Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
Audio and Multimedia Product Overview Trusted technology provider: Fraunhofer IIS is the leading independent provider of audio and multimedia technologies and has licensed its audio codec software and application-specific customizations to at least 1,000 companies.
Faster time to market: Fraunhofer’s turnkey software solutions reduce development time.
Enhanced service: Fraunhofer IIS offers application-specific solutions, extensive support and maintenance, and research and development services.
More rapid access to the latest developments: Fraunhofer IIS is the main inventor of mp3 and the co-inventor of AAC. Today, Fraunhofer IIS is the leading research lab in the field of advanced audio and accoustic signal processing, and is a major contributor to open standards.
Reliable business partner: Fraunhofer IIS has more than 20 years of experience in developing, implementing and licensing audio codecs and multimedia technologies. Fraunhofer IIS Audio and Multimedia: mp3 and AAC software
Surround audio
Audio communication technologies
Technologies for digital broadcasting
Video coding
Embedded Software Implementations
Research and Development Services
2 I 3 mp3 and AAC Software
MPEG-4 HE-AAC (v2): Improved AAC quality What we offer: below 64 kbit/s Efficient mp3 and AAC coding solutions for any type of application HE-AAC v1 is the low-bitrate codec in the AAC family and integrates the functionality of the AAC-LC audio codec with Availability: SBR (Spectral Band Replication). The HE-AAC v2 adds the Optimized mp3 and AAC encoder and decoder soft- Parametric Stereo tool to further enhance coding efficiency. ware in source and object code libraries is available As a result, good stereo quality can be achieved at bit-rates of for a wide variety of computer platforms, DSPs and 16 to 48 kbit/s. HE-AAC has already been deployed in a large embedded processors. number of applications and industry standards such as DAB+, XM Satellite Radio, Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), 3GPP, mobile TV systems (e.g. DVB-H, DMB), and mobile music mp3: The standard for compressed music download services. In combination with H.264 video, HE-AAC v2 has become the de facto standard for Internet Streaming mp3, the leading audio coding format, was primarily applications such as Adobe Flash® and Microsoft Silverlight®. developed at Fraunhofer IIS in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today, mp3 is the most popular audio codec in the world and HD-AAC®: Scalable lossless audio coding compatible virtually every consumer music playback device supports the with all AAC devices format. Licensing of Fraunhofer mp3 software and patents is handled by Thomson. The new HD-AAC codec offers audio encoding with quality superior to CD, and compatibility with iPods and millions of For more information please visit www.mp3licensing.com. mobile phones. Based on the AAC-LC and SLS MPEG-4 stan- dards, Fraunhofer‘s HD-AAC provides future-proof, lossless MPEG-4 AAC-LC: Most popular AAC profile compression of 24-bit quality audio content.
MPEG Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) features high coding ef- For AAC-LD and AAC-ELD please see section “Audio Com- ficiency, flexibility and multi-channel capability. With MPEG-4 munication Technologies”. AAC-LC, perceptually transparent quality is reached at only 64 kbps per channel. Today, MPEG-4 AAC is a popular choice for Other MPEG audio codecs: a host of contrasting applications, e.g. in portable music play- ers as well as in ISDB, the Japanese digital broadcasting system Fraunhofer IIS offers MPEG Layer 2 audio encoder and for radio and television. With MPEG-4 AAC software such as decoder implementations for many platforms and DSPs/ Apple iTunes® download store, iPod® and QuickTime AAC has microcontrollers. MPEG Layer 2 is widely used in digital attained a high level of consumer recognition. broadcasting. Surround Audio Technologies
