Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER
5
Sound and Video
When I built my first PC more than 25 years ago, the graphics were capable
of displaying 16 colors onscreen. A few years later dedicated sound cards
would allow the generation of sound beyond chiptune-style manipulation of
the internal speaker. We have come a long way in a quarter of a century.
Today's PC audiovisual components are capable of rendering in milliseconds
computer animation that took a room-sized computer weeks or more to cal-
culate 40 years ago. Audio fidelity can now replicate high-end concert and
moviegoing experiences. We are going to imbue our PC with both of these
capabilities. Let's begin with audio.
Awesome Audio
PC audio has come a long way since the days of the first PCs, when hearing
the bleeps and buzzes of an internal speaker was exciting. Today's PC audio
can supply a theater quality-capable discrete surround-sound experience in
clean digital audio fidelity. Let's consider some audio options.
Is a Sound Card Necessary?
Before high-quality audio was expected to be a standard feature on a personal
computer, the only way you could reproduce high-quality digitized audio was
via a sound card. However, as motherboard manufacturers like ASUS began
to incorporate more features that were once separate add-ons, the need for
a dedicated sound card greatly diminished. The motherboard we used to build
our computer has exceptional audio that negates any reason to add a dedi-
cated sound card.
The only reason worth considering a dedicated sound card today would be if
you are an audio engineer who uses a PC to process professional-level sound
for game or film production. But for our immediate needs of rendering home
