Linear Acoustic, DTS, Coding Technologies partner for multi-channel sound system

Linear Acoustic is partnering with DTS and Coding Technologies on an advanced, high-quality, high-efficiency, end-to-end solution for multi-channel audio for HDTV.

Designed specifically to meet the challenges faced by broadcasters in production, contribution and emission of multi-channel audio for HD, the system provides efficiencies in the delivery of high-quality surround sound broadcast to consumers. It also provides what the companies call major improvements and workflow efficiencies in the transport of multi-channel audio and associated metadata throughout the production chain.

The DTS/Coding Technologies aacPlus/Coherent Acoustics transcoding scheme enables the transmission of aacPlus-encoded 5.1-channel audio at a rate of 160 kbps with the same audio quality as 384 kbps Dolby Digital transmissions. The aacPlus signal is transcoded to a 1.5 Mbps DTS Coherent Acoustics signal in the consumer set-top box. In this way broadcasters adopting aacPlus have immediate access to a consumer install base of over 50 million DTS-enabled systems worldwide.

Set-top-boxes featuring aacPlus/DTS transcoding are already in development using single chip decoders integrating the aacPlus/DTS transcode, which are available from a number of IC manufacturers.

At the opposite end of the signal chain, DTS and Linear Acoustic have jointly developed a series of hardware tools that provide enhanced performance for contribution, distribution and emission workflows of multi-channel audio. These new units are based around an implementation of the DTS Coherent Acoustics superior compression algorithm and, as embodied in the Linear Acoustic StreamStacker-HD series of products, the new format is known as e2 (e-squared).

e2 provides a compressed audio transport mechanism that addresses problems like channel errors, asynchronous switching, elimination of pops, clicks, or noise bursts, and unrecoverable metadata errors (even with corrupted data streams). The Coherent Acoustics-based e2 compression format is fully compatible with existing AES/EBU and Dolby-E infrastructures. The format also supports all legacy workflows, including Dolby-E metadata, as well as handling Advanced Audio Metadata. In this way e2 supports everything current, as well as provides the necessary upgrade path for future HD production workflows.

The advent of HDTV has raised the bar throughout broadcast operations not just in terms of image quality, but also high resolution multi-channel audio, commented DTS Director of Global Broadcast Licensing, Ted Laverty. Working with Linear Acoustic and Coding Technologies, DTS presents a revolutionary new broadcast audio system which enables the production and transmission of surround sound in ways that enhance workflow efficiency within broadcast operations, and provides the consumer with a high quality viewing experience.