Binaural Use In Mainstream Media?

[Etheric]

Anyone heard of this?

Woody Norris invents amazing things | Video on TED.com

The stuff that he talks about being able to hear just the left speaker with one ear and the right with the other - thus making binaural stereo possible with no headphones - is really intriguing... Imagine that combined with the 3D TV head tracking that this guy talks about:

Johnny Lee demos Wii Remote hacks | Video on TED.com

...well that's some binaural use in the mainstream media for ya right there! I mean really; movies, games - touch screen/voice controlled virtual realities combined with the internet and social networks (a bit overkill there, but still, possible etc. - you name it!

I don't know about you guys, but I'm utterly excited to see what the next 10-20 years will bring us...

[dallas simpson]

Hi All, just discovered this site. I'm a bit of a binaural specialist so thought I'd chip in. this may be a long post please bear with me.

I agree the time is long overdue to establish binaural recording as a mainstream technique for personal audio players. And also for use in live audience performances.

Binaural and human perception.
Normal human hearing is by its nature binaural. A remearkable feat of evolution allows us to perceive and localise sound sources all around us. This is achieved by the intrusion of our head and ears (HTRF), and to some extent our body and limbs, as physical structures into real space. Sound originating from any location and distance impinges on the surface of our head-ear-body structure, wraps around and enters our ears. The external ears (pinnae) are remarkable structures being assymetrical in shape in three dimensions. They act as directional filters in conjunction with the inter aural delays due to the seperation of each ear at the side of the head. Sounds coming from below are also modified by body shadowing.

The important aspect of this is that we receive two sets of acoustic information -

1)the sound,
2)the complex binaural HTRF 'interference pattern', coding location.

Our hearing is able to process these components such that the complex binaural HTRF 'interference pattern' is heard as _location_ not sound, and this is the remarkable feat of human binaural hearing - we hear the pure sound coming from the location from which it originated.

But things are not entirely perfect. Like the sense of touch, which has variable definition over the surface of our body with high definition on lips and fingertips and low definition on our back, our hearing has strong and weak areas in respect of localisation.

There is also the issue of biodiversity. There ia a wide range of head-ear-body shapes throughout the population, so every individual has a unique HTRF (Head related transfer function).

Many binaural recording / replay techniques seek to limit the range of spatial information, or 'compromise' the information to the best average for a human head. Many pseudo binaural techniques achieve this by simple means eg Jecklin disc, and many pseudo binaural techniques are more speaker compatible, with acceptable headphone binaural spatialisation.

For the binaural purist, like myself, we are only considering the headphone binaural presentation. Speaker compatibility is irrelevant.

Leaving the software HTRF synthesis approaches aside, we can achieve a satifactory binaural recording using physical devices such as a dummy head, or more cheaply, by using our own head and sampling our own hearing. There are limitations to this method, but if they are understood exciting and realistic binaural recording can be made.

I will give some details in my next post if there is any interest. Meanwhile hear are a few links to some of my own work as a solo binaural artist and in collaboration with other artists.

YouTube - 2of4 Swimming + Dallas Simpson// The Fireflow Trade (Binaural Live)// Listen with HEADPHONES ONLY
YouTube - 1of4 Swimming + Dallas Simpson// There's A Mountain (Binaural Live)// Listen with HEADPHONES ONLY
Dallas Simpson – Discover music, concerts, & pictures at Last.fm

best wishes,
dallas simpson

[Ozpeter]

"Binaural" and "Mike Skeet" are words that belong together -

Binaural Jazz Label
Esoteric Binaural Music Label
Binaural Recording Steam Train Sounds

[dallas simpson]

getting back to the original question:

"crispybishop said <snip>
I know a decent amount about binaural audio, and while I might just be missing something here completely, I'm wondering why it isn't being applied to mainstream media? Well, perhaps I should correct that statement. <snip> But what about the iPod generation? Am I the only one realizing the potential for a new audio "revolution"? How many people are walking around listening to music and watching podcasts on their mobile devices, with *headphones*? Too many, right?

So, with the knowledge that the iPod generation isn't just a passing fad (I'm pretty sure it's here to stay for a long while), does anybody have any thoughts on the possible use (or implications) of introducing binaural audio into the new headphone-oriented world? <snip>" (end)

There are many respondents to this thread who are creating binaural content for commercial distribution (me included). Can we collectively target 'big name' artists / musicians / performers and interest them in binaural recording? Can we target radio producers / radio production companies and offer binaural content?

