Amplitude Audio SDK vs Live Link Face

Amplitude Audio SDK is a cross-platform audio engine for games, supporting audio for 2D, 3D, and VR/AR environments. It runs on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows; Windows, Linux, and macOS are listed as runtime platforms. Project assets are defined in JSON and compiled into binary sound banks for runtime loading. Audio options include stereo panning, binaural rendering with user HRTF assets, and Ambisonic rendering. Developers can configure processing per runtime platform, including filters, room effects, and spatialization, and extend the pipeline with plugins. A MiniAudio-based default driver and MP3 and WAV decoding are included. Official integrations are listed for O3DE, ezEngine, Godot 4+, and Flax Engine. The SDK is free and open source under Apache-2.0, but it is in beta without an official release; nightly builds are for development, not production. Amplitude Studio is in early access with complimentary access during that phase; its planned free version has non-commercial and feature limits.

Live Link Face captures facial performances and generates animation for MetaHuman characters in Unreal Engine. The iOS app supports real-time and processed animation and can capture raw video and depth data for the MetaHuman plugin. Epic describes the Android app as a beta for real-time MetaHuman facial animation. Animation streams over a network to Unreal Engine through the MetaHuman Live Link plugin; the phone and computer must be connected to a network. App settings include OSC connections for external controllers and devices. Android timecode can use the system clock, an NTP server, or a Tentacle Sync device for multi-device synchronization. Real-time Android animation is limited to certain Qualcomm chipsets, and Snapdragon 8s chipsets are unsupported; Android does not support capture for offline processing. Live Link Hub can download recorded media from Android and iOS devices and trigger recording on a connected phone. The app is free on iOS and Android. The App Store listing requires iOS 16 or later, while Epic’s workflow description specifies an iPhone 12 or later and a Windows 10/11 desktop PC.