>You may technically be correct, but the problem comes when you include >mono sound. You've jumped straight to stereo (2 channels) and declared >it to be "1D". If so, then what do you call mono sound?
Mono sound comes from (an idealized) single point source, infinitely small. A single point in space is properly called zero dimensions: 0-D. They taught me that on the first day of class. Lets look at the other end of it. Throw away the headphones and add sound sources to the room for up and down. Use the same timing tricks to create a sound field that localizes sounds vertically. Do you call this 4-D, clearly not. That is 3-D. Mono = 0-D Stereo = 1-D 5.1 and variations = 2-D You can get 2-D with headphones because the sound sent to each ear can be timed to localize the sound at any angle and distance in the 360-degree plane (2-D). In fact, headphones are a great way to do this because you get complete control over the position of the sound source relative to the ear. In a room this may not work well if you sit in a bad place relative to the sound emitters. Can you get 3-D with headphones? Yes, but not with the headphones we are discussing. To get 3-D the headphones would need to measure the angle of the head and send that back to the computer. The computer would them process the sound to simulate what happens when one cocks one head. By putting one ear higher than the other you create tiny timing differences that can be used to estimate up and down. This only works when the sound lasts long enough so you can gets its position with your head straight and then again with your head at an angle. Gamers probably don't have the patience for this. >I agree it's kind of odd the marketers call it "3D sound" when in fact >no attempt has yet been made to reproduce sounds coming from above and >below. That's the point. Some folks will swallow marketing blather indescriminately. 3-D headphones. iPod killers. Windows 7 is double plus good. This is marketing crap. I'm thinking this 2-D vs. 3-D thread is just a WFB vendetta because I'm not sufficiently worshipful of MS marketing crap. ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
