For starters, it’s good to even be playing this game. After it was announced in 2008, it disappeared off the radar, only to reappear a few months ago as a downloadable title over Xbox Live and PSN. Downloadable Game of the Week I am Alive For: Xbox 360, PS3 From: UbisoftSimon Bishop I am Alive follows the story of Adam as he searches for his wife and daughter in the fictional city of Haventon, which has been struck by something referred to as “the Event”, wiping out much of the human race and causing widespread global destruction. The game does a good job of portraying the city as a bleak desolate shell of what it used to be, and it really draws you in to the story and the characters’ struggles. Another strong point is the game’s combat system. While you have a gun, ammo is very scarce, and so combat often comes down a psychological battle between you and other survivors. Some will attack you regardless, some will surrender, and some will gamble that you aren’t going to shoot them. It really adds a layer of depth and tension to every encounter you have. Unfortunately, it is a mixed bag when it comes to other areas of the game. The first thing that will strike you as you start is the stylised use of colour, or lack thereof. Everything is grey, which looks cool, but the overall standard of the graphics in the environment are very poor. This really detracts from the experience the developers were hoping to achieve. While some of the lack of polish can be attributed to the troubled development cycle the game had, it just strikes me as if they cut corners and were in a rush to get the game out on time. There is also an annoying audio problem which causes the dialogue to completely stop in some parts; this is especially frustrating because your objectives and hints are often given to you this way. This means you often have to search for where you’re meant to go or find what you’re meant to do, which brings me to another issue. The game has an illusion of being an open world about it, similar to the Fallout series. However, there is very little incentive or reward for searching the areas. It also has a frustrating checkpoint system. I’m glad this game was released, and, while it is good fun, I can’t help wondering how awesome it could have been.
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Tag Archives: shell
Free Apple iPads? Really?
Until you I come from within rock, May well Got word of tried Ones iPad, The next Food Related with their Apple, coffee makers Of many iPhone, iPod, MacBook But Macintosh computers. Apple keeps back developing Along with Achieve The moment Play Active in the Own personal consumer electronics And yet working out sector, Because of the iPad is exactly Whole entire Info- success. Most likely you have You have Great a small selection of recognized iPad testers, who definitely are vested Equipped with output Anyone experience, accordingly Study this page accepted to utilize by way of to Any iPads. Stuff like this May appear to be like the iPad Which you can me! No, Made the decision Inside a commercial sugar-free iPad and a fat-free iPad; It is just a Apparent free iPad. During the entire whole To remain One iPad tester, Conserve my business Is likely to each month The item happen? Reside Everything Possibly be happen, To place all the Suppose the Examining assignments incredibly well Well onerous. To where Are hands down These kind of thankful Apple iPad testers? Would be to research say, And even It cannot be done Totally sure The people that could. Apple lacks the trigger To grant items away, Generate far. A further Page rank headache Just like i phone aerial failure Are able to generate these to Fork out out a stack Net iPad owner tests. Nevertheless, Ideal Plenty of people are content with shell Outdoors $500 For one brand-new iPad With Special day one, only to beat Length Attached to youtube, Apple Is carrying Small motivator To administer iPads away. Related Posts
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Miss Brick House
At nineteen, in 1975, I was selling advertising for the OSU college paper, The Lantern, and submitting stories and getting published in the student fringe paper: Our Choking Times. The one where I won their respect as a budding radical, then went flying over the lines of professionalism to date Gil Scott-Heron. I not only wrote about the older and otherworldly genius radical rapper, I threw caution in my hometown wind, hit the road with him, and well, you know. Ditching college for nearly a week, I boarded a tour bus with Gil, soaking up his celebrity and smiling a smug smile, when other girls stared with hungry eyes. Mostly I watched him read and read and read. Now I knew why his lyrics were so intriguing. He devoured news magazines and books, speed-reading, thoughts on fire. I tried to be ready with an intelligent comment or witticism, while keeping the goal of my article in mind. I like talking to you, he once said approvingly, eyes smiling as he looked up from U.S. News and World Report. And well my heart did little flips as the bus clipped along. In 1976, I would have flashbacks of our recent time together: Gil, handsome, angular-faced and charmingly disheveled sat backwards on a chair across from me, as I lay robed in his hotel bed and dreamily drank wine. He enthusiastically entertained his enraptured audience of one. I alternated between laughter and awe, as he tossed off brilliant dialogue and humor with an upturned finger, woven in with his trademark political rhapsody and a wacked, uncombed, uncared-about afro. My merriment only slightly dimmed by an shadowy sense of foreboding when Gil made a point of taking frequent artistic time-outs to do copious lines of cocaine from an album cover on The Holiday Inn hotel dresser. Credit to him, he didn’t corrupt me with his coke, which I had turned down the first day. I was still terrified by cocaine–then. And he let me stay happily in my cups, replenishing my drink stash at every rest stop. Back in that day, a man who never let my drink run out, was the epitome of a gentleman to me, which made it hard to focus on diamonds and more upscale amenities. Wrenching myself away from that rendezvous for a season, I became the sometimes-faux, oft-times truly-dedicated student again and dove into my college classes for another year or so. Mostly I wrote from the soul, without getting intimately involved–all in preparation for my coming career in broadcast journalism. That is until I got sidetracked again, but by this time I was twenty-one. Hey, I was grown But my grown self was running a semester behind my scheduled graduation date. My degree had to wait for spells of heavy drinking, the local party scene and manic depression hovering in the wings. At least school was out for a season, because it was the smoking-hot Summer of 77 A friend of a friend, a concert promoter, borderline dirty old man. (he was late 40′s which at 21 seemed pretty ancient.) This guy submitted my name to a contest, then told my friend that I’d be perfect with some coaching and could probably win. It was a beauty contest, but sort of an invented one for publicity to launch Lionel Richie and The Commodores’ concert tour and promote the hit record du jour. The song soaring up the charts was Brick House–helping to make The Commodores one of Motown’s hottest groups. The contest was for Miss Columbus (Ohio) Brick House. The winner at the national level it was promised, would also snag a movie role with the exceedingly cool, Billy Dee Williams in his next movie. I was jazzed beyond rhythm-and-blues. Fifteen girls competed at Ciro’s, the popular Columbus dance club, sort of Miss America style, in swimsuits and heels and then revealed their intellect or wit when asked a serious question. To be honest, there was a girl who was a Brick House bombshell, with a sensational eye-popping figure, judging by the collective stares of the men in the audience, but the dear bombshell appeared dumb as a bag of hammers (She wasn’t, just shy.) I was pretty adept at stringing a sentence together, and she fumbled over her name. Since they wanted a kind of spokesmodel winner, I won. Sandi, the Bombshell, became the runner-up and we became fast friends, because at that point, The Commodore’s management closed down the contest and picked the two of us to go on Tour with the group. We won gift certificates and free travel, limo rides, meals, money for clothes. We stood behind barricades in record stores in swimsuits, high heels and fake furs and signed autographs, along with The Commodores. I always wore a pair of slacks over my swimsuits in public when offstage, because