Fraunhofer Announces MPEG-H Trademark to Identify Interoperable Products

ERLANGEN, Germany & LAS VEGAS-- January 03, 2017 --In preparation for the start of the world’s first TV broadcast services with next-generation audio features – South Korea’s new MPEG-H-based ATSC 3.0 broadcast channels scheduled to go on the air in February – Fraunhofer IIS has developed a trademark program for products incorporating its MPEG-H TV Audio System.

Consumer products such as TVs, soundbars, audio-video receivers, set-top boxes, digital media adapters, or mobile apps and devices may display the trademark to indicate that they have been tested to work together and support the features of the MPEG-H system used for TV broadcasts.

The Telecommunications Technology Association of South Korea will become the first authorized test center under the program. The test centers will verify that new products meet the program specifications and are qualified to bear the trademark after internal testing by manufacturers using the program’s tools. To learn more about the Telecommunications Technology Association of South Korea, visit http://www.tta.or.kr.

The MPEG-H TV Audio System provides immersive sound and the ability for the consumer to personalize the audio mix. Broadcasts include information about mix adjustments that are presented to consumers in a control interface on their viewing devices. To that end, implementing a next-generation audio codec now requires close cooperation of a manufacturer’s audio engineers, its experts handling user interfaces, and those responsible for HDMI and other connections to work together to display this information and process consumer selections.

“We are offering this program to the industry as a way to test that products have implemented the MPEG-H TV Audio system successfully despite the broader scope of work required,” said Robert Bleidt, Division General Manager at Fraunhofer USA. “Given the industry’s desire to have TV sets in Korean consumers’ homes in time for the Olympics next year, production schedules are tight. Our program will help manufacturers meet their deadlines and help consumers purchase products that will work together to watch the new MPEG-H broadcasts,” he added.

Fraunhofer will offer an online listing of trademarked products and provide consumer education about connecting and using products with the MPEG-H TV Audio System. The program is voluntary and offered under a no-fee license from Fraunhofer. End-product hardware and software manufacturers may learn more about the program by contacting Fraunhofer at audio-info@iis.fraunhofer.de.

About Fraunhofer

When it comes to innovative audio technologies for the rapidly evolving media world, Fraunhofer IIS stands alone. For more than 25 years, digital audio technology has been the principal focus of the Audio and Media Technologies division of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS. From the creation of mp3 and the co-development of AAC to the future of audio entertainment for broadcast, Fraunhofer IIS brings innovations in sound to reality.

Today, technologies such as Fraunhofer Cingo for virtual surround sound, Fraunhofer Symphoria for automotive 3D audio, AAC-ELD and EVS for telephone calls with CD-like audio quality, and MPEG-H Audio that allows television viewers to adjust dialogue volume to suit their personal preferences are among the division’s most compelling new developments.

Fraunhofer IIS technologies enable more than 8 billion devices worldwide. The audio codec software and application-specific customizations are licensed to more than 1,000 companies. The division’s mp3 and AAC audio codecs are now ubiquitous in mobile multimedia systems.

Fraunhofer IIS is based in Erlangen, Germany and is a division of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. With 24,000 employees worldwide, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is comprised of 67 institutes and research units making it Europe’s largest application-oriented research organization.

For more information, contact Matthias Rose, matthias.rose@iis.fraunhofer.de, or visit www.iis.fraunhofer.de/audio.