Spatial audio specifications for VIRB 360

The VIRB 360 encodes planar spatial audio using Ambisonic B-Format into four audio channels in a MP4 file in the following order:

First channel (W) encodes audio information from all directions with respect to the camera: front, back, left, right, top, and bottom.

Second channel (Y) contains specific information about audio sources located to the left and right of the camera.

Third channel (Z) contains specific information about audio sources located above and below the camera.

Forth channel (X) contains specific information about audio sources located in the front and the back of the camera.

Since the VIRB 360 microphones are only located on the front, back, and both sides of the device, the Third channel (Z) is intentionally left blank to meet the Spatial metadata specification of the players. Sounds above and below the camera are captured in the First channel (W), but only the sounds coming from the front, back, and sides are rendered with the full Spatial audio effect during playback.