Audio – IRT Lab

Tool for codec-independent NGA productions released

Michael Weitnauer — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 14:55:31 +0000

We are very proud to inform you about the first public release of the “EAR Production Suite”, a free set of tools for producing immersive and personalizable audio content independently from the distribution codec. This open-source project has been developed in (yet) another great collaboration with our colleagues from the BBC R&D audio team under ...

HbbTV 2: Down with the language barriers

Klaus Merkel — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 06:24:51 +0000

On television, language barriers are reconciled by translations or subtitles. Thanks to artificial intelligence, audio tracks can now even be converted into foreign languages largely automatically and with much less effort. New features co-developed by IRT make it possible to offer viewers individual language versions via the TV speakers or via smartphones and headphones. A ...

Alternative audio tracks in ARD Player

Michael Weitnauer — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 13:02:41 +0000

We’ve recently teamed up with colleagues from SWR.Online to implement alternative audio tracks in the “ARD Player” for mobile and desktop Internet browsers. This allows ARD broadcasters now to distribute alternative audio versions in addition to the default mix in an efficient manner without extra bandwidth usage. Such alternatives can be for example a “Dialog+” ...

How to get started with the Audio Definition Model

Benjamin Weiss — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 07:30:41 +0000

Audio is on the brink of the next big step after the transition from mono to stereo. Next Generation Audio (NGA) and especially object-based audio will provide the consumer with a lot of new features such as personalizable dialogue level. Check out this EBU website for an introduction into NGA and an overview of the ...

Playback of 3D audio via headphones with the EBU ADM Renderer

Felix Lau — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 11:38:53 +0000

Since the first release of the EBU ADM Renderer, the implementation of 3D audio via headphones through binaural technology has been a desired functionality. Binaural technology provides the ability to easily deliver three-dimensional, immersive content to the listener. All the listener needs for this is headphones. This makes it possible to listen to spatially demanding ...

Recent upgrade of our 3D Audio Lab

Ralf Pfeffer — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 11:50:09 +0000

3D audio or ‘immersive’ audio is a new trend since a few years in the audio R&D domain which promises to improve the listening experience for users significantly. At IRT, we have a room which we use for developing and evaluating 3D audio algorithms and tools for more than 9 loudspeaker-setups, such as the 5.1+4H ...

Combining our NGA efforts in an open-source ADM production tool

Michael Weitnauer — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 13:47:40 +0000

If you are following our work towards a truly open and codec-independent workflow for Next Generation Audio, you will have noticed that we not only work together with other broadcasters and industry representatives to define relevant standards for that purpose, i.e. Audio Definition Model (ADM), Serial ADM, the ITU ADM Renderer and further specifications. We ...

More open-source for open object-based audio workflows

Benjamin Weiss — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 06:03:57 +0000

Last year we released two open-source C++ libraries: libbw64 and libadm. Now that the ITU ADM (Audio Definition Model) Renderer (Recommendation ITU-R BS.2127-0) is published, we are adding another library to the list – the libear. The library is developed in cooperation with BBC R&D and published using the permissive Apache 2.0 license under the ...

The EBU ADM Renderer evolved into the ITU ADM Renderer

Michael Weitnauer — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 07:15:45 +0000

In previous posts we informed about the progress and achievements related to our Next Generation Audio renderer work, especially about the EBU ADM Renderer or simply the “EAR”. At the last ITU-R WP6C meeting in Geneva, where international standards for production and quality topics in broadcasting are discussed and made, we finally achieved one of ...

Showreel-Video for Accessibility

Melina Möhnle — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 08:57:35 +0000

Accessibility for media is in steady change driven by new technical developments. The IRT works on different accessibility topics to adapt them to today’s needs and to new features. A showreel-video was created to enable insight into these projects