By David Ponce

Royal Philips Electronics is Obsessed With Sound. Seriously. I know this because they’ve told me and they’ve shown me and now, six months after this episode started, I finally get it. I get their message. I get what they’re on about. The pieces of the puzzle have fallen in place.

And I like it.

Back in March, I told you’d I’d soon be talking about my trip to Amsterdam to check out the Metropole Orchestra. It took quite a while longer than expected, but here we are. In this article, I’d like you to come with me behind the scenes of a Philips production of a musical piece called I’m No Prototype. In the process you’ll be introduced to an awesome musical visualization technique they developed and you’ll also hear about an ambitious musical talent competition Philips is sponsoring.

The Trip To Amsterdam

When the company called they said: “Would you like to come to Amsterdam to hear the Metropole Orchestra record this piece?” What my mouth answered at that point was: “Sure, why not?”. My mind however was saying quite loud: “What the heck is this about? How is Philips connected to an orchestra? Why are they producing this? What’s going on here?” Still I was intrigued… so I went. After all, I liked music. Or at least I thought I did.

See, you have to get to know me a little bit to grasp why it took me so long to understand Philips’ desire to get behind the production of such an elaborate piece. For one, I’m no audiophile. As a matter of fact, regular readers will be familiar with how often we like to make fun of people spending ridiculous sums on audio equipment. After all, I’m used to downloading my music in quality-butchering low-bitrate MP3 format and listening to it on $20 earphones. As long as it’s not distorted I’m reasonably content. And live performances usually leave me with partial hearing loss, so it’s not like I’d be able to comment on anything other than their loudness and entertainment value. Don’t get me wrong, I listen to all sorts of music and love it. It’s just that I’d never really paid much attention to the quality of the music I’d been hearing. Back in March, had you asked me what audio quality meant, I’d probably have answered something about lack of distortion, lack of hiss, etc. This was what I knew: I’d never been exposed to anything else.

Now, it was cold back in March and the jacket I’d brought was far from enough for the damp Amsterdam air. So I was happy when the car showed up: we had a 45 minute drive ahead of us but at least I’d be warm. When I reached the Muziekcentrum van de Omroep (MCO), I walked right into an elaborate set. Powerful lights and diffusers bathed the hall in a smooth incandescent glow. Musicians milled about, getting ready to perform their piece. And one of a couple dozen people seated in the stands was Steve Lillywhite, the man who produced U2′s early albums, helping them define their sound. He’s since worked with The Talking Heads, The Pogues and Morissey.

Steve Lillywhite

As the orchestra was setting up, a Philips representative and Steve finally started to tell me about this production. The basic premise is simple: “every musician counts, every instrument counts”. Philips wanted to get the message out that they are obsessed with this idea: they are obsessed with the desire to make audio equipment that lets you hear every detail that you usually miss. So at that point I was thinking “how much detail can there be?”

The recording begins.

I’m No Prototype is a fast-paced, almost cinematic piece reminiscent of 1960′s James Bond car chases composed by pop duo Bauer: Berend Dubbe and Sonja Van Hamel. It’s breathy, and bubbly and gripping. It’s intricate and fun. There’s a ton of stuff going on and it’s hard to keep track of it all. The 52 members of the Metropole Orchestra unite and create a flow, a melody and a rhythm. Now and then rises the percussive shrill of the xylophone or the brassy bark of the saxophone. My ears are filled by voices singing in harmony and violins adding a dramatic tension to a rolling, rocking musical ride. It’s almost more than I am able to process: how much music can you fit within one piece of music?

A person turns to me halfway through the recording session and says “We want to show that the viola player is just as instrumental as the bassoon player, and the cello player and the oboe player. We want you to be able to hear them all.” And while it’s not the first time I listen to an orchestra live, it is the first time I pay attention. And if you listen closely, you can make out most of the instruments. You can hear the different voices. You can hear the synthesizer working and the trumpet blaring. You can deconstruct the sound, instrument by instrument, and stare at its complex inner workings and marvel at how it all comes together to form a cohesive musical piece.

Philips wanted to build something that would let a listener recreate this reality through a visualizing technique.

In all, the orchestra played the piece over 50 times that day, with RED cameras mounted on harnesses capturing every detail and with each musician being given his own audio channel. Data. It was all about capturing data. All this, everything, was going to be fed into a visualizer created in what appears to be Adobe Flash. In this visualizer, which you can now access on the Philips Sound Facebook page or at this address lets you watch a recording of I’m No Prototype, while allowing you to zero in on any one musician. When you click on one of the musician channels, the main track dims, the image dims and that particular person is highlighted. You can hear exactly what they’re playing. And when you click back on the entire orchestra, the image zooms out with flair, the main music is dialed back up and you can select another person to listen to. This visualizer presents you with the tools you need to break down the music into all its essential components and get fascinating granular control. Every detail is at your fingertips. It’s awesome!

