User’s Guide ™ Ultimate Edge 5.
Philips Sound Solutions SOFTWARE END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT THIS SOFTWARE END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (THIS “AGREEMENT”) IS A LEGAL AND BINDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU (EITHER AN INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY) AND PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NORTH AMERICA CORPORATION, with OFFICES AT 1251 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020, USA ("PHILIPS"), REGARDING THE USE OF THE PHILIPS SOFTWARE (THE “SOFTWARE”) PROVIDED WITH THE PHILIPS ULTIMATE EDGE SOUND CARD (THE “PRODUCT”), WHICH INCLUDES USER DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED IN E
Philips Sound Solutions OF THE SOFTWARE TO ACHIEVE YOUR INTENDED RESULTS, AND FOR THE INSTALLATION OF, USE OF, AND RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE SOFTWARE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, PHILIPS AND ITS SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF RESULTS WITH RESPECT TO THE SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING MATERIALS.
Philips Sound Solutions Philips Ultimate Edge™ 5.1 Channel Soundcard © Copyright 2004 PSC724™ and Philips Ultimate Edge™ are trademarks of Philips Sound Solutions. Philips Sound Agent 2 HD™, Sound Agent 2 HD™, and PSA2 HD™ are trademarks of Philips Sound Solutions. QSound™, QEM™, QSound Environment Modeling, QSound Multi-Speaker Systems, QMSS™, QMSS™, Q3D™, QSurround™, QXpander™, QInteractive3D™, Audio Pix™, and the Q logo are trademarks of QSound Labs, Inc.
Philips Sound Solutions Table Of Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................... 1 1.1. KEY FEATURES ...........................................................................................................2 1.2. Minimum System Requirements ...................................................................................3 1.3. Audio Performance........................................................................................
Philips Sound Solutions 4. Uninstalling PSA2 HD........................................................................ 27 5. Technical Support And Warranty ..................................................... 28 5.1. Internet Address: .........................................................................................................28 5.2. Technical Support Information: ...................................................................................28 6. Appendix A ..........................
Philips Sound Solutions 1. Introduction Congratulations on your purchase of the Ultimate Edge Soundcard! The Ultimate Edge has been designed to transform your computer into a next generation Media PC. We are confident that you will experience the ultimate in PC audio performance and features. This document contains information that should help you with learning all the features of your new soundcard and the PSA2 HD graphical user interface.
Philips Sound Solutions 1.1.
Philips Sound Solutions 1.2. Minimum System Requirements Genuine Intel Pentium III 450 MHz or faster 64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended) One CD-ROM Drive 800 x 600 screen resolution (1024 x 768 recommended) 20 MB of available hard drive space PCI 2.2 compliant slot Windows 2000 or Windows XP Operating System NOTE: Each operating system has its own minimum requirements that should be observed. In addition, various games and DVD applications may require higher limits than listed above. 1.3.
Philips Sound Solutions 2. Installation of The New Sound Card Installing your Philips Ultimate Edge soundcard is easy. Please take a moment to read all the steps before proceeding with the installation. If you need more details, read through this user’s guide. Note: Computers come in different shapes and sizes. The installation procedure in this manual is general in nature and you should compare the illustrations shown here with your computer hardware before starting your soundcard installation. 2.1.
Philips Sound Solutions 2.2. Detailed Installation Guide Please have the PC and the old soundcard documents at hand. Refer to them for the removal or disabling the existing soundcard on your PC. 2.2.1. Before Installing the New Soundcard Before starting the installation of the new soundcard you will need to determine if your PC already has a soundcard, or an integrated sound device on the motherboard. Your PC can only have one active sound device.
Philips Sound Solutions If the sound system is integrated on the motherboard, usually, the connectors are similar to the add-on card, but they are not on a bracket. They might be stacked up in one or two rows. Figure 2 shows examples of on-board audio connectors. Figure 2 If your PC does not have any type of sound system, proceed to 2.2.5. Installing the new Soundcard section of this manual. If you know your PC has an add-on soundcard skip to 2.2.4.
Philips Sound Solutions Follow these steps to remove the old card. See Figure 3. • • • • • Remove the PC cover. Because every PC is different it is very important that you refer to the users manual that came with your PC on how to remove the cover. Unscrew the old soundcard and save the screw for the Ultimate Edge soundcard. Remove the analog audio cable (if connected) from the old soundcard, but do not disconnect the other end. This cable is usually connected to the CD ROM drive or DVD ROM drive.
Philips Sound Solutions The Ultimate Edge™ Soundcard Users Guide 8
Philips Sound Solutions 2.2.5. Installing the New Soundcard Follow these steps to install the Ultimate Edge soundcard. See Figure 4. • Remove the Ultimate Edge soundcard from the anti-static bag. • Align the soundcard with the selected PCI bus slot and firmly push it into the slot. Be sure the soundcard is aligned properly and fits snugly into the slot. • Connect the cable to the CD In/Video In or Aux In connector on top edge of the card (see Figure 5).
