ATSC Begins Review of ATSC 3.0 Audio System Proposal

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WASHINGTON, March 10, 2015 – The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) has begun its technical review of three detailed proposals for a comprehensive audio system that will bring a more immersive audio experience for living room and mobile viewers with the ATSC 3.0 next-generation television broadcast standard that is now in development.
Significantly improving upon the capabilities of the current multi-channel broadcast digital television audio system, ATSC 3.0 audio is expected to "provide consumers with a more compelling, personalized and immersive experience," said ATSC President Mark Richer.
The ATSC is in the process of developing a next-generation ATSC 3.0 terrestrial television broadcast standard with advanced performance and functionality made possible by new technologies and strategies. This next-generation standard must provide improvements in performance, functionality and efficiency that are significant enough to warrant the challenges of a transition to a new system.
Three audio system proponents – Dolby Laboratories, DTS, and an alliance of Fraunhaufer, Qualcomm and Technicolor – have submitted detailed technical proposals for the audio subsystem for ATSC 3.0:

Proposal Summary from Dolby:

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"The Dolby Audio system provides a practical, scalable and flexible set of tools built upon state-of-the-art technology and proven know-how. It enables the most efficient production, distribution and delivery of consumer broadcast experiences for all audiences today and in the future. This comprehensive solution spans content creation, distribution/interchange and consumer delivery that makes next-generation consumer broadcast experiences possible and includes seamless support for today’s consumer broadcast experiences. At the heart of the Dolby Audio system is Dolby AC-4, the next-generation emission codec. Rooted in generations of broadcast audio experience, Dolby AC-4 provides the content and device industries a strong foundation to collaboratively build leading-edge audio experiences that meet the needs of consumers of varied interests and abilities."

Proposal Summary from DTS:

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"DTS:X is the next-generation object-based codec technology from DTS. This release is the successor to DTS-HD and marks another milestone in DTS’s long line of industry-leading sound innovations. DTS:X delivers the ultimate in flexibility, immersion and interactivity to listeners of all forms of entertainment. The DTS:X solution for ATSC 3.0 is an end-to-end broadcast chain that includes support for key elements including both audio channels and objects, advanced loudness and dynamics management, device and environmental playback processing, and is integrated with DTS’s Headphone:X technology. DTS:X will be delivered with the industry support and certification that has made DTS the trusted partner for industry professionals all over the world. Manufacturers representing nearly 90 percent of the home AV receiver and surround processor market, as well as several integrated circuit providers, have agreed to launch products supporting DTS:X in 2015. DTS is also working with a wide range of infrastructure partners to ensure broadcasters have choices when building a complete system."

Proposal Summary from Fraunhofer, Qualcomm and Technicolor:

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"MPEG-H Audio is a holistically designed suite of functionalities built around a highly efficient core audio codec. The design offers a wide variety of technologies to address different requirements and to enable practical combinations of these technologies to form a versatile, yet well-defined, audio system. For the immersive reproduction of content it is possible to use channels based and/or sound scene based technology in combination with audio objects. Audio objects also add interactivity and personalization capabilities to the mix. Enhanced loudness and dynamic range processing allows adaption to device specific audio characteristics. Flexible rendering technology is included to allow the best adaptation of the content to the actual listening environment and compensate for misplaced speakers. For 5.1 surround sound, bitrates of 96 to 256 kbps deliver good to excellent quality, whereas immersive reproduction can be achieved with commonly used broadcast audio data rates of 384 kbps."

Press
 
Dolby & dts explains their proposals

Dolby: The company’s AC-4 soundtracks could be output as two-channel, 5.1-channel, or object-based audio through a TV’s HDMI audio return channel (ARC) to a home audio product, a spokesperson said. Two-channel linear PCM could also be passed through a TV’s optical output. To play back multichannel content through a home audio system, a format conversion to a codec supported by an AVR “would take place in the TV,” the spokesperson said. If the AC-4 soundtrack incorporates object-based audio, the soundtrack could be decoded by an HDMI-connected A/V receiver incorporating Dolby Atmos decoder. Object-based metadata would pass through the HDMI cable to the AVR. “One of the things we have done, because the current generation of Dolby Atmos AVRs doesn’t include Dolby AC-4 decoders yet, is to support passing the decoded objects and their metadata over HDMI to the AVR to then render for the home theater system,” the spokesperson said. In the future, Dolby envisions native Dolby AC-4 decoding in AVRs, “which will enable a direct bitstream pass-through and decoding on the AVR.” In the meantime, “we want to protect the investment of people buying Dolby Atmos AVRs today when the new broadcast standards roll out.” In further detailing its proposal, Dolby pointed out that the bandwidth of AC-4 streams is about half the size of Dolby Digital Plus, which is used for streaming services.
DTS: “Once a TV, settop box, or other receiving device receives the ATSC 3.0 signal, the audio could be handled in one of three ways,” the company said: “decoded on the receiving device; “passed through the receiving device and out the device’s HDMI out connection; and “transcoded to DTS 5.1 and passed out the device’s optical or HDMI ARC connection.” DTS also pointed out that, like today, DTV broadcasters will send “whatever they choose from the yet-to-be defined specification.” If a broadcaster transmits “an immersive audio broadcast featuring objects, it could be rendered and played back on a 5.1- or two-channel system” because “the format is sending the highest quality / largest configuration of audio and then playing back what is appropriate for the consumer device,” DTS explained. That is “much like today’s broadcasts where 5.1 is sent out, and most TVs play out stereo. Only one signal is sent, but multiple playback configurations are possible based on the abilities of the format and decoder.” The company didn’t say whether object-based DTS:X broadcasts would be decoded by the DTS:X decoders that will be available in A/V receivers. “We will provide details related to AVRs as part of the official DTS:X unveiling,” the company said.
 
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