GigaSampler from NemeSys Offers Real-Time Hard Disk Based Sampler

January 29, 1998 -- NemeSys Music Technology, Inc. unveils the first of its suite of products, GigaSampler(TM), at this week's NAMM show. The GigaSampler is the music industry's first taste of how the personal computer will generate music in the future. At a fraction of the cost, the GigaSampler breaks down all performance barriers that limit even the highest-end hardware samplers. Said to be the 'Worlds Biggest Sampler, GigaSampler increases tenfold the sampling capacity of the highest performance sampler of today.

For the first time ever in this market, a software technology is armed to smash numerous performance and cost barriers imposed by proprietary, dedicated hardware systems. "Using the resources of the personal computer and our experience in software design, we are able to give the musician versatile, quality sounds with performance levels never before attainable", said Jim Van Buskirk, president and founder of NemeSys Music Technology. "GigaSampler delivers superior quality with a cost advantage of roughly 20% of the price of the closest competing hardware sampler."

GigaSampler is the first product to stream samples real-time directly from the hard disk when played from a keyboard controller or another MIDI device. Huge 'instruments can be loaded in seconds, rather than minutes. "By leveraging the hard disk to playback instruments, rather than using RAM as in conventional samplers, GigaSampler is capable of delivering digitally perfect replications of world class instruments. Sound developers are now constrained only by their imaginations when designing instruments", points out Van Buskirk. Traditional techniques for compressing samples like looping, although supported, are no longer needed,

Ironically, being a software product, GigaSampler's only competition is from costly, dedicated hardware products - thus placing the NemeSys product in a category of its own.

Delivering successful audio technology is nothing new to this team. With experience in developing products like a low cost FM emulation module and a software based wavetable (WaveStream(TM)), "This is the third time we have redefined the dynamics of the audio technology business" said Joe Bibbo, NemeSys vice president and co-founder.

GigaSampler has many other 'industry firsts. Utilizing the revolutionary Endless Wave(TM) technology, under exclusive license from Rockwell Semiconductor Systems, GigaSampler is the first commercial sampler to shatter the multi-gigabyte sampling barrier. "We are pleased that GigaSampler is taking the Endless Wave core audio technology *into the MI market", said Tom Eichenberg, product line manager for Rockwell's Personal Communications Division. "Having a breakthrough product such as GigaSampler will validate Rockwell's position as a leader in the PC audio market".

GigaSampler is also the first professional sampler to offer copy protection to professional sound library companies - an issue that has stagnated the growth of the sound content industry. "It's amazing that our industry has survived to date without copy protection", said Doug Rogers, President/CEO, EastWest, the World's leading supplier of professional sample libraries. "This will surely increase the total accumulated market and rejuvenate our industry".

Having all of the features of its hardware competition, compatibility with professional sound library standard formats, unique 'Dimension' sample hyper-mapping and crossfade capability, industry leading sound library support, and the largest capacity of any commercial sampler, GigaSampler is a serious entry point for NemeSys.

Founded in 1996, (New Media Systems) NemeSys Music Technology, Inc. is a leading producer of software signal processing technology components to the Audio, Music, and Multimedia Markets. Based in the Silicon Hills of Austin, TX, NemeSys is 100% privately held by employees of the company. The company currently has core expertise in audio signal processing, PC system programming and architecture, user interface design and software productization.

For more information, visit their web site at www.nemesys.com.