Philips Sound Solutions Aux In CD In/ Video In Figure 5 2.2.6. Speaker Connection You need to have a set of self-powered speakers. Self-powered means that the speakers have their own power supply that plugs into an AC outlet or use batteries. It is strongly recommended that you refer to the documentation that came with your speakers to determine the type and connection for your speakers. There are six jacks on the end bracket of the Ultimate Edge soundcard.
Philips Sound Solutions Line In Mic In Front Out Rear Out C/LFE Out S/PDIF Out Figure 6 After connecting the speakers, run the speaker test utility to ensure proper connection. Click on the setup tab in the Main control panel, and then click on the Test button. For more information refer to the Setup tab section of this document. 2.3. Software Installation Install the Philips Sound Agent 2 using the Installation CD (included).
Philips Sound Solutions 3. The Philips Sound Agent 2 HD The Philips Sound Agent 2 is a Graphical User Interface that provides all the unique and powerful features of the Ultimate Edge Soundcard. The PSA2 HD and the soundcard have the intelligence to detect the source and the type of your audio stream. Based on these factors, the system determines the nature of the audio processing and spatial algorithms that deliver the best quality sound possible. However, sound quality is personal and subjective.
Philips Sound Solutions When PSA2 HD is launched for the first time, it appears in the fully expanded form as shown in Figure 8. The panel contains three distinct sections; Compact Control Panel, Main Control Panel, and Visual Control Panel. Use the Resize button to reduce the expanded form to a compact form. The Compact Control Panel takes up very little space on the screen and it contains the top-level controls. However, to set or change some of the settings, you need to expand to the Main Control Panel.
Philips Sound Solutions 3.2. Compact Control Panel The Compact Control Panel contains the following controls: Mute Button Resize Button Close Button Figure 9 Master Volume Master Volume controls the overall output level of the sound system. This volume control is synchronized with the volume control on the system tray (the yellow speaker icon). Mute This button toggles the sound on or off to attached speakers or headphones. It mutes the sound but does not stop the player.
Philips Sound Solutions QSizzle Toggles the QSizzle effect. When on, enhances the mid/high frequency range of a digitally compressed audio stream. The button label illuminates when QSizzle is enabled. QRumble Toggles the QRumble effect. When on, it enhances the low frequency range of the audio stream. The button label illuminates when QRumble is enabled. Normalize Toggles Normalization (automatic volume leveling) on or off. The button label illuminates when Normalization is enabled.
Philips Sound Solutions 3.3. Main Control Panel The Main Control Panel is in the center of the expanded mode, and it provides access to advanced settings for most PSA2 HD controls, which are grouped in five separate tabs. See Figure 10. If only the Compact control panel is visible, you must expand it by clicking on the Resize button on the right hand corner, next to the Close icon. See Figure 9.
Philips Sound Solutions QRumble responds in real time to the varying nature of the input signal, automatically adjusting itself accordingly. This is very different from the Equalizer, which is a static frequency processor. The Equalizer does not monitor the input signal or perform self-adjustment. The label QRumble Active appears in illuminated text when QRumble is enabled, and QRumble Off when disabled.
Philips Sound Solutions 3.3.2. Equalizer Tab The Equalizer (EQ) controls the frequency response of the system by increasing or decreasing the frequency response of ten independent frequency bands. This Equalizer works very much the same as the equalizers in high quality sound systems. Each slider controls the relative level of a band (range) of frequencies. The number listed above each slider column is the center frequency of the band controlled by that slider.
Philips Sound Solutions 3.3.3. Setup Tab Located under the setup tab is a speaker configuration panel and other critical audio controls. This tab contains the controls to select and configure the speaker mode based on the type and number of speakers you have. The Ultimate Edge soundcard supports a wide range of speakers. From the list on the left side of the Setup tab, you can choose the desired output configuration.
Philips Sound Solutions Preamp Slider The Preamp Level control allows you to boost the input audio signal before it is processed by the PSA2 HD. It has a similar effect as the master volume, but should not be used instead of it. The Preamp can be particularly useful to boost low level DVD movie soundtracks. NOTE: Increasing the Preamp may cause audio distortion from saturation on some high level input signal.
Philips Sound Solutions 3.3.4. Mixer Tab Mixer controls allow you to select and control playback and recording input sources. 3.3.4.1. Playback source controls You can individually mute or un-mute as many playback sources as you wish. Volume sliders set the playback level for each source. Balance sliders adjust the relative left and right output levels for each stereo source. Balance sliders should normally be left in the center, which is the default position.
