Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

ActiveX
A Microsoft technology that enables software components to interact with one another in a networked environment, regardless of the language(s) used to create them. Most World Wide Web (WWW) users will experience ActiveX technology in the form of ActiveX controls, ActiveX documents, and ActiveX scripts.

AC-3
Sometimes referred to as "Dolby Digital." The third-generation digital audio coding scheme from Dolby Laboratories used to encode 6 discrete audio channels (front-left, front-center, front-right, surround-left, surround-right, and low-frequency effects). Primarily used for movie soundtracks, found on new-generation laser discs, DVD titles and HDTV.

adapter
An expansion card that enables greater functionality for your computer. The Monster Sound card is an adapter.

"Alt" key
One of three shift keys on a computer keyboard. The effect, or result, of a key pressed with the Alt key held down may vary depending on what software is running.

analog-to-digital converter
A device on the Monster Sound that converts analog information, such as sound or voltage, into digital signals that can be handled by a computer.

API
An Application Programming Interface is a definition of functions or operations that programmers can use to simplify their development tasks.

ASIC
Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ay-sick). A chip designed for use on a particular circuit board, or for a very narrow range of use. The Digital Signal Processor chip on a Monster Sound is an ASIC.

B

BIOS
Stands for Basic Input/Output System. This is software that provides basic read/write capabilities. Usually kept as firmware (Flash based). The system BIOS on the mainboard of a computer is used to control the booting of the system.

bus
A collection of unbroken signal lines across which information is transmitted from one part of a computer system to another. Connections to the bus are made via "taps" on the lines.

C

coprocessor
A chip whose function is to relieve the CPU and accelerate the system by performing certain functions for the CPU.

D

DAC
Stands for Digital to Analog Converter. This is a device your Monster Sound board uses to convert a stream of digital information to its analog equivalent. Use of this device is how a .WAV file (digital) gets converted to sound (analog).

daughterboard
A printed circuit board that adds functionality to another board or card. Usually mounted parallel to the card it supports. Monster Sound supports standard daughterboard wavetable synthesizers.

digital
Operating in discrete units or steps. A device that uses discrete units is a digital device.

digital mixing
Digital mixing is the ability to merge multiple digital streams into one or more streams. This ability is superior to analog mixing, because with each new input stream an analog mixer adds noise to the output stream. The Monster Sound board performs digital mixing!

DirectSound and DirectSound3D
Both are DirectX wave audio playback APIs that allow you to simultaneously play multiple wave files and move sound sources within a simulated 3D space (DirectSound3D). They take advantage of sound-accelerator hardware (like your Monster Sound board) to improve performance and minimize CPU usage.

DirectX
Microsoft's set of standardized application programming interfaces (APIs) for games and other multimedia applications, including DirectDraw, Direct3D, DirectSound, DirectInput, and others.

DOS Shell
A DOS shell is an emulation of DOS within a Windows 95/98 environment, which can be viewed as a DOS window (DOS Box) or full screen.

DSP
Stands for Digital Signal Processor. The Monster Sound's DSP chip (Analog Devices 2181) processes algorithms for various features, such as 3D positional sound and multiple data stream playback, instead of using the host processor (Intel, AMD, Cyrix, etc.), thus improving system speed and performance.

E

EISA
Stands for Extended Industry Standard Architecture. It is an extension of the 16-bit ISA bus standard, allowing devices to perform 32-bit data transfers.

F

firmware
This is software that is permanently stored in ROM and it can be accessed during boot time.

format conversion
Format conversion is used to convert all input stream types to match the output stream type. Some streams may need to be converted from 8-bit to 16-bit to match the DAC output type.

G

gameport
A jack for connecting an input device such as a joystick, gamepad, steering wheel, etc. The Monster Sound gameport supports these devices and doubles as a MIDI port for connection of keyboards, etc.

H

hang
When a computer stops operating, usually because something went wrong in the software. Same as bomb, crash, and lock up. Although these terms are used interchangeably, hang and lock up are used more often when the screen appears normal. Usually requires rebooting the computer.

hardware
Refers to the parts of a computer system that are physical objects.

Hertz
A measure of frequency in cycles per second.

HRTF
Stands for Head Related Transfer Function. This refers to all the possible angles through which sound is delivered. This provides the listener with realistic 3D audio, whereby the sound appears to approach from above, behind, beside, or far away.

I

IRQ
Stands for Interrupt Request Channel. This is the path through which a device can receive immediate attention of your computer's CPU. The PCI controller assigns an IRQ path for each of your PCI devices.

ISA
Stands for Industry Standard Architecture. This is a type of computer bus used in most PC's in the past, and has been used to support legacy sound card designs. It allows devices to send and receive data 16-bits at a time.

J

joystick
Named after a similar control device in airplanes. It is a pointing device used in computer games.

K

KHz
Stands for KiloHertz. This is a unit of frequency at 1000 cycles per second.

L

latency
The period of time it takes a piece of information to go from sender to receiver across a medium.

legacy card
An expansion card that utilizes jumpers for setting changes. Any card that uses older PC standards, i.e. ISA or older DOS applications.

legacy sound board
Any ISA Sound Blaster or Sound Blaster compatible sound card, generally used for older DOS applications.

M

main memory
The RAM that is in the CPU's address space.

MB
Stands for Megabyte, 1,048,576 bytes. Also known as a million bytes. A unit of memory and data storage size.

MIDI
Stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. MIDI files usually have the extension .mid. They contain sequencing information, which differentiates the how, what, when, where, and why an instrument should be played.

motherboard or mainboard
A large circuit board that holds RAM, ROM, the microprocessor, custom integrated circuits, and other components that enable a computer to function.

mixer
A device that receives inputs and merges them with a single output.

N

native DOS
This is a Disk Operating System that functions outside of the Windows environment.

O

PCI
Stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect. It is a local bus specification that allows the connection of a peripheral directly to the computer memory. It bypasses the slower ISA and EISA buses, allowing devices to send and receive data 32 bits at a time.

Q

RAM
Stands for Random Access Memory. This is the computer's primary working memory in which program instructions and data are stored, which are accessible to the CPU. Information can be written to and read from RAM. The contents of RAM are lost when the computer is turned off.

ROM
Stands for Read Only Memory. This is memory from which information can be read but not changed. The contents of ROM are not erased when the computer is turned off.

S

sampling rates
When the computer records sounds, it stores the information into a specific file. As the computer records, it deciphers the information, (i.e., it takes a sampling of the information). The higher the sampling rate, the more samples taken; resulting in a better quality of recording.

T

voice
Another term for a musical instrument note.

VRML
Stands for Virtual Reality Modeling Language. This is an open, extensible, industry-standard scene description for 3D scenes, or "worlds" on the Internet.

W

wavetable synthesis
In wavetable synthesis, actual sound recordings are taken from real musical instruments. The short recording samples are then retrieved over time to produce the necessary musical effects. This offers better sound quality with more realistic sounding instruments.

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