Music standard goes 64-bit

A 64-bit version of a de facto standard used by musicians to reduce delays in getting audio streams to disk was released today .

The Audio Stream Input/Output (ASIO) standard was developed by music technology specialist Steinberg to bypass the Windows audio system, which is not fast enough to cope with the split-second timing needed for recording multiple instruments. It has been widely accepted by the rest of the industry.

The new version, Asio 2.2, is designed to allow recording peripherals to work with the 64-bit versions of Windows.

It comes with a software development kit (SDK) to enable engineers to design ASIO-compliant applications and drivers.

Markus Stehlik, Steinberg’s director of engineering, said: "The new version of this open standard will also ensure both 32-bit and 64-bit driver versions are available to customers of audio software and hardware, easing the transition to the new 64-bit Windows versions."

He said it had been developed in close cooperation with other audio companies and he expected to see it widely adopted.