An experiment to see if we can provide a more 'live' football experience using audio objects.
Object-based audio is a method of representing sound as sound objects rather than loudspeaker signals. This is a short post about an experiment we are running where we are applying this approach to the radio coverage of a football match.
On Monday 27th May we will be conducting an experiment that will allow online listeners to Radio 5 Live's coverage of the Championship play-off final to choose from which end of Wembley Stadium they would like hear the match. The idea is fans of one side or the other can choose to feel closer to fellow supporters during goals or controversial referee decisions.
If you'd like to listen, head over to this link on Monday 27th May around 2:45pm (kick off is scheduled at 3pm). We'd also really appreciate some feedback on what you thought about the experience. To do this please follow the feedback link on the experiment page.
We hope you enjoy playing with our experiment, but don't worry if you missed the live stream, we're planning on putting up some interactive highlights in the week following the match.
Two short disclaimers: This is an experiment and the number of listeners we are able to serve is limited, so once that number is reached no more people will be able to join, so it's first come first served, literally. And whilst every reasonable precaution is being taken, please be aware as with all live sports events, bad language may occasionally be audible.
If you'd like to, read some more about our research into object-based audio.
Thanks to the OB team, Andy Armstrong, Jake Berger, Sam Chadwick, Matthew Paradis, IRFS, Research Platforms and all at 5 Live for helping support the work.