Making it personal for next-generation audio
17/03/2022
By Contributor
Published: March 17, 2022
MPEG-H Audio is the less well known of the two object-based audio systems in the DVB-T2 specification. But, as Kevin Hilton reports, its developer hopes the personalisation elements of the format as much as its immersive capabilities will win it more attention
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
All new broadcast technologies bring benefits, but the focus is often on those that enhance the viewing or listening experience in terms of entertainment or impact. More practical and assistive features, such closed captions and audio description, have largely been seen as necessary but designed for a very specific section of the audience. That attitude is shifting, as shown by Next Generation Audio (NGA) being promoted more for its personalisation capabilities than immersive sound.
NGA systems are based on the concept of object-based audio (OBA), which has a foundation of traditional audio channels (5.1 or 7.1) but with up to 128 objects'. These individual audio elements can be either positioned in different parts of a soundscape to create an immersive experience or used to represent specific components of a signal, such as speech/commentary and background sounds. Their exact positioning or function is defined by accompanying metadata.
The two main NGA formats, MPEG-H Audio and Dolby AC-4, both utilise OBA for immersive audio MPEG-H 3D Audio and Dolby Atmos respectively and personalised and accessibility functionality. The last two features can be used for selecting a specific commentator on coverage of a football match or a particular language (personalisation); and enabling a hard of hearing person to change the balance between speech and sound effects/music on a drama soundtrack (accessibility).
While the movement and all-encompassing effects of immersive audio are the obvious pull for feature films, there is the view particularly among NGA developers that personalisation and accessibility are the real point of OBA. For us, it is the combination of personalisation and immersive that is most valuable, comments Harald Fuchs, head of media systems and applications at Fraunhofer IIS, the primary developer of MPEG-H Audio. You can take sounds from an event and create a nice 5.1.4 or 7.1.4 mix, which is the object side of audio capture. The next step is to leave those objects separate with some metadata; you take account of them in your mix but you don't actually mix them into your 5.4. The next step will be where you have immersive audio but an immersive channel plus objects and you can even add some personalisation to it.
It is in this expanded, combined mode that Fuchs sees MPEG-H Audio offering advantages and opportunities in the future. If you only focus on the immersive and channel mix, it's basically only a fraction of the features of the codec, he says. But I think it's an important step towards the future because on the sound production side, people first have to learn to use the new methods and still create some nice mixes. As a next step they can go beyond that and use things for a personalised immersive experience.
Testing MPEG-H Audio Such combinations have featured in the MPEG-H Audio tests Fraunhofer carried out in the two years leading up to the pandemic. The system was tested at two Eurovision Song Contests, in 2018 and 2019, presenting the event with immersive audio but also more practical additional features. Fuchs comments that the challenge was how such a production could work with music/effects, the international sound in a 5.4 production, plus dialogue and the commentaries as separate objects offering personalisation, such as dialogue enhancement or commentary selection and languages.
We have also done this with some sports events, for example with France Televisions on the French Open, he says. That was in 2019, on air during the whole tournament as a DVB-2 UHD service in Paris where they had the standard stereo sound, then a second audio track in MPEG-H with two commentaries and the 5.4. It was a complete, semi-automated live production that they could switch between when there was no ongoing live broadcast to pre-recorded content.
The personalisation aspects of MPEG-H Audio include the ability to select a specific commentary for a sports match (the choice could not only be between the TV or radio commentators but also fans commentating), plus the potential to choose which end of a ground the crowd noise comes from (the home end or the away end). While this gives viewers more choice and flexibility in what and how they watch, OBA has other benefits when it comes to assistive listening.
We can't hear you Increasingly, people of all ages are now experiencing hearing problems for various reasons. Broadcasters have seen the number of complaints about programmes being difficult to understand increase over the last ten years. At the end of 2020 Fraunhofer IIS, in conjunction with German regional public broadcaster WDR, published a survey that found 68 per cent of the viewing audience across all demographics frequently, or very frequently, had problems understanding speech on TV. Because of this many people now resort to switching on the subtitles if they cannot hear the dialogue properly.
Several OBA developers, including the BBC, have worked on techniques that provide the viewer or listener with the ability to change the balance between the speech and background effects and/or music. The system for this within MPEG-H Audio is Dialog+, a production technology that makes it possible for loudness levels
LINK: | https://www.tvbeurope.com/audio/making-it-personal-for-next-generation... |
See more stories from tvb |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
27/04/2024
L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik Discusses 1Q24 On CNBC's "Closing Bell: Overtime"
On April 26, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik joined CNBC's Mor...
27/04/2024
Audinate Adds Major New Features to Dante Connect
PORTLAND, Oregon Audinate Group Limited, the developer of the Dante AV-over-IP solution, announced significant new additions to Dante Connect, its cloud-based D...
27/04/2024
Bell Media Launches New Portfolio of FAST Channels
TORONTO Bell Media has launched 10 English and French-language FAST channels featuring entertainment, factual, news, and sports programming. The new free stream...
27/04/2024
Study: Broadcast TV Evening News Avoids Serious Economic Issues
An extensive new analysis of the news segments in the broadcast evening news programs of ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS has found that broadcasters devoted most of their...