Philips Sound Solutions Figure 15 Before you start recording, you need to configure the recording source. Select a source by clicking the appropriate “Select” button. Each source has its own level and balance controls. To set each slider in its default position, right click on the sliders. See Figure 15. The default recording source is Input Mix, but you can select other sources by going to the Mixer tab and clicking on the Recording sub-tab. 3.3.4.3.
Philips Sound Solutions HI-SR(96KHz) Selecting the HI-SR (High Sample Rate) button will enable 96KHz sample rate for both input and output from the Ultimate Edge. When you enable HI-SR on the Ultimate Edge: - Input streams are sampled at 96kHz and processed by PSA2 HD at that rate. PSA2 HD output may then be converted to a lower rate if required by the recording program. - Output streams lower than 96kHz will be converted to 96kHz.
Philips Sound Solutions 3.3.5. Presets Tab The Preset functions enable you to make snapshots of the state of all Philips Sound Agent 2 controls, so that you can conveniently reload the same settings at any time. Figure 17 The Preset system enables you to save the state of PSA2 HD controls once you have made adjustments to customize your listening experience, so you can recall settings for any source and playback environment.
Philips Sound Solutions Deletes the selected preset permanently from the list. When you select one your presets and click on this button, a confirmation dialog box will appear and when you confirm by clicking the OK button, the preset will be removed from the list. This button will not delete any of the factory presets. 3.3.6. Info Tab This tab contains useful information regarding the product. It includes the software driver’s version number, manufacturer’s name, and web page addresses.
Philips Sound Solutions 3.4. Visualization Control Panel The Visualization Control Panel provides a graphical representation of the environments and effects that are created by Sound Agent 2. It also contains two drop-down menus and the Reverb Intensity Slider. The drop-down menu on the right contains fifteen different types of environmental effects to select from. To select a reverb environment, the Reverb button located on the Compact Control Panel must be enabled.
Philips Sound Solutions 4. Uninstalling PSA2 HD If for any reason it becomes necessary to uninstall the PSA2 HD drivers, you can choose one of two available methods. You may go to the system control panel and launch the “Add/Remove Programs” utility as shown in Figure 20. From the list of programs find PSA2 HD and click on it so it is highlighted. Click the “Change/Remove” button. Or, you may choose the uninstall program that comes with PSA2 HD program.
Philips Sound Solutions 5. Technical Support And Warranty Before calling the technical support number please make sure you have the following information available: • • • • • Model number and date of purchase. Computer type, processor speed, and available memory. Computer operating system (IE; Windows® 2000, or XP). On-screen error information. Other hardware connected to the soundcard. 5.1. Internet Address: Technical support and driver: http://www.philips.
Philips Sound Solutions 6. Appendix A Useful Tips For Speaker setup Following is some suggestions to help you set up your speakers for best results. 6.1. Ideal Listening Scenario (Speakers) The ideal way to experience proper imaging, whether stereo, surround, or 3D, is to begin by arranging each pair of speakers as symmetrically as possible. Front speakers should be at the same height, angle and distance relative to the listener.
Philips Sound Solutions 7. Appendix B Uninstalling the Old Drivers and the Soundcard Regardless of which one of the supported operating systems you have, the following general steps are used to remove the old drivers. It is recommended that you remove the drivers before you take the old soundcard out of your computer. • • • • • • Click on the “Start” button Click on the “Settings” and select “Control Panel” Double click on “Add/Remove Programs” Find the audio drivers on the list.
Philips Sound Solutions 8. Appendix C Disabling the Integrated Sound To disable the on-board audio you need to enter the system BIOS setup. Most computers only allow you to enter the setup right after power up and just before the operating system starts loading. A message may appear briefly to inform you that you can enter the setup. Typically, this message shows up at one of the corners of the screen and says something like “Press Del to enter setup”, or “Press F1 to enter setup”.
Philips Sound Solutions 9. Appendix D Troubleshooting This appendix covers some of the basic mistakes and pitfalls you might encounter. 9 No Sound is coming out 1. Check the speakers. a. Ensure the speakers are plugged into the back of the soundcard. b. Ensure the speaker power supply plugged into the AC power outlet, or if they use batteries, try new batteries. c. Ensure the speaker volume turned up. 2. Check the mute button on the compact panel to ensure it is deactivated, i.e.
Philips Sound Solutions Figure 21 9 CD Player Control in the mixer playback tab does not have any effect on the output when Playing Audio CD in the CD Drive Because the CD player sends the audio streams via the digital data lines, Windows treats this source like other digital audio sources such as MP3 files. Therefore, to control the volume and balance use the controls for “wave”.
Philips Sound Solutions 9 Listen to Analog Inputs is causing feedback when recording from Microphone The microphone is too close to the speaker or the Mic In recording level is too high. Please remove the microphone away from the speaker or lower the level of Mic In slider from the Mixer Tab->Recording in the Main Control Panel.
