How will spatial 3D sound sound in the audio metaverse? It’s about user experience, communication, concerts and 3D audio branding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"https:\/\/www.vrtonung.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Audio-Metaverse-Cover-Bild_1200x630.jpg","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"6722","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"https:\/\/www.vrtonung.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Audio-Metaverse-Cover-Bild_1024x512.jpg","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"6720","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[23,25],"class_list":["post-6729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-unkategorisiert","tag-overview-en","tag-storytelling-en"],"acf":{"remove_from_blog_overview":false,"alternative_title":"","previewimg":19052,"text":"This article aims to show the possibilities sound effects that spatial sound will have in the audio metaverse. Therefore, this text is also about user experience, communication, concerts in the metaverse, and audio branding.\r\n\r\nThe text is based on my little talk about the Audio Metaverse below. But I would like to add a few things. I also want to give especially non-German speaking people the possibility to understand the potential.\r\n\r\nTo be honest I\u2019m a bit sick and tired of all the hype around the word metaverse. And now it leads to a bashing on Meta why it\u2019s not as successful and Zuckerberg is losing billions. But the fact is for me that he is building incredible technology that will be a part of our lives in the future. And spatial 3d audio will definitely be a part of it.\r\n\r\n[ytvideo id=\"VUoR85tkYKE\"]\r\n\r\n##UX \/ UI in the audio area\r\n\r\nI always like to say: \u201cin immersive media like VR, we can like to miss things, but not be overheard.\u201d Because even in virtual reality, you can\u2019t see what\u2019s behind you, but you can hear it. This factor alone should really make you think when working with immersive media.\r\n\r\nSo how can I design my UI\/ my UX better without having to paint arrows into my VR world or other curious ideas? I keep seeing experiences that ruin their beautifully designed 3D environment with graphics like this. So how good to be able to use visuals and sound to intuitively steer people through an experience!\r\n\r\n###Apple and head tracking\r\n\r\nThis is one of the many things you can do with 3D audio, and it\u2019s actually accessible with just regular headphones. Despite the marketing of manufacturers trying to sell you a new pair of earbuds, or whatnot. Binaural 3D Audio is accessible on normal stereo headphones. But there is a new evolution of sound technology coming in called dynamic head-tracking. Read more on this tech [link id=\"4216\" text=\"here\"].\r\n\r\nApple has a lot of things happening in the background right now that are probably laying the groundwork for their upcoming XR devices. This device which coming apparently, but is postponed by a year every year it feels. Nevertheless, the the sound design will also be important here and they know it. Because Apple is also working on its own [link id=\"3548\" text=\"Spatial Audio\"] technology. To what extent the Metaverse Audio will be used by Apple remains to be seen yet. But the infrastructure is building up.\r\n\r\nThe fact is that [link id=\"3548\" text=\"Apple\"] goes one step further with its headphones, the Airpods. Their spatial audio has integrated dynamic head tracking. This is exactly what we already have in VR. That the sound is adjusted in the real time based in-time to the viewing direction. This can significantly improve the user experience. Above all, augmented reality applications are increasingly interesting for Apple headphones.\r\n\r\n[image id=\"6817\"]\r\n \r\n###Why do only a few people know about head tracking?\r\n\r\nHard to tell because it\u2019s already being actively advertised now. Apple calls it \u201cSpatial Audio\u201d in the USA and in Germany they call it \u201c3D Audio\u201d. Which is funny, apparently the Germans just like more numbers, data, and facts. But it looks like the average consumers aren\u2019t really aware of this audio technology on the rise. Because they don\u2019t know what they can even listen to?