27/04/2024
Hughes Opens Manufacturing Facility and Private 5G Incubation Center in Maryland
GERMANTOWN, Md. EchoStar's Hughes Network Systems has opened a new manufacturing facility and private 5G incubation center in Germantown, Maryland....
27/04/2024
Broadcasting Legend Harry Pappas Dead At 78
Harry Pappas, one of three brothers who founded Pappas Telecasting Companies in 1971, died April 24. He was 78 years old....
27/04/2024
Televisa Selects Synamedia For Broadcast Distribution Overhaul
ATLANTA and LONDON Mexican telecommunications and broadcast company Televisa has selected Synamedia for an overhaul of its broadcast distribution....
27/04/2024
Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024 0 Comments By participating in this surve...
27/04/2024
SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show
SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show Brie Clayton April 26, 2024 0 Comments SDVI, the leading platform provider for clo...
27/04/2024
Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Certificate
Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Cert...
27/04/2024
Charter Reports Higher Q1 Profits Despite Broadband, Video Losses
Charter Communications reported higher first-quarter profits despite continued cord-cutting and competition for broadband customers....
27/04/2024
Environmental Groups Aim To Make Unscripted TV More Sustainable
Two environmentally-focused groups are partnering to engage the unscripted TV world in finding better ways to address climate change. Reality of Change is an ec...
27/04/2024
Sarah Garcia Named Weekend Anchor at Telemundo 40 in Texas
Sarah Garcia has been promoted to weekend anchor at KTLM McAllen, Texas, known as Telemundo 40. Starting April 27, she will anchor Noticias Telemundo 40 weekend...
27/04/2024
CBS Sports Kicks Off FAST Channel for UEFA Champions League on Pluto TV
CBS Sports said it launched a new 24-hour free, ad supported streaming television (FAST) channel devoted to the UEFA Champions League....
27/04/2024
Brian Roberts's Pay Rose To $35 Million at Comcast
Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts received $35.4 million in compensation in 2023, up 11% from the previous year, according to a proxy statement filed by th...
27/04/2024
John Lithgow Goes Back to School in Art Happens Here'
Art Happens Here With John Lithgow, which sees the actor study dance, ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz with students in Los Angeles, debuts on PBS ...
27/04/2024
FETV Wants Upfront Buyers Seeking Cable Viewers To Join Its Family
Remember Leave It to Beaver? Bewitched? Dragnet? When cable ratings were rising?...
27/04/2024
Catchy Comedy Features Gomer Pyle, USMC' Weekend Marathon
Next up for the weekend binge at Catchy Comedy is Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Every weekend, Catchy Comedy features The Catchy Binge, a marathon of a classic sitcom....
26/04/2024
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks off today at Cinpolis
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...
26/04/2024
Interview: Lourdes Portillo, Director of Las madres de la Plaza de Mayo, La Ofrenda
[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...
26/04/2024
Career insights instead of everyday school life
Once again this year, SGL Carbon opened its doors to interested children and young people. On the occasion of the German Girls and Boys Day, which took place on...
26/04/2024
L3Harris Technologies Reports Strong First Quarter 2024 Results, Increases 2024 Profitability Guidance
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
What Makes A Network Resilient?
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports Launches New Free Streaming Channel
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Roku Streaming Homes Hit 81.6M
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
Sarah Farrell Named General Manager Of Pinewood Toronto Studios
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and Myriad Solutions
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talent' award
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted Brie Clayton April 26, 2024 0 Comments Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024 0 Comments By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Hi Barbie! Mattel Launching First FAST Channels on Samsung TV Plus
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Marty Moe Named President Of Trusted Media Brands
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard Directs Jim Henson Documentary for Disney Plus
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
Kraken Skate Away From RSN Root Sports for Deals With Tegna, Amazon
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Warner Bros. Discovery Launches Olli First-Party Data Platform
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
The Equalizer' Gets Season 5 on CBS
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW Inks New Deal for Miss USA, Miss Teen USA
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Urging Young Viewers To Vote With Blunt Campaign
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
26/04/2024
Neil Gaiman's Sandman' Universe Expands With Dead Boy Detectives'
Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...
26/04/2024
The Story Collective opens largest film and TV studio in the heart of London
The Story Collective has gradually repurposed the former Mortlake Brewery to include production offices, workshops and sound stages By Matthew Corrigan Publi...
26/04/2024
Richard Perkett joins Amagi as chief product officer
Perkett joins the company following a 25 year career in product management, product marketing, engineering and user experience (UX) across multiple industries ...
26/04/2024
Teradek Announces Smaller More Robust Built-in Antennas f...
Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...
26/04/2024
Amagi Names Richard Perkett Chief Product Officer
NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....
26/04/2024
NAB Board Election Results Announced
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...
26/04/2024
Mattel to Launch First FAST Channels on Samsung TV Plus
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK Mattel has announced a deal to launch its first three 24/7 free ad supported streaming (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung...
26/04/2024
NextGen TV Launches In Portland, Maine
PORTLAND, Maine Viewers here can now receive the NextGen TV signals of five local stations with the launch of ATSC 3.0 service from host station WPFO, which is ...