With new broadcast standards evolving all over the world and OTT streaming striving for the pole position in media consumption, both next-gen video and audio codecs are gaining momentum. While emerging video formats like VVC/H.266 or AV1 are the major drivers of such initiatives, Next Generation Audio (NGA) production workflows still require more attention and further research and development, especially when targeting live events. In on-premises environments, NGA workflows have been in use for many years. For cloud and hybrid pipelines, debate continues as to the ideal structure.
The production process for real-time events like sports and concerts is complex regardless of whether you are targeting TV broadcast or adaptive bitrate streaming workflows. The authoring step of immersive, object-based audio, which is required to create NGA content such as MPEG-H Audio, needs careful human interaction.
The NGA Codec in Focus: MPEG-H Audio Fraunhofer IIS is the primary driver behind one of the major NGA codecs: MPEG-H Audio. It delivers personalized immersive sound that offers an unprecedented user experience. MPEG-H Audio is included in the ATSC (North America), DVB (Europe), TTA (South Korea) and SBTVD (Brazil) TV standards. In fact, the world's first terrestrial UHD TV service in South Korea is already broadcasting MPEG-H Audio. In Brazil, it has been selected as the mandatory audio system for the country's next-generation DTV+ broadcast service combining the next-gen video codec VVC/H.266 with NGA MPEG-H. Other countries and organizations, including ATSC 3.0 in the US, DVB in Europe, and ARIB in Japan, have been evaluating MPEG-H Audio as their sole or supplemental audio format.
In contrast to traditional audio formats with their fixed stereo or surround mixes, immersive audio codecs such as MPEG-H handle the individual sound elements (e.g. dialogue, commentary, music, sound effects) as separate audio objects. Each object is accompanied by metadata that defines, for example, what the audio element represents, where it should be positioned, when it is active over time, how it should be rendered on different playback devices, what user interactivity is permitted, or its loudness characteristics.
Classic on-premises NGA production workflows are well established and have been running smoothly for many years now. However, broadcasters are tending to move parts of the MPEG-H production workflows to the cloud to reduce hardware costs and increase flexibility. As a result, we need to rethink and adapt the current approach where source video and audio (with or without metadata) must be transferred and processed differently. For NAB 2026, several leading software companies and technology providers put their heads together to introduce a Proof of Concept (POF) for how an MPEG-H production workflow in the cloud can look.
A Unique Partner Collaboration of Leading Media Companies
For the POC at NAB, five companies teamed up to present a real-time NGA production chain in the cloud. Each company contributes to the showcase with its proven expertise in the broadcast market:
Fraunhofer IIS, the research organization behind MPEG-H Audio technology, provides encoding, decoding, and player libraries that enable the entire NGA experience from production through playback.
J nger Audio brings deep expertise in audio processing with their flexAI platform, which handles the complex task of real-time metadata authoring and rendering. flexAI enables broadcasters to create and manage NGA audio and metadata streams in live production environments, supporting both S-ADM and MPEG-H Control Track workflows.
MainConcept provides their professional-grade AVC, HEVC and VVC Encoder as well as Decoder SDK technology combined with both MPEG-H contribution and emission encoding to ensure broadcast-quality video and audio throughout the complete production chain, including multiplexing and packaging for ABR formats like HLS, DASH and CMAF.
Techex contributes txdarwin, a sophisticated stream processing platform that demultiplexes incoming feeds, routes audio to processing systems, and remultiplexes the processed streams while maintaining frame-accurate time alignment - critical for professional broadcast applications.
AWS provides the cloud infrastructure that serves as a platform for the complete POC. All partner solutions are deployed on dedicated EC2 instances hosted by AWS.
NAB 2026: An NGA Production Workflow for the Cloud
Historically, the traditional live production workflow was based on on-premises infrastructure, i.e. Outside Broadcasting (OB) vans, studios, and dedicated hardware, that was capable of dealing with uncompressed audio, real-time metadata authoring, and contribution to distribution processing pipelines. Nowadays, cloud technologies have the ability to extend these workflows beyond physical facilities without compromising audio quality, latency or creative control while evolving toward greater immersion and personalization.
The solution that Fraunhofer, J nger Audio, MainConcept and Techex have set up on AWS for NAB 2026 is a first step to port the complete NGA production workflow to the cloud. Here is the solution architecture and signal workflow at a glance:
01 - Audio Capture: For live events, this first step is still happening on-site, i.e. at the event location where individual video and audio sources - such as commentary, ambient sounds, and effects - are captured separately as discrete PCM audio signals and processed in the OB van. The separation of the various feeds enables interactivity and immersive rendering later on. MainConcept's video and audio codec technology used in Contribution Mode receives video and audio (16 channels of PCM audio) over baseband (SDI). The MainConcept MPEG-H Encoder library - powered by Fraunhofer's immersive audio technology - encodes and o
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
27/07/2026
Apple today announced AppleCare One - a new way for customers to protect multipl...
27/07/2026
Yesterday witnessed truly memorable scenes in Croke Park, bringing the curtain d...
27/07/2026
Luxembourg, July 27, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, issued the following statement following the U.S. Federal Communications Commission approval...
