Soundboard (computer program)
A soundboard is a computer program, Web application, or device, traditionally created in Adobe Flash that catalogues and plays many short soundbites and audio clips. Soundboards are self-contained, requiring no outside media player. In recent years the soundboard has been given a new stage on many mobile platforms, specifically in relation to the iPhone App Store and Google Play. With numerous soundboards to choose from there is no shortage of entertaining prank sounds, but some feel that the sheer volume of boards available and the number of them that specifically tailored to rude body sounds (e.g. iFart Mobile on iPhone appstore, BodyBoard on Google Play) has gone too far and many are calling for restrictions on this type of content.
Traditionally, builders generally take sound clips said by celebrities and combine them into one Flash creation. They are most often used in prank calls, when the caller uses the soundboard to imitate a celebrity or other well-known person. The individual on the other end of the call is usually deceived into thinking that they are actually talking to a real person. In some cases, the victim associated with the prank call has no idea who the person from the soundboard is, with one famous example being Matt Romney pranking his father by pretending to be Arnold Schwarzenegger using a sound board.[1][2] Some users even record the calls and post them on the Internet. Soundboard prank-calling is often done with caller ID spoofing or masking, to provide a high level of anonymity or impersonation. The goal is often to create confusion or test how long the victim(s) will remain on the phone.
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The soundboard is also used to facilitate humor, highlighting some of celebrities' more unusual utterances, or allowing for juxtaposition or even "composition" of quotes and sounds that would otherwise not go together.
Yet, while traditionally a device for pranksters, the soundboard has also been used as a promotional tool for films, television shows, radio, products and more.