well!
Cara, you've had loads of responses!
I hope that the sheer volume hasn't overwhelmed you
With my dissertation supervisor head on, I'd like to offer the following:
Your dissertation question clearly touches something important, but lacks focus.
By that, I mean (in a caring way, possums) that framing the question this way
makes it very difficult to elicit clear answers. Proving why something didn't
happen is very often impossible - it's like the evolutionery arguments as to
why this species made it, whilst that one didn't. The reasons are usually
incredibly complex, and intrinsically involve chaotic elements - the toss of a
coin, the arrival of this circumstance instead of that, the confluence of these
causal items instead of the lack of coincidence of such.
Having said all that...
You've clearly struck a nerve - the responses here show that plenty of
articulate and knowledgeable people have something to offer on this - and these
people won't be around for ever! - clearly, Blumlein has gone, Gerzon has gone,
Felgett isn't around.. - BUT: Peter Craven is. I know he is not so active on
this list, but look for algol.co.uk.
I think the reasons you've garnered here are all relevant - it was too early
("...nothing so powerful as an idea whose time is right" - yet an idea too
early is as out of time as an idea too late) for the rest of technology, it
wasn't taken up by a major tech company, it was too hard to understand, by
domestic and pro users alike.
Consider the signal chain for stereo - you're trying to transfer signals from
one end to the other - from capture/synthesis, through storage, transmission,
reception to display. To do that, in 'standard stereo', a pair of signals -
carried at various stages via 4 parallel connections (left: +ve and "ground",
right +ve and ground) must be correctly made at every connection stage - from
mic, through desk, via effects, at monitoring, to storage or direct to
transmission to the receiving venue, via a reciever or transceiver, pre-amp,
amp, to speakers. Only if those connections have been correctly made right
through the chain, has the spatial information been correctly transferred. And
at the end of all that, if the listener is sitting in the wrong place... - it's
still not right!
Now, for 1st order ambisonics, add two more channels through most of the chain
- that's another four connections - and they must be correct in relation to
each other, and to the previous four. At the final display, where (generally)
the signals must be "decoded" to more-the-double the number of speakers in the
stereo case... the opportunities for getting it wrong have climbed
disproportionately... AND - the sweet spot has got smaller!
As for higher order...
So, Robert Greene's point that any system that relies on users having
sophisticated mathematical knowledge, is doomed, seems fair enough. Of course,
modern cars, computers, etc use sophisticated maths - but it's all "black box"
- hidden.
So it could well be that, if Apple, or similar, had taken it up, it might well
have been a different story - but they didn't. Now, as to why they didn't...
that's kind of the question you're asking - and really, you'd have to identify
who it was that didn't pick it up, and ask them.
AS for my earlier point - that it hasn't actually 'failed' yet - well, as
others have noted, it may have failed to take off as a domestic format - but
what is that, actually? - 5.1 is merely a description of a speaker layout. You
can put what you will on it - 1st order horizontal ambisonics, 3rd order
ambisonic panning (not the same as an ambisonic sound field reconstruction,
more a case of a panning method that uses more than pair-wise sets of speaker),
so it isn't really a whole 'format'.
And from Codemaster's 'Dirt' through TC electronics reverbs, to others,
"ambisonics inside" is, if not ubiquitous, surreptitiously around. Likewise,
Funktion 1 use it in the larger scale, at Glastonbury and Glade, The
researchers who use it for military situation simulations in several countries,
researchers who use it for training in conditions of impaired vision,
artists/scientist teams who use it for data sonification, reconstructions of
historic acoustics, capture of modern complex spatial acoustics... there's
plenty going on.
It's just not concentrated in the domestic forum.
So, overall, I think you have a fertile research area, you have plenty of
people who can offer - but you could do with recontextualising the question
slightly.
Good luck!
Dr Peter Lennox
School of Technology,
Faculty of Arts, Design and Technology
University of Derby, UK
e: p.len...@derby.ac.uk
t: 01332 593155
________________________________________
From: sursound-boun...@music.vt.edu [sursound-boun...@music.vt.edu] On Behalf
Of Cara Gleeson [coarsean...@gmail.com]
Sent: 30 March 2012 15:50
To: sursound@music.vt.edu
Subject: [Sursound] Can anyone help with my dissertation please?
