from "stellamderum" <[log in to unmask]> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE HD Audio Quality Featured in New Version of Sony Virtuoso Digital Language Lab Software Suite North Branford, Connecticut, November 10, 2011. SANS Inc., the developer and exclusive licensor of Sony language learning software solutions, has released the latest version of the Sony Virtuoso™ and Sony Soloist® digital language lab software, featuring the new SANSTalk™ Audio Router Software module with High Definition (HD) audio quality to benefit language learners. This update incorporates proprietary research and development by SANS, combined with the latest Microsoft® technology. SANSTalk takes full advantage of today’s HD audio devices. Full-fidelity sound can be used where needed, but it may be limited if necessary to conserve network bandwidth. Latency, the time delay between when a sound is made and when it is heard by others, plagues many software/VoIP-based language labs. While latency rates in the Sony Virtuoso suite have always been among the lowest in the industry, SANSTalk dynamically reduces that rate to the absolute lowest possible amount. When monitoring a student in the Sony Virtuoso lab, the instructor can now hear in real time everything that the student hears: audio from a file of a native speaker, a video clip, or even audio from an internet site that the student may be working with. This capability is not reliant on the sound card/headset, so when the student records, only his voice is captured–not mixed with all those other sounds–making review and assessment of student work easier for instructors. Most software/VoIP-based language labs have a problem with an “echo/reverb” sound when students are communicating in set pairs or groups. SANSTalk uses the latest digital processing technology to eliminate those artifacts. In addition, Noise Suppression, Automatic Gain Control, and Equalization can be applied and customized to provide the best possible sound quality, regardless of the acoustical environment. Other behind-the-scenes enhancements, such as real-time resampling, provide for a faster and more responsive user experience. According to Ron Remschel, SANS President, “Any language teacher will tell you that pristine audio is a key component to listening, understanding, and communicating the sounds specific to a language. We feel that incorporating SANSTalk into the Sony technology suite will greatly enhance the quality of the audio and learning experience for students in the language lab while giving teachers more flexibility in how they can instruct and coach students on their communication skills.” The Sony Language Learning Software licensed and developed by SANS includes the widely used technology solutions of the Sony Virtuoso™ and Soloist® digital language lab software suite. This technology is the instructional choice of numerous discerning language programs in the U.S. and around the world. SANS also provides solutions for blended and virtual language learning with SANSSpace™ VLE. SANS is committed to providing software solutions that address teaching and learning modalities and work within the IT framework of the school or government agency using it. For more information, visit www.sansinc.com or email [log in to unmask] Virtuoso and Soloist are trademarks of Sony Electronics Inc. Sony Virtuoso and Soloist software incorporate SANS and Sony Technology. SANSSpace and SANSTalk are trademarks of SANS Inc. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. ### The information contained in this message may be privileged and confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any reproduction, dissemination or distribution of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you. SANS Inc. ************************************************************************** LLTI is a service of IALLT, the International Association for Language Learning Technologies (http://iallt.org/), and The Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning (http://www.languageconsortium.org/). Join IALLT at http://iallt.org. Subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives at http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A0=LLTI Otmar Foelsche, LLTI-Editor ([log in to unmask]) **************************************************************************