The virtual concert hall : a research tool for the experimental investigation of audiovisual room perception

Abstract

The Virtual Concert Hall is a virtual environment that has been specifically designed for the optoacoustic simulation of performance rooms. As a tool for experimental research, its design is derived from particular methodological demands including harvesting comparable acoustical and optical information, dissociating the space and content of multisensory events,varying optical and acoustical room properties in a mutually independent manner, while also providing a full set of stimulus cues. The system features 3D sound and vision by applying dynamic inaural synthesis and a 161°stereoscopic projection on a cylindrical screen. Room simulation data were acquired in situ in the form of orientational binaural room impulse responses and stereoscopic panoramic images. Music and speech performances were recorded acoustically in an anechoic room and optically in a greenbox studio and inserted into the virtual rooms. The Virtual Concert Hall provides nearly all perceptually relevant acoustical and optical cues, enabling experiments on the audiovisual perception of optoacoustically conflicting rooms under rich-cue conditions.