Papers by ©
Robert E. (Robin) Miller III
High Sonic Definition HSD 3D
 (Pat.pend.) - lifelike home media room where the listener is again within the sphere of live hearing. 5.1-compatible using 6-channel media & 10 speakers

Demonstrations of High Sonic Definition HSD 3D full sphere surround by appointment

Title Published Abstract
5.1 surround and 3D (full sphere with height) reproduction
for interactive gaming and training simulation

AES 121st Int'l Conv 10/06 San Francisco

 Immersive sound for gaming and simulation, perhaps more than for music and movies, requires preserving directionality of direct sounds, both fixed and moving, and acoustical reflections dynamically affecting those sounds, to effect the spatiality being presented. Conventionally (as with popular music), sources are panned close-microphone signals or synthesized sounds; the presentation pretends “They are here,” where spatiality is largely that of the listening environment. Convolution with room impulse responses can contribute diffuse ambience but not “real” spatiality and tone color. These issues pertain not only to 5.1 where reproduction is a 2D horizontal circle of speakers, but to advanced 3D interactive reproduction, where the listener perceives the experience at the center of the sphere of natural hearing. Production techniques are introduced that satisfy both 3D and compatible 5.1. Independent measurement confirms that the system preserves directionality and reproduces life-like spatiality and tone color continuously in the 3D perception sphere.
Physiological and content considerations for a second low frequency channel for bass management, subwoofers, and LFE

ASA/CAA 49th Int'l Conf. 5/05 Vancouver

AES 119th Int'l Conv.10/05 NYC

VDT 23rd Tonmeisters 11/04 Leipzig

 By convention, "frequencies below 90Hz produce no interaural cues useful for spatial sound or localization." Yet some claim they are able to hear a difference between a single subwoofer channel (whether or not to more than one subwoofer) and two ("stereo bass"). Reported research supports the Jeffress model of interaural time difference (ITD) determination in brain structures, and extending the accepted lower frequency limit of interaural phase difference (IPD). Meanwhile, uncorrelated very low frequencies (VLF <100Hz) exist in nearly all existing multi-channel music and movie content. The audibility, recording, and reproduction of uncorrelated VLF are explored in theory and experiments.
Spatial Definition and the PanAmbiophone microphone array for 2D surround & 3D fully periphonic recording AES 117th Int'l Conv 10/04 San Francisco Higher sampling rates are necessary for high spectral resolution, but it is high angular resolution and precision that preserves source directionality and therefore high tonal/timbral quality of that source, given that spectrum. Tonality in acoustic spaces that are extensions of musical instruments, voice boxes, and sources of atmospheric sound effects (as for movies) is a major contributor to lifelike perception, but in audio reproduction tonality is limited by the recording system. A surround microphone has been developed both for more precise PanorAmbiophonic 2D surround ("PanAmbio"), compatible with ITU 5.1, and "PerAmbio" 3D (with height) for the ultimate in tonal reality, distributable in ordinary 6-channel media for either decoderless 2D replay or 3D with decoder and five additional speakers.
Scalable Tri-play Recording for Stereo, ITU 5.1/6.1 2D, and Periphonic 3D (with Height) Compatible Surround Sound Reproduction AES 115th Int'l Conv 10/03 NYC Objectives: Take the next step toward reproducing human hearing AND make better recordings in 5.1. In life, we hear sources we see – but also reflections and reverberation we don't see. Each sonic arrival is individually direction-stamped by our unique HRTF, including height, tonally colored by our pinna. Preserving 3D directionality is key to life-like hearing. A practical, scalable approach is presented (pat.pend.) – a way to “transform” 3D (full sphere) recordings for uncompromised 2D reproduction in stereo or 5.1/6.1 without any decoding. By adding a decoder and speakers, full 3D is losslessly “reconstituted” from 6-channel media. Experimental “tri-play” 6-channel “PerAmbio 3D/2D” recordings have been made and demonstrations presented (AES 114th Amsterdam 3/2003 & AES 24th Banff 6/2003) with praised results.
Transforming Ambiophonic + Ambisonic 3D Surround Sound to & from ITU 5.1/6.1 AES 114 Int'l Conv 3/03 Amsterdam ITU 6.1 with six discrete full-range audio channels, implemented in DVD-A, SACD, and DTS-ES Discrete, provide the means to deliver full sphere periphonic 3D surround sound. For compatible distribution, the channels are transformed for 5.1/6.1 reproduction, but can still be fully recovered for "PerAmbio" reproduction – an Ambisonic + Ambiophonic hybrid approach, described in a prior paper, that maximizes 3D envelopment along with front stage imaging and spaciousness, while economizing the number of channels and speakers. To clarify that fewer media channels "r" are required than speakers "s" the use of MCN - multichannel numbering, in the form "r.lfe.s" is proposed. Experimental "PerAmbio 6.1.10" (10 speakers or more + subwoofer) recordings test six encoding variations applicable in home theater, virtual reality, and music-only production.
Compatible PanAmbiophonic 4.1 and PerAmbiophonic 6.1 Surround Sound for Advanced Television – Beyond ITU 5.1 SMPTE 144th Int'l Conv 10/02 Pasadena ITU 5.1 – the multichannel speaker standard for Advanced Television and home cinema – is not extensible to periphony – the entire, spherical wavefield of natural human hearing. Psychoacoustic theory and experimental recordings explore future-proof capturing, critical monitoring, and compatible production to help sound engineers today achieve more realistic multichannel television and cinema.
Contrasting ITU 5.1 and Panor-ambiophonic 4.1 Surround Sound Recording Using OCT and Sphere Microphones AES112th Int'l Conv 5/02 Munich Two multi-channel microphone techniques for natural music and sound effects reproduction are experimentally compared. Simultaneous surround sound recordings of several genres of music and ambience are made in concert hall, studio, and outdoors. Trained listeners subjectively evaluate the abilities and tradeoffs of each system to recreate accurate panoramic localization and spatial impression of opera, bluegrass with audience participating, flute quartet, brass quintet, marching bands with surrounding crowd and building echoes, and 360ƒ "Walkabout" azimuth test. Differing speaker layouts for 5.1 and "Panor-ambiophonic" Surround are shown to satisfy two distinct listening audiences, which are further divided into home, automotive, and PC markets. An approach to recording level-setting, compatible production, and delivery formats are introduced to satisfy these diverse end uses.

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