At Trinnov, innovation is not just in our name - it defines everything we do. As the embodiment of Tridimensional Innovation, we have consistently redefined what's possible in immersive audio.
Our journey began in 2001, when our founders revealed the results of their groundbreaking research on High-Order Ambisonics to the Audio Engineering Society. This pioneering work introduced a series of completely native 3D audio technologies, including a revolutionary 24-capsule microphone capable of capturing 3D sound fields with very high spatial resolution, various 3D sound processing tools, and an extremely scalable playback system designed to work with any speaker layout.
Since then, the original result of their research has been included in our various technologies. Trinnov has worked closely with Dolby, DTS and Auro Technologies to support the introduction of their immersive technologies with enhanced playback capabilities. Trinnov is also a main contributor to the latest CEDIA/CTA RP22 recommended practices, which include our own research on optimal speaker placement.
Trinnov’s Patented 3D Loudspeaker Remapping utilizes the original research on High-Order Ambisonics research to recreate optimal perceived sound locations despite non-ideal speaker placements.
Why do we need 3D Loudspeaker Remapping?
Sound designers and mixers for major films have carefully constructed listening environments whose only purpose is to allow them to perfect the soundtracks on which they work.
By contrast, smaller studios often are challenged regarding space and must compromise with speaker placement.
On the residential side, even the most luxurious home cinemas encounter limitations such as door and window locations, HVAC, lighting, and other architectural elements that preclude “perfect” loudspeaker placement. Additionally, the major movie soundtrack formats do not even agree on where the speakers should be positioned. This creates a challenging situation.
What is Trinnov’s 3D Remapping technology?
Trinnov's exclusive Remapping technology utilizes our proprietary 3D microphone to create a detailed, three-dimensional map of the precise locations of the speakers in the room.
During the acoustic calibration, Trinnov’s 3D Measurement Microphone precisely identifies the positions of the speakers in three dimensions. At the same time, the original audio recording specifieswhere the sounds are intended to originate from.
Analyzing the discrepancies between the ideal speaker positions and the actual setup allows us to translate the theorethical sound design of the soundtrack into the practical realities of a specific space. This process minimizes spatial distorsions that can occur even in highly optimized studios or home cinemas, ensuring you hear the recording as it was intended.
In effect, we translate the theory of the soundtrack to the reality of the listening room.
3D Remapping of the center channel to its ideal location
Our Loudspeaker Remapping Technology offers flexible in the way it can be applied:
3D Remapping - this mode enables full spatial optimization in 3D to recreate an ideal immersive experience.
2D Remapping - this mode performs a remapping of the loudspeakers' positions only the horizontal plane. Unlike 3D remapping, it compensates for incorrect speaker placement only with respect to horizontal angles (azimuth) and is typically used for 5.1 and 7.1 layouts.
Front/Surround - this option limits the Remapping to either the front or the surround speakers only, should it be necessary for a specific installation.
What are the Applications of 3D Remapping?
Architectural Constraints
In many projects, architects and interior designers prioritize the aesthetic appeal and the overall atmosphere of the space. However, this approach is often incompatible with the technical best practices of cinema room designs.
This presents a technical challenge for the AV integrators and calls for adaptive, creative, and innovative mindset.
3D Remapping creates the desired immersive sound field, even when speaker placement is not ideal. It significantly optimizes immersive sound playback and maximizes the benefits of new audio formats.
MicroLED Displays
Micro LEDs are gaining popularity because they offer major benefits in picture quality.
However, replacing an acoustically transparent screen with a flat panel introduces significant speaker placement challenges, particuarly for the center speaker.
While there are various solutions for this issue, one common approach is to place the center speaker either above or below the screen. Another approach is to use two center speakers with one above and one below. The goal is to create a phantom image in the center of the display. While the Optimizer precisely sets level and delay for the center speaker(s), 3D Remapping further facilitates this process and delivers more compelling performance.
In some projects, a single loudspeaker system is designed to meet the requirements of two different applications and viewing setups.
Cinema layout VS TV Layout with 3D Remapping engaged
In this example, the room is designed as a social space featuring 2 different settings:
A home theater with video projection and a fully immersive sound system with a single 5-seat couch
A gaming room for game nights with friends, placed in front of a smaller 3-seat couch
Although such a system could be managed with a simple change of routing and a different calibration, this approach does not overcome the inherent speaker placement compromise.
3D Remapping brings an easier and more efficient solution for this issue. By simply measuring from either seating area and orienting the microphone towards the desired front stage, users can perform remapping to optimize the performance.
