Sound card
Internal expansion card that provides input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs.
- Sound card285 related topics
Direct memory access
Feature of computer systems and allows certain hardware subsystems to access main system memory independently of the central processing unit (CPU).
Many hardware systems use DMA, including disk drive controllers, graphics cards, network cards and sound cards.
Audio interface
Piece of computer hardware that allows the input and output of audio signals to and from a host computer or recording device.
Audio interfaces are closely related to computer sound cards, but whereas sound cards are optimised for audio playback an audio interface is primarily intended to provide low-latency analog-to-digital and digital format conversion for professional audio applications.
Digital-to-analog converter
System that converts a digital signal into an analog signal.
DACs are therefore found in CD players, digital music players, and PC sound cards.
Phone connector (audio)
Family of electrical connectors typically used for analog audio signals.
Personal computers, sometimes using a sound card plugged into the computer. Stereo 3.5 mm jacks are used for:
Surround sound
Technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener .
Some AV receivers, stereophonic systems, and computer sound cards contain integral digital signal processors or digital audio processors to simulate surround sound from a stereophonic source (see fake stereo).
Creative Technology
Singaporean multinational technology company headquartered in Jurong East, Singapore, with overseas offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, Dublin, and Silicon Valley .
The success of this audio interface led to the development of the standalone Sound Blaster sound card, introduced at the 1989 COMDEX show just as the multimedia PC market, fueled by Intel's 386 CPU and Microsoft Windows 3.0, took off.
Audio codec
Device or computer program capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream that encodes or decodes audio.
This is used in sound cards that support both audio in and out, for instance.
Audio mixing (recorded music)
Process of optimizing and combining multitrack recordings into a final mono, stereo or surround sound product.
For example, a DVD player or sound card may downmix a surround sound program to stereo for playback through two speakers.
Sound Blaster
Sound Blaster is a family of sound cards designed by Singaporean technology company Creative Technology (known in the US as Creative Labs).
Motherboard
Main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expandable systems.
As the name suggests, this board is often referred to as the "mother" of all components attached to it, which often include peripherals, interface cards, and daughterboards: sound cards, video cards, network cards, host bus adapters, TV tuner cards, IEEE 1394 cards; and a variety of other custom components.