SX Pro®: Creation of surround content from any What we offer: stereo signal – Latest surround technologies for high-quality multichannel audio at stereo bit-rates, compati- SX Pro is a high quality and highly flexible upgrade solution ble with existing stereo devices for stereo material, and offers the possibility of upmixing – Discrete surround compression technologies two-channel content to multi-channel surround sound. The – Sound enhancement for playback of stereo and SX Pro upmix process is based on a semantic analysis of the 5.1 surround over stereo headphones input signal that guarantees a high degree of control over – Creation of surround content from any stereo the resulting sound image. Consequently, SX Pro is the best signal choice for any type of application where two-channel legacy content is transmitted over or played back in a multi-channel Availability: environment. Optimized software in product-ready libraries is available for a wide variety of computer platforms, mp3 Surround: 5.1 surround at mp3 stereo bit-rates DSPs and embedded processors. mp3 Surround is the backward compatible surround extension to mp3. It achieves high-quality multi-channel sound at a total MPEG Surround: 5.1 surround at stereo bit-rates bit-rate of 128-192 kbit/s for 5.1 channels while maintaining excellent stereo quality on all mp3 players and devices. The MPEG Surround is the ISO standard for high-quality multi- technology’s many potential applications include surround channel sound that allows for surround broadcasting at stereo sound for Internet radio. mp3 Surround is available for licens- bit-rates. It is a generic multi-channel extension operating ing through Thomson at www.mp3licensing.com. Demo music on top of audio codecs. For example, in combination with a and evaluation software are available at www.mp3surround. HE-AAC stereo core, a 5.1 audio signal can be transmitted at com and www.all4mp3.com. a total bit-rate as low as 32 – 64 kbit/s. As the 5.1 signal is compatible with existing stereo or mono devices and software, mp3 SX: Creation of 5.1 surround content from mp3 there is no need for simulcast. MPEG Surround enables an stereo signal easy and cost-efficient transition from mono/stereo to multi- channel streaming/broadcasting. mp3 SX is an addition to the mp3 Surround technology that offers the option of upgrading two-channel content to the mp3 Surround format. mp3 SX licenses are available as part of the mp3 and mp3 Surround licensing program. For evaluation software, please visit www.mp3surround.com.
4 I 5 mp3D®: Improved playback of stereo and 5.1 mp3 over headphones mp3D enhances the sound quality of headphone playback of mp3 stereo or mp3 Surround content. With mp3D, stereo music is enhanced to create a wider sound image and a more satisfying listening experience. With multi-channel music, mp3D allows users to enjoy realistic surround sound on stereo headphones. mp3D technology works flawlessly with any kind of music and any type of headphones. It is resource-optimized and can be implemented in practically any mobile device, including personal music players and mobile handsets.
SAOC: Interactive MPEG audio codec
The forthcoming MPEG standard SAOC (Spatial Audio Object Coding) is a unique technological tool designed to suit a wide variety of applications – from conferencing and broadcast to music remixing and even karaoke. Combining a compact representation of the audio data with user interactivity, SAOC enables highly efficient transportation of individual audio input signals in a compatible mono or stereo downmix, making it particularly attractive for online music distribution or transmission over channels with limited bandwidth. Moving, amplifying or muting the individual audio signals is easily achieved, while the technology is compatible with a compre- hensive range of reproduction devices, including stereo and multi-channel loudspeaker systems, and stereo headphones with binaural rendering.
