PNW Section Zoom meeting June 16, 2021; top left Jim Rondinelli, top right Paul Hubert, bottom James D. (jj) Johnston, all of Immersion Networks.
PNW Section ended its meeting season June 16 with the Section Annual Business Meeting/elections and a presentation by Immersion Networks of its novel, cloud-based immersive sound mixing system. Some 34 AES members and 24 others attended the Zoom meeting.
The Section Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and 5 Committee positions were open. Each had only one candidate and no other nominations were presented, so the ballot was voted in by acclamation. The positions for the 2021-22 PNW Section are:
Chair: Greg Dixon
Vice Chair: Bob Smith
Secretary: Gary Louie
Treasurer: Lawrence Schwedler
New Committee: Jess Berg, Dr. Angela Dane, Micah Hayes, Dr. Michael Matesky, Dan Mortensen.
Returning Committee: Bill Gibson, Steve Kirk, Katie Gray, Jim Rondinelli, Matt Stearns.
Next, the evening's presentation was the debut of a new immersive sound mixing application by Immersion Networks of Redmond, WA. Founder Paul Hubert was joined by Chief Scientist jj Johnston and COO Jim Rondinelli. Applications to graphically mix 3-D audio and headphone virtualization are gaining popularity, but they require special hardware. Immersion's "Mix³" (Mix Cubed) system relies on cloud-based processing as well as integrated acoustic modelling and virtualization techniques (not simple pan-pots, said jj) to enable accurate graphical 3-D sound mixing without the user having to fuss. The user does upload files to their cloud, then graphically mixes on the app. A range of fees including free was expected.
Demos were done on Zoom and headphones were recommended, but they also have material available on their website (note: the Zoom recording of the meeting is in mono, like all Zoom recordings). Some history of Immersion Networks was given, and some slides of their research facilities. A clip with Wynton Marsalis recorded with Mix³ was played. Local mastering engineer Steve Turnidge was a beta tester and gave his impressions of the system.
jj said that they were not going to present an in-depth technical explanation of their system at this time. After the Q & A session, attendees all had a chance to introduce themselves.
Meeting media will be available through the PNW website archive:
https://www.aes-media.org/sections/pnw/pnwrecaps/
https://www.immersion.net/
https://www.mixcubed.com
