Audio interface or Sound card is a prerequisite for any computer-based home studio setup. Today's computers come with built in audio hardware, but for true CD quality or better results you will want to upgrade to a higher quality soundcard or audio interface - either a PCI plug-in card or a PCMCIA, USB or FireWire interface. There are transferable digital mixers that can double as a control surface for your computer's digital audio software and provide multiple digital audio and MIDI I/O options. While standards for pro audio and music production such as ASIO, VST, KS/WDM and GSIF have reached maturity, Intel and Microsoft have been more interested in the development of tools for the delivery of 'multimedia' audio for games and the Internet, such as AC '97 and DirectSound. Apple Computer has built-in Core Audio into its OS X operating system, making it easier than ever to connect audio hardware to your Mac, from consumer multimedia add-ons to pro audio/MIDI interfaces.

Few years ago there was a revolution in recording technology. As computers became more powerful, they started to reinstate traditional tape recorders that were the heart of most recording studios. Computers designed for home use are powerful enough to imitate a complete recording studio, and can be used for everything from multitrack recording to audio editing and scoring music for videos. This