Coming Back Home

And so I left Amsterdam, with the track I’m No Prototype playing over and over in my head and mulling Philips’ message. This is what good sound was all about, in the end. Being able to hear it all, hear everything. Not just lack of distortion, but lack of it at high volume. Balance. I got it. But again… what did Philips have to do with good sound? I mean, ok, they understand what the building blocks of audio appreciation are but does that mean anything about their products? Well in fact, it does, but it would take me six more months to see it. A week ago for me, I received a Fidelio Soundphere to review. This is Philips’ flagship audio product. And last Thursday, the visualizer launched.

And that was the moment everything fell in place. When those speakers turned on, it was as if I’d been sent right back to that orchestra hall. Music I’d been listening to for years suddenly opened up. Turns out I’d been listening to only half of it! I’d never heard the children laughing playfully at the end of Unites States of Eurasia from Muse. I’d never noticed the sound of fingers running up and down the guitar cords in countless songs. This and more was there all along, and I’d never heard any of it! I now have to upgrade my entire music library. But this is what Philips was talking about: I was hearing every detail! (Incidentally, you’ll be getting a full review on the Fidelio Soundphere in the coming weeks.)

Then I saw the visualizer. It’s a work of art. You really have to see it to understand. Visit this page and click on the “Hear Every Detail” link on the left sidebar to see this. Just know that Philips is behind this and they’ve put (as I’m sure you’ll understand when you check it out) a tremendous amount of effort behind this.

Obsessed they surely are.

Finally, you should know they are sponsoring a competition for unheard musical talent. It’s as simple as submitting your track and you could win a trip to Amsterdam to have your piece reworked by the Metropole Orchestra and produced by Steve Lillywhite. You can enter it by visiting this link and clicking on the “Competition” link on the left sidebar.

[ Philips Sound Facebook Page ]

By Robert French

Air purifiers are often found in homes and offices as people become more concerned with air impurities. Most of them still use a source of energy but designers Mathieu Lehanneur and David Edwards had a more natural idea: why not use nature’s air purifiers to serve the same purpose in your home and office? Plants are best known for their ability to scrub toxins from the air and release pure, fresh oxygen. The Andrea air purifier combines nature and technology into one eco-looking and effective air-scrubbing product.

Andrea uses nearly any household plant you supply and takes advantage of its purifying properties to absorb and neutralize airborne toxins.  The powered fan pushes air over the plant’s leaves and through the roots of the plant and soil to increase the speed of the plant’s filtration process. According to Andrea’s designers, the device removes toxic gases from the air at a rate of over 1000% faster than plants alone without the technology.

The Andrea is available in the United States, the UK and France. You can buy directly through Amazon & Home Depot online for anywhere from $169 to $299.

Reviews seem mixed: some say they loved the design and got creative with different plants. Others say Andrea is too noisy or that the product lasts only a single year.

[ Andrea Air ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Duke Nukem Forever has been the punching bag of the gaming world for the last decade or so. With roughly 14 years in development, it’s not hard to figure out why. Last week the game actually hit store shelves, which is something many of us thought would never actually happen. But after more than a dozen years of waiting, is the game really worth it?

It’s almost difficult to judge a game that has been in production for as long as this one. The main reason is that with so much hype, and simply knowing that there have been so many years poured into one game that it must be a masterpiece. You’ll have to head over to GamerFront to catch the full review, but if you’re expecting a perfect game, the Duke won’t be delivering. However, if you’re looking to blow up aliens in the most crude and vulgar game that you’ve seen in a long time, well you’re going to be in luck.

VIA [ GamerFront ]

Last time I counted, there were roughly a million iPhone/iPod docks on the market. Okay, so perhaps that’s something of an exaggeration, but sometimes it really does feel like there are that many. With such a variety, how can one be sure to pick out the best for them? Well, Stem has released a new dock called TimeCommand that they think you should consider.

First Look

The TimeCommand is a black cylinder that is almost exactly the width of the iPad. As you guessed, there is a good reason for this. Not only does this dock support your iPods and iPhones, but it has been designed to accommodate the much larger iPad.

