THX Ltd., renowned for the certification of world-class cinemas and consumer electronics, today announced the THX Spatial Audio Platform, a new end-to-end positional audio solution which will be demonstrated at Mobile World Congress 2018.
The THX Spatial Audio Platform is an end-to-end universal positional audio solution built with the flexibility to support emerging immersive content formats (object-based and ambisonics) and open standards, as well as legacy content, across mobile, PC and consumer electronic devices.
The THX Spatial Audio Platform is comprised of components for content creation and a robust set of features to optimize audio playback experiences over a wide range of consumer devices, all of which can be seamlessly integrated into existing content creation and distribution workflows. To ensure maximum flexibility and accessibility, THX is making components that make up the THX Spatial Audio Platform available independently, or as a complete end-to-end audio solution.
Components of the THX Spatial Audio Platform and their capabilities include:
- Content Creation: Content creation plugins that produce immersive audio in ambisonics and object-based formats and seamlessly integrate into industry standard audio design tools, eliminating the need to learn new tools and master new proprietary audio formats.
- MPEG-H Encoding and Decoding: Support for the encoding, decoding and transport of audio technology for next generation television broadcasts and streaming video.
- Rendering Engine: Spatializes ambisonic, object-based as well as legacy channel content through headphones and speakers across all consumer devices.
- Tuning and Device Optimization: Measures and calibrates the audio playback to deliver the highest quality audio experience over both headphones and speakers.
- Personalization: Delivers personalized audio profiles using Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTF) that are optimized for a listener’s unique hearing physics.
At Mobile World Congress 2018, THX and Qualcomm will jointly demonstrate the THX Spatial Audio Platform capabilities including the encode, decode, transport and rendering of content using the MPEG-H audio standard. The demo will show how content creators, broadcasters and streaming media companies can use the THX Spatial Audio platform to deliver immersive audio experiences on mobile devices. The THX Spatial Audio Platform using MPEG-H is a cost-effective solution for the industry to deploy next generation high-fidelity audio entertainment to consumers across mobile, PC and CE devices.
“THX has a rich history of ensuring high fidelity audio and visual experiences for consumers and as technology continues to evolve, so do we,” said Ruben Mookerjee, Senior Vice President of Product, THX Ltd. “We look forward to working closely with Qualcomm to bring next generation entertainment experiences to life with THX Spatial Audio using MPEG-H.”
About THX Ltd.
Founded by legendary filmmaker George Lucas in 1983, THX Ltd. and its partners provide premium entertainment experiences in the cinema, in the home and on the go. Over the past thirty years, THX has expanded its certification categories beyond studios and cinemas to consumer electronics, content, and automotive systems. Today, THX continues to redefine entertainment, providing exciting new technologies and assurance of experiences which provide consumers with superior audio and visual fidelity and ensure an artist’s vision is truthfully delivered to audiences worldwide.