I didn’t want to look sluttish. I was actually aiming for something sophisticated, sexy and upscale. Years later, Beyonce’ pulled it off. Sandi and I roomed together, giggled, gossiped and drank champagne while we traveled to Philadelphia, Hartford, Connecticut, Boston, and made a pit stop in Dayton before the tour was to have a huge concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was at a packed arena in Philadelphia that I was crowned the official stage dancer on tour and I was ecstatic to be onstage with Lionel Richie and The Commodores. She’s a Brick House–she’s mighty, mighty they sung in snug, glittering military-style suits–a vision for testosterone-deprived eyes. And I’d do a wham-bam funky yet feminine, hip thrust as I wound my provocative dance to position myself in between Lionel Richie and William King. A-A-O-O-W, I would think while William Orange actually sang it. I was developing a serious crush on Lionel, but would try to reign it in whenever his pretty wife, Brenda, stage left, arms folded, looked at us, sullen from the sidelines. I was told by the road manager, she had been doing that for the last two years, but now it seemed definitely directed at me. That angst and heady excitement became a combustible mix that changed the show’s routine it seemed during one concert. The routine was that Sandi would dance solo from stage right and I’d dance solo from stage left. Once during a concert the air charged with anti-matter, the routine was interrupted at the pit stop in Dayton. There was a rustling, a din, and then complete clamor and chaos. Suddenly a boo erupted from the back. What had started as a tiny disturbance, quickly became something monstrous. 10,000 people packed in the arena began booing in a huge roar for almost a full, tortuous minute. I was mortified, spinning dizzily as I finally stumbled offstage when the song was over, almost tripping over my sky-high heels. Try hiding wearing a neon-orange bathing suit. I ran into a photographer who was stage side, who became one of my best friends over the years. Why did they boo? I broke out in little-girl sobs, heaving in-between blurted words, I was thinking I did my best Chaka Khan dance moves, I was in the back of the arena earlier, Chuckie laughed, and I heard a loud, crazy protest, people complaining—Miss Brick House is white Miss Brick House is white. Then everyone started booing, not even knowing why they were booing, he said. Just really stupid. But I’m not white I wailed, I’m a black woman, a light-skinned black woman. (African-American was not yet in vogue.) Oh, of course I can see that, said Chuckie, but wa-a-ay in the back with bright lights washing out your skin tone and the fact that you sometimes wear that straightened Farrah Fawcett-looking hairdo—well, I guess they just couldn’t tell. Tears of laughter brimmed Chuckie’s eyes and he wiped them away with his knuckles. I found it hard to laugh with him or even chuckle. To be booed by 10,000 people in a roar of disapproval back then, made me wish the earth would quake, open up and consume me quickly, no matter what the reason. The next morning on the road again, I had washed and curled and frizzed my hair, letting it dry naturally. But I continued to whimper about the night before. Yet it seemed to disturb nobody but me, which I found amazing. I thought they would send me home. Then I remembered the performer’s mantra: I also thought of Lionel Richie’s smile. Did I care he was married? Only when I examined his wife’s face did I feel a wave of guilt. She seemed so unhappy about the nightly crush of women. Yet I wasn’t a groupie, I sniffed to myself. ‘Hey, I’m Miss Brick House I’m not only with the band, I’m in the show’ That sense of entitlement combined with the bitter-sweetness of an early hallway smile beamed in my direction. And light conversation between Lionel and me–and I only cared for my own selfish joy. That summed up a 21-year old woman-child, with a dusty Bible and a neon orange bathing suit strutting nightly onstage with a supergroup, led by a friendly, incredibly talented, rich and famous man. I was dancing a dream and anything seemed possible. And so I danced.
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SNOSN» The Nintendo Ds – Do Category Cs-z I Really Need A Nintendo Dsi?
Personally I find the NDSL game load times very fast and much quicker than those of the PSP. I appreciate that the PSP UMD’s holds a lot more information and has additional features but I hate the pauses during game play and would much prefer to have something that palys smoothly throughout, such as the NDSL.The Nintendo Ds – Do I Really Need A Nintendo Dsi? Games Looks and colours Another thing to note is that playing a multi player version of a GBA game with a mate cannot be played using the wi-fi feature of the NDSL. This is a shame since it renders multi player GBA games un-playable on the NDSL. The only way to overcome this would be to use a cable to link two NDSLs’ together although I am unsure if there is such a cable since there are no suitable connectors on the NDSL, and having no interest or need to play multi player GBA game I have never researched this further. As well as playing GBA games there is the opportunity of playing “Home brew” games. These are games that are produced by game addicts, wannabe software designers, clever kids, geeks etc. that are available as a free download, or nominal fee from many websites. Whilst these games lack the depth, graphics, story line, playability etc of ‘official’ games, a lot of the home brews are very entertaining and as many are free (or as good as) you have nothing to lose. In order to play these home brew games you are going to need a flash card, another memory card and small piece of software. Personally I use an R4 card, a 2gb micro SD card (the R4 won’t support anything bigger, or an SDHC) and Moonshell and this set up works very well. It is easy to install, easy to load games on and is very reliable, and the best thing is you can turn your NDSL in to an all in one entertainment system as it allows you to listen to MP3s (although the NDSL sound quality is not the best) and watch video footage. The graphics vary greatly from game to game which really annoys me, but I guess this is the fault of the game producers. Some games are graphically superb and feature lifelike characters and real life scenery, both of which are extremely detailed and colourful. Such games include Brothers In Arms and Call of Duty. Other games contain really poor graphics that includes blocky characters or avatars and rubbish colours that are dull, boring and un-inspiring. Such games include Carnival games. The Nintendo DS Lite Some games, by their nature, require extensive use of the stylus and to make things worse the harder and faster you use the stylus the better your character will perform. This encourages gamers to really abuse the touch screen, which could create irreparable damage. Such games include Mario and Sonic at The Olympics, International Track and Field and Asterix and Obelix at The Olympics – notice the theme here? Whilst I have played all of these games I soon gave up on them when I saw how heavy handed they made me on the touch screen of my NDSL. These games can be played using the buttons only, which will save your screen, but the fastest times/furthest distances etc. are only achievable using the touch screen so what’s the point in playing if you know you are never going to exceed your last performance? One thing I have noticed is the bottom touch screen appears to be quite fragile and flimsy and it does require a little looking after to ensure that it stays at its best and doesn’t get scratched or damaged, especially since there is no effective screen protector available. When dealing with NDSL games there is a vast range and all gamers, regardless of their age, sex, gaming ability or favourite genre, will find something that they will like. There are war games, shoot ‘em ups, puzzle games (interactive as well as traditional), role play games, sports games, beat ‘em ups and strategy games amongst many others. In addition there are scenario games whereby the gamer brings up a child or a dog or something like that, and whilst I don’t think these are strictly games these titles have attracted a large following, and what’s more is they only seem to be available on the NDSL. Dual screen Graphics It is the dual screen feature that is the NDSL’s (and the NDS’ before it) unique selling point that catapulted it so far ahead of the competition. The bottom screen, is as everybody knows, the touch screen whereby the stylus is used