IAMF & Eclipsa Audio: The Open-Standard Breakthrough for Immersive Sound

IAMF: A New Chapter for 3D Audio

In 2023, the Alliance for Open Media (AOM), a consortium backed by Samsung, Google, Netflix, Meta, and others, formalized a new global standard: the Immersive Audio Model and Formats (IAMF). Designed to revolutionize spatial sound, IAMF brings creators a flexible, open-source, and royalty-free alternative to proprietary formats like Dolby Atmos. Its commercial embodiment, Eclipsa Audio, was spearheaded by Samsung and Google with a clear mission: democratize immersive audio by making it accessible, adaptable, and affordable.

Unlike older spatial formats that rely on specialized speaker setups or closed ecosystems, IAMF allows detailed control over sound source location, intensity, and spatial reflections—optimized for the everyday listener using a regular TV, smartphone, or laptop. It adapts to any playback environment and supports any genre or use case, from cinematic soundscapes to hyper-realistic game audio. As a platform-agnostic, royalty-free framework, IAMF represents a seismic shift in the way immersive content will be created and consumed.

With Eclipsa Audio now live for creators, it’s the dawn of a more inclusive spatial audio era.
One where open standards level the playing field for innovation.

A Game-Changer for Device and Platform Ecosystems

For device manufacturers and content platforms, Eclipsa Audio isn’t just a new format, it’s a strategic advantage. By adopting IAMF, companies can embed immersive audio into their products without paying costly licensing fees or navigating the technical restrictions of proprietary systems like Dolby Atmos. In a market where consumer audio hardware operates on razor-thin margins, eliminating royalties becomes not just beneficial, it’s an appealing economic necessity.

IAMF’s royalty-free and open-source nature enables manufacturers to deliver next-gen spatial audio across a wide range of devices, from TVs and soundbars to smartphones and wearables, without inflating production costs or prices. On the software side, streaming services and media platforms gain the flexibility to offer immersive sound experiences without platform lock-in, opening the door to broader, more inclusive adoption.

The parallels to AV1 in video compression are clear: IAMF has the potential to reshape the audio ecosystem, bringing better quality at scale while fostering healthy competition. For businesses navigating both cost pressures and the demand for cutting-edge features, this is a rare win-win scenario, and a prime reason why IAMF is gaining momentum fast.

Immersive Audio, Finally for the Masses

Eclipsa Audio’s first major deployments are scheduled for 2025, with Samsung TVs and soundbars leading the hardware rollout, and YouTube introducing platform support. But this is just the beginning. Major players like Amazon, Meta, and Netflix are closely watching and likely to adopt IAMF as an industry baseline.

For end users, this means immersive audio will no longer be confined to premium setups. Whether watching a movie or live concert on YouTube, streaming music, or gaming on a mobile device, listeners will experience spatial depth and detail as part of their everyday entertainment. No need for complex configurations or expensive hardware, just smart sound that adapts to their environment.

As 3D audio market grows, already estimated to increase by 14.9% CAGR through 2030 (The Insight Partners), IAMF positions itself as the standard for scalable, high-quality listening experiences. It’s a pivotal moment in how audiences engage with sound and creators must be ready.

How Creators and Audio Professionals Can Join the IAMF Movement

Adopting Eclipsa Audio may sound complex, but it doesn’t have to be. Today, producing IAMF-compatible content starts with creating an ADM (Audio Definition Model) file from your DAW, then converting it into IAMF using dedicated encoding tools. But this process isn’t yet mainstream, and that's exactly where the opportunity lies.

With the immersive audio wave fast approaching, creators, studios, and music production softwares will need scalable ways to upgrade stereo masters into spatial experiences. Our Stereo to Spatial technology makes this possible. It decomposes the audio signal into a multitude of sound particles, reinforces the scene, and applies psychoacoustic modeling to automatically convert stereo files into IAMF-ready immersive formats, dramatically reducing production time while preserving creative intent.

Whether you're a YouTuber, podcaster, content creator at large or offer an audio production software, if you’re ready to future-proof your sound, we provide the tool to enter the immersive space with confidence, speed, and accuracy.

👉 Read more about Stereo to Spatial and give it a try right away