 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Designing Web Audio - For The Bookshelf Major Keary |
 |
I have not seen any other title that covers the field so comprehensively and
so thoroughly. The authors provide exceptional technical depth-such as in the chapter, The Science of
Sound and Digital Audio without the use of obtuse language. The section, digital audio
demystified, is true to label; in just three pages it arms the reader with the theory necessary for real
understanding, and it is easy reading. The content, writing, and design of this book are all of excellent
quality.
It "is an audio resource guide for Internet professionals, designers, and developers, as well as for
educators, musicians, producers, and audio enthusiasts". The authors also say, "Our goal . was to teach and
inspire the complete range of skills necessary to create a great Web soundtrack and compelling user
experience [and] to educate wen developers about the power of sound and about the techniques for producing
high-fidelity audio".
If you want to understand how digital audio is encoded from microphone to hard disk, how sound is processed
using compression and equalisation, and how to use loops and ambient soundscapes, this is where you will find
everything you need to know. The book is not a tutorial in the usual sense, but it does include clear,
practical explanations of how things are done. It spans recording techniques, digital effects, selecting the
right format, and optimising sound files for Internet broadcasting. Very good use is made of illustrations to
support the text.
Popular applications (RealAudio, Shockwave, Flash, MP3, MIDI, and Beatnik) are described, with
explanations of how they are used. There are real world case studies that further help users put sound to
work, as well as advice that will help in the best choice of equipment.
Web audio, as we see it presently used, is generally uninspiring. The authors take the view that audio will
become an integral part of the web; after all, "audio is such a compelling part of our lives . [and] . plays
a huge role in making media more real and lifelike . ". Incidentally, Josh Beggs has published an online
articles, Web Mastering: The Art of Optimising Sound Files for Napster and the Internet; it can be
found at
http://web.oreilly.com/news/webaudio_1200.html.
| Josh Beggs and Dylan Thede: Designing Web Audio ISBN 1-56592-353-7 Published by O'Reilly, 382 pp. RRP $85.00 incl. GST |
 |
Reprinted from the April 2001 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
