Monday 16 March 2020

Fraunhofer IIS brings comprehensive MPEG audio codec suite to NXP


Erlangen, Germany: Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, inventor of mp3 and primary developer of the xHE-AAC and MPEG-H Audio standards, announced that NXP® Semiconductors will leverage Fraunhofer’s MPEG audio SDK. This software package covers four generations of audio codecs: legacy MPEG Layer-1/2/3 as well as the next-generation MPEG-H 3D Audio standard and the AAC codec family, including xHE-AAC. NXP will incorporate these codecs into its multimedia system solutions, which raise the bar for audio quality in home entertainment products, such as set-top boxes, soundbars or smart speakers.

Fraunhofer IIS has more than 30 years of experience in the development and optimization of audio codecs and has already licensed its software to over 1000 companies. “NXP’s SoC products provide a compelling platform for Fraunhofer’s MPEG audio decoder SDKs and will drive the rapid market adoption of our audio solutions by the leading consumer electronics manufacturers,” said Dr. Nikolaus Färber, Head of Audio for Embedded Systems department of Fraunhofer IIS.

“The MPEG audio codecs from Fraunhofer IIS are an excellent fit for our high-quality multimedia systems solutions,” said Rob Oshana, Vice President of Software Engineering R&D from NXP. "We plan to fully integrate MPEG-H 3D Audio, xHE-AAC and the legacy codecs into our Immersiv3D™ audio solution for i.MX 8M SoCs.”

NXP also plans to leverage the Fraunhofer MPEG-H Audio System Trademark Program to test its MPEG-H decoder implementation. This will indicate to manufacturers that NXP’s decoder implementation fulfills all mandatory requirements of Fraunhofer’s MPEG-H Audio System trademark program.

About MPEG-H Audio

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 elements in the audio to their preferences. MPEG-H has been on the air since 2017 on all TV networks in South Korea under the new ATSC 3.0 standard. It has also been selected for new broadcast standards to be launched in China and Brazil and is the distribution format of the new immersive music streaming service 360 Reality Audio. 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.

About xHE-AAC

xHE-AAC is the ideal solution for digital radio broadcasting and for adaptive audio and video streaming services over the Internet, thanks to its coding efficiency (with a bit rate range from 12 kbit/s to 500 kbit/s and above for stereo services) combined with seamless bit rate switching over DASH and HLS as well as mandatory MPEG-D DRC loudness and dynamic range control. The codec is natively supported by the Android 9 and 10 operating systems, as well as iOS 13 and Amazon Fire OS 7.

Wednesday 11 March 2020

Brazil’s Minister of Science and Technology,Marcos Pontes on Radio’s Future


Brazil's Minister of Science and Technology told DRM what he thinks about radio during second National Forum of Brazilian Broadcasters

Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology Marcos Pontes opened the second National Forum of Brazilian Broadcasters on March 5. In Portuguese, the event is known as the Fórum Nacional de Radiodifusão MCTIC.

Pontes is an Air Force pilot, engineer, astronaut and author. He became the first South American to travel to space in 2006.

Digital Radio Mondiale Chair Ruxandra Obreja traveled to Brasilia for the event and had the opportunity to interview Marcos Pontes on behalf of Radio World. Obreja is a frequent contributor to Radio World International, and she also shared a clip of the interview.

In the video, Pontes explains the purpose and importance of this forum for the Brazilian radio broadcast industry. He said hopes the forum will be an opportunity for broadcasters to share their ideas for how the government can improve, as well as what the Ministry of Science and Technology is getting right. For example, Pontes said he is seeking feedback on what broadcast technologies the country should standardize on and what types of regulation radio broadcasters believe is necessary for their success.

Pontes also provides an update on the country’s near-term plans for the sector. In his address, Pontes said that the time has come for digital radio in Brazil. Obreja pressed him on the question of timing. Pontes demurred to provide a specific timeline, but said he hopes for a “short term” solution to emerge and said they “are getting. 

Thursday 5 March 2020

DRM AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS TAKES TO THE ROADS IN INDIA


A DRM awareness campaign has started on the national highway 16 in India targeting drivers from Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and other places towards Visakhapatnam/Srikakulam districts. With more than 2 million cars on the roads with DRM receivers, the places selected for DRM awareness programme are mainly toll plazas and traffic signal areas on the national highways.

Mr. Umamaheswara Rao Kondala (Electronics Engineer NIT Srinagar), Ms. Sai Sree Kondala (BPhamacy Student), Ms. Dr. Sravani Thamminana (Doctor), Mrs.Gayathri Thamminana (Science Graduate) and Dr. Thamminana Krushna Rao (Dy. Director UGC Retd. (Assoc.Professor cadre) Audio visual Production & Research Centre, BRAOU, Hyderabad.) coordinating the awareness program voluntarily