Sound Blaster Live! Platinum from Creative

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Creative Technology Ltd.announced the availability of the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum audio card, a digital audio solution that provides the most demanding users with a strong set of applications for Internet audio, music applications and gaming. The new audio accelerator boasts the new Live! Drive, an innovative front-end console that provides easy and convenient connectivity to a wide array of analog and digital devices ranging from general consumer accessories to sophisticated hi-fi equipment for professionals.

The Sound Blaster Live! Platinum sound card is a feature-laden solution that offers unparalleled options for consumers and digital musicians looking for front panel connectivity. By integrating a front panel connection to virtually any audio source, the Live! Drive eliminates the need to connect consumer electronic devices and instruments directly to the back of the sound card. The Live! Drive features a coaxial SPDIF input, coaxial S/PDIF output, MIDI input, MIDI output, line or microphone (Mono) input, and a headphone output with volume control. Users looking for immersive entertainment experiences will value the music playback and movie sound capabilities enabled by AC-3 pass through support. Sound Blaster Live! Platinum also offers easy connectivity to Creative's DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT2500 Digital speaker system.

Designed for users seeking the ultimate desktop solution for digital audio creation and playback, Internet music and power gaming, Sound Blaster Live! Platinum offers a full feature set of the most innovative applications and utilities available today. Combining key elements of both the Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer and MP3+ solutions, the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum gives users unprecedented control over content creation and enhancement through options such as customized "pre-sets," software to organize and edit a variety of sound files and CD 'ripping' software.

"We set out to create a new benchmark in computer audio, and that's what we have delivered with the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum solution," said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and chief executive officer of Creative. "From enhancing MP3 files with Environmental Audio to giving musicians unequaled flexibility with our Live! Drive , we have set a new standard for digital desktop music and sound creation with the Platinum."

Another element featured in the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum solution is Creative's LAVA! (Live Audio Visual Animation) interactive music technology. LAVA! allows users to create and playback a visual montage that animates music files with synchronized 3D images. Recently debuted at Woodstock 99, the LAVA! player generates images in real-time that respond to different frequencies in the music, creating an "instant 3D music video."

Gamers will enjoy the effects of Environmental Audio with its high-quality reverb and its improved 3D positioning and support for effects like occlusion and obstruction. For a head-start on the action, three hot new games are bundled with the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum solution: "Descent 3," "Need for Speed 4: High Stakes" and "Thief: The Dark Project."

Key Features of the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum

• Live! Drive: This easy access drive bay connector allows users a convenient way to access and control virtually any audio source including MIDI, DAT players, instruments, headphones and home speaker systems. The Live! Drive features digital input, digital output, line input (microphone input), MIDI input, and MIDI output.
• EMU10K1 Digital signal processor: Processes every audio signal at full 32-bit resolution providing for the highest level of clarity and accurate 3D positional audio. The digital output connector enables a fully digital connection to Creative's FourPointSurroundFPS2000 Digital speaker system.
• Creative Digital Audio Center Software: Allows users to encode, decode and archive MP3 files, as well as to convert an unlimited number of CD tracks from personal CD collections and catalog them according to preference.
• Integrated software package: A complete solution for music, digital audio creation, playback, and power gaming including features such as editing and organizing files. Also included in the software package is Creative MediaRing Talk 99, which allows person-to-person chatting over the Internet.
• Environmental Audio support: An industry standard in audio, Environmental Audio adds real-time effects for maximum customization and extended game re-play value. Supports accurate 3D positional audio so sound actually "moves" from speaker to speaker, and "pre-sets" that duplicate real-life settings. The Sound Blaster Live! Platinum also includes presets for legacy titles to support Environmental Audio. Environmental Audio enables users to encode and playback MP3 and other audio files with extensive effects such as "concert hall" or "tunnel" and more. Using pre-sets, users can instantly add or access desired effects on the fly for a customized listening experience.
• Games Bundle: Three full-version Environmental Audio game titles including "Descent 3," "Need for Speed 4: High Stakes," and "Thief: The Dark Project." LAVA!: With LAVA!, users can incorporate visual animations into their audio files, creating "instant music videos" for sharing with friends or promoting songs and bands.
• Live!Ware Support: Creative's on-line resource keeps hardware current through upgrades -- new features, formats and functionality for authoring, playback and game play. (Please see accompanying press release on "Live!Ware 3.0 Injects Turbo Power into Sound Blaster Live Lineup") Pricing and Availability

The Sound Blaster Live! Platinum is now available through Creative's extensive network of distributors and resellers in the U.S. at an estimated street price of US$199.99.