Java Sound Enhancements in JDK 7
The following enhancement took effect in JDK 7:
Gervill, a software synthesizer implementation, has replaced the Java Sound software synthesizer implementation. Gervill has the following advantages over the old software synthesizer implementation:
- Open source: The old software synthesizer implementation is part of a licensed library, which cannot be released as open source
- Supports DLS and SF2: Gervill supports the standards DLS (Downloadable Sounds) Level 2.2 and SF2 (SoundFont) 2.04, both of which are widely used and whose file formats are publicly available; the old software synthesizer uses a proprietary soundbank file format (GM), which is not widely used
- Supports extended General MIDI standards: Gervill supports General MIDI Level 2 (GM2) and MIDI Tuning; the old software synthesizer supports only GM1
- Support for resampling (sample rate conversion): A new audio format conversion provider (which supports resampling) was developed as part of the Gervill project
Because Java SE 7 uses Gervill, the following features are not available:
- GM soundbank support
- RMF file playback support
- OSS (Open Sound System) support on Linux
See RFE 6702956.
