- October 31st, 2023, 2:18 pm#4987225Electronics-wise it's MUCH easier to generate a tone than to play back a pre-recorded sound file. It adds complexity because you need to decode the audio data, as well as actually store it somewhere (some kind of onboard memory chip). I don't know why Matty didn't put in the extra effort for screen accurate sounds, maybe cost but we're only talking about a few dollars at most. Or maybe they had limited space on a single PCB and didn't want to make it larger or add a second one.
Or maybe they wanted the beeps to be clear enough that the later released goggles would be able to hear them and react to their speed/frequency, and that would have been difficult with the real sounds.
There are clear photos of the inside of the real PKE props (taken at Modern Props where they were rented from) and it's pretty clear there's no audio circuitry, all the space is taken up with batteries, motors, and electronics for the lights. 99.9% of the time movie props are designed to be as silent as possible on set so they don't interfere with dialogue, and then they can decide what sound (if any) they actually want to use in post production, and how to balance it against the dialogue.