22 TECHFEED Immersive Audio
Words by David Davies
It’s early days for immersive audio on mobile, but everyone agrees that its potential, especially for sports, music, VR and AR services, is tremendous
he rise of immersive audio has been relatively swift and sure-footed, and in truth not wholly unexpected. The desire
Rob France is Senior Product Marketing Manager at Dolby, the company that arguably initiated the entire immersive audio movement with its Dolby Atmos object-based audio system. “Immersive for mobile is just getting started, relatively speaking, but it’s clear that its potential is significant,” he says. “Even through the app services we have supported to date, we could say that it is a key market for Dolby Atmos. But give it a few years and I would think it could well be the top market.”
for ‘more than stereo’ has fuelled a number of previous audio industry trends, in particular 5.1 for home theatres. But although uptake was relatively strong in some territories, it would be stretching the truth to claim that 5.1 has enjoyed universal adoption. Immersive audio and other audio technologies loosely grouped under the Next Generation Audio bracket could now be on the verge of global traction. Paving the way for even more all- encompassing audio experiences, these technologies frequently have their roots in the cinema, performance space or visitor attraction markets. Having begun a crossover into the domestic sphere, the adaptable nature of many such audio technologies means they could soon enjoy a very rewarding future in the mobile market.
Powered by FlippingBook