Fraunhofer IIS Shows Immersive Sound Future with MPEG-H at CES 2017

One of the most important highlights at CES 2017 was at the Fraunhofer IIS booth, showing final versions of several MPEG-H solutions, in preparation for the rollout of the first broadcast services adopting the standard next year. On display was an MPEG-H enabled LG UHD TV, scheduled to be available this year, and the final version of the MPEG-H enabled 3D Soundbar reference design. Fraunhofer IIS also developed a trademark program for products incorporating its MPEG-H TV Audio System.

This article discusses the plan for the new MPEG-H Audio standard, a real-time 3-D audio encoder system with applications for broadcast and streaming distribution, developed in large part by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, and recently finalized and submitted as an ISO/MPEG standard.

Fraunhofer’s Audio & Multimedia division has been extremely active in the latest industry shows, promoting the MPEG-H Interactive and Immersive TV Audio standard. Demonstrations at NAB 2015, in cooperation with Qualcomm and Technicolor, showcased the new audio system for ATSC 3.0 and Internet streaming in a complete broadcast chain showing live sports and music productions.