VR, AR, and mixed reality, as well as other 360-degree media content platforms, could soon get a boost in the direction of more realistic, immersive experiences thanks to a new innovation from G’Audio Lab. That’s because the L.A.-based company has worked out a solution to problems associated with streaming truly spatial audio which also adapts to the user’s point-of-view (POV) in real time. Namely, the G’Audio has managed to squeeze its binaural rendering format into the widely-used AAC audio codec with what it calls it calls Sol Livestreaming. The breakthrough is significant because AAC codec is actually already so widely utilized in streaming that, if content creators take advantage of the new innovation, real-time adaptive 3D audio could effectively become ubiquitously available in little time.
According to the company, the possibilities presented by the advancement are basically endless. Live streaming content is already in the world of entertainment as it pertains to events ranging from sports to concerts and even gaming. The 360-degree video phenomenon has even begun to show up in relatively unexpected places like social media. However, high-quality audio that responds to the position of the viewer or where they happen to be looking could pave the way to a completely new experience for those who access the content. Taken alongside other improvements that happened over the past year or so in terms of viewing technology hardware, consumers could be delivered a sense of immersion that has previously only been attainable via media that isn’t being streamed live – if it was attainable at all. Beyond that, because the audio encoding utilized here can already be found across a wide variety of platforms, from YouTube to gaming consoles, it won’t require the latest hardware to take advantage of it.
That means that content creators won’t need to focus solely on the newest and most expensive technologies, giving them a much wider audience for their media. Perhaps best of all, the binaural format used by G’Audio Lab, to begin with, is also already widely in use. So creators aren’t going to need to change too much in order to create content that’s ready to take advantage of the solution. While the company has announced and described its new innovation, there’s no indication given as to when consumers will finally start streaming content that allows for POV-driven immersive sound.