Waves Audio releases B360 Ambisonics Encoder, Nx Ambisonics and 360° Ambisonics Tools

11th October 2017 - KVR Audio News

Waves Audio is now shipping two new tools and a combo for audio engineers mixing 360-degree and VR projects: the B360 Ambisonics Encoder, a new plugin for converting mono, stereo or surround audio into 360-degree Ambisonics B-format; Nx Ambisonics, a new component of the Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room over Headphones plugin, designed for monitoring 360-degree Ambisonics B-format audio on regular stereo headphones; and 360° Ambisonics Tools, a combo of both plugins.

Here's what they say:

Ambisonics is currently the most popular technique for mixing audio in a full spherical 360-degree sound field. The most common Ambisonics format, used in VR as well as in Google and Facebook 360 videos, is a four-channel format called B-format. Designed to fit intuitively into a traditional mixing workflow, the Waves B360 Ambisonics Encoder allows audio engineers to convert regular mono, stereo or surround mixes into B-format, in order to deliver sound for 360-degree audio/video content.

Waves B360 can be used in two ways: You can place the plugin on each separate mono or stereo channel for precise positioning/panning of that channel in your 360-audio mix; or you can first complete your mix in a conventional stereo or surround environment, and then place B360 on the entire finished mix, simply as an Ambisonics B-format convertor. In either case, B360 lets you control the mix's width, elevation, and rotation, as well as position the different elements in your mix inside the three-dimensional sound field.

With an intuitive GUI and streamlined controls for panning width, elevation and rotation, Waves B360 is designed to make your 360-audio workflow faster, easier and more user-friendly than ever.

B360 features:

The industry-standard way to deliver audio for VR and 360-degree videos.
Convert mono, stereo & surround into 1st-order Ambisonics B-format.
Precisely position elements in your 360-degree audio mix.
Intuitive interface; fits into your traditional mixing workflow.
Width, rotation and elevation controls.
AmbiX-compatible.
Includes AmbiX-to-FuMa and FuMa-to-AmbiX utility convertors.

To monitor your 360-degree B-format mixes in a convenient, accessible way, Waves now offers Nx Ambisonics, a new component of the Nx Virtual Mix Room over Headphones, a plugin that recreates the three-dimensional acoustics of a professional mix room inside any set of stereo headphones.

By binauralizing the audio for headphones, Nx Ambisonics lets mixing engineers listen to their B-format mixes even when they don't have access to an elaborate multi-directional speaker array. Nx Ambisonics also delivers pristine sound quality that mixing engineers can trust, without the distortion or artifacts often introduced by binauralization tools.

For improved accuracy, Nx Ambisonics offers full personalization to your individual head measurements, as well as a visual spatial meter representing the audio frequency content in every direction of the three-dimensional sound field. For enhanced 3D realism that embraces the VR experience, Nx Ambisonics also offers an integrated high-quality, high-speed head tracking solution, using the compact Nx Head Tracker Bluetooth device or your computer's camera.

Waves is also offering a combo: 360° Ambisonics Tools, which includes the B360 Ambisonics Encoder, the Nx Virtual Mix Room (with the Nx Ambisonics component) and the Nx Head Tracker.

Pricing: