IAMF and Eclipsa Audio™

01 · of 8

What are IAMF and Eclipsa Audio™?

IAMF is an open format for immersive audio from the Alliance for Open Media. Eclipsa Audio™ is the brand Google and Samsung use for it.

Eclipsa Audio™ is the name, IAMF is the format, and the audio inside uses an ordinary codec.

IAMF stands for Immersive Audio Model and Formats. The Alliance for Open Media publishes it, the same group behind the AV1 video codec.

It is built for delivery: streaming, broadcast, downloads and games. Your immersive master goes in; listeners get a file their device can play.

Google and Samsung both contributed heavily to IAMF. Eclipsa Audio™ is the brand they use for it, on YouTube and on supporting devices.

IAMF is royalty-free. AOMedia licenses it under a royalty-free patent licence.

The current version is IAMF 2.0.0, finalised on 24 August 2026.

SoIAMF is the format and Eclipsa Audio™ is the name on the product. When a TV says Eclipsa Audio™, it is playing IAMF.

02 · of 8

Is IAMF a codec?

No. IAMF carries audio that a codec has already coded, plus the instructions for playing it back.

Think of a DAW session. It holds your audio files plus the instructions for playing them: levels, routing, panning.

IAMF works the same way. The audio is coded with one of four codecs. The IAMF data around it says how to put it together.

Where the analogy breaks: a session describes your mixing desk. IAMF describes a mix to be rendered on a system you have never seen.

IAMF 2.0 allows Opus, AAC-LC, FLAC and LPCM. Opus and AAC-LC are lossy and small; FLAC and LPCM are lossless.

A file usually uses one codec. Version 2.0 also allows a second, as long as one of the two is LPCM.

The file itself comes two ways. A raw IAMF stream uses the .iamf extension. Inside an MP4, it can sit beside a video track.

Codec	Kind
Opus	Lossy. Google’s own YouTube example uses it.
AAC-LC	Lossy.
FLAC	Lossless and compressed.
LPCM	Lossless and uncompressed.

SoPick the codec for the job and the format stays the same. Opus or AAC-LC keep files small; FLAC or LPCM keep every bit.

03 · of 8

What is inside a file?

Audio elements, which hold the sound, and mix presentations, which say how to combine and render them.

Four audio elements and two mix presentations. Each presentation picks the elements it uses, and stays within the profile’s channel limit.

An audio element is IAMF’s unit of sound: audio plus the metadata that describes it. There are three kinds.

Channel-based elements are mixed for a fixed speaker layout, such as 5.1.2 or 7.1.4. This is the bed you already know.

Scene-based elements are Ambisonics: a whole sound field, decoded at playback. Our Ambisonics guide explains how that works.

Object-based elements are new in IAMF 2.0. Each carries a sound with its own position, which can move over time.

These map onto the beds, Ambisonics and objects in an ADM master. One difference: IAMF objects carry a position only, not the ADM’s size or divergence.

SoElements are the ingredients; mix presentations are the recipes. One file can hold several of each.

04 · of 8

What does a mix presentation do?

It tells the player which elements to use, at what gains, and how loud the result should measure.

A mix presentation is a complete set of playback instructions. It lists the audio elements to use, their gains, and how to render them.

One file can hold several. The specification’s own example is language: one mix uses the English dialogue element, another the French.

Each mix presentation also carries loudness information. That includes integrated loudness, to ITU-R BS.1770-4, the edition the specification cites, and peak values.

A stereo measurement is always included. Measurements for other layouts, such as 5.1.2 or binaural, can sit alongside it.

Why this matters: a player can match levels across programmes and devices without re-measuring your mix.

Loudness field	What it holds
Integrated loudness	Programme loudness, in LKFS.
Digital peak	The highest sample value, in dBFS.
True peak	The inter-sample peak, in dBFS, when present.
Anchored loudness	Dialogue or album loudness, when present.
Momentary, range	Momentary loudness and loudness range, new in 2.0, when present.

SoSeveral mix presentations let one file carry alternatives. Each one brings its own loudness numbers, so a player can level it.

05 · of 8

Who decides what the listener hears?

The player does, following the file’s instructions. It renders for whatever it has: a speaker layout, a soundbar or headphones.

A mix already in binauralIf one mix is a single element authored as binaural, the player should use it.
A mix measured on headphonesOtherwise it should pick a mix that carries a binaural loudness measurement.
The largest layoutOtherwise it should take the mix measured on the largest layout, and render that.

IAMF does not store speaker feeds for every possible system. It stores elements and instructions, and the player renders them.

On headphones, the file says how to render each element: as binaural, or as plain stereo. You set that when you author it.

