Barco buys Iosono

Published: September 25, 2014 MEA

WORLD: German 3D audio specialist, Iosono, is now part of Barco. The company has joined the Barco Entertainment Division and will now be known as Barco Audio Technologies.

‘We are honoured to now be part of a company like Barco which has a vision and passion for creating the ultimate cinematic experience,’ stated Olaf Stepputat, former CEO of Iosono and now director of Barco Audio Technologies. ‘We have been involved with making immersive sound for motion pictures before any other company in the market. Adding our capabilities to Barco’s will create a compelling system which will create a listening experience unparalleled in the industry. We look forward to a bright future with Barco bringing Iosono’s experience in the accurate processing and display of acoustical information to Barco’s portfolio of market leading visualisation products.’

The move has obvious synergies in the continued development of the Auro 11.1 immersive cinema sound system created by Barco and its partners Auro Technologies. With the Iosono team and assets now part of Barco, the company will have access to a deeper pool of experience and expertise with object based immersive sound.

‘Being a pioneer in cinema sound is a privilege and an honour. We are so excited to be able to work together with more innovators like Iosono to further develop, the tools and processes that make the object based part of the Auro-3D format a truly magical experience,’ explained Wilfried Van Baelen, CEO of Auro Technologies. ‘Iosono and Barco are the perfect complementary partners to further develop the Auro 3D listening experience and we look forward to showing the world what this new element of collaboration will yield for the industry.’

‘Creating a standardised format for immersive sound is critical as it helps to control costs for content to be produced and distributed and will ultimately speed the adoption of immersive sound worldwide,’ noted Brian Claypool, senior director of strategic business development at Barco. ‘As this standardisation effort continues, Barco remains committed to providing immersive sound solutions with its partners Auro Technologies and Iosono that are designed to fulfil the needs of the exhibition industry and give content creators the flexibility and tools to produce the best work imaginable.’