High-Channel Count, High Spatial Resolution
Since 2014, Trinnov has distinguished itself from its competitors with unrivaled immersive sound decoding and renderingcapabilities, increasing the spatial resolution in the rendering of immersive audio content.
Direct, In-Product Implementation
Unlike other manufacturers, Trinnov implements immersive sound decoders directly into its software instead of outsourcing to OEM partners or relying on off-the-shelf chips with unwanted design choices and/or compromises.
This gives Trinnov multiple advantages:
The freedom to decide what to implement
The freedom to decide how to implement it
A direct relationship with the format designers
Faster implementation
Direct implementation avoids the developmental delays associated with the earliest generic implementations into the OEM platforms used by other manufacturers. This gives Trinnov a head start in delivering the desired new immersive formats sooner than its competitors.
Moreover, new audio formats are generally developed directly on x86 or x64 architecture. As a result, Trinnov does not have to wait for the technology to be ported or adapted to other platforms or chipsets before implementing it.
Uncompromised technical implementation
The Altitude platform supports all the major audio formats to the maximum of their capabilities.
While similar, these formats have unique features omitted from the simplified versions of the technologies found on chip-based products. These features allow content creators to incorporate additional spatial information into films, TV shows, music or video games. These capabilities are retained on Trinnov's software-based platform.
Each format also offers its own upmixing engine, enabling the maximum usage of additional speakers while playing back legacy stereo, 5.1 and 7.1 content.
Dolby Atmos
Starting in 2014, Trinnov implemented Dolby Atmos to its maximum capacity in a consumer product, supporting up to 32 discretely rendered speakers.
This maximizes the scalable nature of audio object rendering at a time when chip-based AV Processors and Receivers were strictly limited to 7.1.4 channels.
In the following years, Dolbypartnered with Trinnov globally to promote their new format using the only platform able to demonstrate its full potential.
In 2018, we fully unlocked the maximum 24.1.10 playback capability of the format with the introduction of the Altitude48 extension.
For the first time, visitors of the Melbourne HiFi Show were able to experience a full-scale Dolby Atmos home at a public event on an impressive 24.10.10 system. Krix 24.10.10 Ultimate Home Cinema
DTS:X
DTS:X is DTS's format embracing audio objects rendering and features.
The public release of DTS:X was performed in two stages, first with the introduction of the DTS:X decoder, followed later by DTS:X Pro.
The original version of DTS:X was first showcased at a CES event, utilizing a Trinnov processor. Trinnov was also the first to provide DTS:X Pro to Altitude owners. This unlocked the 32 discrete channel rendering of DTS:X along with its improved Neural:X upmixing engine.
Auro-3D
The founders of Trinnov and Auro Technologies have been at the forefront of immersive sound since the early 2000s.
Auro Technologies was the first to work with Hollywood studios to produce movie soundtracks with more than 7 channels. By 2012, commercial theaters were playing movies with an Auro-3D 13.1 soundtrack, adding two layers of speakers above the audience.
Since 2015, the Altitude platform has supported Auro-3D and the very popular Auro-Matic upmixer.
IMAX Enhanced uses DTS:X technology and benefits from Trinnov's exclusive DTS:X Pro implementation, using the full channel capability of DTS:X on IMAX Enhanced content.
Atmos Object Viewer
In 2020, Trinnov further leveraged its unique Dolby Atmos implementation by releasing the Atmos Object Viewer, a feature designed to serve both end-users and professional content creators.
Real-Time Object Information
Similar to the Dolby Atmos mixing and authoring tools, Trinnov's Dolby Atmos Object viewer displays the number of objects and their real-time location in the room.
The difference is that it shows object location and movements in the encoded bitstream that you experience in your listening room, rather than the original mix.
This reveals the impact of authoring and spatial clustering as encoded in the Atmos for the Home, which is subject to more technical constraints than the professional Atmos mix due to its relatively limited bitrate requiring various types of lossy or lossless compression.
The Object Viewer shows multiple information:
The number of beds and dynamic objects in the decoded bitstream
Their real-time location
The intensity (relative volume) of the objects going through each speaker on its rendering path
Any Altitude user can therefore appreciate the active nature of any Atmos mix, monitoring the content in a way that ordinary meters cannot.
Quality Control
Besides satisfying pure curiosity, this feature is incredibly useful for quality control.
Comparing objects as they are mixed and how they actually appear in the consumer provides content creators with valuable information. This insight helps them optimize the way their mixes are authored and encoded for home use.
This unique feature spans across all Atmos areas, including TV, film, music production, and the video gaming industry.
It is also used for content review, such as Widescreen Review and the YouTube channel "Le Labo de Jay", which offers extensive technical analysis of movie releases.
