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Immersive Audio Model and Formats (IAMF) decoding support

Category
Miscellaneous
Type
New or changed feature
Status
Proposed (Chrome Proposed)
Intent stage
None

Summary

Adds support for decoding and playing back the Immersive Audio Model and Formats (IAMF) container within HTML media elements via Media Source Extensions (MSE). IAMF is an open, royalty-free spatial audio format that supports channel-based, scene-based, and object-based audio presentations. Supporting this standard allows web developers to deliver consistent, immersive 3D audio experiences across different devices without relying on proprietary formats or managing complex discrete audio channel routing in JavaScript.

Motivation

Currently, delivering high-quality, immersive 3D audio on the web relies heavily on proprietary formats (like Dolby Atmos) or complex custom JavaScript audio rendering. IAMF provides a standardized, royalty-free container that allows web developers to deliver rich, consistent spatial audio experiences across devices for use cases like gaming, AR/VR, and streaming media. Adding IAMF support to Chromium's media pipeline aligns with the open web ecosystem and ensures a baseline for spatial audio interoperability.

Standards & signals

Docs: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G4Km3hxEnXonvgiZo7got_DWIatBrpYbyzk3yIpaV6A/edit?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-rS2fUcQM7tcKNDoQmk7Tmg

Samples: https://crsrc.org/c/media/test/data/iamf_alternating_sine_waves_stereo.mp4 https://crsrc.org/c/media/test/data/iamf_alternating_sine_waves_714.mp4 https://aomediacodec.github.io/iamf-tools/web_demo

Explainers: https://github.com/SyedAbuTalib/iamf-explainer/blob/main/explainer.md

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