Hi,
This thread brings up several things that have been discussed
previously, and others have given good answers that cover why
ambisonics has failed to enter the mainstream.
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:23:04 +0100
From: Peter Lennox <p.len...@derby.ac.uk>
I don't even think it has failed - it just took off in a 'slow
burn' way
Actually, there is more being done on spherical harmonics and
ambisonics than ever before - more experimental setups, more free
tools ( look at Wigware, for example) - it's now easy peasy to make
and use ambisonics, to convert to and from 5.1 - even stereo(UHJ)
Ultimately, "speaker formats" are dead, to eventually be replaced
by "speaker layout agnostic" - whether ambisonic, 'scene
description' (for use in ambisonic, 5.1, 7.1, wavefield synthesis,
etc) - in fact, in future, hybrids are likely to be the norm
I recently attended a seminar at PLASA (Professional Lighting and
Sound Association) in he UK. On the panel were the main man from
Soundfield, two representatives of BSkyB (a major digital video
organisation), a man from Dolby and one from the BBC research
department in Salford. Fascinating.
BSkyB are probably Soundfield's biggest customer. They've bought many
Soundfield microphones (and I gather a number of Soundfield's 5.1
upmixers) for sports coverage and love the way they can use and
manipulate the signal while ensuring automatic mono, stereo and
surround compatibility. They then code to Dolby 5.1 and Stereo for
broadcast over two different channels. They can't possibly monitor
all these options accurately for live events and depend on it all
happening correctly and reliably automatically.
The BBC are looking at ambisonics and other systems, but is not as
well funded as in the past, are subject to great commercial
constraints, and dependent on commercial technology.
There was much talk of sound object coding, another word for all the
things in Peter's last paragraph, and Fraunhofer's MPEG surround.
Trouble with this is that even the most basic infrastructure (stuff
in people's houses and the means to deliver it) is not there, so it
is currently a pipe dream.
Also talk of binaural, probably the simplest and easiest, but even
among iPod and mobile phone users hardly out of the starting blocks.
The man from Dolby was fairly quiet. They're doing well with things
as they are.
Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2012 12:03:07 +0100
From: Richard Dobson <richarddob...@blueyonder.co.uk>
My own assumption when first discovering Ambsonics (public concert by
electric Phoenix, and later via CDP, from the late 80s) was that it
was
purposed towards use in public diffusion - live concerts, e/a
performance etc, and above all, for enabling composers to work in
surround (including the seemingly all-important height dimension)
without having to commit to a specific speaker layout.
<snip>
I suspect that sense, far from diminishing, is if anything even more
palpable today. It is more than ever something for the large
presentation space, and something that the public at large will
neither
know nor care about having at home. The remaining problem being that
dedicated composition tools supporting it are still not really there;
and probably never will be while it remains a technological moveable
feast reminiscent of the old problem of nailing jelly to a tree.
The tools are increasingly there, as Peter says. The technology
(speakers and amplifiers) are cheaper, better and more readily
available than ever. The live music and event sector is in a good
state (unlike the recording sector), and audiences produce funding.
Surround sound can provide a better experience. I have worked on a
number of events and concerts using quad, ambisonics and performance
'diffusion' systems. The audience don't have to worry about the
technology.
Ambisonics is 'an idea whose time has come'. It's not perfect, but
nothing ever is. The present is already hybrid and the future will
become increasingly so. A range of solutions at different scales for
different events. Interesting times.
Ciao,
Dave Hunt
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