Sensaura Explained

Sensaura Ltd
Type:Subsidiary
Fate:Acquired by Creative Technology and merged with 3Dlabs, now dissolved
Successor:Sonaptic Ltd
Location:Middlesex
Industry:Audio Technologies
Parent:Creative Technology, pre-2003 was Scipher Plc

Sensaura, a division of Creative Technology, was a company that provided 3D audio effect technology for the interactive entertainment industry.Sensaura technology was shipped on more than 24 million game consoles and 150 million PCs (on soundcards, motherboards and external USB audio devices).Formed in 1991, Sensaura developed a range of technologies for incorporating 3D audio into PC's and consoles.

History

Following its origin as a research project at Thorn EMI's Central Research Laboratories ("CRL", based in Hayes, United Kingdom) in 1991, Sensaura become a supplier of 3D audio technology. By 1998, Sensaura had licensed its technology to the audio chip manufacturers (ESS Technology, Crystal Semiconductor/Cirrus Logic and Yamaha), who at that time supplied 70% of the PC audio market. Subsequent licensees included NVIDIA, Analog Devices, VIA Technologies (expired, replaced by QSound) and C-Media Electronics.[1]

In 1993, Sensaura released a CD sampler disc 'beyond stereo...' containing four tracks;

1. Roadside

2. Railway Station

3. RAF Band

4. Falla: Final Dance from "The Three-Cornered Hat"

These tracks, recorded live, were intended to illustrate what could be achieved in terms of 3D sound from a two-channel stereo set-up.[2]

Some commercial recordings followed:

The MacRobert Award was presented to Sensaura by the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2001.[4] [5]

Sensaura technology was shipped on more than 24 million game consoles and 150 million PCs (on soundcards, motherboards and external USB audio devices). As well as being licensed directly for the first Microsoft Xbox hardware, the technology was also available as a middleware product, GameCODA, for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube.[6] [7] In 2000, Sensaura developed a spatial audio plugin for the WinAmp media player which was downloaded 18 million times.

In December 2003, the Sensaura business and IP portfolio was bought by Creative Technology.[8] [9] Sensaura continued to operate as an R&D division within Creative, however following a major reduction in staff numbers in March 2007, it ceased supplying audio technologies for PC sound cards, game consoles but focused on other product areas, including involvement with the OpenSL ES standard. Following further headcount reductions in 2008, the remaining Sensaura engineers were absorbed into Creative's 3DLabs subsidiary.

Prior to the acquisition of Sensaura by Creative Technology in 2003, some employees left to form Sonaptic Ltd. Licensing Sensaura's technology, Sonaptic specialized in 3D positional audio for mobile devices.[10] In 2007, Wolfson Microelectronics acquired Sonaptic, wanting to expand their reach within the audio market.[11]

Technology[12] [13]

Sensaura 3D Positional Audio (S-3DPA)

Sensaura's 3D positional audio technology was designed to build upon the industry standard Microsoft DirectSound3D API, which allowed games to have high quality audio in three dimensions.

3D speaker technology

By using MultiDrive 5.1 and XTC cross-talk cancellation, Sensaura's 3D speaker technology can create accurate 3D audio within a normal 5.1 surround sound system.

gameCODA (audio middleware)

For more information, see gameCODA.

Further reading

Compatible hardware[14]

Consoles & PC's (gameCODA)

GameCODA is able to run on virtually any x86 PC with basic sound support.

Sound cards (S-3DPA)

Sound cards that support S-3DPA can also be utilized to accelerate gameCODA.

The list of hardware below is not exhaustive:

Turtle Beach

Hercules (Guillemot)

Yamaha YMF7x4 series

Terratec

Motherboards with semiconductors

ASUS

Semiconductors

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Upgrading and Repairing PCs . Google Books, page 926. 2003. September 8, 2021. Google Books.
  2. Web site: Studio Sound - Sensaura SPU-800 . World Radio History, page 43. 1996. August 27, 2021. World Radio History.
  3. Web site: Sensaura - Hearing in three dimensions. https://web.archive.org/web/20060328115636/http://www.sensaura.com/whitepapers/pdfs/devpc015.pdf. Sensaura. March 28, 2006. 2000. September 11, 2021. The Internet Archive.
  4. Web site: BBC News - Sensaura's 3D sound goes beyond stereo. BBC News. November 5, 2001. August 21, 2021.
  5. Web site: Sensaura receives MacRobert Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAENG). Royal Academy of Engineering. 2001. August 19, 2021.
  6. Web site: Sensaura and VIA Announce Licensing Agreement for 3D Audio Technology. Hexus. March 3, 2003. August 20, 2021.
  7. Web site: Sensaura - audio reality. https://web.archive.org/web/20070622032436/http://www.sensaura.com/. Sensaura. June 22, 2007. 2007. August 19, 2021. The Internet Archive.
  8. Web site: Creative Technology Acquires Sensaura. https://web.archive.org/web/20031227091056/http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/mmedia/display/20031208024553.html. Xbit Laboratories. December 27, 2003. December 7, 2003. August 20, 2021. The Internet Archive.
  9. Web site: Creative-Sensaura fallout muffled so far. The Tech Report. December 5, 2003. September 8, 2021.
  10. http://www.mobilemonday.jp/presentations/Sonaptic.pdf Sonaptic 3D Positional Audio Technology - Presentation
  11. Web site: 2007-07-24. Wolfson invests in IP with Sonaptic acquisition. 2021-11-10. Growth Business. en-GB.
  12. Web site: Sensaura Technologies . ixbt.com, page 43. February 14, 2000. September 9, 2021. ixbt.com.
  13. Web site: Sensaura Technology - White papers. https://web.archive.org/web/20060328114812/http://www.sensaura.com/whitepapers/index.php. Sensaura. March 28, 2006. 2006. September 11, 2021. The Internet Archive.
  14. Web site: The Tech Report - Examining the highs and lows: Seven PC audio solutions compared. https://web.archive.org/web/20061119142721/http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2003q1/soundcards/index.x?pg=1. The Tech Report. November 19, 2006. 2006. September 8, 2021. The Internet Archive.
  15. Web site: VIA's KT400A chipset. The Tech Report. 2001. September 8, 2021.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sensaura".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.