Overview

Octtone is a mobile application which seeks to master audio in a spatial format commonly referred to as 8D. Spatial audio creates an effect that is often described as music circling the head and is considered by many to be a more fully immersive listening experience. This is done through an algorithm which compresses audio into nodes with space and time components and moving these nodes algorithmically to create the circling effect. The nodes are moved through various mathematical functions with respect of time. The application uses a library of unmastered songs and downloads them on to a user’s device. The application then formats the audio so it can be manipulated by the algorithm into 8D. During playback, the effect is generated on device in real-time, allowing any song to be converted to this style. Traditionally, music in this style is mastered by hand, a process which can be time consuming and contributes to difficulty finding 8D songs in many less mainstream genres and by less mainstream artists. 8D music has gained a sizeable following in the past year but there exists no simple methods for streaming these songs other than YouTube, which does not support background playback.