-->
Save your FREE seat for Streaming Media Connect this August. Register Now!

YouTube Introduces SDK for Spatial Audio on Mobile and Desktop

Article Featured Image

Helping video creators improve the sound on augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and 360º videos played on desktops and mobile devices, YouTube has released the Resonance Audio software development kit (SDK). Derived from technology found in the Google VR Audio SDK, Resonance Audio helps create a rich sonic environment.

The SDK goes beyond simply indicating the direction sounds originate from. For one thing, it controls volume depending on how the viewer is positioned. In a blog post, YouTube product manager Eric Mauskopf notes that people standing in front of a guitar player hear the music louder than those standing behind the same player. Also, the guitar sounds louder when the viewer faces it as opposed to having his or her back turned. The SDK recreates all those small changes.

"The SDK uses highly optimized digital signal processing algorithms based on higher order Ambisonics to spatialize hundreds of simultaneous 3D sound sources, without compromising audio quality, even on mobile," Mauskopf writes.

The Resonance Audio SDK works with Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS, and Linux operating systems, and integrates with Unity, Unreal Engine, FMOD, Wwise, and DAWs. Developers can visit the SDK's GitHub page for downloads, and the Resonance Audio site for additional info.

Streaming Covers
Free
for qualified subscribers
Subscribe Now Current Issue Past Issues
Related Articles

YouTube Adds Partner Management to Revamped Creators Site

A year after launching a hub just for its creators, YouTube has refreshed the area with more content on growing a channel and running a business.

Best Practices for Encoding and Delivering Dolby Audio to Apple Devices

Over the course of this three-part tutorial series, we'll show you how to deliver Dolby Audio via HLS and play it back on any audio endpoint, including device speakers, headphones, or external sound systems via AirPlay or HDMI.

YouTube Announces 360-Degree Live Streaming, Spatial Audio

During an NAB 2016 keynote address, YouTube broke news that it now supports live streaming of immersive 360-degree video, and viewers will be able to hear which direction sounds are coming from.