Sound Blaster

[Catherina-CL]

Thanks to all who have made constructive suggestions for improvement.  I am working with the Audio Product Team to get answers to questions that have been posted to-date.  They are considering all of your feedback and are open to addressing as much of it as is possible. As updates are available, I will post them on the Forums.  I have created a new thread to facilitate further discussion and feedback here. When we receive updates I will be posting them in this sticky (or linking them here) so you can easily find them.

In the meantime, I would like to remind everyone of the rules on the use of these forums detailed here.  We want to maintain some semblance of order and usability, therefore all posts are going to be monitored strictly in accordance with these rules.  If you want your criticism/feedback to be heard, post it in a well thought out and constructive manner.

Cat 

[Catherina-CL]

Hi everyone,

I have an update for you all from the audio guys, see below. As before, please keep discussion (constructive feedback!) in this thread.

Soundblaster drivers for Linux
 
In response to forum members' questions about Linux support for Soundblaster cards, here is an update on the current status along with links to the various resources available.  We will be making further announcements in the coming weeks regarding ALchemy, Vista drivers and other issues that our forum members' have requested more information on.
 
Linux Beta Drivers
 
Creative has publicly available partial source ALSA beta driver releases for the X-Fi series at the following link.  The latest beta was released on April 17 and has support for 32-bit systems as well as 64-bit systems...
http://connect.creativelabs.com/linux/default.aspx
 
Linux Kernel Driver Support
 
The Linux development community continues to build ALSA support directly into the main Linux kernel for many Creative sound cards.  A full list of supported cards from Creative can be found here…
http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Matrix:Vendor-Creative_Labs
 
Please note that, at the time of writing, the reference to X-Fi cards in this list is innaccurate.  We have provided programming information for the X-Fi 20K1 chip to the main ALSA programming community and we hope that this will enable them to provide a similar level of support to that of the 10K chips in future Linux kernel releases for the X-Fi 20K1 sound card series.  As always, we greatly appreciate the ongoing efforts of the Linux development community to support our sound cards.
 
Linux Open Source
 
Creative makes full open source drivers available for certain of its soundcards.  More information can be found here:
http://connect.creativelabs.com/opensource/default.aspx
 
We intend to release a full source beta driver for X-Fi 20K1 series cards offering basic ALSA functionality this fall.  We have partial source releases available today.

Thank you.
The Soundblaster Team

[Dale-CL]

Hello Soundblaster forum users,

I have an update for ALchemy for Audigy users.  The same rules Cat mentioned apply, keep the discussion constructive and in the Feedback Thread please.

_______________

Creative has reviewed the discussions concerning ALchemy for Audigy on this forum and others. A new free version of the ALchemy application for Audigy owners will be released in the week of May 19th.  Audigy owners that have already purchased ALchemy are being offered a refund of the purchase price of $9.99.  To request a refund, please visit here.  Complete the email form specifying the email address you used to purchase ALchemy For Audigy. The refund will be made to the credit card that was used for the original purchase. Please allow 30 days for the refund to take place.  This offer is valid until 30th June. 

The ALchemy application is being provided independent of the drivers, as it is not a driver. The new version of the application works with both X-Fi and Audigy products, and we have added additional updates relating to some popular games that behave differently on the X-Fi chipset as compared to the Audigy chipset. We would suggest you download the latest version from CREATIVE.COM when it becomes available.

Thank You.
The Soundblaster Team.
 

[Catherina-CL]

Hi everyone,

I have an update for you on the Vista junctions problem some have reported, see below (I'll post this in the other threads as well).

-----

We have become aware that some users are experiencing an issue relating to
deleted "hidden" folders due to recent Creative Vista installer packages.
It appears that folders are deleted only if empty, and we are not aware of
any detrimental impact on system stability or usability resulting from the
deletion of these empty hidden folders.  We are updating our Vista
installer packages going forward.  If you would like to have these hidden
folders re-established you can download and run the utility provided here.

Thank You.
The Sound Blaster Team.

[Dale-CL]

Hello everyone, I have another update for you guys today:

 It has come to our attention that, in the process of upgrading from Windows XP to Vista and installing driver updates for certain Creative sound cards, Dolby Digital decoding, DTS decoding, and DVD Audio functionality may have been impacted for some customers.  Creative has now created separate drivers that are specifically designed to re-establish these functionalities. There are two revised versions of the drivers, one for Audigy and one for X-Fi products.  Please note that DVD Audio functionality will only be available for Vista 32-bit systems.

The new drivers also addresses compatibility issues for 64-bit systems that have 4GB or greater amounts of memory as well as a number of other issues.  Full details will be provided with the beta releases.

Both new drivers require Windows Vista SP1.  Public Beta versions of these drivers are currently on schedule to release in early June and will be announced here in the forum once they are available for download. The final release version of these drivers will be made available in late July or early August.

Thank You.
The Sound Blaster Team

Message Edited by Dale-CL on 05-13-2008 12:16 PM

[Catherina-CL]

Hi everyone,

Please see the latest update below:

Dear Audigy and X-Fi customers,

We recently announced the launch of our new X-Fi Titanium sound card series which are designed for use with PCI Express motherboards.  We are including Dolby Digital Live encoding with these new sound cards, marking the first time that we have shipped this functionality in a Creative product.

We understand from previous customer feedback that many existing X-Fi and Audigy owners would like to have Dolby Digital Live functionality with their present sound cards.  Rather than restricting the Dolby Digital Live feature to the new PCI Express sound cards, we are currently planning to offer it to existing Audigy 10K and X-Fi 20K owners for a nominal fee.

We will provide more information regarding the availability of the Dolby Digital Live encoder shortly.

Thank You.
The Sound Blaster Team

[Catherina-CL]

Hi all,

Another quick update regarding Dolby Digital Live encoding:

A few individuals have inquired as to why we are making Dolby Digital Live encoding available on older products for a nominal fee.  Dolby Digital Live encoding was not included in older products, but we recognize that some users may want that additional functionality, while others may not.  Creative pays royalties to Dolby for making this upgrade available, so Creative charges a nominal fee to those consumers that want to add Dolby Digital Live encoding to their older product.  Consumers can choose whether the additional functionality is worth the additional cost.

Thank You.
The Sound Blaster Team

[KokChoy-CL]

Hi everyone,

Starting from 16 May 2008, the Creative Alchemy (for Audigy products) is available for FREE on the SoundBlaster website. No purchase is necessary to use this software.

Thank You.
The Sound Blaster Team

[KokChoy-CL]

One more update for the day,

Creative have released the Audigy X Web Update 4 and 20K1 Web Update 6 Beta

For Audigy X Web Update 4 Public Beta

Click here for the download.

For the 20K1 Web Update 6 Beta  

Click here for the download.

Thank You.
The Sound Blaster Team 

Message Edited by KokChoy-CL on 06-11-2008 10:37 AM

[KokChoy-CL]

Hi all,  

A vulnerability was discovered in the Creative Labs AutoUpdate. To enhance the security, a new AutoUpdate will be made available in mid-June. Users will see an update to their Software Update ActiveX object on the Internet Explorer as a new "Creative Software AutoUpdate" module for installation.

Thank You.
The Sound Blaster Team 

Message Edited by KokChoy-CL on 06-11-2008 10:38 AM