1. Sound In The Interactive Media
Applications and Use of Sound
Sound is being used in nearly every electronic product out at the mo-
ment; Toys, video games, music, television, appliances, cars, etc. But
they are not always there for just entertainment purposes. Houses
and cars are fitted with alarms which sound when there is forced en-
try. House appliances can alert if something is going wrong such as
smoke or electrical faults. I don’t know where we would be without
them. The greatest thing about sound within the Interactive Media is
there is no limit to where it could go.
Sound within Video Games has progressed incredibly over the years.
Its becoming as important as the gameplay or graphics for it to sound
good, and have a great soundtrack that people will also listen too
when out of game. Some games that do this are The Legend of Zel-
da, Assassins creed, The Elder Scrolls Franchise and World of Warcrft.
Without sound within video games it misses out on a lot, the feel for
the area, the sounds of fighting, or sounds that make the enviroment
come to life. You’ll notice as well the smaller things make all the differ-
ence.
Just like with Video games, Movies and television have no end to
where they can go. With Foley artists and software becoming bigger
and bigger anything can be created. Films such as the transformers
although already visually incredible, the machine sounds as the move
and transform is just out of this world, and that is all done because of
technology these days.
With smaller things such as home appliances and alarms also being
able to try its best to save lives with warning sounds and sounds to
make day to day life much easier it really changes the easability of not
just living but how much you have to do yourself.

2. Sound In The Interactive Media Sound In The Interactive Media
Theory of Sound
Analog vs Digital
Sound within the Interactive Media consists of hun-
dreds of products. Sound within Games, films, televi-
sion, websites, mobile phones, animation, video, audio
and software.
Analog Digital
Waveform: Sound is produced when something vibrates.
The vibrating body cause the medium (water, air, etc.)
Analog technology records Converts analog waveforms into
around it to vibrate. Vibrations in the air are called travel- waveforms as they are. set of numbers and records them.
ing longitudinal waves, which we can hear. The most com-
mon Waveform is called Sine which there is a video of on The numbers are converted into
the right. Can be used on different com- voltage stream for representation.
Pitch: This can also be known as the frequency (again, can puting platforms and under op-
be known as hertz (Hz)). Us humans can hear between 20
and 20,000 Hz (Or 20kHz). The lower the Hz the lower the erating systems such as Linux, Computing and electronics.
sound, and again the higher the Hz the higher the sound.
A single Hertz is one wave cycle from crest to crest. To the Unix, Mac OS and Windows.
right is an example of 12,000 Hz
Digital signals are discrete time
Decibel (Also known as Db): is what is used to measure
the power of the sound. On the right is the Decibal scales. Analog signal is a continuos signals generated by digital mod-
It is basically the higher the number the louder the sound,
and the lower the number the quieter the sound. signal which transmits informa- ulation
tion as a response to changes
in physical phenomenon. Uses discrete or discontinous val-
The Basics of Sound Recording ues to represent information
Signal to noise ratio: Is what is used to measure the level
of an audio signal but also the level of noise that it pro- Uses continuos range of values
duces in that same signal. Signal to noise are used because
the measurements describe what the is capable of and also to represent information It is much higher quality
the quality of the sound.
Most instruments and such actually include the Signal to
noise ratio so that the buyer can understand the level of It is not of the highest quality Less affected since noise response
background sound or how clear the noise will be.
are analog in nature
Analogue Distortion: This happens when the system can-
not handle the pattern being produced, it has to alter the More likely to be affected re-
signal so it can be processed
ducing accuracy Denoted by square waves
Denoted by sine waves

3. Sound In The Interactive Media
The basics of Sound Recording
Digital Distortion: This is the term used for anything added to the
digitized file by the computer, other than an error or digital clicks
not in the source, during digitization. These types of errors can
be difficult to trace and eliminate, depending on the complexity
of your system and the interaction between software and various
hardware components.
Digital Audio File Formats: These are used for different systems such as mobile
phones, computers, MP3 players, CD’s. But some systems or devices may use different
formats. The list below are ALL formats of audio used across the industry, but the im-
ages below that are the most comenly used formats.
3gp, act, AIFF, aac, ALAC, AMR, atrac, Au, awb, dct, dss, dvf, flac, gsm, iklax, IVS,
m4a, m4p, mmf, mp3, mpc, msv, mxp4, ogg, Opus, ra& rm, ram, raw, TTA, vox, wav,
wma.
Mono/Stereo Comparison
Stereo (or Stereophonic Sound) is better for such uses as movies,
television, music players and radio stations, whereas Mono (or Mono-
phonic Sound) is better for talking, such as radio talk shows, telephone
and mobile calls, hearing aids and public address system. Stereo is
alot more complicated to use then Mono because of its many uses. It
needs technical knowledge and skill to record. You’d need knowledge
of postioning of objects and such. Audio signals are recorded through
only one channel with Mono but two with Stereo giving it more depth
like in real life. Because of Stereo being all the more technical it ends
up being the more expensing for recording and reproduction, whereas
Mono is much cheaper.