Exhibitions
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits
Inter BEE 2011
For further information or to schedule an appointment in advance, please contact Matthias Rose at amm-info@iis.fraunhofer.de.
MPEG Surround provides high-quality surround sound for the forthcoming Japanese Multimedia Broadcast System
The forthcoming ISDB-Tmm/Tsb Multimedia Broadcast System for Mobile-TV and Digital Radio services in Japan is scheduled for full-scale commercial launch in 2012. The specification includes HE-AACv2 as the mandatory audio codec for stereo programs as well as MPEG Surround for the optional delivery of surround sound. The ISO standard MPEG Surround delivers a high-quality surround sound experience to the consumer that is also cost-efficient to broadcasters and mobile operators since it only requires stereo bit-rates. In addition, the surround programs can be enjoyed via stereo receivers in excellent stereo quality avoiding bitrate inefficient simulcast. MPEG Surround is perfectly suited for digital broadcasting and streaming systems, including ISDB-Tmm/Tsb, and can be enjoyed in the car and on mobile terminals thanks to the codec’s built-in surround headphone mode that enables 5.1 sound on common stereo headphones. MPEG Surround has been standardized for the ISDB-Tmm/Tsb, DAB(+), DMB, DRM+, DVB and Open IPTV broadcast standards, and is currently under consideration for 3GPP and IMDA Internet Radio Streaming. Broadcasters and service providers who don’t have significant amounts of surround content can use Fraunhofer’s flexible stereo-to-multi-channel upmix solution “SX Pro” to create additional surround material, enabling an easy and seamless transition from stereo to surround broadcasting.
Benefits of MPEG Surround
Exciting new next generation services
MPEG Surround enables new services such as surround music streaming/download or high-quality surround broadcasts over very low bandwidth channels.
Six for the price of two
MPEG Surround offers multi-channel audio at stereo bit-rates which makes it easy to upgrade any stereo transmission system for multi-channel application.
One file for all
MPEG Surround files can be played back on stereo and surround loudspeaker systems or common stereo headphones.
HE-AAC – The audio codec of choice for TV broadcasting
Over the last couple of years, HE-AAC became one of the most important enabling technologies for multimedia systems and is today globally established in state-of-the-art TV broadcast systems. HE-AAC combines high audio quality with very low bit-rates, and is the most efficient audio codec available for TV broadcasting.
Flexible and future-proof, the HE-AAC codec supports any channel configuration from mono to up to 48 channels and includes stereo, as well as 5.1 surround. It allows for the additional transmission of side information to enable future TV services, such as the Fraunhofer Dialogue Enhancement technology for improving speech intelligibility.
HE-AAC is the predominant codec in most state-of-the-art broadcast and streaming systems. For example, HE-AAC multi-channel is part of the DVB toolbox and being used in many European and South American countries for 5.1 and stereo broadcasts. As a result, the majority of HD-capable TV receivers being sold today supports HE-AAC multi-channel. And, all major broadcast encoder manufacturers included HE-AAC into their devices long ago. Due to this widespread use, HE-AAC can easily be integrated into existing production and distribution chains without great effort. Of course, HE-AAC fully supports all broadcast relevant metadata.
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