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I was there in a semi-professional capacity. AT&T Labs had developed a multi-channel 3D microphone array and we hung it above the emerging artists' stage. I did
by matthewdgreen 4y ago
I was there in a semi-professional capacity. AT&T Labs had developed a multi-channel 3D microphone array and we hung it above the emerging artists' stage. I didn't stay overnight at the facility, so I only saw the degradation when I arrived in the morning. The second day we came in, all the commercial tents were soaked with urine and every trash can had been dumped out and piled up to form a massive all-day drum circle. We left before things got really bad, but it was obvious they were headed in an ugly direction (largely, I think, due to deliberate neglect and extractive behavior.)
On the bright side: the scientists at the Labs were very pleased with the microphone's performance, since (sitting in a room with six speakers) you could clearly hear the drum circle behind and outside the stage doors.
- lostgame 4y agoThat’s a fascinating perspective. Can I ask how this technology differed from 5.1 surround? I assume you must have had many more than 5 microphones?
- matthewdgreen 4y agoMicrophones in all horizontal directions and two in the vertical, hung by a wire from the ceiling of a venue. We recorded the results using an Alesis ADAT 8-track multitrack (swapping VHS tapes was my very important job.) The "secret sauce" was some kind of binaural post-processing that allowed you to hear all three dimensions through a horizontal array of speakers, but I never got into those details. The goal was ultimately to stream extremely high-quality concert audio to the home: people felt that stereo and even 5.1 was too restrictive. This was in the early days when everyone was trying to find killer apps for high-bandwidth broadband connections, so sure, why not. ETA-- Another memorable experience in this project was playing the Woodstock tapes for Jimmy Buffett when he flew his seaplane in to check out the technology. We were very careful to point out that you could hear the drum circle :)
- Dracophoenix 4y agoAny published work on this? I'd definitely like to read about it.
- matthewdgreen 4y agoHere is one paper they wrote: https://www.pearl-hifi.com/06_Lit_Archive/02_PEARL_Arch/Vol_16/Sec_53/AES%20109/00081.pdf https://www.pearl-hifi.com/06_Lit_Archive/02_PEARL_Arch/Vol_... And an article in the Economist: https://archive.ph/iHuGO https://archive.ph/iHuGO
- dekhn 4y agoSee also: the first track of Infrared Roses, which was recorded in a Grateful Dead parking lot before a show. Excellent audio/acoustics although unfortunately, it's "just stereo".