Difference between revisions of "Speech Thing"
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{{Template: Infobox Hardware | {{Template: Infobox Hardware | ||
| Title = Covox Speech Thing | | Title = Covox Speech Thing | ||
| − | | Image = | + | | Image = Covox Speech Thing.jpg |
| Developer = Covox, Inc. | | Developer = Covox, Inc. | ||
| Released = 1986/??/?? | | Released = 1986/??/?? | ||
Revision as of 18:05, 8 May 2012
| Covox Speech Thing | |
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| Developer: | Covox, Inc. |
| Released: | 1986/??/?? |
| Type: | [[:Category:{{{Type}}}|{{{Type}}}]] |
The Covox Speech Thing is an external audio device that attaches to a computer and provides digital sound output. It connects through a parallel port and produces 8-bit mono sound through a DAC that uses a resistor ladder and an analogue signal output. It is not capable of synthesizing music through FM synthesis, but it can play music and sound effects through digital audio. However, digital audio takes up a lot of space, so few games made use of this feature at the time.
The circuit was marketed around 1986 by Covox, Inc. of Eugene, Oregon, at a price of around 70$. It remained in popular use well into the 1990s until the price of competing sound cards began to drop and overtook the market.
Later sound cards like Sound Blaster were superior in that they could synthesize music as well as play back digital audio, and they used DMA to offset the necessary processing power needed for audio playback.
DOSBox has the ability to emulate a Covox Speech Thing through software.
Voice Master
| Voice Master | |
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| Developer: | Covox, Inc. |
| Released: | 19??/??/?? |
| Type: | [[:Category:{{{Type}}}|{{{Type}}}]] |
The Voice Master is a re-branding of the Speech Thing that included different software, but essentially the same hardware.
Disney Sound Source
| Disney Sound Source | |
| 200px | |
| Developer: | Disney |
| Released: | 19??/??/?? |
| Type: | [[:Category:{{{Type}}}|{{{Type}}}]] |
The Disney Sound Source is essentially a Covox Speech Thing with a built-in speaker and a much cheaper sticker price of only $14. The marketing power of Disney successfully sold a decent number of units, and got it featured as an audio device in a number of games. The hardware had a couple of additions as well to improve the sound, but this made it incompatible with earlier Covox software.
Links
- Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covox_Speech_Thing
