Soundscape S-2000 Release Notes

Date: 03/12/95
Version: 1.30.00  (BETA)

******************************************************************************
* NOTICE:  THIS SOFTWARE IS BETA AND IS NOT CURRENTLY SUPPORTED BY ENSONIQ.  *
*          If you have any problems installing or using this software please *
*          send e-mail to soundscape-bugs@ensoniq.com.  We will not be taking*
*          phone calls to support this version until it is released.  Be sure*
*          to include copies of any relevant files (AUTOEXEC, CONFIG.SYS,    *
*          SYSTEM.INI                                                        *
*                                                                            *
******************************************************************************

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Troubleshooting Information
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For up-to-date automated troubleshooting assistance, please call Ensoniq's
Fax-on-Demand service at 1-800-257-1439 from a touch-tone telephone.  
This service requires that you have access to a FAX machine.   Please request
document #7255 (Trouble Shooting Manual).

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v 1.30.00 BETA
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**Installation**
The uninstall program will now check for the SNDSCAPE environment variable
before running.  If it is not present, the uninstall will not run.  This
will prevent the program inadvertently deleting files.

The Windows directory is now copied to your SNDSCAPE.INI file.

**SSInit**
SSInit now needs to know where your Windows directory is located.  If it can not
find it, SSInit will prompt you to enter your current Windows directory.

**SSCD.SYS**
The SSCD program uses new command line arguments.  The previous version uses
the Port= argument to find the Soundscape base address.  The new version uses
/B:<base address>.  This is the only argument in SSCD.

**Makeboot**
There is a generic makeboot utility that will create a boot disk to initialize
the Soundscape card.  If you need to create a boot disk it is recommended that
you use this utility.

**Windows**
There is a new Windows driver included in this release.  This new driver allows
DOS games to run in a DOS Box under Windows, it will also fix any problems
associated with application authored with the Director.

The driver has an on-line help associated with it.  Please consult the on-line help
for questions regarding configuring the driver.

To access the driver setup, Open the Control Panel and double click the Soundscape
icon.

**Audiostation**
Their is a new version of Audiostation (1.78) that fixes incompatibilities
with some CD-ROM brands.

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v 1.25.00
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**OS/2 Support**
OS/2 Support has been implemented in this release.  The OS/2 drivers as well
as a README can be found on disk 2.

**Installation**

**Firmware**
The Sound Blaster emulation is now 2.0 compatible.  This fixes games that only
support SoundBlaster 2.0 or higher (Cyberia, Creature Shock).  It also will
clean up games that try to simulate the auto-restart capabilities of a Sound
Blaster 2.0 on earlier Sound Blaster models (i.e., Rebel Assault).  In some
games, it may be necessary to select Sound Blaster Pro to take advantage of
the additional 2.0 functions.

**SSInit**
The SSInit Exit dialog is more intuitive . Now, the only choices in the Exit
dialog are Accept or Discard changes.  In previous versions, when invoked,
SSInit would read in the current settings from the card and display the
Quick Setup dialog.  Then if the user selected Advanced it would discard any
changes made on this dialog and reload all the values from the SNDSCAPE.INI
file.  This has been a source of confusion for our customers.  In this version,
all settings are obtained from the SNDSCAPE.INI file and if the user selects
"Accept", upon exit the changes are written back out to the INI file.  If the
user selects "Discard," no changes are saved and the Soundscape card will be
left in the same state as when SSInit was invoked.

Detection of the Wave Port and Base Port is now done when SSInit is invoked OR
anytime you exit the Hardware settings page.  If either port fails detection,
SSInit will put the user back into the Hardware page. The user can then change
the Port and select OK or select Cancel to abort any changes.

**MT32 Utility**
The MT32 program will now set the Soundscape card to MT32 mode when invoked
without any arguments.

Example:
    MT32       <- Sets the Soundscape card to MT32 mode
    MT32 ON    <- Sets the Soundscape card to MT32 mode
    MT32 OFF   <- Sets the Soundscape card back into the default (General MIDI) mode.


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v 1.20.04
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**Installation**
Added a test for the PCI bus that will detect when the installation program is
first run if a PCI bus is installed in the system.  If a PCI bus is detected,
the installation program will ask the user if they wish to reconfigure their
interrupts to facilitate the PCI bus. (See Installation Notes 1.20.03 below).

**Firmware**
The Soundscape firmware files SNDSCAPE.CO0 and SNDSCAPE.CO1 are now 
generic.  This means that they can be used with all OEM versions of Ensoniq
Soundscape.  The impact of the generic firmware on the original OEM boards is
that use of the TDA8421 tone controller chip has been disabled.  This was done
because of increased code space as well as to facilitate faster development.