On the dock you will find seven buttons. The larges is your snooze button, which also acts as play/pause if you’re listening to tunes. There are also buttons for two alarms, a set of brightness/volume buttons, and my favorite, the light button. When you plug in the TimeCommand, you’ll find that it has an outlet. If you plug a light into the extra outlet, you can control it with the button on the dock. This can be rather handy when used with a bedside lamp. There is also a decent sized digital clock on the face, and a pair of speakers built around the sides of the dock.

In addition to the dock itself, there is a free app for controlling your alarms. It also has other features such as displaying the current weather, letting you fall asleep to ambient sounds/music and waking up via the bedside lamp.

Performance

Usually the first thing I do when plugging in a clock is program it. While it does give you the ability to manually set the time, you needn’t bother on the TimeCommand. Once you dock your iOS device, it will automatically sync the time with it. This is a feature that I’d love to see on every iPhone dock.

Now actually docking the phone is something I’m not terribly fond of with this product. In order to accommodate all of the iOS devices, whether they are in a case or not, isn’t an easy task. What Stem has done is made a dock connector that pivots outward, which does indeed make it able to hold just about any device. The problem is that when nothing is plugged in, it moves back to its original position, via a spring. Therefore you’ll need two hands to place your iPhone in its cradle for the night (one to hold the phone, the other to position the dock connector properly). Since I only use this for a single phone, it would be nice to have the ability to lock the connector in place, so I can just set down my phone and not have to fiddle with the connector.

Now aside from using the light button, you probably aren’t actually going to touch the dock for any reason. This is because everything else can be controlled with the Stem:Connect app. To be perfectly honest, you probably won’t use a lot of the features in this app, either. Things like displaying the time, messing with the EQ of your music checking the weather don’t really serve much of a purpose. Yes, seeing how warm it is when you first wake up is nice, but if I’m really concerned about the weather, I’m probably going to use a dedicated app that has more features and details.

What you’re going to be most concerned with are the core features of this app. These are the alarms, and the “sleep to audio” mode. I like being able to go to sleep with some sort of ambient noise playing, or even music, so I enjoyed this feature. You can select any number of songs from your phone’s music library and set just how long you want it to play. There is also the option of choosing a nature sound to play instead. Once this is set, the phone will dim and play your music until the time is up. At that point, it will simply fade out the music.

I’m usually not one to get very excited about alarms, but this is the first dock that I’ve actually been able to rely on the built-in software to wake me up. See, the trouble with using alarm software other than the one built into the phone is that you need to keep the app open for it to work. If the app is closed, the alarm will never go off.

So what makes this software any different? Well, remember how I told you earlier that the dock automatically synced the time with your phone? It does the exact same thing with your alarms. Whenever you program an alarm on the app, the dock will receive them as well. If you accidentally close out of the app, or take your phone off of the dock, the alarm will still go off on the dock itself. It’s this sort of backup plan that makes this software and dock combo reliable.

As for listening to music, this device is pretty middle-of-the-road. It’s good enough for listening to music while you fall asleep, but I wouldn’t exactly use it for my primary set of speakers.

Conclusion

The Stem TimeCommand might not be the most feature-rich dock in the world, but it has become my favorite. From the little things like syncing the time and letting you turn on/off a bedside lamp to having a failsafe alarm, this dock has it where it counts. For the price of $100, it might be a little more on the expensive side than I’d like, but it does live up to the cost.

[ Stem ]

When you’re playing video games, you want to get sucked into the experience. Total immersion is the ultimate goal when you fire up your console or PC and start up your favorite game. There are many factors that go into the experience. Everything from gameplay, graphics, frame rate and audio all play their part in providing a good gaming experience. Naturally, this means that  you want to crank your speakers up so that you can hear every bullet fire and every shell hit the ground. But what if you have to worry about disturbing neighbors, roommates or family members? Naturally, you reach for your favorite headset.

Tritton has released their AX Pro headset, which promises to deliver excellent 5.1 surround sound from not only your PC, but your Xbox 360 and PS3 as well. Unlike most other headsets that use a standard stereo jack for input, Tritton has decided to take advantage of the optical ports found on most PCs and two of the three current-gen consoles. So will their cross-compatibility and true Dolby 5.1 sound stack up to the competition? Check out the full review over at GamerFront to find out.

[ Tritton AX Pro Review @ GamerFront ]

In an ideal world, I’d play all of my games while looking at a giant HDTV and surrounded by some sweet speakers with the volume cranked up. Unfortunately most of us don’t get to live such a dream. Instead we find ourselves trying to make the most of the small area that we have for out gaming needs. If you’re tight on space, but still want a great set of speakers to compliment your gaming experience, Antec wants you to give their SoundScience Rockus system a look.

