Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
© Sociedade Brasileira de Engenharia de Televisão (SET)
SET eXPerience
MPEG-H Audio – The Next Generation Audio standard for Broadcast and Streaming
With its unique personalization features, the MPEG-H Audio system, substantially developed by Fraunhofer IIS, offers fully adjustable dialogue levels, customizable audio description, multiple languages, and even interactive object positioning. As a result, users can tailor the media consumption experience to their individual preferences and needs. MPEG-H delivers these unprecedented customization options, as well as enveloping immersive sound, on every kind of playback device – from home theaters to 3D soundbars to mobile devices.
The MPEG-H Audio system is specified in TV broadcast standards such as ATSC 3.0 and DVB as well as in the mobile broadband standard 3GPP. It is currently the only Next Generation Audio codec used in commercial TV broadcasting since the launch of the South Korean ATSC 3.0-based UHDTV service in May 2017. Additionally, MPEG-H Audio was recently added to the Brazilian ISDB-Tb system to enhance the user experience with immersive audio and personalization features. In Europe, many broadcasters and streaming services have already successfully tested MPEG-H Audio during major sports and music events.
Also based on MPEG-H Audio is the immersive music streaming ecosystem 360 Reality Audio. Already available with streaming services like Amazon Music HD, Deezer and Tidal, the technology is enabling the next revolution in music entertainment as well.
Webinar: “Next Generation Audio and Video Technologies”
Part 1: Roundtable – Meet the Experts
Our experts discuss the current status in standardization and adoption of Next Generation TV technologies in the different regions of the world as well as the directions broadcast and streaming are taking in various markets.
Part 2: “Next Generation Audio and Video Technologies”
With the advanced MPEG-H immersive and personalized sound features as well as Advanced HDR by Technicolor, content creators can now enable completely new audio and video experiences for their viewers.
In this session, our experts share their experience gained while working with broadcasters all over the world during major live events that were broadcast or streamed in MPEG-H Audio and Advanced HDR by Technicolor.
Part 3: Hands-on Experience with MPEG-H Audio and Advanced HDR by Technicolor
“How can I produce in HDR and immersive and interactive audio today using my existing production workflows and infrastructure?” This is one of the most important questions we receive from broadcasters. This webinar will give you the answer. Our experts walk you through live production and broadcast, showing you how to enable the most advanced features in your existing facilities.
MPEG-H Audio for live productions
The MPEG-H Audio system is designed to work with today's streaming and broadcast equipment. To learn how to create MPEG-H in live productions for sports events, music shows or any other content, watch our Live Production video series:
Out now: the MPEG-H Authoring Suite
The MPEG-H Authoring Suite (MAS) is a set of tools that make the production of MPEG-H Audio content easier, faster, more intuitive and more powerful. They support the recently published MPEG-H ADM Profile, as well as binaural monitoring for immersive audio reproduction over headphones.
- The MPEG-H Authoring Plug-in (MHAPi) takes you through all the steps of creating object- or channel-based MPEG-H Audio productions inside a VST3- or AAX-enabled digital audio workstation (DAW). You will be able to export your immersive and interactive MPEG-H Audio scenes to either MPEG-H Production Format (MPF) or MPEG-H BWF/ADM, containing audio and metadata and ready for distribution via MPEG-H-enabled channels.
- The MPEG-H Authoring Tool (MHAT) is a new software tool for Mac and Windows that helps you create MPEG-H metadata with existing audio material. The MHAT allows for easy MPEG-H authoring without the need of a digital audio workstation (DAW). You can define specific MPEG-H parameters, instantly listen to your configurations and export your authored mixes as MPEG-H Production Format (MPF), MPEG-H BWF/ADM or as a template export in an XML file.
Check out our MPEG-H Authoring Suite tutorial:
Studio Recommendations
3D-Audio or immersive audio mixing for home delivery is done using loudspeakers in an audio control room or near-field mixing environment.
Fraunhofer with its extensive experience in 3D-Audio mixing, as well as setting up studios and listening rooms can provide all the structural requirements and technical specifications for a 3D-Audio production environment for accurate mixing and reproduction in a flexible manner for loudspeaker reproduction systems ranging from 1.0 up to 7.1+4H channel layouts.
Fraunhofer offers consultation for room geometry and room acoustics,
loudspeaker positioning and electroacoustic performance, 3D-Audio monitoring and mixing capabilities and provides recommendations for related literature.
Our comprehensive paper on studio recommendations is a great starting point.
The Audio Definition Model ADM
The Audio Definition Model (ADM) according to ITU-R BS.2076 defines an open metadata format for production, exchange and archiving of Next Generation Audio (NGA) content in file-based workflows. Its comprehensive metadata syntax allows describing many types of audio content including channel-, object-, and scene-based representations for immersive and interactive audio experiences. A serial representation of the Audio Definition Model (S-ADM) is specified in ITU-R BS.2125 and defines a segmentation of the original ADM for use in linear workflows such as real-time production for broadcasting and streaming applications.
Fraunhofer offers the ADM Info Tool, an application that provides automated conformance verification for ADM files.