**SSInit**
The SSInit interface is now the same for all Soundscape OEM boards.  This can
be seen by bringing up the mixer.

The DMA test failed on some systems in v1.20.03.  It has been fixed in this
release.


**VSB**
Because of our changes in our Sound Blaster emulation code the following
files are no longer needed:
   VSB_EMM.COM
   EMM386.EXE
   MAKEBOOT.EXE
These can be removed from your Soundscape directory.

**Windows Drivers**
The Windows Driver is now generic.  To use it with OEM boards with the TDA8421, you must insert the line IsDvb=1 in the [sndscape.drv] section of your SYSTEM.INI file.  If necessary, this is done at boot time.

The compatibility problem with programs authored with the Directory v4.x
has been fixed.


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v 1.20.03
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**Installation**
When you first run the installation program it will display a dialog
asking you if you have a PCI BIOS.  If you have a PCI BIOS or are unsure 
then you should change your default MIDI IRQ.  In most cases IRQ 10 is a
safe choice.

**Compatibility Note** 
Some older DOS programs (usually games) do not allow you to specify an 
alternate IRQ and assume IRQ 2/9.  If you have any software that does this 
then you will need to make a change in your BIOS.  Typically, the PCI BIOS 
allows you to allocate one or more IRQs for use with either the PCI bus or 
the ISA bus.  By default, many of the BIOSs use IRQ 9 as the PCI IRQ.  To 
resolve a conflict you must tell the PCI BIOS to use a different IRQ.

This can generally be accomplished by going to the PCI settings screen of
the BIOS setup program.  Once there, most setup programs give you a set of
IRQs that can be switched between the PCI bus and the ISA bus.  The basic
idea is to set IRQ 9 to the ISA bus and while each manufacturer may 
implement this differently the common selections are:

IRQ 9		ISA/PCI
IRQ 9		Available/Used -> where Used allocates the IRQ to the ISA 
                              bus.
IRQ 9		Free/Used      -> where Used allocates the IRQ to the ISA
                              bus.

For additional information consult the BIOS documentation that comes with
your PC.

 The software will remove any previous reference in your AUTOEXEC.BAT of
the following:
	SSINIT
	SNDSCAPE environment variable
	BLASTER environment variable

It will then place the new Soundscape startup information at the TOP of your 
AUTOEXEC.BAT.  

**Firmware**
The software now addresses the MIDI volume problem that was present 
in v1.20.0x.
In earlier versions of 1.20.0x if the synth volume was set to 0 occasionally 
you would hear buzzing from the synthesizer.

The MIDI routing bug in 1.20.0x has been fixed.
In earlier versions of 1.20.0x the ability to use an external synthesizer from
DOS was not implemented correctly.

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v1.20.02
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**Installation**
Installation program will now check for a previous CD-ROM install.
If it detects Soundscape CD-ROM drivers in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT 
it will not overwrite them.

**SSInit**
SSInit now downloads both the General MIDI firmware and the FM firmware.  
Previous versions of Soundscape software required the Soundscape card
to be redownloaded when switching between GM and FM mode.  This is no longer 
necessary.

The SSInit command-line interface has changed.  To initialize the Soundscape
card type SSINIT /I.  This is done at boot-up time.

The Hardware Test page has changed.  To Test your current hardware
settings select Hardware Tests, then select either IRQ or DMA Test.  These
tests will show conflicts with the current hardware settings.  If there is a
conflict, it can be resolved by making changes on the Hardware Settings page
in SSInit.

The Synth Settings screen has been removed.

A MIDI Settings screen has been added to SSInit.  Under DOS MIDI data can go 
to either the internal synth or the external MIDI port. The MIDI settings 
screen allows you to route your MIDI data to either the Internal Synth or
External MIDI port.  The default for the MIDI routing is the Internal 
Synthesizer.

**MT32**
A new utility has been added to allow switching between the General MIDI patch
set and the MT32 patch set.  To switch between the patches you need to run 
the MT32 command.  The arguments for MT32 are as follows:

MT32 [ ON | OFF ] [ /? ]
Where ON switches to the MT32 patch set, OFF switches to the General MIDI set.
MT32 without any arguments returns the current patch set.


**Firmware**
The intermittent noise that was present in the 1.20.0x Sound Blaster emulation
has been eliminated. 

**Windows**
SSINITGM.DLL has changed to handle the new firmware.

TAPIPKB3.DRV has changed to handle the new firmware.


