WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:04.960 Virtual surround is a true representation of human ingenuity and 00:00:03.360 --> 00:00:08.880 the advances that scientific research can have on technology. It essentially 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:13.120 tricks your ears into thinking that sound which is coming from a 2.1 channel 00:00:11.040 --> 00:00:17.680 setup or a small strip of speakers using a technique called digital sound 00:00:14.719 --> 00:00:21.680 projection is actually coming from a 5.1 channel or higher speaker setup. If 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:25.519 anyone doesn't know what the naming scheme for a surround speaker setup 00:00:23.439 --> 00:00:29.279 means, the first number five in this case refers to the number of speakers in 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:33.840 the system. And the number after the point, in this case one, refers to the 00:00:31.599 --> 00:00:38.079 number of subwoofers in the system. Both 2.1 and digital sound projection work 00:00:36.559 --> 00:00:41.920 because of advancements in psycho acoustics, which is the study of sound 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:45.520 perception. They trick your ears by carefully directing sound waves at 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:49.600 specific angles and bouncing them off walls to make you think that the sound 00:00:47.440 --> 00:00:53.280 is actually coming from behind or beside you rather than in front of you. You 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:57.199 see, your ears are pretty adept at recognizing where sound is coming from. 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 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:05.519 instantly identify whether the sound is to your left or right. We can tell what 00:01:03.760 --> 00:01:09.600 direction a sound is coming from because we have two ears which have a certain 00:01:07.520 --> 00:01:13.760 distance between them. So, for example, a sound to your left will be louder in 00:01:11.600 --> 00:01:17.920 your left ear than in your right ear. Also, the sound waves will hit your left 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:22.320 ear a fraction of a second sooner than your right. It's these slight 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:26.159 differences in timing and volume that tell you what direction a sound is 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:31.439 coming from on the x-axis. This is called the interoral level difference 00:01:28.320 --> 00:01:33.360 and interoral time difference. Lucky for 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:37.280 developers of virtual surround sound systems, the x-axis is the only one they 00:01:35.600 --> 00:01:41.360 have to worry about. This is because of something that many refer to as the cone 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:45.439 of confusion, which is an area in which objects which are above or below us 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:49.439 cause the same interoral level difference and interoral time 00:01:47.119 --> 00:01:53.759 difference. This also applies to objects which are in front of us or behind us at 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:58.479 certain angles. So, how do virtual surround systems know how to simulate a 00:01:55.759 --> 00:02:03.040 5.1 or higher channel system? Quite simply, through recording a system of 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:06.159 that size with directional microphones in a real world setting, which takes 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 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:15.760 algorithm. This is why some systems will have a room size rating and why some 00:02:14.239 --> 00:02:20.239 even need to be configured with a microphone to work properly. The size of 00:02:18.480 --> 00:02:24.160 the room needs to be accounted for so the waves can properly bounce off the 00:02:22.239 --> 00:02:28.319 walls to simulate full surround experience. Virtual surround headphones 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:32.160 do something similar by using the shape of your ears to project sound from 00:02:30.160 --> 00:02:36.800 different angles. Many of these have a general oneizefits-all setting based on 00:02:34.640 --> 00:02:40.959 average ear sizes, but options like Razer Surround are quite customizable, 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:45.599 so you can tweak the placement of each virtual speaker to perfect your 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:48.720 listening experience if you so choose. To give an example of what good virtual 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:52.400 surround should sound like through headphones, check out this video which 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:56.800 uses bionural sound recording to simulate surround sound. So that's it. 00:02:54.879 --> 00:03:00.720 Virtual surround in itself isn't that complicated, but it's made possible by a 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:04.640 variety of extremely complicated scientific studies and tests, but the 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:07.840 execution is actually quite simple. Just like today's episode sponsor, 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:11.760 Squarespace, the simple way to set up and host your personal, professional, or 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:15.440 business website. Squarespace is trusted by companies of all sizes, from one man 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:19.440 or woman operations to small startups like us, all the way up to multinational 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:23.040 brands like Volvo. They have a wide variety of templates that you can use to 00:03:21.200 --> 00:03:26.800 make your own using their style editor. And designing your site is a breeze. 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