The Future of Home Streaming with Spatial Audio
Today there could be an excellent alternative for users who do not count with adequate equipment to enjoy Dolby Atmos and other spatial audio technologies when watching the movies and TV series of their choice. Its name is Spatial Audio Home Streaming, and the responsible for such an improvement is the legendary Sennheiser, which, in an attempt to improve the user experience regarding the devices it offers (such as headphones,) has opened a tremendous range of possibilities that will definitely mean a turning point in the audio industry.
It is still a recent affair, but there are already successful experiments. In fact, Netflix is the first streaming platform to offer this kind of technology, and it has done so with the premiere of the new season of Stranger Things, one of the most iconic series of recent years, which, paradoxically, embodies a nostalgic look into the past — while being produced by quite sophisticated means (nobody dreamed of any of this stuff in the eighties, let’s be honest…). In fact, and this is not a spoiler, it is interesting that this series has been chosen for such an experiment, considering that the heavy metal sound in this season plays a crucial role. So, both the soundtrack, the script, and the technology implemented in the production work synergistically, as perhaps it has never been done before.
Well, but what is it exactly? Let’s just say that Sennheiser’s Ambeo 2-Channel Spatial Audio technology is a very clever way of adapting multi-channel audio mixes in a way that makes it possible to simulate them in traditional stereo systems — and not even the most technically advanced ones. Perhaps, most striking of all is the fact that this process preserves the original sound mix, as well as the creator’s artistic intent but with a clean, well-distributed sound. After all, this is precisely the goal of the mixer during the re-recording process: to have a rendering that does not alter either the original mix, the tonal balance, or the integrity of the dialogue. The rendering software runs in the streaming service’s cloud-based encoding pipelines and produces the immersive sound from existing ADM or IAB files. Let’s not forget that both formats are open and industry standard, so they won’t be difficult to work with.
Another advantage is that a preview tool allows the mixer to compare stereo with Ambeo during post-production and adjust the rendering settings by groups. While specific channels can be excluded from modification, the renderer offers patented granular control of spatialization, ranging from the full Ambeo effect to the standard stereo mix. Hence dialogues can be retained in their entirety or slightly modified to match neighboring immersive scenes, for instance.
Now, from a user experience point of view, such technology means only one thing: that you will now be able to enjoy Dolby Atmos-type productions without having a surround sound setup. In other words, we’re looking at a two-channel spatial audio technology from Ambeo that enables immersive playback even with a basic audio system, and this essentially means an enhanced audio experience wherever stereo is offered today, be it standard TVs, stereo systems, headphones, tablets, or laptops. What’s more, you can enjoy this on your own phone if you have the right headphones. Isn’t that great?
Let’s keep in mind that the wheel is not being invented here. This is a work of optimization, and this means that existing technology is transformed from within to make it more versatile in the face of a myriad of changing circumstances, as well as to take advantage of old technologies, which, thanks to this, will no longer become obsolete — so quickly.
The purpose of such a creation is a win-win situation. Not only does it open up many business possibilities (due to the great adaptability of such technology,) but it allows artists to continue creating immersive content with the peace of mind that users will have the possibility to appreciate their creations in good measure. Let’s face it: a tremendous source of frustration on the part of editors and sound mixers has to do with the very small percentage of all that complex work that finally reaches users’ ears. This is perhaps one of the reasons why there is a tremendous ignorance about the importance of sound in audiovisual production, as well as a generalized disdain. Users often access content with standard stereo equipment, either on a cell phone while traveling, on their tablets in a waiting room, or simply because the listening space at home does not allow for a full surround sound setup. Therefore, everyone talks about the beauty of the images or the special effects of a movie or TV series but few really appreciate the sound.
And well, let’s not talk about the joy of the connoisseur users who do know it but cannot afford it!
If you want to know more about how to implement this kind of trend in your audiovisual production, do not hesitate to contact Enhanced Media Sound Studio. Our team of experts is more than willing to help you get the most out of your project.