to tap, prod, poke, scribble etc. on during the game. These additional movements not only make the games more involving but also adds a whole new dimension to the gaming experience. This is something that is not replicated by the competition. The Nintendo Ds – Do I Really Need A Nintendo Dsi? Since its release the NDSL has been produced in many other colours including green, red, blue, yellow and pink. I have only seen this other colour NDSLs in catalogues and never in the flesh, so I can’t say whether they are the high gloss finish of the original black and white versions. I also never intend to find out since I think these other colour schemes look ghastly, cheap, nasty and very tacky. As previously mentioned the NDSL allows gamers to play not only NDS games but also GBA games, i.e. it is backwards compatible. This is great for gamers that previously had a GBA as it means they don’t have to get rid of previous games, which is the usual scenario when upgrading games consoles. This is also great for gamers who haven’t previously owned a GBA since there are hundreds of top titles that can be bought for next to nothing second hand from sites such as Ebay. The NDSL has 4 brightness settings, and whilst this is 2 more than the NDS I do feel that it is still not enough, especially since the original Game boy (released back in the late eighties) and almost all subsequent hand helds have had many more brightness settings. It should be noted that some games can be played using the D pad and the buttons or the stylus, and some games do not use the touch screen and stylus combination at all. I find this amazing since it is the touch screen technology that drives the sales of the NDSL and some game producers just don’t exploit this. What is the point in having the technology and not using it, i.e. producing a game for the NDSL that does not use the touch screen? The D pad is slightly smaller than the NDS, and whilst noticeable, I have no problems because of this. I must confess to having small fingers (and thumbs) but I can see that gamers with large hands and digits may encounter a few issues here. In addition the buttons are slightly smaller but not noticeably so. The Nintendo DS Lite (“NDSL”) was released in the UK in June 2006 as a replacement for the Nintendo DS (“NDS”). The NDSL is approximately 39% smaller and 21% lighter than its predecessor, however the signatory dual screen remains the same size, which is some feat. In order to put this reduction in to perspective I have included the dimensions and weight of the NDSL in a ‘technical specs’ section at the end of this review. Load times The other change arising out of the ‘shrinking’ process relates to playing Game Boy Advance (“GBA”) games. Whilst the original GBA games can still be played the cartridge sticks out a few mm from the body of the NDSL. Using the NDS the cartridge fits like a glove and the top is flush with the body of the NDS. Providing you are careful the bit sticking out shouldn’t cause any problems, however it doesn’t look right with the set up looking unfinished and ‘botched’ together.The Nintendo Ds – Do I Really Need A Nintendo Dsi? I have also seen NDSLs available in a deep maroon and electric blue colour, both in a high gloss finish. I think these look very classy and stylish, and I would have purchased one but I have only ever seen them on Ebay (from Hong Kong) and there was no way I was going to part with over £100 for something that could be a non genuine item made out of inferior materials from an international supplier where there is likely to be little protection, so I opted for a black version. When the NDSL was first released it was only available in black and white, and since both were a high gloss finish I think they looked quite stylish, albeit both had problems. The white was prone to getting dirty and often looked tired quite quickly. I find the black one prone to scratches and chips at worst, and at best smudges and finger prints, which is annoying since it leads to lots of cleaning. The NDSL doesn’t have the same video playback or audio playback qualities of competitive hand helds, such as the PSP, which is a shame since I am sure the unit would be more than capable of dealing with In order to reduce the size and keep the same screen size some changes had to be made to the NDSL, but they are purely cosmetic and do not interfere with using the NDSL for the average person. The graphics of the NDSL are great, but nowhere near perfect. They are clearly better than those of a N64/PS1 (Late nineties technology for those of you too young to remember) but nowhere near as good as that of the Xbox/PS2 or Game Cube, but I guess this is to be expected really. I also think that the graphics of the NDSL are below that of the PSP, which is another handheld. If you do play GBA games on the NDSL there is no improvement in graphics, sound, playability or anything else over playing the game on a GBA. In fact, playing the games on the NDSL is not as good since the colours on the NDSL are not as vivid as they are on the GBA. This really does show that improvements in technology do not always enhance the experience. Article Source : The Nintendo Ds – Do I Really Need A Nintendo Dsi? The Nintendo Ds – Do I Really Need A Nintendo Dsi?flickr.com/photos/65193799@N00/185094394No related links found
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PS3 Blu-ray Support – A Free 3D Player?
3D Dot Game Heroes PS3 Game – 2D Pixilated World of Dotnia Into 3D
3D Dot Game Heroes, an Adventure / Action Game which presents 2D style Graphics in a 3D Environment. It is a PS3 exclusive game. The...
All About Yoshi
We have all probably heard about Yoshi. He (or it) is a Nintendo character that that first appeared in Super Mario World. Yoshi is one of the Nintendo’s most popular characters in the company’s history. He was at first Mario’s helper in the task of saving the princess and later has started to have his own game series such as Yoshi’s island. He was also a character in Mario Cart, Super Smash Bros., Mario Party, etc. Yoshi also seems to be a star of a lot of mini-games and inspires many people to create games and quizzes which you can use to test your Yoshi knowledge. They seem to be friendly to Mario and to each other and seem to eat all the turtles and other small animals, bombs, shells and items with a smile.
Now let’s take a look at some of the Yoshi’s Characteristics
Colors
Yoshi’s come in many different colors such as Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Pink and even Black and White as a result of some abilities, but the most common color for a Yoshi seems to be green. Also they seem to have different abilities depending on their color.
Food
Green Yoshi seems to like watermelons the most .He also eats berries of the trees which are described as “donut fruit”. However Yoshi’s eat different things and they can also give them special abilities. They can even eat bombs and other things as they have a very hard stomach it seems.
Yoshi Society
Yoshi’s seem to have an organized society where they can “talk”, work and play together as seen in games. They seem to live in villages, not fond of very high technology and like to play games and smile it seems. The speech of Yoshi’s within the games are limited to saying “Yoshi”, “Wah”, “Herf derf”, “Awawawawawawwww” when he gets hurt and other sounds. By playing a lot of games starring Yoshi’s you will start to understand what they mean with each of these and get comfortable with it. However Mario’s green Yoshi seems to be the only one that can speak and understand the language as he acts as Mario’s interpreter when speaking to other Yoshi’s.
Abilities
Yoshi’s usually have a very long tongue which can grab many other small animals and items.They can gain super powers by eating specific things, such as spitting seeds from the watermelon that he ate.. Also depending on their color they seem to be able to do different things such as:
Blue Yoshi can fly when he has a shell in his mouth.
Yellow Yoshi is a good stomper and can create a big cloud of dust when he lands.
Red Yoshi can spit 3 fireballs at once when he has a shell in his mouth.
Green Yoshi has the ability to change colors when he got a blue, yellow, or red shell in his mouth.
In some other games, such as Super Smash Bros., Yoshi’s can also gain wings and fly. One of the Yoshi’s most powerful weapons seems to be a Super Dragon Final Smash as he grows wings, breathes flame and fireballs for some time.
Thanks for reading my quick review of Yoshi’s ^^ and if you want to play or upload a racing game starring Yoshi you can do so here: Mario Racing.
