3D Editor

3D Overview

DirectX emblem Note: This program feature is only available for audio files in WAV format and the Play Modifier Use DirectX checkbox must be checked.

The 3D Editor allows you to apply 3D effects when playing a sound. 3D effects can only be played using the 3D Editor. 3D sound allows you to immerse the audience in the sound experience. For example, rotate the sound of a galloping horse in a full circle around the audience. Or make a swarm of chirping bats fly in from the front, swirl loudly over the audience and disappear behind them. Or give the sensation of being in the middle of a gun battle by alternating gun shots from different directions.

Generally, you can use Sound Mill simultaneously with other audio software (ex Windows Media player - WMP) . However, the 3D Editor is an exception due to the way it utilizes the computer's primary sound buffer. If you are playing a sound with the 3D Editor and then click on another program window, the Sound Mill sound will stop driving the speakers (although the play position will continue to advance). The Wav file MUST be monaural (mono data uses one channel).

A note on Output Group - 3D Editor will only play on one device. It will use the first device specified in the Output Group for the Sound Item.

When you click the Play button, the spatial position of the sound is shown by the red dot on the Sound Movement grid. The center point in the grid represents the center point of the speaker system, meaning that all speakers are positioned at equal distances from this point in a 360 degree circle.

Figure 1. 3D Sound Grid: Red dot indicates position of sound.

Using the 3D Editor

To apply 3D effects, select a Sound Item from the Sound List panel, then click the 3D Editor button on the Editors toolbar toolbar. The 3D Editor pops up and loads the Wav file associated with the Sound Item.

Effect Name - You can change the Effect Name if desired. This is useful if you want to reuse the effect settings for other Sound Items. (ex. "360 Circle" or "Front to Back Fade") These effect names appear in the Effects report.
Loop Play - Click the Loop Play button on the toolbar to make the sound play in a continous loop. Click again and loop play is cancelled (to Single Play).
Reset to Defaults - Click the Reset to Defaults button on the toolbar reset all settings to default values.
Apply - Click the Apply button to apply the 3D effects changes to the Sound Item.
Close - Click the Close button to close the 3D Editor. Closing without applying changes, effectively cancels all changes made.

Depth Factors

Doppler - DirectSound automatically creates Doppler shift effects for sounds based on their velocity relative to the listener. A value of 0 means no Doppler shift. Every other value represents a multiple of the real-world Doppler shift. In other words, a value of 1 sets a real-world Doppler shift, a value of 2 means twice the real-world Doppler shift, and so on. .
Rolloff Factor - Rolloff is the amount of attenuation that is applied to sounds, based on the listener's distance from the sound source. The rolloff factor can range from 0.0 to 10.0 . A value of 0 means no rolloff is applied to a sound. Every other value represents a multiple of the real-world rolloff.
Minimum Distance - As a listener approaches a sound source, the sound gets louder; the volume doubles when the distance is halved. Past a certain point, however, it is not practical for the volume to continue to increase. This is the minimum distance for the sound source. The default minimum distance is 1 meter at the default distance factor. Unless you change this value, the sound is at full volume when it is 1 meter away from the listener, at half volume 2 meters away, at quarter volume 4 meters away, and so on. For most sounds you will probably want to set a larger minimum distance so that the sound does not fade so rapidly as it moves away.
Maximum Distance - The maximum distance for a sound source is the distance beyond which the volume does not get any lower. The maximum distance can also be used to prevent a sound from becoming inaudible. For example, if you have set the minimum distance for a sound at 100 meters, that sound might become effectively inaudible at 1,000 meters or less. By setting the maximum distance at 800 meters, you ensure that the sound always has at least one-eighth of its maximum volume regardless of the distance.

Sound Movement

Center

Left/Right - This slider sets the amount of Left or Right movement and can reverse the direction of rotation. When centered, sound will not move either right or left -- useful if you want the sound to move directly from front to rear in a straight line.
Front/Rear - This slider sets the amount of Front or Rear movement and can reverse the direction of rotation. When centered, sound will not move either Front or Rear -- useful if you want the sound to move directly from left to right in a straight line..
Ceiling/Floor - This slider sets the amount of Ceiling to Floor movement. It is only useful when you have speakers set on the ceiling and at floor level of the venue. Otherwise, it is best to just leave this slider centered ( value=0 ). Changes to this slider value has no visual affect on the sound grid which displays sound movement.
Speed - Sets the speed at which the sound position marker (red dot) advances around the sound grid. Valid range is 0.1 (slowest) to 500.0 (fastest). Clicking the Center button will reset to the default speed of 10.0. This is a decimal number but the decimal point is not necessary for whole numbers (ex. 10=10.0).

As guidance, here are some sample speed values and the related number of seconds it will take for the sound to complete one 360 degree rotation:
Speed 0.1 = 11 minutes to make one full 360 degree revolution (slowest possible)
Speed 1 = 1 minute 10 seconds
Speed 10 = 7 seconds
Speed 20 = 3 seconds
Speed 70 = 1 seconds
Speeds above 100 can create a random scatter effect sometimes making the sound appear to reverse direction.

Movement Mode

Rotate - Causes the sound movement around the speaker system based on Sound Movement settings.
Freeze at Position - Sound will play but will be frozen in one spatial position.
Mark Position - This button allows you to 'Mark' the spatial position at which to Freeze the sound. Or when Rotate is selected it will mark the starting play position of the sound. In either mode, clicking this button will start and stop rotation of the sound.

Quality Algorithm

High Quality - Highest quality sound but more taxing on processor time.
Light Quality - Medium quality sound and less taxing on processor time than High mode.
No Virtualization - Quality algorithm processing is not used, but produces generally good sound. Least taxing on processor time.

Figure 2. The 3D Editor

Microsoft DirectSound creates virtual 3-D effects on two speakers (or 2.1 systems) or headphones, or on multichannel systems with Microsoft Windows Driver Model (WDM) drivers if the user has chosen a surround sound speaker configuration ( 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 sound systems) in Control Panel. Software-emulated 3-D buffers are computationally time consuming. You should take this into consideration when deciding when to use 3-D sound.

Perception Of Sound Positions

Excerpted [1]
In the real world, the perception of a sound's position in space is influenced by several factors. Not all of these factors are acoustical; one of the most important is sight. Clues from the sounds themselves include the following:

Overall loudness As a sound source moves away from the listener, its perceived volume decreases at a fixed rate. This phenomenon is known as rolloff.

Interaural intensity difference For example, a sound coming from the listener's right sounds louder in the right ear than in the left.

Interaural time difference For example, a sound coming from the listener's right arrives at the right ear slightly before it arrives at the left ear. The difference is approximately a millisecond.

Muffling The shape and orientation of the ears ensures that sounds coming from behind the listener are slightly muffled compared with sounds coming from the front. In addition, if a sound is coming from the right, the sound reaching the left ear will be muffled by the mass of the listener's head as well as by the orientation of the left ear.

Effect of the pinnae The ridges of the earlobes alter the pitch and timing of sounds arriving from different directions, giving subtle clues to the brain about the location of the sound source. The mathematics behind this effect are known as the head-related transfer function (HRTF).