Discrete surround audio coding
Fraunhofer IIS also offers discrete multi-channel AAC-LC or HE-AAC. Audio Communication Technologies
all types of audio signals. It is widely used in high-quality audio What we offer: and video conferencing systems, bi-directional communication, Audio communication technologies that improve or Audio over IP applications. the overall audio quality of any communication application for an optimized intelligibility and a MPEG-4 AAC-ELD (Enhanced Low Delay AAC): Full-band- realistic communication experience in CD quality width, low bit-rate, low-delay audio coding without disturbing echoes. The AAC-ELD is an enhanced version of AAC-LD combining Availability: MPEG-4 AAC-LD and Spectral Band Replication (SBR). AAC- Fraunhofer IIS audio communication technologies ELD is the best choice for any delay critical application that are available for licensing as bundles or on an demands full audio bandwidth at data rates down to 24 kbit/s. individual basis to enhance any communication application such as next-generation tele- and Acoustic Echo Control: Eliminates disturbing echoes videoconferencing systems or VoIP software. The software-based Acoustic Echo Control system improves audio quality by reliably and consistently preventing disturbing Audio Communication Engine: Complete solution for echoes. It supports full audio bandwidth (48 kHz sampling high-quality communication applications rate), mono, stereo and multi-channel signals and high audio quality during single and double talk. Despite this unique set The Audio Communication Engine is an integrated solution of features, it is very low in complexity and perfectly suited to that delivers all relevant components of an audio communica- low-power implementations. tion system. It ensures high audio quality even over poor connections and allows easy integration into existing applica- Low Delay IP streaming system tions. The Audio Communication Engine includes support of the AAC family in mono and stereo, advanced echo control, To significantly improve the audio performance of existing instant switching between codec types, a low-delay IP stream- networking equipment using its Audio Communication ing system, and log files and trace files for remote analysis and Engine, Fraunhofer IIS has created a new Low Delay IP stream- debugging. ing system to enhance connectivity. It delivers optimized audio quality, even under adverse network conditions such as packet MPEG-4 AAC-LD: Full-bandwidth, low-delay audio coding loss and jitter. It includes sophisticated error concealment, providing intelligible speech at up to 30% packet error rates, AAC-LD is the industry standard for high quality video confer- along with adaptive jitter buffer control. encing. It features an algorithmic delay of only 20 ms while offering a good compression ratio and high sound quality for
6 I 7 Technologies for Digital Broadcasting
Audio and video codecs for digital broadcasting What we offer: – Transmitter and receiver software and equipment Fraunhofer offers optimized audio and video codecs for a for digital broadcasting systems wide range of broadcasting systems such as DAB+ (incl. DAB – Sofware based AV streaming systems including Surround), DMB, DRM and DVB-H. optimized audio and video codecs Journaline® Availability: Source code, SDKs or custom-designed libraries are Journaline, the “teletext for radio”, provides an intuitive and available, as are complete encoder or player kits for immediate access to hierarchically structured text information a wide variety of broadcasting systems. that is transmitted over digital broadcasting systems. Integra- tion in DRM, DMB and DAB receivers is easy and cost-efficient.
Fraunhofer DRM ContentServer™ (for Digital Radio Multimedia Streaming and IPTV Mondiale) For audio-visual streaming applications, Fraunhofer IIS provides The Fraunhofer DRM ContentServer encodes audio in key components such as advanced audio and video codecs real-time, provides data services (including Journaline, Text- (H.264/AVC, HE-AAC, MPEG Surround), protocols (RTP, Messages and EPG), and supports all DRM features, including RTSP), file formats (MP4, 3GP, DCF), and encryption systems “Announcement” and “Alternative Frequency Signaling”, as (ISMACrypt, HECA). well as automatic configuration scheduling.
Fraunhofer DAB/DMB ContentServer™
The Fraunhofer DAB/DMB ContentServer is a professional and easy-to-use encoder system for the DAB broadcast chain. It features real-time audio and video encoding (MPEG Audio Layer II, MPEG Surround, HE-AACv2 (DAB+), H.264/AVC) as well as generation and insertion of almost any data service in PAD and NPAD, such as Journaline, Dynamic Labels and EPG. Mobile TV: DVB-H
Fraunhofer IIS offers fully integrated DVB-H server solutions and player modules supporting RTP streaming and MP4 file playback. The player modules are designed to reduce develop- ment time for system integrators and are offered as C/C++ source code, SDKs, or custom-designed libraries for existing DVB-H frameworks. The DVB-H server solution has been deployed successfully at several customer facilities, including the German University in Cairo.
Conditional Access: HECA
HECA (High Efficient Conditional Access) is designed to meet the special requirements of digital broadcasting systems with low bandwidth capacity. The CA-related overhead is kept to a minimum while simultaneously enabling full functionality in terms of business models. Latest security algorithms are used. Adaptations exist for various broadcasting systems including DAB, DRM and TPEG.
