p2pnet.net News:- Surround sound for existing mp3 applications and music players is on its way with software solutions probably available by around mid 2004.

MP3 Surround allows the reproduction of high-quality multichannel sound at bit rates comparable to those currently used to encode stereo MP3 material, says the Fraunhofer Institute, going on:

"Most importantly, the new format offers complete backward compatibility to existing MP3 software and devices: MP3 Surround bit streams are played back as high-quality stereo sound on all current MP3 players. When decoded by MP3 Surround decoders, however, the new format produces full 5.1 channel surround sound!"

Fraunhofer says its new mp3 surround technology encodes multichannel sound by transmitting a stereo audio signal that carries a compatible stereo down mix of the multi-channel material.

"In addition, a small amount of side information is transmitted characterizing the spatial distribution and attributes of the multi-channel sound image," it states.

Users will be able to hear both stereo or surround music from the same mp3 surround files, allowing a wide range of applications within – eg, broadcasting systems or web-based music distribution, Fraunhofer promises, adding:

"Currently for example, a number of commercial music download services offer their music in MP3 stereo. Such services can be seamlessly extended to provide multi-channel MP3, and yet they remain compatible with stereo equipment. The same applies to Internet radios that will be able to stream multi-channel content with nearly the same effort as for stereo broadcasting."

This entry was posted on Monday, March 22nd, 2004 at 5:12 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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