Fraunhofer IIS hosts South East Asia audio codecs workshops
Published: ASIA
ASIA: Fraunhofer IIS recently conducted workshops in audio coding technologies in Cyberjaya and Jakarta. Staged in conjunction with the Malaysian Commission for Multimedia and Communications (MCMC) and the LPP Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI) respectively, the workshops were intended to reflect the movement towards digital TV in Indonesia and Malaysia. Digital television broadcasting within both countries will utilise DVB-T2, with the implementation phase due to begin by the end of 2013.
Attracting more than 170 senior executives from broadcast stations, system integrators, regulators and other concerned parties, the workshops focused on state-of-the-art audio codecs for digital TV broadcasting. They were intended to introduce the possibilities that digital television offers in terms of enhancing users’ audio experience, including immersive surround sound comparable to a cinema or Blu-Ray.
Among the topics addressed were channel configurations and bandwidth recommendations, singlecast/simulcast scenarios, audio specific metadata for loudness normalisation, dynamic range compression and downmix behaviour, as well as audio description, dialogue enhancement, multiplatform delivery, DASH streaming and mobile reception. The role of set-top boxes in providing Emergency Warning Services was also explored.
The keynote address in Malaysia was delivered by Mrs Azlina Mohd Yousef, director of the digital switchover department, MCMC. She commented: ‘Audio solutions such as 5.1 surround sound greatly enhance the TV experience when coupled with improved picture quality. The sound experience can further be enhanced by providing a higher number of channels, such as 7.1 and even 22.1 for Ultra-HDTV. The Fraunhofer workshop provides in-depth information on the possibilities of audio coding technologies and the features of HE-AAC.’
Meanwhile, Mrs Erina Tobing, technical director at TVRI, paid tribute to Fraunhofer’s involvement, commenting: ‘We are happy to note that Fraunhofer IIS, a partly publicly funded German research organisation, is conducting this important workshop on audio coding technologies for TV broadcasting.’
Toni Fiedler, representing Fraunhofer IIS, concluded: ‘As a leading research organisation, Fraunhofer is always at the forefront of emerging broadcast technologies. HE-AAC is currently the most innovative and most efficient audio codec. Fraunhofer is supportive of broadcasters and the digital TV broadcasting industry in building an understanding and implementing this technology in their own digital TV broadcasting networks.’