Early last year the Fraunhofer IIS helped develop MP3 surround sound to enable users to get 5.1 surround sound using MP3 while also still being able to play the audio files on existing stereo MP3 players, but down-mixed as if they were standard stereo MP3 files.
Now an MP3 player has been unveiled at the Midem music conference that not only supports MP3 surround files, but presents the audio as if it were coming from speakers physically located around the room. For example if the listener hears sound coming from the left, then if they turn around, they would hear that same sound coming from the right like as if the sound was coming from a fixed speaker located in the room.
However these surround-sound headphones will not be commercially available for a while yet. The only way consumers can currently experience surround sound MP3 is through their PC assuming the PC is equipped with a 5.1 sound card connected to a surround sound speaker system. Fraunhofer currently offers free test software for the user to encode and playback MP3 surround audio. brantdk used our news submit to let us know about the following news:
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Software engineers in Germany who developed the widely used MP3 audio file format have taken the technology to a higher level with a next-generation format that delivers cinema-like multichannel audio. The headsets dazzled attendees at the Midem music conference in this French Riviera town, where goateed singers, sharply dressed executives and software designers in tennis shoes have been meeting this week to map out how music reaches ears in the future. Tech gizmos are but a small part of the conference, now in its 39th year and typically devoted to the tough negotiations that go into record deals. Read the full source here. |
I would be interested in how these headphones (or player) would work to keep the audio directions 'fixed' to the environment. Probably the best use for this technology would be in portable video players as well as in student accommodation where having a 5.1 surround sound system could easily annoy others.
However if this player relies on sensing the physical direction such as using an internal compass to determine how to position the virtual speakers, I doubt the technology would work well while in the car or on public transport. For example it would be odd seeing a person speaking on screen, but hearing their voice veer off in different directions each time the vehicle makes a turn.
Feel free to discuss and find out more about MP3 audio and playback hardware on our Audio Forum.
Source: CNN International
