtones and system alerts. It's not entirely clear if Young created all the new iOS 7 sounds, or just some of them. As 9to5Mac points out, what is really interesting/impressive is that some Owl City fans had previously commented on YouTube that the sounds in iOS 7 sounded like something "Owl City could have made." Besides his work with Owl City and Apple, Young has also done a number of sound work on animated films including Wreck-It Ralph and The Croods.
The Daily Grind: Which MMO has the best combat feel?
In my informal survey of comments on Massively, one of the common dealbreakers that I see for MMOs is a combat system that just doesn't feel right for the player. Maybe the animations are off, the sounds are too wimpy, or the pacing is annoying. Whatever the case may be, the art of war isn't enjoyable and that pushes a player away. But what about the flip-side? I'd like us to examine MMOs that get combat right and provide that "feel" that hits a sweet spot in your gaming pleasure center. I love it if weapons sound the way that I think they should, that there are reactive effects when I hit the enemy, and that skills go off more or less right when I activate them. So which MMO has the best combat feel? Let's duke it out! Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Drums! gets redesigned for version 3.0
There are quite a few "drum simulator" apps on the iPad and the iPhone -- it's one of the first ideas a lot of developers had when the touchscreen devices became available, and lots of devs carried that idea out to release. But Drums! is one of the most popular of these apps -- it's gotten plenty of feature space from Apple, and has even been included in Apple Store demos for a while now. Just recently, Drums! was updated to version 3.0, and the app has been completely redesigned. The drums (which you just tap on to activate) are now represented with Retina display graphics, the drum sounds have been remastered and the app now has a music player, to allow you to play along with your own music. You can still record your work, or you can now record both drums and music, and then send that track out to email, WiFi or other popular file-sharing services. There are also now more drums available via in-app purchase, and you can do drum tricks like hit a rimshot just by tapping in a certain spot on the drum. Drums! is one of many drum-playing apps on the store, but it's a solid choice for sure. You can pick it up right now for just US$0.99. [via App Advice]
Storyboard: RP in the key of C
Music is kind of a big deal. The right choice of music can change a scene from being happy to ominous, and intentionally mismatching the scene and the music can lead to hilarious results with minimal effort. In-game music makes use of this, naturally, and it's rare to find something stirring and peppy in the midst of a zone filled with volcanoes and demons. We rely on the background music to set a mood and underscore what's taking place at any given moment. All that goes for roleplaying, too. But the odds are that the game music isn't going to provide the romantic music you need in the Undercity in World of Warcraft or the driving combat music you need on your bridge in Star Trek Online. Game music is meant for people who are playing; the music you need is closer to scoring a film. So given the importance of music, let's talk about it just a little this week. After all, having the right tune playing can make a lasting impression, even if it's just on the people within earshot.
CCP's Team Klang revamping EVE's soundscape, removing jukebox
EVE Online is full of sound and fury, but does it signify anything? We'll leave that up to you. What we can tell you is that the title's sound suite is undergoing something of a revamp. CCP's latest dev blog introduces Team Klang, which is currently redoing all the turret noises to make EVE "more like naval combat and less like dogfighting or light weapon engagements." Also noteworthy is the fact that CCP is getting ready to remove EVE's MP3 jukebox feature in favor of a soundscape where the music will "play in context of where you are and what you are doing." Translation: there will be individual playlists for hi-sec, low-sec, and null, with 20 base tracks featuring roughly 500 permutations. The devs have placed all 69 of EVE's current tracks on Soundcloud for those of you who want to continue to roll with custom playlists.
Breakfast Topic: What game sound has snuck into your daily life?
You know those pesky ganarg up in Netherstorm? The ones that make the weird, "ee-OOH" Scooby-Doo sound when you kill them? I make that sound occasionally in real life, for no apparent reason at all. I never spent an inordinate amount of time leveling characters in Netherstorm, and I hold no particular fondness or enmity for the ganarg. (Although the dudes with the rotating blades? Yeah, those dudes and me are on the outs.) I really have no idea what provokes me to pipe up with this odd sound effect. I mean, come on, The Burning Crusade was forever ago! Maybe you can explain the relationship between ganarg engineers and stepping out of the shower. I know I certainly can't. In fact, death sounds of all sorts are particularly fertile territory in a gaming family like mine. EverQuest human male death sounds still get a lot of traction when we collapse on the couch at the end of the day. Moving on, I guess there aren't too many weeks that go by without at least a handful of murloc calls. For WoW players, isn't that pretty much a given? But even regular dialog goes a long way. Orcish has proven useful in general family life: "zug-zug" when reminded to do your chores or "Lok'tar! The dishwasher is loaded!" when the feat is complete. I can't say that anything from Mists has infiltrated my consciousness like the infernal Scooby-ganarg -- not yet, anyway. But I've found most players develop an affinity for some in-game sound. WoW Twitterati @elepheagle reports liking the sound effect of tilling untilled soil. He says he finds it soothing. Maybe that's what I need: more tilling, less Scooby. What about you? What sounds, new or old, from World of Warcraft have snuck into your everyday consciousness? Is there a phrase or line of dialog you just can't shake? Do you hear the death rattles of long-ago bosses in your dreams?