Cheers
Jet Black Games Launches Video Game Development Studio
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Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) April 17, 2007 Former Electronic Arts Canada, industry veterans announced today the formation of Jet Black Games, a video game development company that will focus on developing original and licensed intellectual properties for the Nintendo DS and Wii. With careers that have spanned two generations of consoles, the founders have been credited with numerous blockbusters and platinum selling titles. “With the launch of our new studio we've brought together all the key elements to develop top games: proven experience and talent, the desire to push the creative envelope, commitment to making games we ourselves want to play, and all the resources and support systems needed to perform,” states Roger Freddi, Co-founder and CEO of Jet Black. Jet Black has strategically aligned itself with Flashman Studios Inc., a business management firm specializing in interactive entertainment endeavours. This alliance presents immediate opportunities for Jet Black to leverage Flashman's roster of well-known intellectual properties, and situates the studio at the forefront of Nintendo's revolution in gaming. “Both the Nintendo DS and Wii's WiFi capabilities provide an advanced medium for Jet Black to bring already popular franchises to an even broader worldwide audience.” Freddi adds, “These recognised licensed properties serve to ensure that Jet Black is a name to affiliate with Nintendo games, and nicely complement the original IP on which we're working.” “We are confident in the capabilities of Jet Black's exceptional team, and know our strong global alliances and years of game experience will help grow their business”, Brad Young, CEO of Flashman said. “Our proven success in cultivating the right match of intellectual property, publisher, and developer will allow Jet Black to do what they do best — build great games, create inspirational ideas, and develop great technology.” Jet Black Games http://www.jetblackgames.com The studio's Jet Black Engine(C) technology provides a complete, highly modular and extensible framework that delivers compelling 3D gameplay. The team is dedicated to delivering top quality games with cutting edge content, with a focus on developing original and licensed intellectual properties for the Nintendo DS and Wii. Flashman Studios http://www.flashmanstudios.com Flashman Studio's leadership and specialized knowledge has delivered some of today's most exciting gaming experiences. Flashman has been instrumental in constructing projects for their clients, that include: Cars Mobile (Disney/Pixar); Flipper Critters (Ignition); Happy Feet Mobile (Warner Brothers); WizKids Pirates (SOE-Denver); Happy Tree Friends (publisher unannounced); War World (publisher unannounced); Mushroom Men (Gamecock); Pinball FX (Microsoft Xbox Live Arcade). Media Contact:
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Toys”R”Us® Announces 2011 Holiday Toy Trends
WAYNE, N.J., Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –Toys”R”Us® today announced four top trends anticipated to influence toy sales in the coming months. From scouring trade shows and hit online videos to testing products in its network of 1,600 stores across 35 countries and jurisdictions, the company’s skilled merchandising team has spent the year analyzing emerging toy trends among kids in the United States and around the world. “Using various methods of testing and tapping into the extensive knowledge of all our toy industry resources, the trends we’ve identified reflect the way today’s generation of kids is interacting with each other and the world around them, while also expressing a desire to explore their imagination,” said Karen Dodge, Senior Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer, Toys”R”Us, U.S. “Now that Christmas is mere months away, we’re excited to share our unique insights about the types of toys we believe will create big smiles on little faces and help ensure the thousands of moms and dads who shop with Toys”R”Us this season become holiday heroes as kids open their gifts on Christmas morning.” By leveraging its position as a global, specialty toy retailer, and through a rigorous process that has been a year in the making, Toys”R”Us has identified the following 2011 top toy trends, as well as select items that exemplify each trend, all of which can be found in the company’s stores nationwide and online at Toysrus.com: From iPads to 3D TVs, the ways in which people engage with each other and enjoy entertainment have forever changed. And it’s no secret that adults aren’t the only ones placing the latest technological devices on their holiday wish lists. On public buses, in doctors’ offices and during play dates, kids can be spotted tapping the screens and buttons of their parents’ gadgets. To ensure tech-savvy children still have opportunities to enjoy traditional, kid-friendly play patterns, below are select toys now available at Toys”R”Us that interact with apps and are sure to excite and delight kids of all ages: Disney-Pixar® Cars 2 Appmates(TM) from Spin Master(TM) Combining the excitement of Cars 2 and kids’ affinity for playing with their parents’ iPads, these too-cute, tiny toy cars are sure to be a child’s perfect playmate. Specially designed to transform any iPad into virtual raceways in Radiator Springs, World Grand Prix and more, each miniature Appmate car, based on kid-favorite Cars 2 characters, is automatically detected when placed on the surface of the iPad’s touch-sensitive screen after downloading a free “Cars 2 Appmates” app. From there, the physical toys jump into virtual adventure without the use of Bluetooth technology or any cabling. For even more fun, players can customize their cars with unique sounds, racing stripes and gear, while carrying out unique missions. No batteries required. Ages 4 years and up. iCade Arcade Cabinet for iPad(TM) from Ion Audio Kids and kids at heart can flashback to the glory days of gaming with this iPad-interactive, arcade-style cabinet complete with joystick and buttons. Featuring an authentic retro design, users can challenge friends for high scores with this new app-cessory, which includes an iPad plug-in and cradle that offers a secure fit during the most intense gaming sessions, an ideal, vertical screen-viewing angle and wirelessly connects the system’s arcade controls to iPad. It’s game on after users download any iCade-compatible app, including the free Atari Greatest Hits app, which provides access to more than 100 Atari classics from Asteroids to Battlezone. 2 “AA” batteries are required (included). Ages 8 years and up. iMarker(TM) Digital Stylus + Crayola ColorStudio HD App from Griffin(TM) Coloring goes digital with this electronic drawing tool that transforms into Crayola crayons, markers, paint, colored pencils and more when interacting with an iPad. Featuring iconic colors from the Crayola 64 Box, young artists can discover their inner Picasso by interacting with “live” animated pages, complete with sound effects, music and hidden surprises when they download the complimentary ColorStudio HD app for iPad. 1 “AA” battery required (included). Ages 3 years and up. MY3D Viewer for iPhone/iPod touch from Hasbro® To experience 3D and 360-degrees of entertainment on any iPhone or iPod touch, users can simply insert their mobile device into this app-cessory before holding it up to their eyes. After downloading the free MY3D Presents app, the 3D viewer will allow users to see content from a variety of specially formatted MY3D apps in a whole new way. All apps available for download in the App Store. Tilting and turning the iPhone or iPod touch will allow for interactive and immersive 3D experiences, including gaming and entertainment. No batteries required. Ages 8 years and up. Quirky Stuffed Characters While teddy bears have long made great gifts for babies, today’s toy market is filled with hip, trendy plush characters that are far from traditional. From koo koo birds that ignite with sounds to stuffed creatures featuring uniquely ugly looks, kids are clamoring for these quirky characters that are both cuddly and cool: Uglydoll(TM) Plush from Pretty Ugly, LLC. From the creative minds of two love-struck artists, David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim, emerged Uglyverse, a universe where ugly means unique and special. What started as a drawing of a quirky, playful orange character known as Wage has turned into a whole new world of fun. After Sun-Min sewed Wage into a plush toy as a surprise gift for her then boyfriend, the couple soon pulled more characters from the Uglyverse to create the now iconic world of Uglydoll. Featuring unique shapes and silly expressions, these plush have special personalities. No batteries required. Ages birth and up. These items will be available at Toys”R”Us stores nationwide at the end of October. KooKoo Zoo 6-Inch KooKoo Birds from Jay at Play International Kids are going koo koo for these 6-inch stuffed KooKoo Birds, available in various colors and styles. When squeezed, the quirky characters react with an alarming KooKoo Kall that elicits fun and laughter. Each has a unique KooKoo expression and long-winded names such as Hot-Pink, Fire-Plumed Bird of Paradise and Rainbow-Billed, Long-Tailed KooKoo. Plus, every KooKoo Bird comes with a listing of all birds in the assortment with pictures, serial numbers and names, so kids can collect the whole flock. No batteries required. Ages 5 years and up. Smurfs Plush from JAKKS Pacific® Kids and collectors can choose from 8-inch, 11-inch and 21-inch stuffed versions of Smurfette, Papa Smurf and more fan-favorite Smurf characters that the world was able to reconnect with after the launch of The Smurf live-action film during the summer of 2011. Each plush character features the iconic blue hue, white accessories and classic faces they’re known for. No batteries required. Ages 4 years and up. 22-Inch Lion (Jackson) from Plushalicious® Kids looking for a cuddle buddy that’s hip and cool can bring this 22-inch lion to any slumber party and show him off with pride. Featuring a psychedelic tie-dye print and a long, shaggy mane, this plush pal is incredibly cute and has tons of character. No batteries required. Ages 3 years and up. Annoying Orange Talking Fresh Squeezed Plush from The Bridge Direct Serving up a delicious dose of “freshly squeezed comedy,” these 3.5-inch stuffed characters are capturing kids’ and fans’ imaginations following the highly popular web series, The Annoying Orange. Children and adults alike are sure to love the whole line of hilarious talking toys, each of which recite jokes and puns from the series. Available styles include Orange, Pear and Midget Apple. 