![Samsung And Google Team Up For [Yawn] New Eclipsa Audio Immersive Audio Format](https://sonfapitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Eclipsa-Audio.jpeg "Samsung And Google Team Up For [Yawn] New Eclipsa Audio Immersive Audio Format")
If you follow my podcast, you know that I mentioned that Samsung and Google were talking about teaming up for a new immersive audio format way back in Episode 500 about a year ago. Now both companies are rolling out the new format but with a new name – Eclipsa Audio.
The big news of CES for these companies is that Eclipsa will be found in new Samsung TVs and soundbars, and will also be part of YouTube’s playback specs. The release also says that creators can start using it right away, but it doesn’t say how. In fact, the tech specs are very skimpy to the point where it’s really hard to find out how many speakers it will be utilizing (it’s 7.1.4, but I only found that after a deep dive of the spec).
It’s Open Source
Eclipsa is built on the IAMF format, which is open source. You can read all about it here, if you care to wade through a lot of info that you didn’t want to know about it. One piece of the spec that I found disheartening is that the resolution is only 16 bit, which one wonders how that could be even considered acceptable in a modern audio format.
If there is a silver lining, IAMF is open source so it won’t cost anything to support. There won’t be any license fees, but on the other hand, that means there’s no money to develop the audio tools needed for creation and distribution.
If I were a betting man, I’d wager that this format will be stillborn and gone by the end of the year, leaving Dolby’s Atmos format untouched.
Other Immersive Formats
There are other immersive formats besides Atmos, of course, with Sony’s 360 Reality Audio getting the most traction, but it’s not even in the ballpark with Atmos in terms of distribution and tools for creation.
I know that some engineers who’ve invested both time and money into immersive mixing don’t want to hear this, but so far the consumer has zero appetite for immersive audio by itself. It certainly works as an adjunct for film and home theater, but it’s a non-starter for music. I’m not saying that it can’t be great in the future, but as of right now, there is no consumer demand. If fact, if you search the immersive music forums, you’re just a likely to find posts about how much consumers don’t like immersive music, especially when compared to stereo mixes that we’ve all grown up with and love.
Eclipsa Audio makes for a nice press release and dog and pony show for CES, but don’t expect it to make even a single dent in either the audio or consumer world. But at least you now know it’s sort of available.