I know there have been many attempts in the past but as crispybishop points out there is a massive headphone audience already out there.

One of the problems is that there are many shades of binaural, its a complex arena, but it does work even using a variety of different techniques, with or without head tracking, live head binaural - in ear, side of head, Jecklin disc, a variety of dummy head techniques (including the excellent custom made versions by Mike Skeet), HRTF software synthesis... who cares as long as its good binaural.

Lets not get obsessed with the minutae of 'problems'. Lets just get some simple good pure binaural released commercially with some 'names' who can open up the interest to an audience just waiting to experience the wonder of headphone binaural surround sound.

So we need recordists to target producers / programme creators / artists / musicians to create good contemporary binaural content and distribute sell it to a waiting audience.

lets get to it!

dallas.

[Ozpeter]

What kind of content? The best I've heard has been in radio drama, but that's hardly mainstream for the iPod generation. (Sadly, binaural classical music would also be pretty niche...)

[dallas simpson]

Originally Posted by Ozpeter

What kind of content? The best I've heard has been in radio drama, but that's hardly mainstream for the iPod generation. (Sadly, binaural classical music would also be pretty niche...)

I understand there are ipod listeners across a wide range of listening, including classical, but as i'm sure you are aware the vast majority of listeners are in the 'pop' and related areas (rock, metal, folk, jazz, hip-hop, garage, indie, dance, techno.....) ie bands.

I'm currently working with a band from Nottingham UK who's latest album ranked 21 in the top 50 albums for 2009 in the UK, and who appeared at Glastonbury last year. Shortly, through them, I will be involved in a series of environmental binaural remixes for some pretty 'big name' artists.

In the past I have created binaural albums and binaural material for some well known established artists like Ric Sanders (violinist for Fairport Convention), Rick Wakeman, Roger Eno, Gordon Giltrap, Martin Stephenson (Daintees), Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree (for Uri Geller), Geoffrey Downes (Asia, Buggles, including a live binaural remix of Video Killed The Radio Star), Howard Riley, actor Richard O'Brien and others.

Regarding classical music, recently there has appeared an installation where the audience is taken to a series of speaker perspectives from inside the orchestra. This can be done admirably through headphone binaural.

For those on this list who are binaural listeners, one way to help would be to write to artists managemnent, and to radio stations, programme producers and the like, clamouring for binaural recordings in whatever genre you are interested in. If there is a perceived need in the binaural format from the consumer, the industry will jump at the chance to fulfill that need. We could start a petition for binaural in mainstream on this list, but I still think that direct pressure on artists, and content producers is the way to go.

Equally I don't think I would write off interest in drama, for instance, or documentary, or sport. The binaural format could be brought to bear on all of these genres. The most important thing is to open up a clamour of interest in binaural and convey that interest to those who are creating music or programme content. It is this kind of pressure that will open the door. There is quite an amount of existing binaural material, but often its rather obscure in terms of sources and artist profiles.

So effectively its a two pronged approach - binaural devotees clamouring for material in that format and binaural recordists and producers creating the content. The two go hand in hand.

Like you, I'm convinced that if listeners hear some good binaural content they will be completely sold on it.

I'm working on it,
dallas simpson.

[NorseHorse]

Neat little note on the inside of MODE 175 - Roland Dahinden - Flying White.

"About the recording of flying white and mond see: The music moves in space thanks to being recorded by a dynamic binaural system. When played via stereo loudspeakers, the recording positions the listeners on the periphery of this space, whereas they will find themselves at its center when listening over headphones."

And down near the bottom of the page it says:

please listen at a soft volume

(yes, it's printed in red) thumbsup

[Chrislpp]

Originally Posted by crispybishop

So I've been thinking recently about the validity of binaural audio. You know, where they take a dummy head, attach some real-life pinnae, and voila! You have instant awesome! Right? Well, that's my question...

I know a decent amount about binaural audio, and while I might just be missing something here completely, I'm wondering why it isn't being applied to mainstream media? Well, perhaps I should correct that statement. Why isn't it being applied to the next-gen? Movie theaters will never implement binaural audio, because handing out 300 headphones each show (and getting 'em back) just isn't practical... But what about the iPod generation? Am I the only one realizing the potential for a new audio "revolution"? How many people are walking around listening to music and watching podcasts on their mobile devices, with *headphones*? Too many, right?