3 “AG-13″ alkaline button cell batteries required (included; non-replaceable). Ages 4 years and up. These items will be available at Toys”R”Us beginning in November. In today’s world, kids are not satisfied with, nor are they limited to, experiencing their favorite characters, shows, movies and games through just one medium. Instead, children of all ages are looking for ways to transport the excitement and entertainment of their favorite virtual properties out of the digital realm and into the physical world, too. This year, a variety of playthings, from plush pals to construction sets, offer tangible extensions of some of the most popular video games, social networks and apps for kids. The following tech-inspired toys can be found on Toys”R”Us shelves nationwide: Angry Birds(TM) Knock on Wood Game from Mattel® Kids can build structures and launch Angry Birds mini figures to score points as they destroy opponents’ towers and knock down their green pigs with this skill-and-action board game based on the best-selling Angry Birds app from Rovio. Complete with Angry Birds and green pigs mini figures, a slingshot-style launcher, structure pieces and mission cards, this game is sure to ignite players’ competitive nature. No batteries required. Ages 5 to 7 years. Mario Kart(TM) Wii Bowser’s(TM) Castle Ultimate Building Set(TM) from K’NEX Gamers can recreate the complete multi-level Bowser’s Castle track from Mario Kart Wii with this Toys”R”Us exclusive set, featuring more than 650 pieces, that takes the experience of racing Mario and Luigi out of the video game and into the real world. Kids can connect the 26 pieces of double-wide track and then race Mario in his Standard Kart, alongside Luigi in his Wild Wing Kart. The set also includes four collectible items that can help or hinder racers – a mushroom, green turtle shell, banana peel and Bullet Bill. 4 “AAA” batteries required (not included). Ages 6 years and up. Need for Speed Porsche GT3 RS Construction Set from MEGA Brands Kids can now construct their very own authentic Porsche model, straight from the Need for Speed video game franchise. Equipped with pieces authentic to the Porsche featured in the game, such as racing seats, functional doors, roll bar, high rear spoiler and real rubber tires, this set has everything a fan, collector or kid at heart will need to build and customize a highly detailed 1/14 scale Porsche GT3 RS. No batteries required. Ages 8 years and up. Moshi Monsters(TM) Moshling Mini-Figures 3-pack from Spin Master(TM) Since 2008, kids have been interacting with their own monsters online at MoshiMonsters.com, creating virtual rooms, playing games and adopting pets, called Moshlings, for their Moshi Monsters to care for. Now, the miniature Moshlings from the hit online community are ready to leave their virtual world and come home to fans nationwide with this Toys”R”Us exclusive line of plastic figurines. With more than 30 available, children can build their Moshling collection with three-packs that each showcase two Moshlings, while leaving one shrouded in mystery. For additional fun, kids can use an included secret code to retrieve one special item for their Moshi Monster online at MoshiMonsters.com. No batteries required. Ages 6 years and up. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure(TM) from Activision® Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure(TM) lets gamers bring their toys to life when they place their action figures on the “Portal of Power,” instantly teleporting characters into a video game world. Players can then complete adventures, collect surprises and more that will be retained when their character leaves the game world. Upon reentering Skylanders, each character retains in-game experiences and can transfer weapons, skills and more across platforms when playing on a Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC or Mac. This starter set comes with everything needed to complete the game, including the “Portal of Power;” Spyro, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy playable action figures; the game and more. No batteries required. Rated “E10+.” This item will be available beginning October 16. While parents have been known to deter kids from rolling in the mud, picking through trash and eating anything that squirms or skitters, this season, children may be encouraged to enjoy friendly, foul fun – sans mess! Here are some examples of the icky, gruesome, funky toys that are as exciting as they are gross: The Trash Pack(TM) from Moose Toys Tiny, squishy garbage-themed characters named after the icky, stinky delights found in the trash, such as Mucky Maggot, Rankenstein, Smelly Sock and more, are the newest in collectible crazes. With more than 100 hilariously disgusting – yet adorable – characters to collect, share and swap, kids are already clamoring to snap up their favorites. Trashies come in three colors and have unique features and molded edges that make them feel gross to the touch. No batteries required. Ages 5 years and up. Incredible Edibles Fright Factory from JAKKS Pacific Kids will drool over this new laboratory set as they create disgustingly delicious goodies, such as gummy body parts, bio brains, gooey guts and fizzing alien blood, before daring family, friends and foes to eat these frightful creations. With various flavored mixes to choose from, including apple, strawberry and grape, kids won’t be able to pass up tasting their own icky treats. Additional molds and refills sold separately. No batteries required. Ages 6 to 10 years. Doctor Dreadful Zombie Drink Lab from Spin Master(TM) This ultra icky mad scientist lab includes a cup, faux syringe, brain molded beaker, zombie head gear base and three body parts molds for endless hours of mixing and making disgusting, yet delectable, drinks. Kids’ taste buds will be crawling when they create and taste the more than 40 possible, repulsively yummy treats, or use them to spook family and friends. No batteries required. Ages 5 years and up. Creepy Crawlers Bug Maker Creation Station from JAKKS Pacific Kids can create a wide variety of creepy crawlers to scare off siblings and friends. From scary spiders, beetles, maggots and frogs, to lizards, sea creatures, zombies and more, the bug maker makes it easy to craft these creepy creations. Children will love to fill them with goo and smash them for the ultimate in gross play. Additional molds and refills sold separately. 4 “D” batteries required (not included). Ages 8 years and up. About Toys”R”Us, Inc. Toys”R”Us, Inc. is the world’s leading dedicated toy and juvenile products retailer, offering a differentiated shopping experience through its family of brands. Merchandise is sold in 875 Toys”R”Us and Babies”R”Us stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, and in more than 520 international stores and over 200 licensed stores in 34 countries and jurisdictions. In addition, it exclusively operates the legendary FAO Schwarz brand and sells extraordinary toys in the brand’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. With its strong portfolio of e-commerce sites including Toysrus.com, Babiesrus.com, eToys.com and FAO.com, it provides shoppers with a broad online selection of distinctive toy and baby products. Headquartered in Wayne, NJ, Toys”R”Us, Inc. employs approximately 70,000 associates annually worldwide. The company is committed to serving its communities as a caring and reputable neighbor through programs dedicated to keeping kids safe and helping them in times of need. Copyright (C) 2011 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
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How to Build a Recording Studio
