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GVR spatial audio , audio source directivity

Discussion in 'Daydream' started by sterlingcrispin, Jan 4, 2017.

  1. sterlingcrispin

    sterlingcrispin

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2013
    Posts:
    18
    How exactly do these values impact sound? I'm going to experiment but the documentation is kind of unclear

    Listener Directivity - Alpha
    Listener Directivity - Sharpness

    Directivity - Alpha
    Directivity - Sharpness

    This Tango script defines them as:

    "Directivity",
    "Controls the pattern of sound emission of the source. This can change the perceived " +
    "loudness of the source depending on which way it is facing relative to the listener. " +
    "Patterns are aligned to the 'forward' direction of the parent object.");

    "directivityAlpha"
    "Controls the balance between dipole pattern and omnidirectional pattern for source " +
    "emission. By varying this value, differing directivity patterns can be formed.");

    "Sharpness"
    "Sets the sharpness of the directivity pattern. Higher values will result in increased " +
    "directivity.");

    kind of unclear to me exactly how these four parameters work together, does anyone have any more information?
     
    sterlingcrispin, Jan 4, 2017
    #1

  2. jkammerl

    jkammerl

    Official Google Employee

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2017
    Posts:
    1
    Just take a look at the visualization of the directivity pattern when you change these parameters. It should help to understand how these parameters affect the sound emmision.

    For more information, see also the section on directivity patterns here:
    https://developers.google.com/vr/concepts/spatial-audio
     
    jkammerl, Jan 4, 2017
    #2

  3. sterlingcrispin

    sterlingcrispin

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2013
    Posts:
    18
    Ah great! This is what I get for posting at 1AM with the flu, but I don't understand the relationship between "Listener directivity" and the directivity of the audio source

    Listener Directivity is shown as a maroon blob, why would a sound source be able to impact the directivity of the audio listener?
     

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    sterlingcrispin, Jan 5, 2017
    #3

  4. michaelberg

    michaelberg

    Unity Technologies

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2017
    Posts:
    21
    The listener directivity settings let you affect how loud the audio source is based on whether the listener is oriented toward/facing the source or not. Instead of just traditional distance-based attenuation, you can kind of shape the loudest areas based on the audio source's orientation (directivity) and the listener's orientation (listener directivity). For me, with these particular properties, it is easiest to just drop a test audio source into a scene and try these out to get a good feel for how they work.
     
    michaelberg, Jan 11, 2017
    #4
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