@bloodline
Sure the Live! comes with Windoze software to encode MP3's but the card does not do it in hardware!!!
The Live! card is just a bunch of DACs and ADCs with a DSP for adding effects, it's not designed to encode mp3s
even if so, who gives a crap, it can still do it!!!!!
there seems to be enough technology on the card to handle it
Sound Blaster Live 5.1 SPECIFICATIONS
Wave-Table Synthesis
E-mu Systems®, Inc. EMU10K1™ music synthesis engine
64-voice hardware polyphony with E-mu's patented 8-point interpolation technology
Uses SoundFont® Bank technology for user-definable wave-table sample sets which include 2MB and 4MB sets
Load up to 32MB of samples into host memory for professional music reproduction
Scalable PCI wave-table synthesis architecture with multi-timbre capability
48 MIDI channels with 128 GM & GS compatible instruments and 10 drum kits
Effects Engine
E-mu Systems, Inc. EMU10K1™ patented effects processor
Support for real-time digital effects like reverb, chorus, flanger, pitch shifter, or distortion across any audio source
Capable of processing, mixing and positioning audio streams using up to 131 available hardware channels
Full digital mixer maintains all sound mixing in the digital domain, eliminating noise from the signal
Customizable effects architecture allows new audio effects to be downloaded from the Web
Full bass, treble, and effects controls available for all audio sources
EAX™ and 3D Audio Technology
User-selectable settings are optimized for headphones or 2, 4, or 5.1 PC speaker and home stereo systems.
Dolby® Digital audio decoding to 5.1 speaker channels in analog or digital modes
Upgradeable 3D audio architecture allows for improvements over time
Accelerates Microsoft® DirectSound® and DirectSound® 3D
Hardware acceleration of EAX™ in games
Creative Multi Speaker Surround™ (CMSS) technology places any mono or stereo source in a 360º audio space
EAX™ preset effects: user-selectable DSP modes that stimulate acoustic environments
Hollywood-Quality, 32-Bit Digital Audio Engine
Processes bit resolutions from 4-bit to 16-bit
Processes sample rates from 5kHz to 48kHz
All sound sources are bundled with 32-bit precision for highest quality output
Analog and digital I/O modes supported
Hardware full duplex support enables simultaneous record and playback at 8 standard sample rates
Utilizes AC '97 Audio Codec
MIDI Interface/Joystick Port
Supports Sound Blaster® MIDI and MPU-401 modes
IBM® compatible 15-pin joystick port with analog support
Support for digital and DirectInput™ game devices
On-Board Connectors
Analog/Digital Out (Analog Center & Subwoofer/6-channel S-PDIF Output)
Line In
Microphone In
Line Level Out (front) / Headphone Out
Line Level Out (rear)
MIDI / Joystick port
Telephone Answering Device In
MPC-3 Analog CD Audio In
Digital CD Audio In
Expansion header for Live! Drive series or Optical Digital I/O card 2 (available separately)
Works with the Following Standards:
Windows® 95, 98, 98SE, NT4.0, 2000, Millennium Edition and XP
General MIDI
MPC-3
Plug and Play
Sound Blaster® PCI
EAX™
Microsoft® DirectSound®, DirectSound® 3D, and derivatives
PCI 2.1 compliant
AC '97 compliant
Dolby® Digital
