Hands on with Philips amBX System

Aug 3 2007, 9:21am CDT | by Shane McGlaun

The first time I heard about Philips’ amBX system it was a large home theater product that would use your home lighting, heat and AC unit to match your environment to that of the film.

Yesterday at Quakeconn Philips was showing off a much smaller PC gamer aimed amBX system that added lots of dimension to PC games. Naturally with it being Quakeconn, the game that Philips was showing the system on was Quake 4.

The amBX system will be available in a few different kits, that retail at different price points. The biggest kit will go for about $500 and includes four amBX speakers, four fans, and a rumble. The Philips crew called the sub a rumble, because it’s more a transducer to allow you to feel explosions and hits rather than simply to add bass to your game.

The Quake 4 implementation of the amBX system was really cool. Each of the four speakers has a light on top that glows to match your in game environment. The fans come into play when you get hit; you feel the wind from bullets and blades as they fly by. My favorite part was when you are flying; you actually feel the wind in your face thanks to the surround fans.

Any good system needs good game titles, and while there are some popular titles out right now that support amBX including: FEAR, Far Cry, Moto GP URT 3, Quake 4, quake 3, Call of Duty 2, Civilization IV, Rome Total War, Hitman Blood Money, Need for Speed Underground and many more. Philips also says that they are in talks with a number of high profile companies for future game titles as well. We could assume as well that Quake Wars: Enemy Territory will be amBX enabled as well. Philips reps told me that the system should be available in September.

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Shane McGlaun
Leading our review center, Shane knows technology inside out. His extensive experience in testing computer hardware and consumer electronics enable him to effectively qualify new products and trends. If you want us review your product, please contact Shane.
Shane can be contacted directly at shane@i4u.com.