Spatial Audio - The Digital Twin of Alternate Reality Technologies.
GRAHAs VR Newsletter Issue# 7
We discussed briefly on the genesis of Spatial Audio in our previous Newsletter Issue# 6. We continue further on its potential use cases in the future, its growth trajectory and the disruptions it can cause across sectors and industries.
Spatial Audio as stated in our earlier issue was made famous with the launch of Apple Air Pods. But, the technology in its raw format is making in roads with newer devices from all the major Audio Visual Companies. For instance, Sony has their own 360 degree Reality Audio as an answer to Spatial Audio.
The technology in its core is the path finder for the Audio end of Virtual Reality.
Spatial Audio enables an immersive audio of What Virtual Reality does for video. For Virtual Reality to become mainstream in the consumer segment, Spatial Audio (or) Reality Audio has to pick up momentum.
Apple has worked and implemented Spatial Audio through their Air Pod - Bluetooth Earphones. Sony with their 360 Reality Audio has a wide range of speaker systems for different segments.
All these devices and products use a combination of 5.1, 7.1 & Dolby Atmos mixes from compatible film or video and applies directional video filters to give the users an immersive audio experience of being in their digital premises.
When a component like Virtual Reality gives the users an immersive experience of being in their visual world, a medium like Spatial Audio can amplify this experience multi fold. The current audio formats in Virtual Reality use stereo and 360 degree audio predominantly, there are several instances wherein spatial audio formats are used along with as well.
Spatial Audio’s penetration as a technology and across devices, will be an integral factor for the growth of technologies like Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality in the consumer segment. Once spatial audio has a good presence in this segment, it enables the VR devices to have multi platform and multi device operational support.
First we had basic 3D movies which were projected using different RGB colors for each eye, then we had 3D projectors with multiple lenses, then we had 3D Televisions making in roads into households. Then we had IMAX display screen formats, which amplified these 3D visuals with 7.1 channel surround sound and so on.
Now with both Virtual Reality & Spatial Audio combined, we can witness all the above from the comfort of our respective locations, better yet, we can all be a part of the action that happens in our respective visual mediums and have a complete immersive experience.
Spatial Audio will remain the stronger evolution of all the stereo and surround sound, that we have all been used to till now. It will be an integral part of the future of the Audio Visual Industry. Compared to the handful of devices that are prevalent in Spatial Audio right now, couple of years from now, we will have many devices with different capacities playing a key role in the overall Audio Visual Segment.
We list out some of the few areas, where we believe this could be a game changer.
Immersive Technologies: This will probably be the hard and fast rule of this technology, the core use case and progress for Spatial Audio will be enabling the audio end of Immersive Alternate Reality Technologies. It will play a key role in distinguishing the premium and mid - premium range segment of these devices.
Speaker Systems & Personal Audio: We already have umpteen no. of Home Theater Systems from various brands across various models. Still, the kind of clarity and the difference that Spatial Audio will be able to provide is phenomenal. With Spatial Audio making in roads into the household, we could see the 3D Televisions being relaunched. The primary genesis of Spatial Audio started with the personal audio devices. So, its quite natural that they will make a greater impact in that end as the technology progresses.
Audio Books: Audio Books are still a niche segment in the overall digital E - Reading and its other digital counterparts. Audio Books could get newer ways and newer tools to express their stories and thesis. It could probably out compete Books & E - Readers combined. There is already a set of users who prefer and have also stated that they read more because of Audio Books. So, an advancement like this could add significant user base to Audio Books.
These are some of the key areas, where Spatial Audio will make a prominent impact in the near future. This list is not exhaustive, there are still a lot of areas where Spatial Audio will play an important role. We hope we are able to germinate the seeds for the topic. Based on our readers feedback, we can come up with one more issue on Spatial Audio, if so pleased.
The First Episode of our Podcast Series “What does VR mean to You” went live in all the major Audio Streaming platforms last week. To those of you, who haven’t checked it yet, please do listen to it and gift us with your thoughts and feedback.
This episode focuses on the premise of Virtual Reality as a Technology and what does it mean to you as a user.
Watch out for the next episode in our Story Board Series featuring “SKILL”, coming out on 7th October’2021 in our GRAHAs VR YouTube Channel.