Hi,
I'm currently a student taking my third year at a university, having
completed two years in Live sound engineering at dBs Music, UK.
Due to my final year on a media based course (Live Music) I have no
resources or tutors to speak with on ambisonic matters.
So any response or pointers in the right direction would be greatly
appreciated.
*A little background!*
Through researching a joint project I did last term involving ambisonics
(our project had to involve sound diffusion, manipulation and innovation so
my project partner and I chose to create binaural headphones which mimic us
turning our head in real life. To achieve this we used ambisonics in
accordance with our arduiono board, accelerometer, magnetometer, MAXmsp,
hrtf's and other tools. Two months into our project Smyth Research released
the 'Realiser' a major advancement on our meager prototype!) and
researching for my original dissertation idea based on ambisonic playback
and recording techniques to apply to Live sound rigs I have come across a
few papers and forums with discussion and mentioning of the unfairness of
Sony et ? in the 1970's, 80's and 90's.
*Outline of dissertation question*: *Why did ambisonics not take off
between the 1970's-90's?*
During these projects I've often wondered why didn't ambisonics take off?
Why does Sony still insist on Dolby zillion to one? So this is what I've
decided to do for my final year dissertation.
I've looked at a few online forums and posts discussing these matters and
an obligatory to Michael Gerzon. It would be great to find out from some of
the fellow pioneers, and/or have contributed to further investigation as to
what their thoughts (and perhaps facts) are on why ambisonics never took
off.
I've been exploring the possibility of industry mediocrity (or was it just
pragmatism?), the common confusion and misunderstanding between
quadraphonics and ambisonics, and indeed the flaws found in quadraphonic
and other systems completely ignored by the industry. consumer demands and
misinformation (to name a few ideas) however I have no evidence to back it
up. Any interviews with people concerning this and relevant papers would be
incredibly helpful.
Or was ambisonics just ahead of its time? Considering the 'digital
revolution' hadn't quite kicked off, such as hifi, the gaming industry.
Comments and rumour I've heard about Sony and others at the time 'literally
making sure Gerzon was not heard...is this really true? However why was it
still 'apparently' ignored by executives in the 90's? Was our technology
still not advanced enough to advance ambisonics or more a matter of 'the
industry' playing safe sticking to 'what they' know sells. Or the other
matter of 'well we know we can make more money out of this so we won't
release anything new for a few more years...'??
Also, have I missed the point? Are there other areas I could observe?
Perhaps if it is just a matter of ambisonics was too ahead of its time
would I perhaps be better off writing a dissertation along the lines of
'the development of ambisonics and how now technologies such as Wave
Syntheses used in accordance with ambisonics in a few years mean more
possibilties never realised (also the use and research today disproving
those who have said 'ambisonics is dead')...such as 3D cinema, a way of
implementing ambisonic sound in peoples homes...one day?!
I must also state one of the reasons I outlined in the beginning that I'm a
meer undergraduate student is also to clarify that I'm not a journalist,
nor will once my dissertaion has been read and marked probably ever be read
again, so any comments or interviews given will be held with the upmost
confidence and can be written under an anonymous name or alias if anyone
wishes.
Even if you can not directly help any pointers to those with the answers
would be great! Any links too on the above and information on the standards
in the 1970's appreciated too.
I look forward to hearing and learning from you all,
Cara Gleeson
Through researching a joint project I did last term involving ambisonics
(our project had to involve sound diffusion, manipulation and innovation so
my project partner and I chose to create binaural headphones which mimic us
turning our head in real life. To achieve this we used ambisonics in
accordance with our arduiono board, accelerometer, magnetometer, MAXmsp and
other tools. Two months into our project Smyth Research released the
'Realiser' a major advancement on our meager invention!) and researching
for my original dissertation idea based on ambisonic playback and recording
techniques to apply to Live sound rigs I have come across a few papers and
forums with discussion and mentioning of the unfairness of Sony et ?
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