Enabling more than just music, Fraunhofer MultimediaPlayer software uniquely delivers MPEG Surround and enhanced data services for digital radio
ERLANGEN, Germany – 1 September, 2011 – Fraunhofer IIS, the world’s renowned source for audio and multimedia technologies, today announced the availability of the Fraunhofer MultimediaPlayer for digital radio standards Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM30/DRM+) and DAB (DAB Classic/DAB+). The software enables device manufacturers of PC-based receiver solutions and smartphones to seamlessly integrate playback of digital radio programs, as well as the variety of data services offered by digital radio.
The Fraunhofer MultimediaPlayer software is the first in the industry to include MPEG Surround, which enables an immersive, high-quality surround audio experience to consumers at stereo bit-rates. The software also incorporates data services such as the advanced text service for news, sports results, local weather forecasts, or background information on the current show. Program accompanying information adds song titles, station information and graphics, such as weather maps or cover art. In addition, radio stations can offer a simple multimedia download service. The software also makes Hybrid services a reality by linking the added-value offerings of the Digital Radio broadcast platform with individual communication media such as the Internet, telephony, or navigation, available at the listener's fingertips. All of these services are displayed in a clearly arranged user interface.
The NOXON DAB Stick by Terratec, released in August 2011, is one of the first commercially available receivers with MultimediaPlayer software to play back digital radio in 5.1 surround sound based on MPEG Surround. It is also the first DAB receiver solution worldwide that displays Journaline, the international advanced text information standard for high-quality, up-to-date news over digital broadcast systems.
“With all of the entertainment options available in the industry, high-quality solutions that add true value to the listener experience are key to staying competitive,” said Alexander Zink, digital radio expert and project manager at Fraunhofer IIS. “Fraunhofer’s MultimediaPlayer software is a flexible and easy-to-integrate solution that arms manufacturers with the technology needed to provide the best possible audio experiences along with all of the features digital radio has to offer.”
The Fraunhofer MultimediaPlayer software is currently available for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. There are also plans to support mobile platforms in the future. The user interface is based on HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and can therefore easily be adapted to the customer's platforms and existing product designs. The software is available as a Desktop and a Server version. While the Desktop version is suitable for integration into devices, the Server version supports remote access through a regular web browser to the full user interface including audio playback. Thus, it is ideally suited for professional monitoring and archival solutions, for example.
Fraunhofer will showcase the MultimediaPlayer at IFA Berlin 2-7 Sept. 2011 at the Fraunhofer booth in hall 11.1 and at IBC in Amsterdam 9-13 Sept. 2011, at the Fraunhofer booth in hall 8, B80.
For more information, visit www.iis.fraunhofer.de/amm/
About Fraunhofer
The Fraunhofer IIS Audio and Multimedia division, based in Erlangen, Germany, has been working in compressed audio technology for more than 20 years and remains a leading innovator of technologies for cutting-edge multimedia systems. Fraunhofer IIS is universally credited with the development of mp3 and co-development of AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) as well as technologies for the media world of tomorrow, including MPEG Surround, MPEG Spatial Audio Object Coding and the Fraunhofer Audio Communication Engine.
Through the course of more than two decades, Fraunhofer IIS has licensed its audio codec software and application-specific customizations to at least 1,000 companies. Fraunhofer estimates that it has enabled more than 1 billion commercial products worldwide using its mp3, AAC and other media technologies.
The Fraunhofer IIS organization is part of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, based in Munich, Germany. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is Europe’s largest applied research organization and is partly funded by the German government. With 18,000 employees worldwide, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is composed of 60 Institutes conducting research in a broad range of research areas. For more information, contact Matthias Rose, matthias.rose@iis.fraunhofer.de, or visit www.iis.fraunhofer.de/amm.