25/07/2026
New app turns vocal percussion into polished loops
Vochlea, the company behind the voice-to-MIDI instrument Dubler 2, have just announced the launch of a ne...
25/07/2026
Saturday 25 July 2026
First look revealed for YAGA, a seductive mystery thrille...
24/07/2026
First string library captured at Studio Richter Mahr
The latest sample library to be created at Max Richter's Studio Richter Mahr facility captures the ...
24/07/2026
Official emulation of Blackbird Studios reverb chamber
In their latest collaboration with Blackbird Studios, KIT Plugins have captured the sound of the Stud...
24/07/2026
Angela Gomez brings over 14 years of experience in broadcast communications and audio engineering, specialising in live outside broadcasts, live sports and larg...
24/07/2026
Article courtesy of postPerspective
Read the article
While Toy Story 5 maintai...
24/07/2026
Kerry and Mayo fans Up For The Match as excitement builds in Croke Park on the e...
23/07/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 23rd, JULY, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), stitched 11.57 billion one-to-one addressable advertisem...
23/07/2026
Quickly creates reverse reverb effects
Low End Candy have recently released a new plug-in that offers a quick and simple way to create reverse reverb effect...
23/07/2026
New engines, resonators, effects & more
Expressive E's versatile soft synth has just been treated to an update that greatly expands its sonic range. Noi...
23/07/2026
SGL Carbon has further expanded its photovoltaic capacity at its Ort im Innkreis site in Austria. With the commissioning of new PV carports, the sites solar sys...
23/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents new software for three-phase power analysis on MXO seri...
23/07/2026
In our latest blog, Laura Rognoni explores how the launch of Play Snooker reflects a wider shift in sports economics - from monetising peak broadcast audiences ...
23/07/2026
Download Now!
To receive a short case study showcasing Vivid Broadcast's audio setup, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name ...
23/07/2026
X-Rite Pantone and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Partner to Advance Digi...
23/07/2026
Thursday 23 July 2026
New Samsung Galaxy Foldable range available now to pre-order on Sky Mobile
Sky Mobile, the award-winning network voted this year by Expe...
23/07/2026
Thursday 23 July 2026
Jason Statham leads Sky Original action thriller MUTINY in explosive new trailerTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy optio...
23/07/2026
Wuppertal July 23, 2026
Riedel Implements RefCam and Easy5G for the First Time...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial has today announced Centra as the official food partner once again of The Traitors Ireland, coming to RT One and RT Player later this year.
Ce...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial today announced Honda as sponsor of Today with David McCullagh RT Radio 1, weekdays 9am 11am.
Broadcasting directly after Morning Ireland in ...
23/07/2026
RT News is pleased to announce Barry Gallagher has been assigned as the new journalist covering news from Cork, Kerry and the wider Southern region
Working al...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. Available on Sky Documentaries from 4 AugustWednesday 22 July 2...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
22/07/2026
RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 22.5 MILLION IN 2025...
22/07/2026
In the Opinion of the Censor airs Monday 27 July at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
In the Opinion of the Censor looks at how films for theatrical release wer...
21/07/2026
New research involving a cross-section of Mongolias independent media landscape finds enthusiasm for AI as a tool to improve efficiency, sustainability and resi...
21/07/2026
High-end analogue channel strip boasts plug-in recall
Originally revealed as a prototype back at NAMM 2024, the Channex Studio channel strip represented a b...
21/07/2026
Relies on same DSP as plug-in range
Musik Hack's line-up has been influenced heavily by founder Stan Greene's work as a mixing engineer, and their M...
21/07/2026
Official collaboration with boutique builder Dirty Boy Pedals
Warm Audio have just announced the launch of a new guitar pedal range created in collaboration...
21/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz showcases broad range of EMC test solutions at EMC SIPI 2026 in ...
21/07/2026
X-Rite Pantone and NIFT Partner to Build Color Management Skills for India's...
21/07/2026
Harmonics cOS Virtualized Broadband Platform and Pearl Remote OLTs Enable Flexible PON Migration, While SeaStar Optical Node Powers Cost-Effective Multi-Gigabit...
21/07/2026
160 hours of Irish storytelling for 2026
KIN and The Walsh Sisters return
RT has today unveiled its most ambitious drama slate ever, with a record-breakin...
20/07/2026
Product range now readily available in the UK
Graph Tech Guitar Labs have just announced the launch of a new UK Online Store that makes it quicker and easie...
20/07/2026
Popular headset gains active noise cancellation
The Maxwell headet was Audeze's first foray into the gaming world, and thanks to its Dolby Atmos compati...
20/07/2026
Monday 20 July 2026
Sky brings free global roaming to millions of loyal custome...
20/07/2026
Red Seat Ventures Announces Introduction of Premium Creator and Podcast Communit...
With new broadcast standards evolving all over the world and OTT streaming striving for the pole position in media consumption, both next-gen video and audio codecs are gaining momentum. While emerging video formats like VVC/H.266 or AV1 are the major drivers of such initiatives, Next Generation Audio (NGA) production workflows still require more attention and further research and development, especially when targeting live events. In on-premises environments, NGA workflows have been in use for many years. For cloud and hybrid pipelines, debate continues as to the ideal structure.