\r\n\r\nSo what is there for 3D audio content? You can listen to Dolby Atmos music, where the music kind of happens spatially in virtual space around you. Or watch movies with it, which is a bit more fun with it. If you want to know what other examples there are for 3D audio content beyond music and movies, you can find them here: [link id=\"2589\" text=\"Spatial Audio\"]. As a content creator, I realized I have to rethink how audio content is experienced with this new freedom. Aka 3DoF (three degrees of freedom), the rotation around X, Y, Z axis.\r\n\r\nThis has already enabled me to explore and identify exciting use cases. I don\u2019t think Apple itself knows exactly what they want to do with the technology yet. But they\u2019re building it in already, they can claim already claim that they\u2019ve created something new. And when the content is ready, it can simply be unlocked via software update.\r\n\r\nJust like they did recently with their [link id=\"5654\" text=\"Personalized Spatial Audio\"]. However, this doesn\u2019t really give much added value so far. That\u2019s also the point I want to get across to people! Not only is the technology cool and fun, but it can actually solve problems.\r\n\r\n###The added value of 3D audio is not Dolby Atmos\r\n\r\nYou guys are probably familiar with Dolby Atmos, too? It\u2019s a lot of fun in the movie theater when you feel like you\u2019re sitting in the middle of the movie. Everyone advertises it as being more immersive. But even I wonder what that means exactly?! The 3D sound gives more depth and it\u2019s a nice experience when, for example, the plane flies overhead.\r\n\r\nHowever, I actually see the benefits in a completely different place. If we look at how the current zoom calls work, we see that they seem quite monotonous.\r\n\r\n>After all, people don't all sit on top of each other in a real round of talks. But that's exactly what the tone of video calls like Zoom, Teams and Co. suggests. \r\n\r\nInstead, the people are spread out, they represent a conversational life situation, for example, when they sit next to each other at a table. That\u2019s exactly what Apple is building into Facetime. With it, you can really hear where people are sitting through the sound. This creates a conversational environment that is much more natural for our brains.\r\n\r\nThat\u2019s going to solve the zoom fatigue that we all know from all the calls. So it\u2019s easier for our brain to process information when it has a spatial tone.\r\n\r\n[newsletteroptin text=\"Stay informed with my newsletter\"]\r\n\r\n##Metaverse Navigation\r\n\r\nAnd now, of course, you can take it a step further and ask yourself what the future holds for audio and metaverse. Now, before we talk about whacky applications like artistic concerts, here comes a practical example. And that\u2019s for navigation.\r\n\r\nIt feels much more natural when I can actually hear, say, people in the virtual room in front of me. Then when you walk into the room, you could actually hear what\u2019s going on. It definitely creates much more of a sense of presence to have voices around you spatially. Afterward, you also really have the impression that you\u2019ve been talking to people \u2013 your friends, not just with your laptop.\r\n\r\n###Audio in metaverse can break through the boundaries of reality\r\n\r\nYou can go one step further. In such social VR worlds, you can overcome the physical hurdles of sound. This is where thoughtful [link id=\"5087\" text=\"VR sound design\"] becomes essential. You then build your own listening zones in immersive environments in a way that you couldn\u2019t do in reality. As a user, you go in and people don\u2019t hear what\u2019s happening inside, and you don\u2019t hear inside what\u2019s happening outside. So you have a private space \u2013 a kind of sound bubble.\r\n\r\nThere are many more added values of audio in the metaverse. Here\u2019s my article on [link id=\"3846\" text=\"Communication in Virtual Worlds\"].\r\n\r\n###More than entertainment with concerts\r\n\r\nWith virtual concerts, provided you do it right, the wow feeling is there. Because the crowd is there, singing along, cheering, or simply being present. That\u2019s exactly what would make such virtual environments a concert. But currently, most of the experiments in VR seem quite sterile. Most of them just use stereo sound and pretend to be concert experiences. But more on what they are missing in terms of 3d sound later.\r\n\r\nSo you can still think the sound a bit further. And I think that\u2019s where the potential of VR becomes apparent, that we don\u2019t say we\u2019re recreating reality. Because the sound in reality often doesn\u2019t sound that great, because the window is open, for example.