So, with the knowledge that the iPod generation isn't just a passing fad (I'm pretty sure it's here to stay for a long while), does anybody have any thoughts on the possible use (or implications) of introducing binaural audio into the new headphone-oriented world? A few observations/questions of my own:

1) In binaural playback, the audio coming from the headphones to the ears is "pre-EQ'd" to match what the ear receives. So if you use regular (over-ear or on-ear) headphones, do your ears not naturally "re-EQ" the incoming signal, thus degrading the reliability of binaural audio? And subsequently, does this mean that in-ear devices (earbuds) help solve this problem?
2) Music is a possibility (but a stretch), but what are the possibilities for introducing hi-fidelity audio for podcasting? Just imagine an entire spoken podcast (typically boring, as it's one source in one direction) wherein the 'caster walks around and uses his location to emphasize certain points or thoughts!
3) Has anybody had any experiments in building a binaural dummy head? This website has silicone ears for purchase, as well as instructions for construction. Any observations or criticisms (as I, myself, have some)?

Words right out of my mouth.

When I first heard binaural clips on headphones I had 100000 ideas in my head about what could be done with them as many people listen on ipods and mp3 players.

I wondered why labels weren't.....


then it dawned on me.

[dallas simpson]

Originally Posted by Chrislpp

Words right out of my mouth.

When I first heard binaural clips on headphones I had 100000 ideas in my head about what could be done with them as many people listen on ipods and mp3 players.

I wondered why labels weren't.....
then it dawned on me.

I think its very easy to be dismissive about binaural and 'throw out the baby with the bathwater' so to speak.

1) Effects of double encoding by the listener's ears: Yes this is one phenomenon, albeit a very small effect, that can occur with closed headphones especially. The effect on the perception of spatial imaging is small. Binaural recordings can be EQ'd (mastered) to optimise the tonality for binaural listening, and I have mastered many such commercial releases.

2) Other issues: A greater variation occurs with the biological variation of individual head / ear shape. This can have more severe consequences on perception of spatial imaging, particularly the phenomenon of front/ rear image reversal. Dummy heads and pseudo binaural techniques minimise this. In-Ear recording techniques are more prone to this, but show greater strengths in below the head localisation due to 'body shadowing'. Careful selection of recording environments and attention to spatial choreograhy and location of sound sources can optimise the negative effects of these variables. Software HRTF encoding also has some advantages in a strong horizontal equatorial plane binaural localistaion.

3) Headphone audiences. I have presented live binaural performances and pre-recorded binaural concerts to seated audiences of up to 100 headphone listeners on a hard wire system on a 'bring your own headphones' basis. It works. For large _mobile_ audiences of up to and over 1000 headphone listeners Silent Disco (based in the Netherlands) have an excellent custom radio headphone system, which I used when I performed in Berlin in 2008. headphones are hired on payment of hire charge and driving license or passport as security. It also works.

4) With CD and radio, the delivery issue is trivial - simply use the standard stereo technology and listen on headphones. Speaker playback of binaural can also be an exciting experience, but different to headphone listening, and will reveal phasing effects on some moving sound sources, nice if you want it as an effect! (sure, irritating if you don't)

In short there is no practical barrier to the delivery of binaural material on any stereo media format, nor in its use for live or pre-recorded concerts with free roaming audiences of sizes up to many thousands using the Silent Disco radio headphone system.

[chadster]

Originally Posted by audio ergo sum

Not really, that is a common misconception. ORTF or AB have absolutely NOTHING to do with binaural sound reproduction but with loudspeaker reproduction and the necessary time and/or level differences to create a certain angular placement of a sound source and even energy distribution over the sound stage between the speakers.

Also the spacing of mics in ORTF (17 cm) has nothing to do with the head diameter.

AB and ORTF are not binaural techniques. They are techniques for stereo speaker reproduction in a standardized stereo triangle (±30 degree incidence of sound from speakers)

I stand corrected. Thanks for putting me straight. I didn't mean to imply that ORTF and AB were binaural techniques, I just thought they were based on the binaural concept.