This 2.1 speaker system does more than just crank out your sound effects and music with 150 Watts of power. With the push of a button, it can simulate 3D surround sound, letting you feel like you’re in the action, without messing with a 5.1 or 7.1 setup. Console gamers will be happy to see the inclusion of an optical input, as this means you can plug your 360 or PS3 directly into the speakers.

The SoundScience Rockus has a nice set of features, but the real question is whether they are enough to make this a “must buy” setup. Check out the full review over at GamerFront for all of the details.

[ Review – Antec SoundScience Rockus Speaker System @ GamerFront ]

There are a lot of things to consider when you’re looking for a computer case. Everything from the size, physical appearance, and even the amount of noise it puts off go into your decision. You might not think that last item is all that important, but there are plenty of situations where a noisy computer can be a nuisance. Sure, you can drown out loud fans with music, but you shouldn’t need to do that. Instead, you can get a silent case, such as the NZXT H2.

This chassis has more to offer than just sound-dampening foam to keep it quiet. Extra features such as USB 3.0 support and a a built-in hard drive dock make this one worth a second look. But do these features make this case stand out enough to make it a must-buy for your next PC? Check out the full review over at GamerFront to find out.

[ NZXT H2 Review @ GamerFront ]

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

When I first saw this mouse I wasn’t too impressed, compared to other gaming mice it was lacking the initial wow factor that draws you to it. The M3x offers an on the fly DPI adjustment, however you must pick between eight predetermined settings (no customizing here). The eight options are associated with a colored LED so you would have to memorize which color coincides with each  resolution. The DPI selection is on a cyclic system, in other words you have to cycle all the way through to get to a lower DPI. I found this irritating, and almost counter-productive.

The mouse also features two buttons on the side which are completely non customizable, I’ve only found them useful for going forward and back on my web browser.  The M3x also has a “permanent” fire button, which all I can seem to get it to do is the same as the left click. Another thing that bothers me is when I click the back of the mouse tends to raise up. As for comfort, I feel like my hand sits to high and the grooves where my ring and pinky finger are supposed to sit are two small and not in a natural place. I thought the problem might be my big hands, so I had a friend with smaller hands try it, and she couldn’t reach the buttons to click and when she moved her hand close enough to reach them it almost flipped over.

So now that I’m done ranting about my issues with this mouse, I now get to mention the few things I like about it. It glides over most surfaces with smooth precision. I used the M3x on three surfaces, my oak desk, an aluminum mouse pad and the glossy cover of one of my textbooks. I was surprised to see that it had the same smooth feeling on all three surfaces. There are also four removable weights, but they are not centered, which may be causing some of the rocking issues. The only thing I found the M3x to do well was first person shooters, and it does those with little or no glitz and glamor. The smooth feeling was great for every FPS I tested it on. However what good is a mouse that can only do one thing well?

So what is my final word? After a week of using this mouse I could not wait to be done with this review so I could go back to my normal mouse. The M3x is uncomfortable, has useless features, but has a great smooth feeling on most surfaces and is great for FPS’s but only FPS’s. It’s not the worst mouse I have ever used but it’s by far not the best. For $60- $75 I find it overpriced for what you get. So if you want a new mouse for everyday use look elsewhere…unless all you do is play FPS all day every day.

[ Raptor Gaming ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

Last we were lucky to receive the Sonar 5.1 Championship PC Gaming Headset from Cyber Snipa. I was fortunate to be able to take this headset to the past LAN War at Indiana University and really put it through the gauntlet so-to-speak. After a long tandem of hourly gaming, I’ve got the stats on this superior headset.

The Cyber Snipa Sonar 5.1 Championship headset is a bit unlike any other headset I’ve used. The design is really top-notch, and to be honest, it just looks really cool. It’s very comfortable on the top of your head, but you may run into problems if you have large ears like me. The ear pieces are comfortable, but smaller than they look. I first thought I could turn them, which would be cool, but they’re fixed and won’t slide.After a while, though, you don’t really notice the issue, so it’s not a big complication.

Technically the headset performs at the top of its class. It connects through USB, so it’s great for on-the-go gaming. The drivers installed instantly and the headset was ready to go. With 8 individual speakers, it’s great to use when you’re in a room with a lot of ambient noise. Sitting in a crowded area with gamers all around me yelling, computers buzzing, and people conversing everywhere, the Sonar did a great job of producing enough sound to keep me focused on the game.

