On Wed, May 25, 2022 at 08:45:42AM +0100, Richard Dobson wrote: > I am still not too sure if > even now things are standardised enough for anyone to write a fresh file > format for it that pleases everyone. Suffice it to say, such things can't > just be written,they have to be implemented and tested, e.g. on vast tiered > speaker layouts which very few people have access to. And of course it will > need to use a 64bit-friendly file format too...
Ambix seems to be the de facto standard today, except that instead of the required CAF container most people seem to use the same channel order and gains in a WAVEX file. Which in turn means that the 'extended' format is not available as it depends on CAF's UUID chunck. That's a shame, because CAF is really the cleanest audio file format available today [1]. Advantages are: - no history of incompatible 'vendor extensions', - 64-bit size, in practice no limit on duration, - it can be extended without breaking the official specs. A problem with the Ambix spec is that the internet never forgets, and if you search for it you could easily find the now invalid original document, or a version of the same with 'corrections' that make it hard to read and interpret. The one at <https://ambisonics.iem.at/xchange/fileformat/2011_nachbarzottersontacchideleflie_ambix.pdf/view> seems to be OK. What is IMHO missing in the Ambix format is an optional UUID chunk that would contain the same info as a broadcast WAV, and in exactly the same format. Such metadata is really essential for some users. It could easily be added without breaking anything. [1] Except for the channel description chunk which is the usual mishmash of everything the authors could imagine, and still not capable of describing arbitrary channel uses or just saying 'undefined'. Luckily it is not required for the Ambix format. -- FA _______________________________________________ Sursound mailing list Sursound@music.vt.edu https://mail.music.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/sursound - unsubscribe here, edit account or options, view archives and so on.
