With the recently introduced MP3 Surround audio format, 5.1-channel material will soon be widely available. Since MP3 Surround files are just slightly bigger than stereo MP3 files, multi-channel sound even with flash MP3 players will become feasible. Together with the new Ensonido® technology, surround sound can now be enjoyed over stereo headphones.
The new technology, developed by engineers of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen, Germany, paves the way for mobile users to enjoy surround sound without a real 5.1 speaker setup.
Recent research about the human perception of surround sound has led to the development of new "spatial audio coding" tools to build fully stereo-compatible low bitrate surround formats. One example is MP3 Surround, which is backward compatible to stereo MP3 and requires only about 10 percent more data rate to represent a 5.1-channel surround signal.
To enable listening to surround sound over stereo headphones, Ensonido models the natural reception of surround sound by the human ear. Harald Popp, Head of the Multimedia Realtime Systems department at Fraunhofer IIS, describes Ensonido as the key to enjoying MP3 Surround with portable devices like personal digital assistants and mobile phones.
The next generation of mobile devices can use the Ensonido tool to process multi-channel sound tracks for playback on normal stereo headphones. This allows users to enjoy their surround material from portable MP3 Surround devices with an optimum sound experience via both loudspeakers and headphones. For the latter, Ensonido offers the listener a choice of various room simulations to model the sound environment of e.g. a cinema or a church.
For more information, please visit www.ensonido.com
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