In two different parts of the world, Fraunhofer partners realized two different live transmission showcases for their audiences. In Brazil, Grupo Globo set up a live broadcast over the existing TV 2.5 terrestrial system as well as over TV 3.0. In South Korea, SBS, introduces a live streaming service with MPEG-H based interactive audio.

TV broadcast in Brazil

Grupo Globo, the largest media group in Brazil, showcases the most advanced audio technology as adopted in the TV 3.0 standard, currently under specification by the Fórum Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão Digital (SBTVD Forum). Globo has equipped one of their venues in Rio de Janeiro with a dedicated broadcast setup, where every match of the tournament will be distributed using MPEG-H Audio immersive and interactive sound together. This project was made possible by an excellent cooperation between Globo and its partners: Ateme, Fraunhofer IIS and LG Electronics.

“For the upcoming TV 3.0 standard, MPEG-H Audio was selected for efficiently providing the best possible sound experience for broadcast and new media services to the Brazilian viewers,” explains Carlos Cosme, researcher at MediaTech Lab, Globo and coordinator of the SBTVD Forum Audio and Video Group. “This pioneering project during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 not only shows the bright future of broadcasting but also demonstrates the commitment of its partners and helps to educate the Brazilian broadcast technology community as we get closer to the TV 3.0 project finalization led by the SBTVD Forum. We are excited to see products from Ateme and LG ready for TV 3.0 broadcast in Brazil, which is expected to launch in 2025.”

The main highlight of Globo’s TV 3.0 showcase is the LG TV used to receive the live stream. It enables viewers to personalize the sound with an integrated MPEG-H Audio user interface. The experience is complemented with the support of MPEG-H Audio HDMI passthrough for the reproduction of immersive sound over MPEG-H Audio enabled AVRs and soundbars.

“Fraunhofer IIS is committed to the success of next generation TV in Brazil and partnering with LG to showcase the full capabilities of the TV 3.0 selected audio system demonstrates the next level of user experience and the readiness of the industry for a successful rollout of the TV 3.0 standard,” says Stefan Meltzer, Chief Business Development Manager at Fraunhofer IIS. “We are excited to see MPEG-H Audio used in live broadcast over the existing TV 2.5 terrestrial system as well as for the first TV 3.0 test conducted by Globo”.

The immersive 5.1+4H feed received from Qatar is enhanced with advanced audio interactivity and personalization options at Globo in Rio de Janeiro using Linear Acoustic’s Authoring and Monitoring System (AMS). With the authoring of additional metadata during this stage, viewers get access to a new experience allowing them for example to select a different commentator or enhancing the sound of a fan curve. Finally, Ateme’s TITAN encoder is used for real time encoding and DASH streaming, while Sennheiser’s latest AMBEO Plus soundbar is used for the creation of the immersive sound experience at the venue in Rio de Janeiro.

The Globo demonstrations will run live during all matches of the international football tournament in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022.

Live Streaming in South Korea

SBS, the leading South Korean broadcaster, will offer the world’s first regular MPEG-H Audio streaming service with personalizable audio for all football fans in Korea. The service will allow users of the SBS mobile app to select between different audio presets such as “Basic”, “Enhanced Dialogue”, “Site” and “Dialogue Only”. It is the first time that users are offered such a level of personalization options in a live sports streaming service. The “Basic” preset is equivalent to the audio representation on normal TV sets, the “Enhanced Dialogue” preset provides a more vivid commentator, the “Site” preset conveys the pure stadium atmosphere without commentator at all. These personalization options are possible due to the unique features of the object-based audio of the MPEG-H Audio system. Although all of the features were demonstrated during numerous trials in the past, the SBS service is the first regular live streaming service worldwide.

MPEG-H Audio, substantially developed by Fraunhofer IIS, is the industry’s most advanced audio system for UHD-TV and streaming. It supports both immersive sound and the ability for users to adjust audio elements to their preferences. MPEG-H has been on air since 2017 on all TV networks in South Korea under the ATSC 3.0 standard. It was selected as the sole audio system for Brazil’s next-generation TV 3.0 broadcast service in December 2021 and has been on air in regular broadcast over ISDB-Tb since then. Fraunhofer offers MPEG-H software implementations for many popular CPU, SoC and DSP platforms. It is widely deployed today in TV sets, premium soundbars, and high-end smart speakers.

“We are committed to supporting our partner SBS to enable the most advanced user experiences. We are excited to see the successful integration of our MPEG-H Audio system into SBS’ state-of-the-art streaming service,” says Stefan Meltzer, Chief Business Development Manager at Fraunhofer IIS.

“The FIFA World Cup 2022 is the perfect opportunity for us to introduce new attractive services to our users and MPEG-H Audio offers all the features needed to support us with this,” says Sang-Jin Kim, CTO SBS. “SBS’s top-notch digital media technology, such as streaming and AI, will be expanded to various media services.” Users of the SBS mobile app can watch the games of the soccer tournament, taking place from November 20, 2022 until December 18, 2022.

MPEG-H brings next generation audio to broadcast and streaming

MPEG-H Audio, substantially developed by Fraunhofer IIS, is the industry’s most advanced audio system for UHD-TV and streaming. It supports both immersive sound and the ability for users to adjust audio elements to their preferences. MPEG-H has been on air since 2017 on all TV networks in South Korea under the ATSC 3.0 standard. It was selected as the sole audio system for Brazil’s next-generation TV 3.0 broadcast service in December 2021 and has been on air in regular broadcast over ISDB-Tb since then. Fraunhofer offers MPEG-H software implementations for many popular CPU, SoC and DSP platforms. It is widely deployed today in TV sets, premium soundbars, and high-end smart speakers. 

For more information please visit
https://www.audioblog.iis.fraunhofer.com/globo-mpegh-football
https://www.audioblog.iis.fraunhofer.com/mpeg-h-sbs