MyEars

• Flash-based user interaction screens for MyEars callibration tests
• 3D introductory animation for new users
• Non-Linear website design to facilitate constant adjustment
• Demonstration video with real PC footage
• Painless configuration process for users

BACKGROUND

Current 3D audio over headphones for games, music and telecommunications is a poor imitation of the real “free field” listening experience, as it causes perceptual problems including poor externalisation, localisation, sound quality and listener fatigue.

Personal Audio combines cutting edge research in the neurosciences, psychophysics and digital signal processing fields to develop exciting new 3D audio technologies. The MyEars™ service is one of Personal Audio’s products aimed at the video games market. It enables the superb listening experience produced by NextGen video games and 7.1 sound systems over headphones, resulting in a much greater sense of immersion in the games and an excellent competitive advantage for gamers as well as closing the gap between current free field 7.1 and headphone listening. Personal Audio engaged Demonz Media to create a compelling user interfaces for calibrating & configuring MyEars™ technology.

TARGET MARKET

The targeted market consists of dedicated hardcode PC gamers who are always looking for that extra ‘edge’ to win their games. They are mostly gamers who are playing first person shooters or those engaged in massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).
As most games need pretty powerful hardware requirements, the system is expected to be used in very high end machines with powerful graphics cards with access to high speed broadband from anywhere in the world. The average computer literacy level is medium to high in this target segment. As almost all games in the PC market are written for Windows, most users are expected to be running Windows XP, Vista or 7.
Over the course of time, there are plans to penetrate into console gaming market as well as regular users of iPods and Zunes.

OUR TASK

In order to generate 3D sound via headphones, each individual’s ears have to be calibrated to his or her headphone. The calibration process involves a series of tests that determine values which are needed by MyEars™ servers to generate a unique sound profile for each individual & her headphone.

All the tests include playing sounds and positioning them in 3D space in order to determine the calibration values. In order to make this task as easy as possible, Demonz created a set of Flash based user interface screens that allows a user to play and position sounds in a perspective 3D space. Demonz also created several related UI components which include a 3D introductory animation that explains the concept to first time users and demos that allow the user to experience 3D sound in real-time and compare it to stereo sound so that they know the difference in experience.

THE SOLUTION

The flow of the website is purposely left non linear so that the user can calibrate, demo or experience 3D sound on their headphone at any point in time. The system is designed to be as least intrusive as possible and does not get in the way of the user.  Crucial sections of the system such as help, account information, payment histories are made available at the touch of a click.

By using perspective 3D, simulated 3D environments and a cybernetic 3D character, we are able to entice and connect with the gamer psyche and guide them through the calibration process easily.

MyEars™ includes bleeding edge technology from the fields of neuroscience and signal processing. The ability to tap into this technology by anyone with a browser is a pretty impressive feat. One of the most exciting features is the difference in the experience of users who are able to experience 3D sound with their calibrated headphones. As the system is operating system & browser independent, users do not need to install additional software and plugins to calibrate their headphones for 3D audio. The painless configuration process is one of the greatest strengths of the system.

CREATIVE FEATURES

Shadows, highlights, transparency, floor reflections and shadows are used throughout the general interface to give the illusion of 3D space and depth. The use of anti-aliased text, lite alpha fades, mini-animations, and transition effects adds interactivity to the system.
The idea to introduce a 3D character has been a very effective decision in guiding the user throughout the calibration process as well as providing introductory and helpful information:

-    A 3D character based intro animation that explains the MyEars™ concept for people new to the concept.
-    An immersive 3D environment where the user can demo his calibration settings and compare in real-time the difference between stereo and 3D sound.
-    Another demo where an actual footage from a PC game can be experienced with the user’s calibration settings applied in real-time

The user interface is sleek, modern and futuristic and enables an engaging experience to the user.

TECHNICAL FEATURES

The decision to build most of the UI (User Interface) components in Flash was a definite contributing factor to the project’s success. From an aesthetics point of view, Flash provides the best possible platform to implement the perspective 3D required by the calibration test screens for introducing the 3D sound space. It helps the user’s imagination in orienting and positioning herself in a 3D space prior to carrying out the tests.
In addition, Flash has the ability to process audio filters in real-time which is crucial to the calibration process and demo pages which allow users to turn on and off 3D sound and compare what it is like to hear sound in stereo and 3D.

USABILITY/ACCESSIBILITY

The extremely accessible and easy to navigate user interface adheres to all general accessibility guidelines such as having differentiated links with mouse over and mouse out states, large clickable areas and large text sizes so that the system can even be used by vision impaired users.
As the main feature of the system is the calibration, a large portion of the screen real estate (over 90%) is used for the calibration testing pages. Help and hints are scattered throughout the system to help users throughout the process.
An independent usability consultancy firm was hired to assess the usability of the entire site including the calibration pages – their recommendations have been implemented in the final version of the system.