Fremont, CA. Aureal Semiconductor Inc. yesterday announced Aureal 3D (A3D), a technology that creates the illusion of surround sound using a single pair of ordinary speakers or headphones. A3D is based on the pioneering spatial simulation software developed over the past nine years by Aureal’s subsidiary Crystal River Engineering.
Crystal River’s 3D audio technology has been used in virtual reality research labs, theme park rides, and million-dollar flight and driving simulators. It has also seen use in recording studios to create 3D effects for movies, most recently “Twister” and “The Cable Guy.” Aureal acquired Crystal River in May 1996.
To distinguish A3D from competing technologies such as QSound™ and Spatializer™, Aureal is positioning its product as an effective way to deliver surround sound from encoded movies and video. In this environment, encoded audio will be projected over two speakers by A3D as five simulated virtual speakers to create a surround experience the company is coining as “A3D Surround.”
“Aureal 3D sets the standard by which others will be judged,” said Dolby Labs Technology Director Roger Dressler. “The technology will enable consumers to realize the benefits of Dolby Pro Logic and Dolby Digital (AC-3) surround soundtracks in multimedia PC’s without the use of five speakers.”
Aureal also expects to see A3D incorporated into interactive applications such as computer games and web sites. The technology has already been licensed to several companies, including PC card manufacturers Diamond Multimedia and Oak Technology. Aureal plans to support upcoming 3D audio APIs from Microsoft and Apple, as well as the VRML 2.0 Internet standard.
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