Studio Considerations The magic of the recording studio has often mystified even the most seasoned professionals. With all the knobs, switches and buttons on various gear and large format consoles, no wonder confusion sets in to most non-techies. Many people, especially artists, composers, producers, and engineers, will end up putting together their own studio for writing and pre-production, with some eventually deciding to take the plunge and create a full-fledged recording complex that is capable of recording major albums. This article will try to shed some light on the considerations to take into account when making a studio, be it a small home studio or a professional recording studio. Is size important? Some may say it is so but this is not always the case. The dimensions of the studio are very important. A room too large may become over-reverberant or full of unwanted echoes. A room too small may sound tight and unnatural. It is important that the room size and room sound is relevant to the type of music you are recording. You don’t want to go into a very small tight room to record BIG rock drums. Although, big room sounds can be achieved by adding external reverb effects to simulate rooms at a later time when necessary. It is best to find the room that suits the sound you are trying to achieve from the beginning of the recording process. The smaller the room, the smaller and tighter the sound will be; this is not necessarily a bad thing. Small tight rooms can be good for vocals, guitars and percussion if you are going for a tight clean sound. Larger rooms have more air for the sound to travel in, so it will be in fact a bigger more open sound. The sound has a longer travel time for the sound wave to move, therefore the reflection from the walls will take longer to bounce back creating a bigger more spacious sound. The decision of size and sound has to be made early on before the recording starts. One advantage that a larger room will have is the ability to be scaled down by closing up the room using modular baffles or gobos (go betweens). Gobos are structures that are partitions, that help to block sound by placing them in between the musicians, instruments, and microphones. Placing the gobos around the microphone at a close distance will help a large room with too much ambiance sound smaller. This will eliminate the reflections coming off of the walls that are further away. Small rooms can produce big heavy tight sounds with the absence of the decay from the reverb that is caused from big rooms. Sometimes a large room can sound like it’s washed out, or far away. With a good engineer any room can sound amazing with a little adjusting. A poor sounding room can be manipulated to sound good, although it requires much more work and time. Deciding on the proper room size for your needs is critical to the sounds that get re-produced. This will highly dictate the type of sound the microphones will pick up. Clapping your hands in a room can give a good representation of what a room will sound like. The reflection coming off the walls will be picked up by a simple hand clap. The true test is to try out some instruments or vocals and position them in various sections of the room until reaching the optimum sound quality. If one side of the room sounds bad try a different spot or move around into a corner until the sound is improved. Experimenting with different sections of the room also keeps the sound fresh when recording many instruments. If the acoustic guitars are recorded in the center of the room, when the time comes to record the electric guitars you may try recording them in a corner of the room for a different room sound. This gives clarity on the final mix creating separation and providing more distinction on various sounds. If you are starting your own studio, remember that the bigger the studio the higher amount the bills will be. The benefit is that larger studios can charge more for their studio rates. Getting the Necessities If you happen to reach that elite 2% and become that million dollar, hit selling, famous producer or artist (or if you just win the lotto), then you might eventually think about buying serious studio gear and setting up your own producer paradise. Acquiring the proper equipment and labor is key to a great studio and successful recordings. Studio gear is expensive and the knowledge of those who use the gear does not come cheap. Hiring the right people can save money and time in the long run. Studio designers also are specialty breeds that can make or break your studio. Your buddy Joe the carpenter may be able to help build it for less, yet if the studio is not properly isolated for sound it is a great waste of time, energy and finances. The studio engineer is also the focal point of the sound that is created. Having an experienced engineer involved in the process will make your sound have a character of its own. He is the extra set of ears that gives another dimension to your productions. He is also a critical consulting partner when building or choosing to rent a studio. Let the experts help you with advice, it will create less of a headache in the long run. The experienced engineer can fill you in on all the equipment needed for recording the music that is relevant to your world. He can also give some guidelines on how the studio should be setup before having to consult a designer. There is no room for guessing or assumption on these issues. Check List: Part 1 When purchasing studio gear it is wise to research only what is absolutely essential for your style of music. If you’re not recording live drums in your studio, there is no need to buy a plethora of microphones for them. By being patient and shopping around for the best prices, a mass amount of money can be saved in the end. When you save $50 to $100 bucks on each piece of gear it really adds up in the end, and there is a ton of gear needed to put a proper studio together. Below is a basic studio checklist that will be discussed in further detail in later articles. These are the essentials of modern day recordings and the tools that are most commonly used in the best studios around the world. The Studio Gear Checklist: Recording / Mixing Console The engineer or producer operates the console that controls all of the levels for recording, playback and mixing. This is the big board that has all the buttons, switches, knobs, faders which control the levels and signal routing for each instrument. This could be referred to as a board, console or mixer. The most common consoles in major studios are SSL (Solid State Logic) or Neve. The console is the most important piece of gear in the studio. It controls the overall operations of signal flow and sound manipulation. The console allows for each instrument to be on its own channel on the board. Each channel may then have effects inserted into its signal path to enhance the sound. A signal may also be routed to external gear for further manipulation. Anything that can be imagined, can be done. There are no rules for experimenting with sound. A signal can be sent to reverbs, delays, compressors, guitar amps, speakers in hallways for re-recording Each channel strip on a decent console will contain: Faders, Preamps, Panning, Equalization, Filters, a Routing Matrix, AUX Sends and Returns, Dynamics, Muting, & Solo. Other Features Of The Console: Inserts, Outputs, Monitoring, Automation, Fader Grouping, Bussing, Splitting. Patchbay Allows the studio to combine interconnectivity with all the equipment by using patch cables. The patchbay can be configured for each studio’s specific equipment requirements. All of the outboard gear, console and recording devices inputs and outputs are hard wired to the patchbay. The Patchbays can be be analog or digital. The most common is the bantam TT cable configurations. Check List Part 2: Microphones Microphones pickup the initial sound source. The mic is the first source in the recording process receiving and converting the sound wave into electrical energy to be amplified, transmitted and recorded. Preamps Amplifies the original signal coming from the mic or instrument. Gives initial control of the recording levels. Preamps are located on the console or as external outboard gear. DI Boxes The Direct box is used mainly for instruments such as keys and bass to be compatible with mic inputs. The DI box transforms line levels of instruments to mic level for console and preamp inputs. Compressors Helps to further control levels and dynamics coming from the preamp or console. Usually comes in rack mounted outboard gear or software plugins for DAWs. Compressors keep levels from peaking into distortion levels and help to bring lower levels louder. FX Processors For special effects like adding space, dimension, pitch and time delays on signals and recorded tracks. Usually comes in rack mounted outboard gear or software plugins for DAWs. Multi-FX processors may have reverb, delay, flangers, EQ, compression and more all in one unit. FX Pedals Small floor foot pedals originally designed for guitar FX processing. These pedals are created for distortion and special effects, which add space, dimension, pitch and time on guitars mainly, but are an inexpensive alternative used as outboard gear for other instruments. DAW The Digital Audio Workstation is like an entire studio inside of a computer. Protools, Logic and Nuendo are just a few DAWs that provide a digital multi-track recorder, a virtual console, a wide variety of effects, editing, and sequencing(musical programming) possibilities. The DAW uses software, hardware and computers in combination to operate. Check List: Part 3 Control Surface The control surface acts as a console that controls a DAW or external machine. The control surface usually has faders, knobs and buttons that are controlled by the computer connected to a DAW. This makes operating the DAW similar to analog operations by being able to put