Waves Audio has released new plug-ins for mixing 360° and VR projects – the B360 Ambisonics Encoder for converting mono, stereo or surround audio into 360° Ambisonics B Format; Nx Ambisonics, a new component of the Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room over Headphones plug-in, designed for monitoring 360° Ambisonics B Format audio on regular stereo headphones; and 360° Ambisonics Tools, a bundle of both plug-ins.
The most common format used in VR, as well as in Google and Facebook 360 videos, is the four-channel Ambisonics B Format. Designed to fit into a traditional mixing workflow, the B360 Ambisonics Encoder allows audio engineers to convert regular mono, stereo or surround mixes into B Format, in order to deliver sound for 360° audio/video content.
Waves B360 can be used in two ways – placing the plug-in on each separate mono or stereo channel for precise positioning/panning of that channel in a 360° audio mix or completing a mix in a conventional stereo or surround environment and then place B360 on the finished mix. In either case, B360 controls mix width, elevation, and rotation, as well as position the different elements in your mix inside the three-dimensional soundfield.
With an intuitive GUI and streamlined controls for panning width, elevation and rotation, Waves B360 is designed to make 360° audio workflow faster, easier and more user friendly.
Key features:
- The industry-standard way to deliver audio for VR and 360° videos.
- Convert mono, stereo an surround into first-order Ambisonics B Format.
- Precisely position elements in your 360° audio mix.
- Intuitive interface; fits traditional mixing workflow.
- Width, rotation and elevation controls.
- AmbiX-compatible.
- Includes AmbiX-to-FuMa and FuMa-to-AmbiX utility converters.
To monitor your 360° B Format mixes in a convenient, accessible way, Waves offers Nx Ambisonics, a new component of the Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room over Headphones, a plug-in that recreates the three-dimensional acoustics of a professional mix room inside any set of stereo headphones.
By binauralising the audio for headphones, Nx Ambisonics provides monitoring of B Format mixes without access to a multi-directional speaker array.
For improved accuracy, Nx Ambisonics offers full personalisation to individual head measurements, as well as a visual spatial meter representing the audio frequency content in every direction of the three-dimensional sound field. Nx Ambisonics also offers an integrated high-quality, high-speed head tracking using the compact Nx Head Tracker Bluetooth device or your computer’s camera.
Waves is also offering a combo: Waves 360° Ambisonics Tools, which includes the B360 Ambisonics Encoder, the Nx Virtual Mix Room (with the Nx Ambisonics component) and the Nx Head Tracker.
More: www.waves.com
