Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!van-bc!ubc-cs!fornax!laughlin
From: laughlin@fornax.UUCP (Bob Laughlin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Amiga DSP Boards.
Keywords: DSP
Message-ID: <1653@fornax.UUCP>
Date: 24 Nov 90 03:56:00 GMT
References: <944.27477729@weyr.FIDONET.ORG> <1990Nov20.161034.25281@sisd.kodak.com>
Reply-To: laughlin@phoenix.UUCP (Bob Laughlin)
Organization: School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University
Lines: 31

In article <1990Nov20.161034.25281@sisd.kodak.com> jeh@sisd.kodak.com (Ed Hanway) writes:
>DSPs won't catch on until someone develops an application for them.
>A DSP+ADC+DAC combination, with the proper software, should have many,
>many applications in music, and would probably sell Amigas just like the
>MIDI port sold Atari STs.  The problem is that at this point, I don't know
>of any software being delivered with DSPs, either for the Amiga or any
>other platform, other than "developer's toolkits."

   The "developer's toolkit" available for the NeXT is quite sophisticated.
For example an Orchestra object coordinates all DSP operations at a high
level of abstraction, handling such things as SynthPatch objects that
implement synthesis algorithms, which in turn utilize UnitGenerator classes
that do simple things like behaving as oscillators. I'm kind of surprised
the NeXT MusicKit has'nt caught on---although it has at places like 
CCRMA at Stanford, Princeton Music dept, MIT Media Lab etc.  The price of
a NeXT is a bit much for the average working musician; a void filled nicely
by the Atari.

   I think the Amiga 2000/3000 would be an excellent computer for a DSP
board.  Believe me these things will take off. There are several DSP
boards in the works for the Atari and several available now for Macs
and PC's.  I've seen one ad for an Amiga board called AudioLink from
Beta Unlimited in Brooklyn. At least I thought it was a DSP board.
The brochure they sent me only mentions 16 bit sampling and playback,
MIDI, sample editing, and up to 16megs om the board.  Has anybody
seen or used one of these?  There was also somebody on the net about
6-12 months ago soliciting feedback on a DSP board in the works.
Anybody know what happened to the project?

-- 
 Bob Laughlin  laughlin@cs.sfu.ca