1. Sound is one of the key elements to the
success of most interactive media products
such as DVD’s, Video games, without the
use of sound within such products, the
quality and purpose of them would fail to
perform well with its audience. There are
many different techniques, purposes and
methods to creating and using sound in these
different products.
THEORY OF SOUND
Waveform (sound wave)
We measure sound using decibles (dB), the
amplitude is expressed by the height of the
waves, when the sound is louder, the sound
wave will be higher, and thus the quietest
sound would be rated as zero dB.There are
four main parts to a sound wave; these are
frequency, wavelengths, amplitude and
period. The horizontal lines within sound
waves are referred to as wavelengths.
Wavelengths are measured from consecutive
and equal points within the sound wave. The
period is the amount of time it would take for
the first equivalent point to reach the second
one. They call number of cycles per unit of
time, frequency. Frequency is measured in
hertz a.k.a Hz, as hertz display the number of
cycles per second from a certain point.
They call number of cycles per unit of time,
frequency. Frequency is measured in hertz
a.k.a Hz, as hertz display the number of
cycles per second from a certain point. If
there is an increase of air pressure, the
pressure within a cycle can be altered. Pitch
is related to understanding the frequency, in
which the brain works out, vibrations (which
are used in sound) mobilize through the
wavelengths, you measure these by figuring
out that fast vibrations have a high frequency
and pitch.
Sound only possesses the ability to travel
through gas, liquid and solids making it
impossible or difficult for sound to travel
through such materials as, glass, plastic, or
walls. Loudspeakers can be many different
types of devices such as, radios and
headphones, (as long as it transfers electrical
energy to motorised energy, it will be
considered a sound generator).
2. BASICS OF SOUND RECORDING
SNR OR S/N (Signals to noise ratio), this
is the equations that is used to find the
power of signals and noise. Noise is the
enemy to every recording studio, as it
unwanted sound. Analogue is a signal that
is continuous. Compared to digital, that
advantage to analogue is that the signals it
carries have a higher density; on the other
hand, analogue signals carry sound, which
can come to be imbalanced or decease die
to the noise. Distortion is commonly
unwanted due to the fact that it can alter the
form of a wavelength and its features,
making it either impossible to hear the
sound, or making it bizarre or malformed.
Digital signals share a comparable
interference with analogue, although it is
not as exaggerated. Digital Signals can also
acquire distortion, which can be from other
incepting signals. Mono and stereo
speakers are both different recording and
listening sound generators, as mono can
only transfer one signal within its wave and
only one source appears, whereas stereo
consists of at least two different sources,
and it could also be heard like ordinary
hearing. You can store digital audio using
an audio file format on devices like PC’s
and laptops, there are many different
formats of files that can be stored such as
MP3, MID, AIFF, WAV, MPEG’s and
many more.
APPLICATIONS
These are just some of the many interactive
media products that use sound;
Computer (PC)/ Laptop
There are many different uses for a
computer or laptop, all these purposes are
interactive, such as reading, typing or
searching the web. This is why computers
consist of the highest technology when
being compared to other media products
and is why an extremely large percentage
of the world owns one.
Gaming Systems
Gaming consoles are obviously an
interactive product due to the fact that they
only operate by being controlled by the
user. Game consoles are well built for
interaction, such as the controls and pads
that you need in order to control the menu
and gameplay of your video game. There
are many different types of gaming
consoles, all built in a different way with a
different level of interactivity, e.g. gaming
consoles such as ‘Nintendo Wii’ and ‘X-
box Kinetic’ are more interactive then
others because you have to use more body
movement to control them