Here are the tech specs on the speakers themselves:

SPEAKERS

Along the connector cord is a channel controller that allows you to change the volume of the main, rear, center, front, and subwoofer speakers in the headset. These come in handy when you want to fine-tune the sound to any game, video, or style of music you’re listening to. Add that to the adjustment software that’s available for download with the Sonar, and you have limitless ability to adjust the settings to near perfection for your playing needs. I was able to hear every spoken word, every creeping monster, and every shot fired in my direction.

The Sonar even comes with its own carrying case once you take it out of its packaging. The case makes it easy to pack up and travel to wherever your gaming takes you, enabling you to take the headset along for the ride. It’s not one of those cases where it’s impossible to fit everything in. I takes about ten or so seconds to pack, zip up, and get going.

The Cyber Snipa Sonar 5.1 Championship Headset performed great for what it was designed for. With its travel case and USB connection method, it was a great headset to have with me when traveling to game. While it was a little bit uncomfortable to me, I eventually lost sight of that while using it. It did get a bit hot since the ear pieces are insulated to cancel out noise, which required me to take breaks. All in all the headset worked out great for me. Sitting at about $80, this is a perfect headset for the price, and Cyber Snipa delivered with it. If you’re looking for a cheaply-priced headset, the Sonar Championship is what I recommend for you.

[ Cyber Snipa ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

About a week ago we posted an article about Roxio’s newest gem in the hardware industry, the Roxio Game Cap device. The device makes it very possible, and simple, to record your console gameplay (whether it be PS3 or Xbox 360), save it on your PC, edit the video, and even post it to Youtube or Facebook! We were able to get our hands on one of these devices, and I have been toying with it nonstop. Roxio also will be introducing PC game capture software, but we have a bit to wait on it. This is our review for the Roxio Game Cap console capture device.

I will admit that I am a newbie when it comes to capturing gameplay video. I’ve just begin to dabble in the realm of Let’s Plays, and my video editing skills, although more advanced than some, are a bit rusty. One of the cool things about this device is the ability to plug-and-play. Setup was simple, and the software has an amazing interface. For now, let’s focus on the device itself.

The device is essentially just a black box, like you see above. It comes packaged with a set of composite video cables, composite audio cables, and a USB cable to connect the device to your PC. Setup is extremely simple:

1. Plug the composite cables into the [OUT] side of the box, and then to your television.
2. Connect the composite cables from your system to the {IN] portion of the device.
3. Plug the USB cable into the device, and then into your PC.
4. Let the drivers install, and hardware setup is complete!

Roxio even put a diagram on their website so you folks who are more visual can see it:

So the hardware setup is very easy, really. In mere minutes I had the device connected to my PS3 and everything was a go.

Now, on to the software setup. The device comes packaged with software that will not only allow you to use it, but it will allow you to edit and share your gameplay videos. Once you install the software (which is easy as well), then you’re ready to open it up and begin capturing gameplay.

This is what you will be looking at while you prepare to capture gameplay. The interface is simple: set up the source (which will be your Game Cap device), edit the settings, set the destination for where your video will go, then get capturing!  My biggest complaint is that the device captures only in 480p, so it’s not perfect, but it does get the job done. I recommend doing a little bit of research to figure out which settings are best for you.

Once you capture your gameplay, you can edit the captured video in the software you see above. It’s much like Adobe Premiere, but without the fanciness. The software does have a lot of editing effects such as transitions, wipes, fades, audio tracking, and much more. It’s a perfect all-in-one set of software that is perfect for what it’s set out to do. You can even add narration to your video if you have a microphone, which makes creating Let’s Play videos a breeze. There are still a few settings that I haven’t messed with yet, but in due time I will get to them. Once you finish editing your masterpiece you can then set the software to export it out to your PC in a video file of your choosing. I will warn you, adding effects and narration will cause the video file to be pretty large, so you may want to download a file conversion program to help shrink the size.

Posted below is a video containing raw gameplay footage that I captured using the device. I am playing Black Ops on the PS3, and it’s only about five minutes worth of video, but it’s enough for you to see what you’re getting. This is footage captured and unedited using the default settings.

Overall the Roxio Game Cap is a diamond in the rough, so to speak. I have been looking for quite some time for a device such as this, and Roxio delivered. The device is easy to set up, the software is very user-friendly, and I am very happy with the end result. The only issue is that the device records in 480P, so things aren’t as crisp as they could be. Could we possibly see HDMI recording on the horizon? I’d like to think so. For $99.99 you can’t really beat the Roxio Game Cap. There aren’t any cards to fool with, no scrambling to find drivers, and no worrying about what software to use. Roxio created the ultimate package with this device, and I urge you to pick one up for yourselves.

[ Roxio ] VIA [ GamerFront ]