MOTM

>Simon writes:
>>>It wasn't clear to me exactly what the Poly-VL was, what the Yamaha
>SoftSynthesizer was, whether actual hardware was required, if so what that
>hardware actually was, etc. I couldn't find any information on pricing and
>current availability. It seems that it maybe needs some sort of Yamaha
>SoftSynthesizer soundcard or sound module that has a connector for the Poly-VL
>plugin board. Just doesn't seem to be a software solution, as I was expecting,
>but more a hardware solution that uses the host CPU for extra DSP power.<<

>I tried to search some Japanese sites for pricing a couple of weeks ago, but
>not being able to read Japanese, I wasn't able to navigate to a price. I was
>also a bit confused as to whether it was software only. But from 
>what I read it
>sounded as if it was a software only solution. The following quotes from the
>press release seem to support that.
>
>"Yamaha SoftSynthesizer embodies software technology that enables the playback
>of MIDI data even without dedicated hardware such as an external 
>tone generator
>or a sound card."
>
>"The Poly-VL, a plug-in module for the SoftSynthesizer S-YXG100" (if it's a
>module for a software based synth, it should be a software plug-in much like a
>VST plug-in)
>
>"is designed to take advantage of the performance of Intel’ s Pentium® III
>processor." (since it needs the power of a Pentium III's parallel floating
>point unit, it's most likely not hardware based)


But, Todd calls it a 'board' in describing this link, and on the page 
it is called a 'PLG Card'...
>Plug-In Board:
>http://www.yamaha-music.co.uk/products/sections/PLG150VL.asp?sectionid=76
...this seems to be a plugin pcb for the SW1000XG PCI Audio MIDI 
Board, and XG PLG compatible synths, the system is discussed here...
http://www.yamahasynth.com/pro/plg150/ms.html
The SW1000XG is described here...
http://www.xgfactory.com/


Then on this link...
http://www.yamaha.co.jp/english/news/99021802.html
...it says that the Poly_VL is a plugin module for the 
SoftSynthesizer S-YXG100 To me, module means hardware/pcb module that 
connects as a Daughterboard to a sound card. It also mentions the 
SoftSynthesizer S-YXG50, but doesn't specifically say that this works 
with the Poly-VL plugin module.



So, it seems that Todd has provded links to two different products, 
one being a plugin Poly-VL pcb for the SW1000XG soundcard, the other 
being a possible software plugin for a possible softsynth called the 
S-YXG100.


I can't read Japanese, so I can't find out much more.


Simon
Canberra
AUSTRALIA