3D audio effects are a group of
sound effects that manipulate the sound produced by stereo speakers, surround-sound speakers, speaker-arrays, or headphones. This frequently involves the virtual placement of
sound
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
sources anywhere in three-dimensional space, including behind, above or below the listener.
3-D audio (processing) is the spatial domain convolution of sound waves using Head-related transfer functions. It is the phenomenon of transforming sound waves (using
head-related transfer function or HRTF filters and cross talk cancellation techniques) to mimic natural sounds waves, which emanate from a point in a 3-D space. It allows trickery of the brain using the ears and auditory nerves, pretending to place different sounds in different 3-D locations upon hearing the sounds, even though the sounds may just be produced from just 2 speakers (dissimilar to
surround sound).
Complete 3D positional audio
Using
head-related transfer functions and
reverberation
Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abso ...
, the changes of sound on its way from the source (including reflections from walls and floors) to the listener's ear can be simulated. These effects include localization of sound sources behind, above and below the listener.
Some 3D technologies also convert
binaural recordings to stereo recordings. MorrowSoundTrue3D converts binaural, stereo, 5.1 and other formats to 8.1 single and multiple zone 3D sound experiences in realtime.
3D Positional Audio effects emerged in the 1990s in PC and Game Consoles.
3D audio techniques have also been incorporated in music and video-game style music video arts. The Audioscape research project, provides musicians with a real-time 3D audiovisual content authoring and rendering environment, suitable for live performance applications.
True representation of the elevation level for 3D loudspeaker reproduction become possible by the
Ambisonics
Ambisonics is a ''full-sphere'' surround sound format: in addition to the horizontal plane, it covers sound sources above and below the listener.
Unlike some other multichannel surround formats, its transmission channels do not carry speaker si ...
and
wave field synthesis (WFS) principle.
3-D audio presentations
Some
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
s have created attractions based around the principles of 3-D audio. One example is ''Sounds Dangerous!'' at
Disney's Hollywood Studios at the
Walt Disney World Resort
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando ...
in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. Guests wear special earphones as they watch a short film starring comedian
Drew Carey. At a point in the film, the screen goes dark while a 3-D audio sound-track immerses the guests in the ongoing story. To ensure that the effect is heard properly, the earphone covers are color-coded to indicate how they should be worn. This is not a generated effect but a
binaural recording.
MorrowSoundTrue3D soundscapes include
Torino Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
, ProFootball Hall of Fame, Great Lakes Children's Museum, NokiaWorld 2008 Barcelona, Denver Museum Nature and Science Gates Planetarium, New York Historical Society, Copenhagen International Theatre, Gallery Rachel Haferkamp Köln, Muu Gallery Helsinki, New Sounds New York, ZHDK Zurich, OKKO Design Stockholm, BAFTA Awards London, Collection of Diana Zlotnick Studio City, CA, as well as Ecsite, AAM, ASTC and IPS conventions. These range from single 8.1 to 64.3 True3D installations, some interactive.
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...
's novel
The Death of Bunny Munro
''The Death of Bunny Munro'' is a 2009 novel written by Nick Cave, best known as the lead singer of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It is his second and most recent novel, the first being '' And the Ass Saw the Angel'', published in 1989.
Syno ...
was recorded in audiobook format using 3D audio.
The song "Propeller Seeds" by English artist
Imogen Heap was recorded using 3D audio.
There has been developments in using 3D audio for DJ performances including the world's first
Dolby Atmos event on 23rd Jan 2016 held at
Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio.
James ...
, London. The event was a showcase of a 3D audio DJ set performed by Hospital Records owner Tony Colman aka London Elektricity.
Other investigations included the Jago 3D Sound project which is looking at using
Ambisonics
Ambisonics is a ''full-sphere'' surround sound format: in addition to the horizontal plane, it covers sound sources above and below the listener.
Unlike some other multichannel surround formats, its transmission channels do not carry speaker si ...
combined with STEM music containers created and released by Native Instruments in 2015 for 3D nightclub sets.
See also
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References
External links
The 3D Audio and Applied Acoustics (3D3A) Laboratory at Princeton University
{{DEFAULTSORT:3d Audio Effect
Audio effects
Auditory illusions