Microsoft Teams to Get Spatial Audio Upgrade
Microsoft Teams is set to receive a significant audio boost with the addition of spatial audio to the video conferencing service. This upgrade will give a major boost to the platform’s sound capabilities, making meetings less sterile and more interactive.
What is Spatial Audio?
Spatial audio is a catch-all phrase for the more immersive sound formats, such as Dolby Atmos, that are quickly being embraced by many consumers across the world for their increased quality and detail. These formats take the audio experience into new dimensions and make you feel like you’re in the heart of the action.
Next-Generation Spatialized Audio
Microsoft says that the update will bring “next-generation spatialized audio” to Teams, giving the impression that users “can meet like you’re there together”. There’s little detail regarding the exact specifications or even approaches Microsoft Teams will be taking with spatial audio, with the entry on the Microsoft 365 roadmap very light on content for now.
“This intelligent audio technology makes the meeting experience more natural, inclusive and focused for everyone,” is all that’s mentioned for now. However, Microsoft has been hard at work recently aiming to improve the general audio quality for Teams users everywhere.
In June 2022, the company revealed the launch of a Microsoft AI and machine learning model aimed at improving the audio quality on video calls. Trained on 30,000 hours of speech samples, the model’s improvements include echo cancellation, better adjusting audio in poor acoustic environments, and allowing users to speak and hear at the same time without interruptions.
Conclusion
With the addition of spatial audio, Microsoft Teams is set to become an even more immersive and interactive platform for video conferencing. This upgrade will make meetings less sterile and more natural, inclusive, and focused for everyone.
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