Fraunhofer IIS Audio System Selected for Chinese 3D Audio Standard for UHD TV

BEIJING, China, and ERLANGEN, Germany -- April 5, 2018 -- China’s AVS 3D Audio Task Group has chosen Fraunhofer IIS as the transmission audio codec solution provider for the upcoming 3D Audio standard that will be used in the country’s 4K UHD broadcast. Fraunhofer proposed its MPEG-H TV Audio System according to the requirements of China's next-generation broadcasting audio standard in order to meet the Chinese market demand for compelling audio.

“We are thrilled to be selected by the AVS 3D audio task group”, said Toni Fiedler, representing Fraunhofer IIS in China. “Our team in China is excited to start helping Chinese broadcasters and CE manufacturers deliver the excellent immersive and interactive audio features of the MPEG-H TV Audio System to consumers at home and on the go.”

Fraunhofer IIS recently presented its end-to-end MPEG-H TV Audio System at Asia’s largest tradeshow for broadcasting technology and equipment, China Content Broadcasting Network 2018 (CCBN). The exhibits included a live broadcast chain demonstration with real-time authoring and monitoring systems and MPEG-H encoders, as well as a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Fraunhofer also demonstrated its 3D soundbar prototype that supports MPEG-H decoding and upHear, Fraunhofer IIS’ virtualization technology that creates an unrivalled immersive sound experience in consumers’ homes.

Fraunhofer will showcase the MPEG-H TV Audio System at NAB 2018 April 9-12 in Las Vegas, NV (Booth 4916 in South Hall Upper). Professional broadcast production exhibits include a real-time encoding-decoding chain along with tools to produce 3D sound and interactive audio with MPEG-H. Visitors can also experience MPEG-H TV Audio System consumer demos, including the pre-production prototype of an MPEG-H enabled Sennheiser soundbar, as well as MPEG-H enabled TV sets from Samsung and LG that are already in use in South Korea.

About the MPEG-H TV Audio System

The MPEG-H TV Audio System is designed to work with today’s broadcast and streaming equipment. The object-based system includes interactive and immersive audio that allows viewers to adjust the sound mix to their preferences and improves the realism of sound. Furthermore, it will tailor playback to sound best on a range of devices and environments, providing “universal delivery”.

MPEG-H has been successfully integrated into the ATSC 3.0 and DVB standards. In May 2017, the MPEG-H TV Audio System was officially adopted by South Korea’s new terrestrial UHDTV system based on ATSC 3.0, becoming the world’s first commercialized next generation audio technology. Professional broadcast equipment including encoders and monitoring solutions, as well as consumer products such as TV sets and decoder chipsets with MPEG-H support have been announced and introduced to the market.

To learn more about MPEG-H Audio please visit http://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/tvaudio and http://www.mpegh.com