[Mark A. Jay]

Originally Posted by audio ergo sum

Not really, that is a common misconception. ORTF or AB have absolutely NOTHING to do with binaural sound reproduction but with loudspeaker reproduction and the necessary time and/or level differences to create a certain angular placement of a sound source and even energy distribution over the sound stage between the speakers.

Also the spacing of mics in ORTF (17 cm) has nothing to do with the head diameter.

AB and ORTF are not binaural techniques. They are techniques for stereo speaker reproduction in a standardized stereo triangle (±30 degree incidence of sound from speakers)

Amen, and Thank You.

I tried to explain a lot of this in the thread entitled "Binaural vs ORTF", with some, though limited success.

Regrettably, there is a lot of mis-information out there about what constitutes true binaural. Many argue that in as much as these techniques approximate binaural that they are binaural; In my opinion that's a bit like saying that a dialect is the same as the parent language proper from which it comes - but that is my opinion.

Anyway, I won't re-hash here as I've already written about it in the thread mentioned previously. Search the forums and you will find some interesting thoughts on the topic.

[dallas simpson]

Originally Posted by Mark A. Jay

Amen, and Thank You.

Regrettably, there is a lot of mis-information out there about what constitutes true binaural. Many argue that in as much as these techniques approximate binaural that they are binaural; In my opinion that's a bit like saying that a dialect is the same as the parent language proper from which it comes - but that is my opinion.

Hi Mark, - 'keeping the binaural alive!'

I think it is important to take the broad view. I am seriously dedicated to making binaural centre mainstream. So we need good binaural content covering a variety of genres - music, rock, pop, jazz, classical..., drama, documentary, sound art, natural history, phonography....

We need a variety of good binaural approaches (live head, dummy head and similar, good HRTF synthesis), a variety of styles, creative approaches.

Mark, I know you do professional binaural jazz recordings. Do you have a binaural catalogue we can promote?

For my part my first binaural releases were tracks on the ambient UK EMIT label (EMIT2296, EMIT1197) in the late '90's. I have released a few binaural CD's through the UK record label Voiceprint and I have a vast archive of environmental and sound art binaural recordings. There are also some environmental binaural internet releases I have done recently.

IMPULSIVE HABITAT - A DIVISION OF TEST TUBE NETLABEL
Dallas Simpson

If there is interest I can post a list. You will find some on the 'What is your favourite binaural recording?' thread.

But please, if we are to promote binaural we need professional quality binaural content

cheers,
dallas.

[Mark A. Jay]

Originally Posted by dallas simpson

Hi Mark, - 'keeping the binaural alive!'

I think it is important to take the broad view. I am seriously dedicated to making binaural centre mainstream. So we need good binaural content covering a variety of genres - music, rock, pop, jazz, classical..., drama, documentary, sound art, natural history, phonography....

We need a variety of good binaural approaches (live head, dummy head and similar, good HRTF synthesis), a variety of styles, creative approaches.

Mark, I know you do professional binaural jazz recordings. Do you have a binaural catalogue we can promote?

For my part my first binaural releases were tracks on the ambient UK EMIT label (EMIT2296, EMIT1197) in the late '90's. I have released a few binaural CD's through the UK record label Voiceprint and I have a vast archive of environmental and sound art binaural recordings. There are also some environmental binaural internet releases I have done recently.

IMPULSIVE HABITAT - A DIVISION OF TEST TUBE NETLABEL
Dallas Simpson

If there is interest I can post a list. You will find some on the 'What is your favourite binaural recording?' thread.

But please, if we are to promote binaural we need professional quality binaural content

cheers,
dallas.

Dallas: I started a new thread under "Remote Possibilities..." entitled "Best Bets for Binaural" and it addresses a lot of what you mention here.

As far as the Jazz binaural is concerned, That was one of my first big gigs (also the jazz excerpts that I have posted came from those gigs). As such I have shared some of that which I can. It is my hope the recordings will soon be released, but that's beyond my control at this point - I engineered the recordings, did some minor post-production work, and now it's "hurry up and wait".

Frankly, I would LOVE to see them get released as they were done over a four-day stint, and as such, I have hours upon hours of some great music that puts you 'right there'. Alas...

Anyway, in the new thread, I asked those who post to identify the equipment, mich technique, whether 'pure' binaural or some hybrid form of binaural etc. It is also my hope that we can get some very high-quality binaural content there, but as importantly, discuss some of the marketing issues surrounding binaural and its use.

Back to my mix...