GameCube gets Pro Logic II
Surround sound for Cubers
A while ago we reported on the completion of the Dolby Pro Logic II system for PlayStation 2. Yesterday evening, we learned from IGN that Dolby Laboratories and Factor 5 have finally made it official - GameCube developers will be able to use Dolby Pro Logic II in their forthcoming software. Rogue Leader developer Factor 5 has been collaborating with Dolby Labs over the last few months, developing a new version of MusyX that includes Pro Logic II support. As Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht told IGN, "the developer just throws a switch and MusyX Pro Logic Output is changed to Pro Logic II and you have full cinema-like five channels of sound." Dolby Pro Logic II allows developers to use true 3D audio in their games, and "to the listener Pro Logic II is extremely similar to Dolby Digital." It actually enjoys a couple of advantages over its big brother. For example, Pro Logic II is downwardly compatible with Stereo and Pro Logic hardware, so you don't have to worry about whether your hi-fi is up to scratch. Equally important to the developer is immediacy, and there is no delay due to encoding with Pro Logic II, nor is the data compressed, whereas Dolby Digital applies heavy compression. Although, in its defence, DD's channel separation is superior, and boasts a specific bass channel, whereas Pro Logic II does not. Developers are promised a MusyX update "within the next few days", and "it should be a matter of minutes to get it going for everybody who is already using MusyX 3D API." Related Feature - Pro Logic II meets PS2