Presentation, GS-4093, "AstoundSound for Gaming – The next dimension in the evolution of Audio!" by Jerry Mahabub and Michel Henein at the AMD Developer Summit (APU13) Nov. 11-13, 2013.

1. ASTOUNDSOUND
FOR
GAMING:
THE
NEXT
DIMENSION
IN
THE
EVOLUTION
OF
AUDIO!
JERRY
MAHABUB,
FOUNDER
&
CEO,
GENAUDIO,
INC.
MICHEL
HENEIN,
SVP
GAMING
PRODUCTS
,
GENAUDIO,
INC.

2. 3D
AUDIO
TODAY
y Surround
Sound
(encode/decode)
‒ Auro3D
(11.1,
13.1),
Dolby
ATMOS
(64)
‒ Expensive
playback
hardware
‒ Large
number
of
speakers
is
imprac[cal
for
games
y PsychoacousDcs
‒ HRTF
‒ Dummy
Head
‒ BRTF
‒ The
Human
Brain
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3. GAME
AUDIO
TODAY
y QuesDons
‒ How
does
the
human
brain:
‒ Process
spaDal
audio
informaDon?
‒ Determine
where
sound
sources
are
coming
from?
‒ What
kind
of
brain
acDvity
measurements
could
provide
enough
informaDon
to
make
these
determinaDons?
MagneDc
Resonance
Imaging
R&D
is
the
key!
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4. FOUNDATIONAL
R&D
BRAIN
RESEARCH
y fMRI/MEG/EEG
human
brain
scan
measurements
‒ Suggested
that
the
brain
determines
how
we
posi[on
sounds
in
space
y This
led
to
the
quesDon:
‒ Can
an
accurate
model
be
built
that
determines
how
the
human
brain
localizes
a
sound
source?
y Answer:
Yes
–
the
basis
of
AstoundSound®
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5. TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT
CHRONOLOGY
MRI
Imaging:
(1988
-­‐
1991):
Over
7000
discrete
fMRI
scans
to
measure
human
brain
magnitude
response
characteris[cs.
✦
Data
Analysis:
(1991
to
2001):
Computa[onal
physics
&
numerical
analysis
were
used
to
decipher
[me
dependent
data
based
on
EEG
and
MEG
measurements.
✦
ComputaDon/Results:
(2001
to
2003):
7,337
discrete
Brain
Response
Transfer
Func[ons
(BRTFs)
were
computed
upon
comple[on
of
the
data
analysis.
✦
AstoundSound
Backend
DSP:
(2003
to
2009):
The
BRTF
dataset
was
ini[ally
represented
as
FIR
filters
and
subsequently
IIR
filters.
✦
Current
AstoundSound
Products:
(2008
to
2013):
AstoundExpander®
Computer
Sogware,
AstoundSound
for
CE
integra[on,
AstoundSoundPro®,
AstoundSurround®,
and
AstoundSoundRTI®
(Real-­‐Time
Interface
for
Gaming),
AstoundConference®,
AstoundHearing®,
and
AstoundPilot®.
✦
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6. 3D
GAME
AUDIO
TRUE
3D
AUDIO
y TRUE
3D:
Accurate
sound
placement
in
all
three
spa[al
dimensions
(x,y,z)
or
(r,
θ,
φ)
y Dynamic:
Real-­‐[me
change
in
rela[ve
posi[on
and
orienta[on
between
listener
and
sound
source
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7. SOLUTIONS
ASTOUNDSOUND
IS
PRACTICAL
Ideal
soluDon
AstoundSound®
3D
Full,
dynamic
3D
(height)
Full,
dynamic
3D
(height)
Direct
game
integra[on
Direct
game
integra[on
Use
exis[ng
audio
setup
Stereo
speakers
or
headphone
Easy
to
setup
No
special
setup
Easy
developer
authoring
Plugins
for
developers
Guaranteed
audio
resources
AMD
TrueAudio
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8. ASTOUNDSOUND
FOR
GAMING
3
PLUGINS
SOLUTIONS
y AstoundSound
3D
RTI
‒ Mono
to
stereo
‒ Full
3D,
posi[onal,
interac[ve
spa[aliza[on
interface
y AstoundSound
Fold-­‐down
‒ Mul[channel
(n-­‐channel)
to
stereo
processor
‒ Ini[ally
available
as
5.1
to
stereo,
7.1
to
stereo
this
year
‒ Beyond
11.1
to
stereo
possible
y AstoundSound
Expander
‒ Stereo
in/stereo
out
enhancement
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9. ASTOUNDSOUND
3D
RTI
MONO
TO
STEREO
PLUGIN
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10. ASTOUNDSOUND
3D
RTI
HOW
IT
WORKS
y Two
inputs
to
processor
‒ Audio:
processes
mono
sound
sources
–
outputs
stereo
in
3D
‒ PosiDonal
data:
Inputs
XYZ
posi[onal
data
from
in-­‐game
sound
sources
y Distance
control
‒ Standard
a]enuaDon
(default)
‒ 3D
distance
cue
processing
available
for
maximum
depth
percepDon
Result:
Illusion
of
sounds
coming
from
game
space
to
corresponding
locaDon
in
actual
listening
environment
Benefit:
Allows
players
to
correctly
hear
spaDal
auditory
cues
‒ Enhanced
immersion
due
to
‘feeling’
of
all
three
dimensions
‒ Enhanced
situaDonal
awareness
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Simply
put,
it’s
how
players
should
listen
to
their
game
sound!