The specification also gives the order a player should use to choose a mix for headphones, shown above. Any choice the listener makes, such as language, comes first.

Channel-based elements can be layered, from a smaller layout up to a larger one. A player picks the layer that best fits its speakers.

The specification points to a separate one, the Open Audio Renderer, for how rendering is done.

SoYou deliver the mix once. Every device renders it for its own outputs. Whether headphones get binaural is part of what you author.

06 · of 8

What is a profile?

A profile is a level written into the file. It caps how many audio elements and channels a mix may use.

Profiles let simple and powerful players both handle IAMF. Each player supports a set of profiles, and a file declares which one it needs.

IAMF 1.0 defined two profiles, Simple and Base. Version 1.1 added Base-Enhanced.

IAMF 2.0 added three more: Base-Advanced, Advanced-1 and Advanced-2. These are the profiles that can carry objects. In Base-Advanced, the first mix must be objects only.

Limits count channels in a mix, not instruments. Third-order Ambisonics alone is sixteen channels.

The limit is channels in one mix presentation. Teal profiles can carry objects.

SoBefore you deliver, check which profiles the destination accepts. For YouTube, that means Simple or Base.

07 · of 8

Where does it play today?

In any browser on Esfera, our streaming platform. On YouTube, in the Simple and Base profiles. And on Samsung’s 2025 TVs and soundbars.

EsferaOur streaming platform. It plays Eclipsa Audio™ in any browser, on any device, phones included. OrbitCore renders it, the same engine inside every Orbit app.

YouTube has accepted uploads with Eclipsa Audio™ since January 2025. Google describes that support as IAMF version 1.0.

Version 1.0 defined only the Simple and Base profiles. Google’s own plugin marks just those two as YouTube-compatible. Objects and Base-Enhanced files are for other destinations, for now.

Samsung’s 2025 TVs and soundbars play it, from Crystal UHD to Neo QLED 8K. Google describes the range of compatible devices as growing.

To confirm playback on a compatible TV, open the YouTube app. Eclipsa Audio™ should show in its Settings. Stats for nerds should list an IAMF codec string, such as iamf.001.001.Opus.

This changes quickly. Check the platform’s or device maker’s own page before you deliver.

SoSupport is growing but not universal. Check the destination’s own requirements before you choose a profile.

08 · of 8

How do I make one, and check it?

Convert your ADM master in Orbit Pro or Esfera, or author in your DAW with Google’s plugin. Then play every mix presentation.

If you already have an ADM BWF master, convert it. Our own apps cover every step.

Orbit ProPlays IAMF and converts ADM to it. Build the export in a routing graph, or convert a batch of masters at once.
EsferaPlays Eclipsa Audio™ in any browser, and converts ADM masters to Eclipsa Audio™ for streaming.
Orbit LiteReads and plays .iamf and .mp4 files, so you can check a delivery before it leaves.

Other tools work too. Google publishes an open-source Eclipsa Audio™ plugin for DAWs. It is still in beta.

Its first release, in June 2025, was for Pro Tools on macOS. It now also runs on Windows, in Logic Pro and in REAPER.

The plugin exports IAMF. Muxed with your picture into an MP4, the file is ready to upload to YouTube.

Whichever route you take, check the file before it leaves.

Play every mix presentationNot just the first. Each one is a separate set of instructions.
Compare against your masterOn headphones and on speakers, at matched level.
Check the profileMake sure it is one the destination accepts: Simple or Base for YouTube.

SoBefore you upload, play every mix presentation in the file, against your master, on headphones and on speakers.

The words

Glossary

IAMF: Immersive Audio Model and Formats: the Alliance for Open Media’s open format for delivering immersive audio.
Eclipsa Audio™: The brand Google and Samsung use for IAMF playback, on YouTube and on supporting devices.
AOMedia: The Alliance for Open Media, the industry group that publishes IAMF. It also publishes the AV1 video codec.
Audio element: IAMF’s unit of sound: channel-based, scene-based or object-based audio, plus the metadata that describes it.
Scene-based: IAMF’s term for Ambisonics: a whole sound field in a fixed set of channels, decoded at playback.
Mix presentation: Instructions for rendering and mixing a set of audio elements, with gains and loudness information.
Profile: A level written into the file that caps how many elements and channels a mix may use.
Renderer: The processor in the player that turns elements and instructions into feeds for its speakers or headphones.
Opus, AAC-LC, FLAC, LPCM: The four codecs IAMF 2.0 allows for the audio itself. FLAC and LPCM are lossless; Opus and AAC-LC are lossy.
ISO-BMFF, MP4: The container family IAMF uses alongside video. A raw stream without a container uses the .iamf extension.

Sources