8 I 9 MPEG-4 Video embedded Software Coding Implementations
What we offer: A team specialising in the efficient implementation – Optimized implementations of H.264/AVC of multimedia technologies on various PC/DSP plat- and MPEG-4 video (e.g. for ARM NEON) forms and operating systems allows Fraunhofer IIS clients instant access to embedded audio and multi- Availability: media software solutions. Optimized decoder software in source and object code libraries is available for a wide variety of com- puter platforms and embedded processors. For real-time implementation of multimedia codecs and com- ponents on embedded processor cores and DSPs, Core Design Kits (CDKs) are available. They are optimized for devices with H.264/AVC minimal capacity in terms of memory and computational power, e.g. mobile players, PDAs or smartphones. H.264/AVC is the current state-of-the-art video coding standard in terms of coding efficiency. AVC has been adopted Core Design Kit software is suitable for any 16- or 32-bit widely in several application areas – from small-sized mobile processor platform. Code can be licensed in source code form video in 3GPP or mobile TV, to Internet video services such as or as object code libraries for many compiler tool chains. For a YouTube, up to high definition video for HDTV or HD-DVD/ number of DSPs, Fraunhofer IIS offers audio codecs specifically Blu-Ray. optimized at assembler level for the target platform.
The Fraunhofer IIS video portfolio is completed by MPEG-4 Implementation on operating systems and processors: Part 2 software implementations. – Windows, Linux, Mac OS (including iPhone), MS Mobile – Intel, AMD, Power PC – Texas Instruments – Analog Devices – Freescale – ARM – MIPS – ... and custom processors
10 I 11 Research & Development Services
Fraunhofer IIS offers contract-based research and development services, and provides its customers with guidance through the maze of multimedia standards and technologies. Licensees of Fraunhofer IIS can obtain product-ready software implementations of the latest open stan- dards (especially ISO MPEG Audio) at the earliest possible opportunity. In addition to this, Fraunhofer IIS also carries out targeted R&D projects in order to develop applica- tion-specific solutions based on existing audio & multimedia technologies.
Examples of recent contract-based research projects include: – Watermarking: Low-complexity, highly robust watermarking system. – Digital Broadcast Receiver chips for reception and decoding of digital radio signals. – DAB Surround technology trials to demonstrate Digital Radio DAB in 5.1 Surround sound. – AAC audio codec optimization for highly resource-limited embedded platforms. – Echo Control integration into broadcasting studio intercom. – …and many more. 12/2009 K. Dembowski
For more information, please visit www.iis.fraunhofer.de/amm
About Fraunhofer IIS
The Fraunhofer IIS Audio and Multimedia division, based in Erlangen, Fraunhofer Institute for Germany, has been working in compressed audio technology for Integrated Circuits IIS more than 20 years and remains a leading innovator of technologies Executive Director Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heinz Gerhäuser for cutting-edge multimedia systems. Fraunhofer IIS is the main in- Director ventor of mp3 and universally credited with the co-development of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Günter Elst AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) as well as technologies for the media Am Wolfsmantel 33 91058 Erlangen, Germany world of tomorrow, including MPEG Surround and the Fraunhofer Phone +49 9131 776-0 Audio Communication Engine. Fax +49 9131 776-999 [email protected] www.iis.fraunhofer.de Through the course of more than two decades, Fraunhofer IIS has licensed its audio codec software and application-specific customiza- Contact Matthias Rose tions to at least 1,000 companies. Fraunhofer estimates that it has Phone +49 9131 776-6175 [email protected] enabled more than 1 billion commercial products worldwide using its mp3, AAC and other media technologies. Fraunhofer USA, Inc. Digital Media Technologies* 100 Century Court The Fraunhofer IIS organization is part of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Suite 504 based in Munich, Germany. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is Europe’s San Jose, California 95112, USA www.dmt.fraunhofer.org largest applied research organization and is partly funded by the
Contact German government. With nearly 17,000 employees worldwide, Jan Nordmann Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is composed of 60 Institutes conducting Phone +1 408 573 9900 [email protected] research in a broad range of research areas.
* Fraunhofer USA Digital Media Technologies, a division of Fraunhofer USA, Inc., promotes and supports the products of Fraunhofer IIS in the U. S.