Next: 3.5 Software and hardware Up: 3 MIDAS concepts Previous: 3.3 Channels

# 3.4 Panning

Panning in MIDAS Sound System affects the apparent position of the sound in stereo environments. Sound panned to ``left'' will be played from the left speaker, ``right'' from the right one and ``middle'' from both. 64 different panning positions are available between ``left'' and ``middle'' plus ``right'' and ``middle'', to give smooth control on the sound position.

In addition, surround sound is also considered a separate panning position. Sounds played with their panning position set to ``surround'' are played from the surround speakers if the computer is connected to a surround decoder. Even if surround equipment is not available, the sound appears to come from around the listener's head, not from inside it as in ``middle'' panning position.

Note that not all Sound Devices necessarily support surround sound. Furthermore, if the computer is playing in stereo mode, but connected to mono equipment, all sounds played in ``surround'' will disappear!