Re:iOS 14 is available today
by debug-desperado on Thursday September 17, 2020 @01:50PM
(#24507709)
Classic "virtual surround" works like you've noticed in VLC. I believe the new spatial audio formats (including Apple's) all use a standard HRTF (head-related transfer function) that approximates an average person's ear canal shape. This lets you be placed in a virtual space surrounded by audio sources/objects.
Sony's Mark Cerny had a fascinating talk on PS5's spatial audio implementation. Sony might even support importing a custom-measured HRTF for even greater sound placement accuracy. No idea where you'd get it measured though!
As for comparing the two... the iOS one is absolutely better, but the VLC one is still a really nice improvement. But it's definitely not just the head tracking. The VLC one somehow feels like it spreads the audio out "horizontally", so background sound comes from outside the head, but people speaking still sound "between my ears". Whereas with iOS, the people speaking genuinely sound like they're in front of me -- it puts the center audio forwards -- and nothing sounds "between my ears".
I would guess Apple can produce something superior because they know the exact shape and positioning of their own headphones, as opposed to a generic stereo headphone plugin?
Not to mention, of course, the lack of head tracking in VLC. I just researched Dolby Atmos for Headphones to compare, and it looks intriguing but appears to be Windows only.