11. ASTOUNDSOUND
3D
RTI
HOW
IT
WORKS
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12. ASTOUNDSOUND
3D
RTI
WWISE
PLUGIN
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13. ASTOUNDSOUND
3D
RTI
PERFORMANCE
Performance
Analysis:
AstoundSound
3D
RTI
Plugin
(Wwise
Profiler)
Intel
i7
Quad
Core
2.2
GHz
Plugin
CPU
%
Direc[on
only,
No
Distance
Cues
0.987
%
(audio
thread
only)
10
voices
using
AstoundSound
(each)
Approx.
10%
processor
uDlizaDon
(audio
thread
only)
(with
filter
interpola[on,
standard,
non-­‐enhanced
filters)
With
TrueAudio
Enabled
(non-­‐opDmized)
10
voices
using
AstoundSound
(each)
Plugin
CPU:
0%
10
voices
using
AstoundSound
(each)
TrueAudio
:
%40
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14. ASTOUNDSOUND
FOLD-­‐DOWN
PROCESSING
y Fold-down Processor
‒ Virtual speakers created for input
channels, then output as stereo
‒ Proper fold-down vs ITU which
maintains no spatial experience
‒ Can be used with the RTI to
spatialize sounds not using RTI
!
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15. Effi
✦
ASTOUNDSOUND
EXPANDER
PROCESSING
✦
y Expansion Processor
✦
‒ Virtual speakers created for 2 input
✦
channels, then output as stereo
‒ Creates a widened stereo image ✦
‒ Can be used with the RTI to enhance
stereo sources
✦
‒ Music
‒ Back-ground effects
Tes
✦
✦
✦
!
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8-T
Ult
AN
Hig
pro
Filt
req
✦
Stre
All
Rap

16. ASTOUNDSOUND
BRANDING
WHY
IT’S
KEY
y Branding
is
Necessary
‒ If
AstoundSound
is
used,
players
must
know
that
the
AstoundSound
experience
is
not
produced
by
compe[ng
audio
formats
y Logo
Placement
‒ Game
audio
seqngs
‒ Splash
Screen
‒ Packaging
y DifferenDaDon
‒ Let
gamers
know
your
game
has
AstoundSound®
‒ Enable
strong
market
differen[a[on
among
the
compe[[ve
landscape
‒ BE
AMONG
THE
FIRST
TO
DELIVER
ASTOUNDSOUND®
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17. DISCLAIMER
&
ATTRIBUTION
The
informa[on
presented
in
this
document
is
for
informa[onal
purposes
only
and
may
contain
technical
inaccuracies,
omissions
and
typographical
errors.
The
informa[on
contained
herein
is
subject
to
change
and
may
be
rendered
inaccurate
for
many
reasons,
including
but
not
limited
to
product
and
roadmap
changes,
component
and
motherboard
version
changes,
new
model
and/or
product
releases,
product
differences
between
differing
manufacturers,
sogware
changes,
BIOS
flashes,
firmware
upgrades,
or
the
like.
AMD
assumes
no
obliga[on
to
update
or
otherwise
correct
or
revise
this
informa[on.
However,
AMD
reserves
the
right
to
revise
this
informa[on
and
to
make
changes
from
[me
to
[me
to
the
content
hereof
without
obliga[on
of
AMD
to
no[fy
any
person
of
such
revisions
or
changes.
AMD
MAKES
NO
REPRESENTATIONS
OR
WARRANTIES
WITH
RESPECT
TO
THE
CONTENTS
HEREOF
AND
ASSUMES
NO
RESPONSIBILITY
FOR
ANY
INACCURACIES,
ERRORS
OR
OMISSIONS
THAT
MAY
APPEAR
IN
THIS
INFORMATION.
AMD
SPECIFICALLY
DISCLAIMS
ANY
IMPLIED
WARRANTIES
OF
MERCHANTABILITY
OR
FITNESS
FOR
ANY
PARTICULAR
PURPOSE.
IN
NO
EVENT
WILL
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BE
LIABLE
TO
ANY
PERSON
FOR
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DIRECT,
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OR
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CONSEQUENTIAL
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ARISING
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HEREIN,
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ATTRIBUTION
©
2013
Advanced
Micro
Devices,
Inc.
All
rights
reserved.
AMD,
the
AMD
Arrow
logo
and
combina[ons
thereof
are
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of
Advanced
Micro
Devices,
Inc.
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Evalua[on
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Other
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