Acoustic barcodes store data in sound, go on just about anything (video)
Technologies like NFC, RFID and QR codes are quickly becoming a normal part of everyday life, and now a group from Carnegie Mellon University has a fresh take on close-quarters data it calls acoustic barcodes. It involves physically etching a barcode-like pattern onto almost any surface, so it produces sound when something's dragged across it -- a fingernail, for example. A computer is then fed that sound through a microphone, recognizes the waveform and executes a command based on it. By altering the space between the grooves, it's possible to create endless unique identifiers that are associated with different actions. It's easy to see how smartphones could take advantage of this -- not that we recommend dragging your new iPhone over ridged surfaces -- but unlike the technologies mentioned earlier, not all potential applications envisage a personal reading device. Dot barcodes around an area, install the sound processing hardware on site, and you've got yourself an interactive space primed for breaking freshly manicured nails. We're pretty impressed by the simplicity of the concept, and the team does a good job of presenting scenarios for implementing it, which you can see in the video below. And, if you'd like to learn a little more about the idea or delve into the full academic paper, the source links await you. [Thanks, Julia]
Storyboard: Talk this way
One of the great problems presented to roleplayers is the challenge of presenting audio via text. We don't think about it all the time because most of the time it's easy to construct the sound of something from context. Sure, simply saying that your character sighs could mean any number of things, but contextually it's usually obvious whether it's meant as a gesture of exasperation or a sign of relaxed contentment. "Yes, I'm sure your new weapon will make a huge difference in the war" could be sarcastic or serious, but there are generally enough clues in the situation to make the difference obvious. But there's one obvious case in which that breaks down, and that's in the matter of accents. After all, people from two different regions shouldn't quite sound the same... but there's also no effective way to communicate how one voice or another sounds different. And the most common solution is essentially a matter of making your character's words borderline unreadable in the hopes that you convey a sliver of your intention.
Addon Spotlight: All aboard for Train Smashing station
Each week, WoW Insider's Mathew McCurley brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. Useless flavor items have become an odd duck item in the MMO sphere. While we toil about in our virtual lives, amassing virtual goods in virtual storage, we also collect dumb trinkets and items that do nothing but look cool, make sounds, or annoy our friends. Why is it that we love virtual toys as much as our real life avatars do? I can deal with most of the fun vanity items out there and even proudly proclaim that the best item in the entire game of World of Warcraft is the Tol Barad Searchlight. However, I cannot stand the train emotes. Train sets sounded like a fantastic idea, complete with a funtastic toy shop in Dalaran. What we got instead, during raiding at least, was a nightmare. While combing through my emails a few days ago, I was in a particularly grumpy mood with no real pointed hatred or contempt for /train, but when my eyes finally rested on Edymnion's words, I was stirred to action. Trains need to be stopped. In his email, Edymnion recommended two addons that are designed to not only disable the /train emote completely but to find, capture, try, judge, and execute the perpetrators of train-on-ear violence.
Behringer mixers hold iPad inside
The audio mixer company Behringer has announced three new units set for release, and this company has borrowed a little bit of hardware from Apple: they use the iPad as an interface. As you can see above, the new Behringer mixers make full use of both the standard mixer console controls, as well as Apple's tablet, sitting in as a touchscreen-based software mixer. Obviously, the iPad doesn't have the hardware to handle all of those audio inputs, just in terms of the ports needed. But it is a very powerful computer with a bright, beautiful touchscreen that makes it easy to build and distribute software, so it's actually an ideal device for this kind of thing, when used in conjunction with that dock connection. We've seen the iPad used in a number of different industries in this way, from home automation with Savant to plenty of different medical industry uses. Just a few years ago, these companies would have all had to build and design and manufacture their own touchscreens for these products, but with the iPad, there's already a relatively cheap alternative that most sound engineers and other professionals already have access to.
