Channel-based audio is the traditional model in which each track is permanently tied to a specific speaker position — left, right, centre, surrounds — and the mix is created for one fixed layout like stereo or 5.1. It is simple, universal, and exactly what every legacy device understands, which is why it has carried film and music for decades. Its limitation is rigidity: a 5.1 mix assumes 5.1 speakers, so playback on a different configuration requires downmixing or upmixing that can never perfectly recover the artist's intent, and adding height or personalization means a whole new mix. Object-based and scene-based audio emerged to escape that rigidity, but channel-based remains the backbone of most delivery.
The book · Volume 5 of 7
Audio for Video: A Complete Guide to Sound in Video Products: From Jitter Buffers and Lip Sync to Atmos, Quality Metrics, and Neural Codecs
Channel-based audio is what every legacy device understands, but a fixed layout limits how one mix adapts to headphones and soundbars. Volume 5 covers channel-based audio in detail alongside object-based and scene-based sound: Dolby Atmos, ambisonics, binaural rendering and how each model is delivered with video. Written by Nikolay Sapunov, CEO at Fora Soft.
Moving beyond channel-based audio to Atmos or object-based sound?
Tell us your catalogue and target devices, and we will plan when to keep channel-based mixes and when object-based delivery pays off. 250+ video products shipped since 2005.
