Why did Apple Music support "spatial audio" and "lossless"?

"Spatial audio" that is easy and changing drastically

What kind of idea is the service created?

To know that, it is a shortcut to consider Apple's way of thinking about "spatial audio".

Apple has released the following videos for spatial audio as the service is expanded.The narration is DJ Zane Row, who is in charge of the BBC "BBC Radio 1" until 2015, and then moved to Apple and was in charge of "Apple Music 1".

Spatial audio with Apple Music

In this video, Zane Row (that is, Apple) says, "Music changes decisively. Says a stereo and rush into a new dimension."

That "new dimension" is a spatial audio.

Space audio is a technology called "3D audio".The sound source is placed on the space, the operation is generated in the operation of how you hear it in the center, and you experience it.It has spread earlier in movies and games, but it has begun to spread to music, including live songs.This series has been written in Japan that Sony has businessed as "360 Reality Audio" and has begun to provide songs the other day in Japan, with Amazon Music and Deezer as a partner.

What is the essence of "360 Reality Audio" on April 16th?

Apple positions spatial audio as Apple Music's new basic function and starts services in June.

Space audio has the property that the change is easy for anyone to understand when listening to compatible content with compatible devices.This is because the change is clearer than the fine sound quality.Therefore, spatial audio is often described as "the experience changes."

For example, if a classic played in a famous concert hall is recorded, the "sense of being located", including its reverberation, can be reproduced to some extent.In addition, by devising the arrangement and movement of sound during the mastering, it is possible to create a more attraction and a song that has never been heard before.

How to experience spatial audio with Apple Music is surprisingly low.In the case of an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can also experience it with a built -in speaker, and among the Apple and Beats headphones, the processor uses "H1" or "W1" (AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, etc.)But it is good.You can listen to HomePod.

In the case of such a combination of devices, the software side can grasp what the device to be played, so it is automatically switched to "spatial audio" according to its characteristics.By the way, if you use headphones other than Apple specification, you can switch to the setting of "always play spatial audio" in the settings.

The format used is "Dolby Atmos".At the time of playback, a display of "Dolby Atmos" appears in the player as shown in the image below.

The bit rate is up to 768kbps.Basically, it is used in a place where the line situation is good.On the other hand, when the line situation is poor or while moving, the format is changed to "AAC / 256Kbps".This is likely to be a stereo without a three -dimensional effect, but by keeping a "binaural record" in advance, it is possible to reproduce some space even at a low bit rate.

So, do Apple use only Dolby Atmos?

Apparently not.

The aim is to collect all spatial audio songs.In fact, he is also interested in Sony's 360 Reality Audio (format MPEG-H 3D audio), and seems to be discussing.

The first support of Dolby Atmos was because the music production environment was in place.It is also widely used in movies, etc., and Dolby himself is actively opening a supported studio, and the development of tools is progressing.However, looking at the above -mentioned goals, they seem to be very interested in other formats.

At the start stage, Dolby Atmos is considered "thousands of songs", and it is highly likely that Japanese songs are not included.However, the mastering environment of spatial audio is rapidly preparing, so it is not a distant day for Japanese songs to come out.