| 3D sound
When we hear things in the physical world, our ears pick up a variety of
audible clues that tell us such things as "a truck is approaching me
rapidly, from behind and to the left, and it's remarkably near." Until
recently, however, most computer-generated sound was merely
stereophonic--sounds could appear from the left or right, but they had no
real depth.
The latest 3D sound techniques, including A3D from Aureal and Creative
Labs' Environmental Audio, use techniques to trick our ears into positing
sounds in three dimensions. Many 3D audio techniques require a specially
designed sound card to work. |