\r\n\r\nThere\u2019s still an insane amount of potential there.\r\n\r\n[image id=\"6814\"] \r\n\r\n##3D Audio is not equal to Metaverse\r\n\r\nSome have probably read the news that Jean-Michel Jarre is producing \u201csomething in 3D audio.\u201d And quickly the term metaverse comes up in several posts and articles. He said something clever about immersive audio, but it fell in a different context:\r\n\r\n>\"For humans, the feeling of immersion is primarily audio before it is visual. The visual field encompasses 140 degrees. The audio field encompasses 360 degrees. So for the evolution of the metaverse, the evolution of XR and VR, the sound is absolutely critical. And I think musicians have a lot to say and do in virtual worlds.\"\r\n\r\nFirst, I think it\u2019s great when people experiment with the new possibilities of spatialaudio. And he said it right, that you should already think about 3daudio when composing. I said exactly that years ago in my article about the [link id=\"3407\" text=\"good and bad Dolby Atmos Music\"]. \r\n\r\nSo here's an overview of why his work is not all that relevant to whatever the metaverse will be:\r\n- The Metaverse is a more interactive format, but his experience is simply linear\r\n- The metaverse will at least require head-tracking for spatial audio, something #Dolby doesn't like yet\r\n- the Metaversum has 6 degrees of freedom, so the sound should adapt to movement in space, something the audio formats it uses can't even do.\r\n\r\nHere is the misunderstanding, Jean-Michel did not even claim to have pioneered the metaverse. He states that there is a lot of potentials, and I have to agree with him. All he says in the article is \u201c3D will be the new stereo,\u201d so let\u2019s be a little careful to separate immersive technologies.\r\n\r\nTherefore we have to be way more careful. Just because it says 3D audio somewhere doesn\u2019t mean it has 3D audio in it. Especially on other platforms like the Metaverse, different laws apply to audio content. I\u2019ve literally talked to audio engineers who think they\u2019re helping to build the Metaverse \u2013 by working with Dolby Atmos Music. But it\u2019s just not that simple.\r\n\r\n[image id=\"6778\"] \r\n\r\nSeems obvious, but what does it sound like? Just try the demo from the colleagues of Atmoky. It is not a live concert in the real sense. But it shows very nicely how interactive 3D audio with 6 degrees of freedom sounds. All this in the browser, but I have rarely heard in alleged \u201cMetaverse concerts\u201d. Try for [link url=\"https:\/\/experience.atmoky.com\/\" text=\"here\"] for yourself!\r\n\r\n##Audio branding in the metaverse.\r\n\r\nThere\u2019s a question that\u2019s asked far too infrequently in connection with the Metaverse: **Yes, what are people actually doing there?** What are they seeing and, more importantly, what are they hearing?\r\n\r\nOne example is the ability for brands to create their own iconic sounds that they can then offer to users for promotional purposes. A classic example is advertising jingles. Everyone is probably familiar with McDonalds\u2019 \u201cBa dab dab da.\u201d But that\u2019s very one-dimensional thinking; in the metaverse, there are more possibilities with audio:\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s likely we\u2019ll see more custom branding options in the future. Such as where users can unlock celebrity voices for their virtual avatars \u2013 for money. Chatbots can also be equipped with real-time text-to-speech and make you feel much more like you\u2019re interacting with a brand. Then just with artificial intelligence.\r\n\r\nBrands are an integral part of our daily lives, whether we realize it or not. Whether we encounter them on social media or in a virtual gaming environment, brands need to be able to connect with consumers in a natural and meaningful way. Ideally, brands should find ways to seamlessly engage in interaction moments to build a stronger relationships with their customers. Audio is key in this regard for recognition and to create emotion.\r\n\r\n[ytvideo id=\"8C6b4YcYpBE\"]\r\n\r\n**People need to experience it to understand it!** Explaining is good, but experiencing is better. \r\n\r\nSo if you want to experience the Audio Metaverse, just drop me a mail!\r\n\r\n###Let's talk about your project\r\n\r\nWant to use 3D audio in a real project, not just understand it in theory?\r\n\r\n[link id=\"155\" text=\"Get in touch \u2192\"]\r\n","related_articles":[3846,5056,5175,2050,4174]},"yoast_head":"\n