yah wha gay?
yes, object based radio. Imagine you are listening to The Archers on Radio 4 and Kate has a birthday surprise (spoiler alert that is an actual future plot 29/09/2017). And as the surprise is been plotted we can choose to hear the relevant dialogue and soundscapes in that scene from the point of hearing in the plotters room, or we can choose to hear Kate’s point of hearing as she approaches the “SURPRISE!”.
While the plot is real the ability to opt between points of hearing is not yet a reality in The Archers. But as a technology it is something the BBC R&D folk are working on.
As part of the ORPHEUS project the BBC has made the first ever object orientated radio broadcast.
More details of how they are doing this new radio feature is documented on The Mermaid’s Tears.
Ideal for drama. Other possibilities would be sporting, like Cricket commentary, but not on LongWave! Last Night of the Proms but not on FM! Now where would you like to sit? Radio’s fly on the wall has arrived, what will we create with this HD immersive interactive technology for story telling and remixing sound at the listeners receiving end.
I can see this as a must for audio in a VR AR Mixed Reality space where a single track audio experience would be as flat as a mono 78rpm record with no b-side.