Comparison of a Head-Mounted Display and a Curved Screen in a Multi-Talker Audiovisual Listening Task

Virtual audiovisual technology has matured but the methodology has yet to be established for speech- and audio-related perception research. This study examined the effects of different audiovisual conditions on head yaw and gaze direction when listening to multi-talker conversations. Two immersive displays were tested and compared: a curved screen (CS) and a head-mounted display (HMD). Using three visual conditions (audio-only, virtual characters and video recordings), three groups of participants were tested: seventeen young normal-hearing, eleven older normal-hearing and ten older hearing-impaired listeners with hearing aids. The results showed that when there were no visual cues, participants tended to look ahead; when visual information was available, they looked at the target speaker. Significant differences between displays and visual conditions were found, suggesting that using different audiovisual setups may lead to slightly different head yaw and gaze directions. No significant differences were found between groups. Open interviews showed that the CS was preferred over the HMD and that video recordings were the preferred visual condition.