1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:04,960 Virtual surround is a true representation of human ingenuity and 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:08,880 the advances that scientific research can have on technology. It essentially 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:13,120 tricks your ears into thinking that sound which is coming from a 2.1 channel 4 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:17,680 setup or a small strip of speakers using a technique called digital sound 5 00:00:14,719 --> 00:00:21,680 projection is actually coming from a 5.1 channel or higher speaker setup. If 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:25,519 anyone doesn't know what the naming scheme for a surround speaker setup 7 00:00:23,439 --> 00:00:29,279 means, the first number five in this case refers to the number of speakers in 8 00:00:27,519 --> 00:00:33,840 the system. And the number after the point, in this case one, refers to the 9 00:00:31,599 --> 00:00:38,079 number of subwoofers in the system. Both 2.1 and digital sound projection work 10 00:00:36,559 --> 00:00:41,920 because of advancements in psycho acoustics, which is the study of sound 11 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:45,520 perception. They trick your ears by carefully directing sound waves at 12 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:49,600 specific angles and bouncing them off walls to make you think that the sound 13 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:53,280 is actually coming from behind or beside you rather than in front of you. You 14 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:57,199 see, your ears are pretty adept at recognizing where sound is coming from. 15 00:00:55,440 --> 00:01:01,199 This is why when you hear something drop in a silent room, you're often able to 16 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:05,519 instantly identify whether the sound is to your left or right. We can tell what 17 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:09,600 direction a sound is coming from because we have two ears which have a certain 18 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:13,760 distance between them. So, for example, a sound to your left will be louder in 19 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:17,920 your left ear than in your right ear. Also, the sound waves will hit your left 20 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:22,320 ear a fraction of a second sooner than your right. It's these slight 21 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:26,159 differences in timing and volume that tell you what direction a sound is 22 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:31,439 coming from on the x-axis. This is called the interoral level difference 23 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:33,360 and interoral time difference. Lucky for 24 00:01:31,439 --> 00:01:37,280 developers of virtual surround sound systems, the x-axis is the only one they 25 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:41,360 have to worry about. This is because of something that many refer to as the cone 26 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:45,439 of confusion, which is an area in which objects which are above or below us 27 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:49,439 cause the same interoral level difference and interoral time 28 00:01:47,119 --> 00:01:53,759 difference. This also applies to objects which are in front of us or behind us at 29 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:58,479 certain angles. So, how do virtual surround systems know how to simulate a 30 00:01:55,759 --> 00:02:03,040 5.1 or higher channel system? Quite simply, through recording a system of 31 00:02:00,799 --> 00:02:06,159 that size with directional microphones in a real world setting, which takes 32 00:02:04,799 --> 00:02:12,080 into account the interruptions of a soundwave by your head, neck, and shoulders, and simulating that with an 33 00:02:09,759 --> 00:02:15,760 algorithm. This is why some systems will have a room size rating and why some 34 00:02:14,239 --> 00:02:20,239 even need to be configured with a microphone to work properly. The size of 35 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:24,160 the room needs to be accounted for so the waves can properly bounce off the 36 00:02:22,239 --> 00:02:28,319 walls to simulate full surround experience. Virtual surround headphones 37 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:32,160 do something similar by using the shape of your ears to project sound from 38 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:36,800 different angles. Many of these have a general oneizefits-all setting based on 39 00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:40,959 average ear sizes, but options like Razer Surround are quite customizable, 40 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:45,599 so you can tweak the placement of each virtual speaker to perfect your 41 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:48,720 listening experience if you so choose. To give an example of what good virtual 42 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:52,400 surround should sound like through headphones, check out this video which 43 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:56,800 uses bionural sound recording to simulate surround sound. So that's it. 44 00:02:54,879 --> 00:03:00,720 Virtual surround in itself isn't that complicated, but it's made possible by a 45 00:02:58,879 --> 00:03:04,640 variety of extremely complicated scientific studies and tests, but the 46 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:07,840 execution is actually quite simple. Just like today's episode sponsor, 47 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:11,760 Squarespace, the simple way to set up and host your personal, professional, or 48 00:03:09,599 --> 00:03:15,440 business website. Squarespace is trusted by companies of all sizes, from one man 49 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:19,440 or woman operations to small startups like us, all the way up to multinational 50 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:23,040 brands like Volvo. 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