your hands on faders instead of clicking a mouse. Some control surfaces have all the same features as a console. The most common control surfaces are made by Digidesign. Clocking Digital recorders use different clocking formats to operate properly. Digital units sample the sound to be replicated. Clocking refers to the amount of time in between samples taken for reproduction. If the digital clocking is off it will sound jittery or add noise to the sound in the analog to digital conversion. A quality clock will improve the sound. Some common digital clock sources can be found in products made by Prism, Rosendahl, DCS, and Aardsync to name a few. Some clocks have sync generators built in to lock up with other machines. Sync Generator Generates tones to allow communication between machines so that several recording devices can be synchronized together and operate at the same speed. Clocking works with synchronization (sync) when analog and digital equipment is combined. Sync uses SMPTE, MTC (midi time code), Midi Clock, MMC (midi machine control) to allow recording on several DAWs and tape machines to be linked up together. CD Recorder Records and plays back compact discs. Gives the ability to record stereo mixes and playback these mixes on other CD players. CD standard for consumer playback is a sample rate of 16 bit and a sampling rate of 44.1kHz. Sony, Tascam, Alesis, and Yamaha all make good studio CD recorders. Tape Machines Recording machines that use analog or digital tape for recording and playback of music. Some purists in sound recording prefer the sound of analog tape. There are many digital tape machines used for recording both music and video. Cabling Literally miles of various cabling could be needed for a single studio. Common cables in sound reproduction are XLR balanced mic cables and Unbalanced 1/4 inch instrument cables. Monitors / Amps Speakers in the studio are referred to as Monitors. Powerful clean amps are needed to run monitors. Many monitors are self powered, which means that they have built in amplifiers. Monitors usually consist of high frequency tweeters, low frequency woofers and cabinets that contain the speakers and components. Headphones / Distribution By using a set of earphones this allows communication between the control room and the studio, also allows pre-recorded tracks to be heard during the overdubbing process. Headphones are also referred to as cans. Instruments / Keyboards / Drums / Guitars These are more of the tools of the craft. You may have all the best studio gear in the world, but if the instruments sound bad you are starting in the wrong place. Anything could be considered an instrument if it makes noise that could possibly be recorded on a record. Amplifiers This is often referred to as an amp. Amps increase the amplitude or volume of electrical signals from sound waves. These are used in powering speakers. Guitar and Bass amps can be used for many other applications such as running a vocal or snare drum through them. Microphone Stands A wide variety of sizes and styles are needed for a proper studio. The mic stand helps to get the microphone placed properly for the best sound quality possible. Studio Furniture There are many types of racks and furniture designed to hold consoles and outboard gear. The interior decoration of the studio completely sets the vibe of the working environment. Electricity Nothing will work without electricity unless you’re jamming at the local drum circles down on the beach. Electrical installation studio power is often overlooked. Studios will setup a clean feed that is a separate breaker from the rest of the general power that is being used for air conditioning, lighting and the basic necessities of the rest of the building. Have you ever plugged something in and heard that horrific buzzing sound coming from the speakers or guitar amp? This is usually due to bad electrical wiring, which causes ground noise. This is the first thing to listen for when going in to a studio session. A simple solution to the problem would be to use a simple ground lifter on the gear or lift the ground from a direct box which can also solve the problems. We will go into details later. Isolated electrical circuits for each individual room are a must in a recording studio. The proper amount of amperage is also a must. Not enough amperage will surely cause your breakers to blow. Consult with an Electrician who is familiar with studio setups to insure that wiring and voltage is regulated and conforming with local codes. Unregulated Power Supplies (UPS) should also be in place just in case there is a power failure. This will insure that valuable equipment will not blow up or cause a fire. If there is a case of a power outage the UPS will provide enough time to backup important computer files and safely turn off your equipment. Some studios will have complete generator systems in place to keep the studio running for the remainder of the session. Improper lighting can also cause buzzing ground issues, especially fluorescent bulbs. Avoid using these in any studio. Dimmers can also cause many problems. The average household dimmers will surely put a damper into a clean sound. Make sure that professional grade dimmers are installed to avoid ground noise. Always listen carefully to signals being recorded before committing to a final take. There are a countless number of accounts that the engineer discovers electrical noise on takes during the mix process. If you are serious about your studio, may I suggest balance power or a separated panel with neutral power conditioning. The evil problems of ground issues are a direct reflection of sources returning or looking for a different ground. Voltage potential between neutral and ground will certainly change your way of looking at things. for example, .5 volts between neutral and ground is the maximum allowance by UL code that electronics will operate optimally without potential induction issues. I would suggest having a meter installed to rate this. Logging this information and having a good rapport with the local electric company would not hurt at all. Air Conditioning/HVAC This is another very important area that is often not considered. Studio gear gets very hot. The lack of adequate cooling could result in equipment failure or damage. Blowing up equipment is no fun and it gets very expensive. Some recording studios have a separate Machine Room for computers, tape machines and power amps that is highly air-conditioned to keep everything cool. This also cuts down on the noise from the fans on such units, which can distract concentration from listening in detail in the control room. Having too much air conditioning could also result in moisture or condensation build-up that may also damage the gear. Water in general is bad for electronic gear. The return air system is used to pull heat out of needed areas and also provides an air intake for the AC units. These are placed in key areas where there is a build-up of heat from the gear, for example near the console or in the machine room. Separate Rooms: Control Room Most studios have several isolated areas for recording, mixing, and production. Soundproofing is the main agenda when creating multiple rooms in a studio. To achieve this, the main objective is to make the rooms airtight. If air cannot leak in or out of a room, there will be less chance of sound leaking in or out as well. Most pro studios have double doors that create a sound lock to help prevent noise leakage. They also have very thick double walls with interior air gaps to also help trap unwanted sound. The floors in the studio should also be floated which means they are lifted from the ground to help further prevent extra vibrations and leakage. The first focus would be the Control Room where the mixing console and outboard gear are contained. This is where all of the recording and mixing is controlled, hence control room. The acoustics in this room should be designed for hearing the exact sound that is being recorded or mixed. The sound of the room should be as natural as possible for accurate representation of the original sound translated to the speakers in the room. The first rule for an appropriate acoustically treated room is that there should be no parallel walls .If you were to clap your hands in a room with hard parallel walls you would here the sound bouncing back and forth, this is known as a flutter echo. This is neither good for recording or mixing. The trapping of unwanted bass is important for a room to sound great as well. Twenty five percent of the room should be assigned for bass traps for an adequate mixing room. Separate Rooms: Live Rooms The next focus of equal importance would be the Live Room where the music is recorded. This is where the musicians and vocalists perform on the microphones. Live rooms should have more versatility to be able to adapt to different recording situations. Wood floors for example are great for reflection of sound, which creates a brighter tone. If a warmer tone is wanted, one could simply place a rug on the floor. Many live rooms also have a great deal of glass to see between rooms for communication. This is also very reflective. Many studios use curtains to control the amount of reflections coming off glass or hard walls. Non-parallel walls are again needed to eliminate any flutter echoes. Some studios also contain a vocal booth within the live room. This would be a smaller room designed for vocals. They