Interaural level difference optimisation of first-order binaural ambisonic rendering

Thomas McKenzie; Damian Murphy; Gavin Kearney

Interaural level difference optimisation of first-order binaural ambisonic rendering

Thomas McKenzie^*, Damian Murphy, Gavin Kearney

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

Abstract

Binaural Ambisonic rendering is widely used in immersive applications such as virtual reality due to its sound field rotation capabilities. An issue of low-order Ambisonics is that interaural level differences (ILDs), a crucial cue for horizontal localisation, are often reproduced lower than they should be, which reduces lateralisation. This paper introduces a simple method for Ambisonic ILD Optimisation (AIO), aiming to bring the ILDs produced by binaural Ambisonic rendering closer to those of head-related impulse responses (HRIRs). AIO is evaluated using first-order Ambisonics versus a reference dataset of HRIRs for all locations on the sphere using estimated ILD, perceptual spectral difference and horizontal plane localisation. Results show an overall improvement in all tested metrics.

Original language	English
Publication status	Published - Mar 2019
Event	2019 AES International Conference on Immersive and Interactive Audio: Creating the Next Dimension of Sound Experience - York, United Kingdom Duration: 27 Mar 2019 → 29 Mar 2019

Conference

Conference	2019 AES International Conference on Immersive and Interactive Audio: Creating the Next Dimension of Sound Experience
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	York
Period	27/03/19 → 29/03/19

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Thomas McKenzie was supported by a Google Faculty Research Award.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Audio Engineering Society. All rights reserved.

Cite this

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abstract = "Binaural Ambisonic rendering is widely used in immersive applications such as virtual reality due to its sound field rotation capabilities. An issue of low-order Ambisonics is that interaural level differences (ILDs), a crucial cue for horizontal localisation, are often reproduced lower than they should be, which reduces lateralisation. This paper introduces a simple method for Ambisonic ILD Optimisation (AIO), aiming to bring the ILDs produced by binaural Ambisonic rendering closer to those of head-related impulse responses (HRIRs). AIO is evaluated using first-order Ambisonics versus a reference dataset of HRIRs for all locations on the sphere using estimated ILD, perceptual spectral difference and horizontal plane localisation. Results show an overall improvement in all tested metrics.",

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Interaural level difference optimisation of first-order binaural ambisonic rendering. / McKenzie, Thomas ; Murphy, Damian ; Kearney, Gavin.
2019. Paper presented at 2019 AES International Conference on Immersive and Interactive Audio: Creating the Next Dimension of Sound Experience, York, United Kingdom.

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

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T1 - Interaural level difference optimisation of first-order binaural ambisonic rendering

AU - McKenzie, Thomas

AU - Murphy, Damian

AU - Kearney, Gavin

PY - 2019/3

Y1 - 2019/3

N2 - Binaural Ambisonic rendering is widely used in immersive applications such as virtual reality due to its sound field rotation capabilities. An issue of low-order Ambisonics is that interaural level differences (ILDs), a crucial cue for horizontal localisation, are often reproduced lower than they should be, which reduces lateralisation. This paper introduces a simple method for Ambisonic ILD Optimisation (AIO), aiming to bring the ILDs produced by binaural Ambisonic rendering closer to those of head-related impulse responses (HRIRs). AIO is evaluated using first-order Ambisonics versus a reference dataset of HRIRs for all locations on the sphere using estimated ILD, perceptual spectral difference and horizontal plane localisation. Results show an overall improvement in all tested metrics.

AB - Binaural Ambisonic rendering is widely used in immersive applications such as virtual reality due to its sound field rotation capabilities. An issue of low-order Ambisonics is that interaural level differences (ILDs), a crucial cue for horizontal localisation, are often reproduced lower than they should be, which reduces lateralisation. This paper introduces a simple method for Ambisonic ILD Optimisation (AIO), aiming to bring the ILDs produced by binaural Ambisonic rendering closer to those of head-related impulse responses (HRIRs). AIO is evaluated using first-order Ambisonics versus a reference dataset of HRIRs for all locations on the sphere using estimated ILD, perceptual spectral difference and horizontal plane localisation. Results show an overall improvement in all tested metrics.

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M3 - Paper

AN - SCOPUS:85067888148

T2 - 2019 AES International Conference on Immersive and Interactive Audio: Creating the Next Dimension of Sound Experience

Y2 - 27 March 2019 through 29 March 2019

ER -

Interaural level difference optimisation of first-order binaural ambisonic rendering

Abstract

Conference

Bibliographical note

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Cite this