Home > Buzz 3D software Technical data > 3D Audio

Any audio source within the 3D environment is capable of rendering its audio either as a 2D soundfield unaffected by the end user’s position and orientation within the 3D world, or as 3D soundfields, which adjust volume, panning, etc, to maintain a directional link between the on-screen position of the object making the sound, and which speaker(s) output the audio.  This combination of audio and visual cues for position are the two key factors for generating the illusion of ‘being there’ for the user.

This applies to both 3D object-related sound as well as all multimedia content throughout the entire 3-dimensional space.  Each multimedia renderer, typically referred to as a screen (see ‘Integrated Multimedia‘ below), can also be defined as an audio renderer with its own audio characteristics of overall volume, rolloff, direction of sound, etc.

It is also possible to support multi-channel audio, generated by the software as an overall three dimensional soundfield array, or as retrieved from a Dolby Digital 5.1 DVD or Video soundtrack.  This support is present both in-line within the 3D world’s audio renderer on the computer’s internal soundcard, and externally via SPDIF to a surround-capable amplifier.  The latter is particularly relevant for display at Motor Shows or other featured events where the highest quality audio experience at very high volume levels is a necessity.

Perfect reproduction of the audio format in its original form (whether from CD or integrated audio files) is achieved without ‘resampling’, so that by passing it via analog output or SPDIF to external amplification it will sound exactly as its composer intended it to be heard (ie. a 44KHz signal must be reproduced at 44KHz, and not ‘resampled’ to a different sample rate for rendering on output).

Naturally, if hardware acceleration on the onboard audio card exists, then it is utilised.  EAX or other advanced sound processing options, eg. occlusion, reflection, etc, can also be supported.

Note – recent update

Sound data can be attached to an object, and as it (or the camera) moves around in the 3D world, the sound is automatically adjusted to compensate for doppler effects.  Similarly, we can also introduce a sound-scale of sample data, which pitch-changes and blends seamlessly upon demand (this is useful for, say, an interactive car engine, where the engine itself has been recorded as seamless samples of audio at 500rpm increments, and we then pitch-change and blend the moving object by calculating its velocity and then applying an appropriate rpm sound to it.  This technique would work well with any interactive object whose audio has a wide range of tones and pitches dependent upon velocity and position).  In addition, we are also currently building a real-time frequency-dampener that simulates the modification of sound waves when passing through an absorbent filter (eg. if you have a car overtaking you, it sounds dampened when the window is rolled up, and louder and clearer when you can hear it without your own car's driver's cabin absorbing the soundwaves).