Your Microsoft Teams calls could soon be a much more pleasant experience, at least sonically, with the announcement of a big audio boost for the video conferencing service.
Microsoft has revealed that it's working to add spatial audio to Microsoft Teams, delivering a major upgrade to the platform's sound capabilities that should make meetings less sterile and more interactive.
Spatial audio has become a catchphrase for more immersive sound formats (such as Dolby Atmos) that many consumers around the world are rapidly adopting for their higher quality and detail, taking the audio experience to new dimensions and making you feel like if you were in the middle of the action.
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It remains to be seen how well technologies from the home theater realm will translate to your work meetings, but Microsoft says the update will bring "next-gen spatialized audio" to Teams, making users feel like they "can meet like you do." ". we're here together."
There are few details on the exact specifications or even approaches Microsoft Teams will take with spatial audio, with the entry on the Microsoft 365 roadmap (opens in a new tab) very light on content at the moment.
"This intelligent audio technology makes the meeting experience more natural, inclusive and focused for everyone" is all that is mentioned for now; however, Microsoft has been working hard recently to improve the overall audio quality for Teams users everywhere.
In June 2022, the company revealed the release of a Microsoft AI and machine learning model aimed at improving the audio quality of video calls. Trained on 30.000 hours of speech samples, model enhancements include echo cancellation, better audio adjustment in poor acoustic environments, and the ability for users to speak and listen at the same time without interruption.
Microsoft says its AI can now detect the difference between the sound from a speaker and the user's voice, solving a common problem when a microphone is too close to a speaker and causes a feedback loop manifested by an echo.