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Apple Patent on Virtual Speakers

Macnoviz said:
Doesn't such a system as described use the space in between and the walls?
I don't think they will be able to do that with the normal headphones, although there are big ones (caps) that have surround sound.
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With headphones, it's simulatred surround.
CHeck out the demo for Dolby Headphone. It's pretty sweet.
 
skwert said:
those weren't bad...although they did connect via the exclusive audio jack found only on g4 imacs and pmacs (could be run on the exact models) making them useless for books and g5 pmacs, w/out the adapter
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That's because they weren't powered speakers. The G4 iMacs and PowerMac G4s had 20watt stereo amplifiers built into them.

You can get an adapter from Griffin to hook up regular stereo speakers to them. I have a G4 running two Paradigm stereo speakers (3se minis) and they sound great.
 
Remember people, you only have two ears. This means it's theoretically possible to get perfect surround sound that is truly surround, with only two speakers.

However, you can tune to the acoustics of the room, determine the sweet spot and it will sound great. But, as someone mentioned, move your head 2 cm and it throws it all out of whack.

I imagine headphones with "simulated" surround would be easier, because the speakers are always in the same place relative to your ears. Also, the speakers being isolated would mean there wouldn't be worrys about sound waves bouncing off of objects in your room, etc.
 
This would be perfect for products such as the iMac, Mac mini and Power Macs. Use only two speakers in the product and have it resemble a 5.1 system? PERFECT-O.
I miss the subwoofer that was incorporated in the Power Macs like my old 6500. You almsot didn't need an external set of speakers with that thing. The bass boomed pretty nicely.
 
hayesk said:
Remember people, you only have two ears. This means it's theoretically possible to get perfect surround sound that is truly surround, with only two speakers.
Click to expand...

THat si exactly right. Your brain is trained to use only 2 ears to determain where sound is coming from. So, it's not hard to believe that you can "trick" your ears into thinking you are surrounded by the movie.
It's that fact that your brain is trained to hear a certain way that sometimes we get tricked into thinking a noise is from some other place when a sound bounces off a wall.
 
what it means?

ipod video with 5.1 support next tuesday:eek:

On a more serious tone, could anyone explain me if clicking "use optical out" in Dvd Player is enough to obtain 5.1 surround from a macbook?
I connect the macbook to my Creative Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro, by optical fibre, and nothing...
strange, the same cable enables me to playback from airport express...
A "5.1 on mac for n00bs" like user guide would satisfy my thirst to watch star wars on widescreen, not having a tv, and just a 4:3 bulky pc.

thanks!
 
KindredMAC said:
I miss the subwoofer that was incorporated in the Power Macs like my old 6500. You almsot didn't need an external set of speakers with that thing. The bass boomed pretty nicely.
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Really?
 

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AtHomeBoy_2000 said:
THat si exactly right. Your brain is trained to use only 2 ears to determain where sound is coming from. So, it's not hard to believe that you can "trick" your ears into thinking you are surrounded by the movie.
It's that fact that your brain is trained to hear a certain way that sometimes we get tricked into thinking a noise is from some other place when a sound bounces off a wall.
Click to expand...

that is true...however you need to factor in the part that our eyes also see where the speakers are, and that information get's mixed in with the information that goes to the brain. so if i know that it's only coming out of two speakers...it's not going to sound the same as true 5.1.
 
AtHomeBoy_2000 said:
THat si exactly right. Your brain is trained to use only 2 ears to determain where sound is coming from. So, it's not hard to believe that you can "trick" your ears into thinking you are surrounded by the movie.
It's that fact that your brain is trained to hear a certain way that sometimes we get tricked into thinking a noise is from some other place when a sound bounces off a wall.
Click to expand...

I don't really buy this. Just because we have two ears doesn't mean two speakers can emulate the real world...I'm not seeing the connection there.

Our brain uses minute timing differences between when soundwaves reach each ear, as well as various inflections based on the shape of the ear and the angle at which sound strikes it, to determine where sound comes from. I agree that in principle its possible to manipulate sounds to fool the brain, but it still seems to me like more positional channels will always be more convincing, because in the real world we hear audio signals from an infinite number of positions.

But I'm not an expert -- I'm open to being convinced otherwise.
 
calculus said:
I don't understand why so many people think it's ugly.
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Shinny white plastic with sharp edges is generally considered to be/look about as CHEAP as you can get :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
Anything is better than the iPod Hi-Fi - but it sounds like they are a bit late to this game. Yamaha has had a single-speaker 5 speaker surround (subwoofer separate) component (YSP-1000) which has gotten quite favorable reviews in the AV press. At least one other company is selling one as well.

Also, most good receivers come with automatic microphone setup for optimum sound - so unless Apple is coming up with a killer Home Theater product that somehow out-performs a dedicated receiver and single component speaker combo, this isn't too exciting.

Then again, it is Apple. When they think big, they can make great new things. Only time will tell. I wouldn't mind a kick-### home theater system with an Apple logo on it.
 
BlueRevolution said:
I thought that had been around for a long time. Apple may be going to make one that actually works, but you can't really patent "actually working". I can't see this filing getting approved.
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Yep, in the year 2000 Aureal and Creative already had several patents covering the technique. There is also plenty of prior art showing how to "calibrate" the room for two speakers.

The sweet spot is a few feet in diameter for most rooms.

Must say that none of these techniques ever made it to the mainstream.

Will be great if Apple really wants to build a product around the virtual concepts- they will make it work for the average consumer.
 
yac_moda said:
Shinny white plastic with sharp edges is generally considered to be/look about as CHEAP as you can get :eek: :eek: :eek:
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What colour is shinny white? Generally considered?
 
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