At Dolby.io, we are passionate about media and communications – and the role of technology in enriching experiences with capabilities that immerse users.
With the growing volume of virtual events, we have come to appreciate the breadth of experiences that now take place largely, if not primarily, online – and the opportunity this presents for technology to not simply “get the job done,” but to truly rise to the occasion and enable new models for virtual interaction at a level of quality previously thought impossible.
While many virtual events contain music, historically, music capture and transmission has been challenging for communication technologies. The same noise suppression technologies that optimize communication for speaking encounter trouble when fed music. At Dolby.io, we believe virtual communication should not be restricted to solely voice-based interaction. And that brings us to Music Mode for the Dolby.io Communications APIs.
Introducing Music Mode
We are excited to announce the general availability of Music Mode, the new audio processing mode functionality within version 3.8 of the Dolby.io Communications SDK for Web.
Music Mode complements existing voice communication capabilities, including Standard Mode and Unprocessed Mode, to enable more immersive experiences in virtual events where music is present by improving participants’ audio quality to deliver full bandwidth sound. The new capabilities apply to both the Voice and Video Call APIs.
Toggleable by users, Dolby.io Music Mode adjusts the processing of outbound participant audio to optimize for music, applying customized noise suppression and enhancing the audio to ensure music is captured and delivered in high quality.
Whether your users are performing at or attending interactive music events, participating in a virtual music lesson, or simply leading a webinar containing music, Music Mode is designed to capture and deliver a high-quality listening experience for all participants.
Key Music Mode capabilities
Music Mode delivers several enhancement to the quality of experience for music, including:
| High audio stream quality | Music streams are captured and delivered in high quality audio (96kbps, 48kHz). |
| Custom noise reduction | The noise reduction algorithm is customized to ensure music quality is preserved while reducing unwanted sounds such as fans and air conditioning. |
| Dynamic EQ | Dynamic equalization (EQ) analyzed the frequency content of the captured audio and automatically adjusts the signal to provide a more balanced experience. |
| “Stereofication” (mono to stereo) | Mono audio is upmixed to stereo to proivde a wider wound stage. Digital signal processing (DSP) capabilities render music in stereo to deliver an improved listening experience. |
| Voice & music balancing | Voice streams and music streams are handled separately, preserving the quality of the original content. |
| Echo control toggle | Users are able to disable echo management to prevent music degradation due to echo management algorithms (headphones are recommended to avoid echo when echo control is toggled off). |
Build the next generation of virtual experiences
We are speaking to clients every day that are building new virtual experiences. For the developers building the next generation of immersive, interactive, and social experiences, we are excited to share technology like Music Mode to help them on their journey. To get started, please review the below resources:
- Check out the Comms 3.8 WebSDK available on GitHub and Node Package Manager at NPMJS.com.
- There are multiple documentation resources available, including: AudioCaptureMode, AudioEchoCancellation, AudioCaptureModeMusicOptions, and Audio Issues in Music Mode, all designed to support developers as they dig in.
- You can also view the Dolby.io Voice Call webpage to dig into additional Voice Call capabilities.
