San Francisco, Sept. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- THX Ltd., renowned for the certification of world-class cinemas and consumer electronics, and Qualcomm, a multinational semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company that designs and markets wireless telecommunications products and services, today announced they will be demonstrating the end-to-end THX Spatial Audio workflow using MPEG-H for the delivery of next-generation immersive audio experiences at IBC 2018.

The THX Spatial Audio Platform is an end-to-end universal positional audio solution built with the flexibility to support legacy (channel-based), emerging content formats (object-based and ambisonics) and open standards across mobile, PC and consumer electronic devices. The platform is comprised of capabilities for content creation, MPEG-H encoding and decoding 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.

The THX Spatial Audio with MPEG-H allows for maximum flexibility by allowing Higher Order Ambisonics, Objects, and Channel-based audio formats to be transmitted simultaneously.  Content developers can use existing workflows to develop content with the flexibility to support a variety of use cases including Over the Air (OTA), OTT digital streaming, 360 video, gaming and VR.

At IBC, THX and Qualcomm will be showcasing the tools necessary to enable the seamless transition to MPEG-H and the THX Spatial Audio Platform as the next generation audio standard for content creators, broadcasters, video and audio streaming service providers and device manufacturers. Demonstrations will include:

• Real-time MPEG-H Encoding with Mobile and CE Playback:  The use of an off-the-shelf Ateme real-time encoder to stream MPEG-H audio and video and render both on a mobile phone running THX Spatial Audio and the NexStreaming player as well as a traditional TV and loudspeakers.

• Interactive Scene-Based Audio:  Show how scene-based audio enables consumers to interact with and personalize their audio experience. Listeners can combine audio objects like dialogue and multilingual commentary with scene-based audio or manipulate the audio point of view.

• Immersive Audio Content Development Tools: State-of-the-art  Pro Tools plug-in suite to create compelling immersive audio using a combination of HOA and Objects for interactive TV, gaming, 360 video, and VR experiences – all using the same audio production workflow.

THX will be also offering this set of tools for evaluation to interested parties. A cost-effective solution for the industry to deploy, the capabilities of the THX Spatial Audio Platform will help accelerate the transition to MPEG-H and make next generation entertainment experiences more accessible to consumers without compromising audio fidelity on mobile, PC and CE devices.

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-five 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. 

THX is a registered trademark of THX Ltd. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.

Grace Qaqundah
THX Ltd.
grace@thx.com