Blastwave FX, an HD Sound Effects Label,  is offering  the opportunity to download free sound effects from 40 Blastwave FX libraries. The Free Sound Effects Download Pack #1 contains 68 favorite sound effects selections including such sonic novelties as angry goat bleating, bursting fireballs, robot footsteps, a pixie dust fly-by, digital glitch, low frequency tremors, and many, many more! These sound effects are available for all to use on a royalty-free basis via a Creative Commons License. So download here and use as you wish!

The HD Sound Effects Initiative (HDsoundeffects.org) is an industry-wide consortium dedicated to fostering the awareness, adoption and use of high definition audio and sound effects libraries in professional media production. Organized by Pro Sound Effects with endorsement from leading library publishers Sound Ideas, Hollywood Edge, Digieffects and Blastwave FX , the HD Sound Effects Initiative serves as an educational and news resource for the professional audio community.  By using the highest quality audio and HD sound effects libraries, we, as audio professionals, seek to push the limits of the HD experience and underscore the increasingly integral role of high definition audio and sound design.

There are numerous reasons why audio professionals must adopt use of HD Sound FX into their everyday workflow, the most important ones being:

• Audio must keep up with video: We, as audio professionals, need to strive to adopt the use of HD audio and sound effects libraries in professional media production. HD media is accelerating into the mainstream, and we shall not be left behind!

• Consumers are demanding true HD Entertainment: Consumers are demanding HD media and manufacturers have been providing it; so we must meet their expectations, keep up with this surge of HD adoption, and provide the highest quality sound possible.

Click here for the full article.

Q: Can’t I just convert my old sound effects libraries into HD?

A: Though we can convert our old libraries into audio files with numbers that represent high definition, this process does not truly make them hi-def: the dynamic range and frequency remain exactly the same as the CD-quality format the original libraries came in.

In fact, there is always an amount of signal degredation when performing sample rate conversions; another reason why converting our old libraries into HD is undesireable.
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