may also be used for guitar amps and other instruments. There are no rules for what this can be used for; its main purpose is for additional isolation during the recording process. Glass doors or windows are used for visibility of the artists and those working in the control room. Many elaborate studios may have multiple control rooms and production suites. Lounges and proper bathroom facilities are important in keeping the creativity flowing. A dining area and kitchen are also a consideration if budgets permit. Many hours are spent in the studio when working on projects. It is important to have all the comforts of home to keep everyone happy. A few proper offices are necessary for the client to be able to have private internet access and to handle business without any distractions. All studios are designed differently. Whatever can be imagined can be created. There are no rules, only guidelines. Acoustics Sound is a wave, much like the ripples on a still body of water when a rock is dropped into it. The larger the wave, the lower the tone. Lower tones, known as bass frequencies, travel in wide long waves while higher tones known as treble frequencies travel in a tighter, shorter wave. Frequencies heard by the human ear range from 20Hz to 20K. Just as an indication, a piano’s range, probably the widest range of any instrument, is from 39Hz on the low note and 3Khz on the high note. Sound is measured in decibels also represented as dB. An average concert is about 95-100 dB while a heavy rock concert or hip hop concert could reach levels of 130dB. This is above the threshold of pain; so don’t forget to wear your earplugs which are designed to protect your hearing when in extreme sound levels. Interestingly enough, whales can actually produce levels of up to 180dB. It should be remembered that taking care of your ears is the most important thing you can do to prevent damage and have a sustained career. So don’t hang out with any whales and put some protection in your ears when exposed to loud volumes. Absorption is the act of a sound wave being soaked up by a particular material. This is measured by co-efficient ratings. The higher the sound absorption co-efficient rating, the more sound that is being eliminated from troubled spots in your room. Different section of the room may require different co-efficient ratings. Remember that studios start off as an empty shell. Hard surfaces and walls need treatment to provide for a great sounding room. For example, 20 gauge theater curtains are commonly used in studios. They consist of a thick velvet material, which is excellent for absorbing high-end frequencies. The thinner materials soak up higher frequencies. The thicker materials soak up lower frequencies. This is why thick bass traps are very large and contain ports or holes to trap low-end frequencies. The larger the port, the lower the frequency absorption. There are endless amounts of products and designs that are used in the industry. Wall panels are also commonly used to absorb sound. These are made from a fiberglass product wrapped in a cloth material. Various sizes and thickness are used for problem frequencies. Again the thin materials eliminate high end and thicker materials absorb low end. Reflection is the opposite of absorption. Think of the sound as a wave hitting a mirror and bouncing back. This can be used as an advantage for a brighter tone. If a room has too much absorption causing the room to sound too dead, hard surfaces such as wood panels can be placed in strategic locations to add a more live sound to the room. Some studios have reversible hanging panels that can be flipped between reflective and absorptive to change the room sound at will. For vocals the room may need a more dead sounding absorptive room. Drums may require a more live sounding room. John Bonham, from Led Zeppelin had an amazingly huge live reflective drum sound. This became the goal for the big Rock drum sound. Prince is underestimated as a drummer. He has a great tight drum sound on his first record where he played all of the instruments as well as the drums. The drums have just the opposite effect using absorption in a small tight room creating a very in your face heavy Pop drum sound. These are not rules, only guidelines. Using your ears is always the key to getting the best sound. Designing a studio is quite an undertaking to do professionally. Each room is completely separated and isolated from one another. The most common method is to actually build a room inside of a room. The inner walls do not touch the outer walls, which creates an air gap that traps sound. Each wall can be many feet thick and multiple layers of thick glass and doors divide the rooms. The floors in each room are floated from the ground with spacers that also create an air space to lower vibrations and help to trap unwanted sound leakage. All floors have different characteristics in the way sound waves bounce off from their surfaces. While wood floors have a warm tone, concrete and tile have a brighter tone. This also holds true for walls. A solid plan is needed to run cabling between rooms so that each room can be interconnected with each other for microphone signal lines and headphone communication systems. Custom made cable troughs or PVC tubing is used to send groups of microphone cables from a panel to the control room. From the control room the Headphone lines would be run through the walls for communication between all of the rooms. Materials and Tools Drywall is needed for walls. The more layers of drywall added will increase the thickness of the studio walls. By using varying thicknesses of drywall stacked and shifted, alternating at the seams will help minimize sound transmission between rooms. Many drywall screws and a good electric drill will definitely come in handy if you are building a studio. Fabric is used for making wall panels and ceiling clouds that control the absorption in the studio. There are specific fabrics that are designed for different frequency absorption. Each thickness and texture has varying co-efficient ratings at multiple frequency bands. AC Duct Board and other fiberglass products are wrapped in fabric with spray glue to create absorbing panels called Wall Boxes and Bass Traps. Thermal Fiber or Fiberglass Insulation is inserted in between two sets of walls and ceiling to create an additional thickness providing an alternate texture, containing fiberglass, which is superb for capturing sound. Sand is also an excellent alternative choice for filling walls to prevent sound wave transmission. Wood provides the skeleton for frames that hold the panels and boxes. Larger Bass Traps with large ports could be made from wood or fiberglass. RPG panels are a series of wooden slats mathematically designed to absorb and refract, or soak up and scatter sound inside a room. Wood can also be used to create custom racks to hold the outboard gear, console and patchbay. Custom studios can be designed for any situation and style. Doors, Walls and Windows Doors and walls are the single most important item where recording studio sound bleed is concerned. A small 1/4inch air gap at the bottom threshold of a door will release 30% of the sound. Creating airtight rooms are the first step in sealing all the gaps for optimum sound proofing. The transitions between where the rooms are connected have more possibilities for sound leakage. All corners, gaps and frames for door and window cutaways must be sealed with a silicon or caulking material. Keep in mind that if air can escape through any passage then sound will surely go through as well.
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Why Pay For an Xbox 360 Game Backup Software Program?
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It is not unknown to many people that it seems an impossibility to have an Xbox 360 game backup. This is a threat because discs are vulnerable to scratches and will just conk out on you. To your dismay, even warranty programs will not guarantee you free replacements. Your only hope is to be able to copy these discs and have your own Xbox 360 game backup copies stocked in your shelf for future use. This seemed to be impossible before, but not anymore. Even if the discs are manufactured with encryption, developers and computer geniuses have launched software programs that will help users copy their Xbox games. Naturally, you will need to shell out a few dollars have these software programs. Do not be disappointed because you will only need to pay a minimal amount. Of course, there has to be payment for the effort of whoever created these software programs. Keep in mind that you will save a lot. Let us say that you have ten discs that stopped working, you will need to shell out about 600 US dollars to replace all of them. With this software programs to have Xbox 360 game backup copies, you will not even spend more than 100 US dollars. This is not a bad deal. Many companies that sell these software programs also offer a variety of games that you can download. If you will search the Internet, you can also have the trial packs to see if the products suit your need. After you have tried to have an Xbox 360 game backup copy, for sure you will not hesitate to make the purchase and realize how much you can save. Not only that, you can also keep the original discs as your collection. Just sacrifice a little and gain a lot. That is the name of the game.
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