What is the benefit of Dynamic Head Tracking when watching movies?

[philotas]

One question about the use case for dynamic head tracking while watching movies:

I get the it is cool, but isn't the effect only noticeable when you actually move your head (
look somewhere else) instead of watching straight to the TV? So for the effect to show up you actually have to look a away or be disrupted by someone next or behind you and you turn you head towards that person?

Or are those effects even noticeable when you like move you eyes between the left and right edge of your TV screen for example?

Thanks for clarification!

 

[johntw]

So you’re still listening in Spatial Audio, even without moving your head. Some might consider it an improvement over Stereo. You have to actually move your head (in relation to the device) to notice the “head tracking” Spatial Audio. Moving just your eyes does not have an impact.

 

[bigshot]

I don't think head tracking (or spatial audio in general) is all that important yet. But if Apple and Dolby can come up with a way to calibrate headphone playback with a person's individual HRTF (Head Related Transfer Function), then true surround sound will be possible with headphones. Head tracking is an important part of that. It will also most likely figure in augmented reality.

In short, spatial audio isn't much right now, but it's the first steps to something that could be as big of a breakthrough as stereo was in the 1950s.

 

[perezr10]

I think it’s more than just when you physically move your head. I think it’s also that sounds are presented based on where the system thinks that your head is. For instance, I was watching See with my AirPods Pro. I could hear a river in front of me, people walking from left to right, and birds singing overhead. Without spatial audio on my AirPods2, it was just the same noises equally from both sides.

 

[bigshot]

I hear left to right. Nothing in front, nothing above, nothing behind. Everyone has a different HRTF. There is no way to synthesize surround sound with headphones without a custom calibrated HRTF.

I have a lot of the albums in the spatial audio section of Apple Music in blu-ray or SACD with true multichannel sound. When I play them on my 5.1 speaker system, it's like a dimensional sound field with sounds coming from all directions. On the APMs it is very good sounding stereo.

 

[NastyMatt]

DHT is obviously different to spatial audio, but to answer the OPs question - yes, you'll only notice it when you move your head. If you stare at the screen the entire film/program you will not notice it. But, if you do move your head (and there was no DHT) then the illusion of positioning will be ruined.

I really like it, I do tend to forget about it when watching my iPad and then i'll move my head and it's a real "whooa" moment, good for immersion.